🌱 City Hiring Public Safety Specialists + COVID Antiviral Medication

It's the weekend, Portland! Time to sleep in, stay out late and generally be irresponsible. But not too irresponsible. I mean, you're reading this newsletter, aren't you? Let me tell you about today.

First, today's weather:

We've got steady rain throughout the day and a high of 54. It's still Saturday, though, so it's all good.

Here are the top five stories today in Portland:

1. Mayor Ted Wheeler next week will propose spending $3.9 million to more than triple the city’s number of unarmed public safety specialists to free up sworn police officers to handle higher priority calls. The public safety specialists handle low-level, non-emergency calls. There are now 20 active public safety specialists. Two more are anticipated to be hired soon and contingency funding is available for another 12, bringing the total positions now funded to 34. The mayor wants to fund another 28 specialists next fiscal year to bring the total number to 62. (OregonLive)
2. Portland City Commissioner Mingus Mapps endorsed Vadim Mozyrsky on Thursday evening in his bid to unseat incumbent Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty. It’s not a surprising move by Mapps, who’s been perhaps the most vocal voice on the City Council in support of the Portland Police Bureau, which Hardesty has long criticized. As Portlanders get more frustrated by a spike in gun violence, Hardesty’s criticism of police has left her increasingly isolated.(Willamette Week)
3. Ida Galash wakes up in the morning, pours herself a cup of coffee and packages free milkweed seeds for the community to help a species in decline. Galash is the founder of the Portland Monarchs, which is a group dedicated to sharing information about the struggles of Monarch butterflies and how they can help. Currently, the group has a milkweed seed station in Northeast Portland filled with seed packets, monarch gardening guides and milkweed silk for hummingbird and chickadee nesting material. (KOIN)
4. FOX 12 is taking a closer look at the antiviral pills available to treat COVID. There are two options, Molnupiravir and Paxlovid, and both require a prescription. “They both stop the replication of the virus in a different way,” Pharmacist Thanh Le at Lecare Pharmacy said. They’re mainly for people who are high risk, to prevent hospitalization or death. Le compared it to Tamiflu for the flu and said you have to start taking it right away because it’s most effective in early stages. (KPTV)
5. Portland will soon be the official owner of 82nd Avenue, one of the city’s most dangerous roads for pedestrians. The city will take control of the so-called “orphan highway” — technically Oregon Route 213 — from the Oregon Department of Transportation effective June 1. The Portland City Council unanimously approved the transfer Thursday. Advocates have been calling for years for the city to take 82nd Avenue from the state and bring it up to the city’s standards to reduce the number of crashes along the roadway. The road holds the unfortunate distinction of being one of the city’s highest-crash corridors, a statistic city leaders trace back to state government’s failure to invest in needed infrastructure. (OPB)

Today in Portland:

• What happens when an Italian and a Brazilian get into comedy? AN IMMIGRANT IMPROVISATION SHOW! Get ready for possibly the best immigrant comedy show in the planet! (yes, we said it!). Happening at Favela Brazilian Café. Rodrigo Baena and Stefano Iaboni debuted their first show together in Feb 2022. Now they are back finding laughter in times of COVID, sharing cultural differences, improvisation skills, at this all-ages comedy show in Portland. Get your tickets online. Showtime is 7:00 PM.
• Come celebrate another revolution around the sun and party the night away with Sincere God Magnetic and a super fresh line up of local artists at the Hawthorne Hideaway. The music will be diverse, exciting and the vibes will be awesome!!! Special guests include Beanz, Tra4Duce, Jai Baby, RainEzra, Chain Taylor and DJ Arcadia on the Ones & Twos. Tickets available online. Showtime is 8:00 PM.
• Come out and celebrate the New Year in the Park! Glenhaven Park, that is. This annual community gathering marks new year celebrations for a handful of Southeast Asian cultures—Moha Songkran for Cambodians, Pii Mai for Laotians, Songkran (meaning "passage of time" in Sanskrit) for Thai people, and Thingyan for Burmese people all share many cross-cultural similarities and usually fall around mid-April, per the ancient Hindu calendar. The timing "marks the end of the harvest season, when farmers enjoy the fruits of their labor before the monsoon season." Join in on the festivities, which will include plenty of food, performances, sports activities, and more. The festivities start at 10:00 AM.
• It may not be May Day yet, but it'll feel like it if you tune into the May Day online celebration. Be part of this online event and get inspiration from learning about and paying tribute to brave anti-war Marxists, feminists, and leaders of the labor and social justice movements throughout modern history. Six-year U.S. Navy veteran and union dynamo Steve Hoffman will address the broad sweep of militant opposition to war for profit. Joining him will be readings of powerful speeches by Rosa Luxemburg and others that will bring these anti-war heroes and their ideas to life. The party starts at 4:00 PM.
• Go check out the World's Dopest Magic Show at the Smokus Pokus Showroom in downtown Portland. This THC induced extravaganza is packed with tricks so trippy that you’ll be asking “what the f—?!” Caricatures will come to life, phones will vanish and reappear in impossible places, minds will be read, and both the stoned and sober will love the high that is Smokus Pocus. Tickets available online. Showtime is 8:00 PM.

From my notebook:

• Travel Portland: "Throwback Thursday: They may nearly be gone now, but the memories of this year's spring blooms will live in our hearts and on Instagram forever (sappy but true!). #ThisIsPortland 📷: @whangdiana #PDX #PDXNOW #TravelPortland #TravelOreg..." (Instagram)
• Portland Audubon: "Bushtit nests are a sight to behold. Male and female Bushtits form a large loose sack made from plant materials and spiderwebs. The construction process can take over a month. The inside is lined with feathers, fur, or downy plant materi..." (Facebook)
• Portland Audubon: "It’s that time of year again when “butterbutts” are in abundance and decked out in their stylish breeding plumage of charcoal gray, black, stark white and bright yellow accents (most notably on their tush, hence the name!). 💛 Yellow-ru..." (Instagram)
• Portland Art Museum: "🗣 Become a friend of the pod! The New York Times covers our podcast, Art Unbound, in Sunday’s Museums section. The most recent and popular episode, "Awkward Questions for @KaraCooney," engages the UCLA professor and author on her p..." (Instagram)
• Nonprofit Association Oregon: "Equity and Inclusion is a journey that we all must take to make a more equitable and just society. As “public benefit” organizations, nonprofits are at the center of this work. An Equity and Inclusion lens is like a pair of glasses. It..." (Instagram)
• Portland’s award-winning and acclaimed family band, Triple Rainbow, will celebrate the release of their 15-song, debut album You Are Magic Sunday, May 15, 2-4 pm. The all ages concert will be held at McMenamins White Eagle Saloon, 836 N Russell and tickets ($10, kids under 5 get in free) are available at bit.ly/TripleRainbow. Since Triple Rainbow debuted on the scene last fall with the international radio hit, “Why Can’t Every Day Be Halloween?,” the trio of July (9), Piper (4) and their dad, Jared Mees, has taken the family music scene by storm, won critical acclaim and a National Parenting Publications Award. (The Southeast Examiner)

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It looks like we've got a fine Saturday ahead of us. Enjoy your weekends, folks, and meet me back here next week so I can, once again, tell you all about Portland.

— 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.

Have a news tip or suggestion for an upcoming Portland Daily? Contact me at portland@patch.com