🌱 Fire Investigation In NE Portland + PSU Homeless Research

Hey, Portland! Welcome to Thursday! And not just any Thursday, but National Burrito Day, as well. I never would have known, but local food chain Laughing Planet just will not shut up about it. And I'm glad they haven't. Yum! Now on to your day.

First, today's weather:

Holy moly, but we have a beautiful day today! Sunny and warm with a high of 75. Is summer here already?

Here are the top five stories today in Portland:

1. A small bus went up in flames and caught a nearby commercial building on fire in Northeast Portland early Wednesday morning, fire officials said. Around 1:18 a.m., Portland Fire and Rescue received a report of a fire on NE 102nd Avenue and NE Wygant Street. Fire officials said the fire spread to part of the building’s roof, but crews had both the bus and building fires controlled in about 15 minutes. This comes as fire crews are investigating a series of fires in the same area from earlier in the week. PF&R said two vacant houses and a vacant warehouse caught fire on Monday night. (KOIN.com)
2. An audit of the Portland Police Bureau’s intelligence gathering practices during the 2020 protests found officers collected information about political activity without providing evidence a crime had been committed. The audit, conducted by the city auditor’s office, also found the Criminal Intelligence Unit did not limit access to their reports and kept them longer than they are supposed to. The auditors reviewed 40 police reports related to racial justice protests and 33 Criminal Intelligence Unit reports. In five of the 40 police reports, auditors found officers collected personally identifiable information such as political, religious or social views without documenting criminal activity. (OPB)
3. TriMet is facing a $10 million lawsuit from the city of Portland for alleged deeply flawed work on a streetcar track, leaving it with major structural defects that could cost the city millions in repairs. Oregon Public Broadcasting reports the suit says the transit agency failed to properly manage the construction of the city-owned platform near the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. (KGW.com)
4. Portland’s first Intersection Safety Camera has been installed on Southeast Stark Street at 122nd Avenue. The camera will issue citations to drivers for speeding and running red lights. The camera will be tested over the next week and then start issuing warnings on Monday. Typically, it's a $170 fine for speeding and $270 for running a red light. (KATU)
5. Researchers at Portland State University have released the findings of a two-year study that examined the effectiveness and impact of tiny, pod-style villages for people experiencing homelessness. The report, released Tuesday, claims to be one of the first of its kind in the nation and was spearheaded by PSU’s Homeless Research and Action Collaborative. The study found that nearly 90 percent of villagers surveyed were satisfied with their living pod and nearly 70 percent also were satisfied with the village they lived in. (Fox 12 Oregon)

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Today in Portland:

• Join Barrett Holmes Pitner and Jennifer Fang for the virtual panel discussion Resisting Cultural Erasure in America. Ethnocide, a word first coined in 1944 by Jewish exile Raphael Lemkin (who also coined the term “genocide”), describes the systemic erasure of a people’s ancestral culture. Pitner and Fang will talk about ethnocide in America and its particular effects on Black and Chinese Americans, who have endured that erasure for generations. Register online for this free event. 7:00 - 8:00 PM.
• Come out to the first addition of Seth Allen's Live Comedy Show Extravaganza at Gigantic Brewing! This debut free show features comedy from the incredible Andrew Sleighter (The Late Late Show, Conan, Comedy Central), Shain Brenden (Willamette Week's Funniest 5, Portland Mercury's "Undisputed Genius of Comedy, ASSVILLE Podcast), and Tory Ward (Willamette Week's Funniest 5). Hosted by Seth Allen! 7:30 PM.
• The Funhouse Lounge wants to include you in a murder mystery. Clue: An Unscripted Mystery puts an improvisational twist on the classic whodunnit of board game and movie fame. Six house guests, one victim, and only the killer knows the truth. Audience suggestions will help shape the trajectory of this fun, interactive mystery. Tickets available online. Doors open at 6:30 PM.
• Steve Kerin will be playing at McMenamins Chapel Pub in North Portland. He'll be playing all of your favorite songs, but in a way that you have never heard them before – on solo pipe organ! The audience is encouraged to request tunes from a list of nearly a thousand songs. 7:00 - 9:00 PM.
• Another awesome night of music at Steeplejack brewing! Ben Larsen is a long time resident of Portland, OR where he began his music career thirteen years ago. A singer-songwriter, and multi instrumentalist, Larsen has been busy developing and producing his solo project. 7:00 - 9:00 PM.

From my notebook:

• Mayor Ted Wheeler is set to proclaim April as Food Cart Month in Portland. Wheeler says food carts are an integral and growing part of the city. There are more than 1,000 food carts in the metro area, creating about 3,000 jobs. The proclamation says food carts are an accessible way for people to share their culture with the community. "It helps all of the businesses get more publicity and say ‘hey go support more food carts out here,’” said Hanry Ho, manager of the Collective Oregon Eateries. “Summertime and springtime is one of the most important parts for them, it’s when people want to be out and eating and just be out in general." (KATU)
• A statement from local non-profit Friends of Trees: On Sunday, April 3, The Oregonian published an Op-Ed that I wrote: “Amid shrinking canopy, community tree planting needed more than ever.” In it, I address Portland’s reported tree canopy loss and the end of our contract with the City of Portland to plant street and yard trees in the city. We appreciate the opportunity to bring attention to the importance of community tree planting and we are so grateful for all the support we’ve already received. We wanted to share its contents with you, and answer some of the questions you may have after reading it. (Friends of Trees)
• The COVID-19 pandemic effectively shut down Portland bars, clubs and other entertainment venues, but now that it seems to be receding, those venues are cautiously reopening. But, evidently, not fast enough for Portland party seekers. Portland Monthly takes you inside Portland's booming house show scene. (Portland Monthly)
• Cider fans rejoice! Cider Summit Portland, the area’s largest cider tasting festival, will be back in Portland June 10 and Jun 11 at The Fields Park in Portland’s Pearl District. This year, Cider Summit returns to an in-person celebration in Portland after two years of virtual events. Attendees will enjoy a tasting selection of 150+ hard ciders from the industry’s leading cidermakers, many of whom will be on hand to guide guests through the available lineup. (PDX Food Press)

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That's your Thursday and I'm sticking to it. Have fun with the day and come on back tomorrow when I'll tell you about what's going on in Portland. Now, I'm going to get a burrito and tell them not to skimp on the guacamole.

— Dominic Anaya

About me: Doctor, educator and now a writer/artist, I'm just chillin' in Portland, OR with my wife, our ferrets, our chickens and our goats.