🌱 Kristof Makes It Official+Are We Getting Snow For Christmas?

Happy Wednesday, neighbors, and Christmas is nigh! “I am as light as a feather, I am as happy as an angel, I am as merry as a schoolboy. I am as giddy as a drunken man." Let's talk about today.

First, today's weather:

It's a grey, rainy day with a high of 48. Sounds about right.

Here are the top stories today in Portland:

1. Could the city of Portland have hidden motivations for setting up Safe Rest Villages? In one audio clip from a public meeting with the Lents Neighborhood Livability Association (an unofficial neighborhood group known for harassing homeless campers in its neighborhood), City Commissioner Dan Ryan explained that, once the city builds these villages, "[the city] will have places to take people and then if they don’t want to go there, then law enforcement and others have an opportunity to actually do something to move them." (The Portland Mercury)
2. Former New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof said Monday he has officially filed to run for Oregon governor in the Democratic primary. Kristof joins a crowded field of Democrats in the 2022 gubernatorial election, including Oregon House Speaker Tina Kotek and state Treasurer Tobias Read. Democrats have held the governor’s office since 1987. (KOIN)
3. The University of Oregon will require all students, faculty and staff to receive a COVID-19 booster as soon as they are eligible, the school announced Monday. State health officials warned on Friday that the state may face its worst COVID-19 surge in the coming weeks, with the number of patients hospitalized more than doubling the pandemic’s peak. The University of Oregon is the first Oregon university to announce booster shot requirements. (KPTV)
4. Will we be getting snow for Christmas? It's an annual question that is in the minds of many Portlanders. The opinion of local meteorologists is that it might be possible. “It happens about every 10 to 20 years,” Clinton Rockey, a National Weather Service meteorologist, said, noting that snow that lingered on Christmas during 2008′s snowiest December since the 1930s “got us all excited.” (The Oregonian)
5. This year has been the deadliest year in Portland's modern history. So far, more than 80 people have been killed. The rise in homicides comes amid a surge in gun violence. Most of Portland's victims were killed by someone with a gun. At the current rate, the city will surpass 1,200 shootings by the end of the year. In 2019, Portland Police reported less than 400. Almost everyone KGW spoke to agreed — the factors that lead to violence have been accelerated, both directly and indirectly, by the coronavirus pandemic. (KGW)

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Today in Portland:

• It's another holiday trivia night, but this time it's at Von Ebert Brewing in NW Portland and it's strictly Disney. That's right, it's Holiday Disney Trivia for a magical evening filled with holiday cheer, craft beer, and tasty treats. Remember to show up early to this event! $5 cash entry per person, with cash being awarded to the winning teams. 7:00 - 9:00 PM.
• It's a special edition of Who's the Ross at Dante's in downtown Portland! Tonight will be the annual fundraiser Tatas For Toys! This is a benefit for Doernbecher Hospital hosted by Alex Ross and TOX!C. Tickets available online. Doors open at 7:00 PM.
• You're invited to 'A Holiday Affair' brought to you by Reva DeVito & Dig A Pony in SE Portland. Live music provided by Reva DeVito and band, with a special guest performance by Zyah Belle. Disco dance party to follow with Portland's Party Captain, Montell Spinozza. Tickets are 10$, and we just ask that you consider donating to our digital tip jar at the event. All tips go to musicians who make nights like this possible! 8:00 PM until midnight.
• For an evening of funky, musical fun, go to Hawthorne Hideaway in SE Portland to see Left on Tenth. Left on Tenth is group of friends who started playing music together on 10th Ave. in Bozeman, MT in 2016. They share a passion for playing live music and creating a fun, enjoyable atmosphere. Their music manifests itself into a variety of genres from funky grooves to hard driving rock, to reggae inspired tunes, to slower sensual ballads. The show is at 9:00 PM.
• Do you like Christmas? Well, how about Christmas in Space? Wow! It’s been ten years since they started doing this: Playing vintage TV on the big screen at the Hollywood Theatre complete with retro commercials from bygone eras. Come for the Wookie Ookies, the Bantha Surprise, the sexy VR song, Bea Arthur singing in a Mos Eisley bar and the first appearance of Boba Fett...Stay for their most insane collection of 70s and 80s ads. Showtime is at 7:30 PM.

From my notebook:

• Travel Portland: "The Santa Clones are back! This is such a fun Portland holiday tradition. Check out @chriswillis profile for clues to the location and search them out yourself! #ThisIsPortland 📷: @trinnadeleon #PDX #PDXNOW #TravelPortland #TravelOre..." (Instagram)
• Portland Audubon: "Two of the most common reasons that birds need treatment at our Wildlife Care Center is either a window collision or cat attack. So, it’s no surprise that we had two Cedar Waxwings as patients recently, one who suffered from the former, th..." (Instagram)
• Portland Audubon: "Pop quiz! Little brown birds are some of the most confusing to new and intermediate birders. This one regularly stumps folks out in the field. What species is this? (Hint: they love wetlands.) Photo by Mick Thompson [Image Description: A..." (Facebook)
• Over the past few weeks, Portland Business Journal has been holding a very Oregon style of Battle Royale. One involving locally brewed craft beers. It's now over and a winner has been announced. Boneyard Beer overcame the Portland favorite Breakside Brewing to land its Oregon Beer Showdown '21 win. Boneyard began its run with by beating Cascade Brewing in the first round before easily handling Great Notion in the second round. In a lighter voting turnout, Boneyard toppled Double Mountain before overcoming Migration in a nip-and-tuck battle (it took an examination of duplicate votes to give Boneyard a narrow edge) and heading to the semifinals. (Portland Business Journal)
• Would you like to live stream a revelry of Christmas music from the comfort of your home? Then please join Portland Revels in their virtual celebration of Christmas! A Hero is welcomed into a musical urban world and asked to join in the celebration. And they dream. Of a dragon, a doctor, and St. George. Of a sword dance. Of the magical rebirth of light and music. (Portland Revels)
• Collide-O-Scope is back with an all-new holiday extravaganza! Yule love this wondrously demented video collage of whimsical seasonal ephemera and unearthed holiday obscurities. A keenly curated array of vintage video, freaky film, and found footage, all expertly edited into a uniquely hilarious stream of consciousness fantasia of sight and sound. Holy Krampus, it'll be festive! Kick back and bliss out to this deliriously fun concoction of escapist video treasure bursting with weird wonders, campy thrills, and big laughs! (Bold Type Tickets)

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That's your Wednesday, though it hardly feels like one in this so-close-to-Christmas week. I hope you're having fun, but how could you not in this wonderful city. Get back to me tomorrow and I'll tell you about more awesome stuff that's going on in 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.