🌱 Kristof Officially Out Of Gov's Race + Rents Continue To Rise

It's Friday again, my friends, and that means thinking about the weekend. But before I jump the gun let me fill you in on what's going on today.

First, today's weather:

Partly cloudy skies with a high of 52. Sounds like a fine day.

Here are the top five stories in Portland today:

1. Nick Kristof will not be on the Democratic primary ballot for governor in May, the Oregon Supreme Court ruled Thursday morning. The former New York Times columnist, who lives on the Yamhill farm where he grew up, does not meet the state's residency requirements to be on that ballot, the court said. (Portland Patch)
2. A group of Portlanders is demanding the city of Portland pay millions in restitution to families who were displaced by a hospital expansion project in the early 1970s. The Emanuel Hospital expansion project displaced 171 families in Northeast Portland's Albina neighborhood and destroyed dozens of businesses. Three-quarters of the displaced families were Black. (KGW.com)
3. While rents are up as much as 23% from last year across the country according to a new report from Rent.com, Oregon's figures are even worse. Consider that the average rent rose to $1,600 in 2021 from about $1,000 a month, a 54% increase. Looking specifically at Portland last month, it gets even more pricey. The average rent for a one-bedroom in Portland in January 2022 was $2,128 a month, more than 30% compared to last year. (Portland Business Journal)
4. As expected, campaign finance reformers took their fight with Secretary of State Shemia Fagan to the Oregon Supreme Court Wednesday, asking the court to overrule Fagan’s rejection of ballot measures seeking limits on political giving in Oregon. Oregon is one of just five states without such limits. But the dispute that could upend the reformers’ effort centers on the rules for qualifying a measure for the ballot. (Willamette Week)
5. Multnomah County and Portland Public Schools will get federal assistance this year to plan how to use school buildings as places for people to escape extreme heat and wildfire smoke. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency awarded the county and school district a non-monetary grant to help evaluate how selected schools could serve as clean air and cooling centers. (KOIN)

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Today in Portland:

• PNW PAINT NIGHT presents a "First Class" Puff & Paint Experience! Join them at the Flight Lounge Café (Cannabis Club) in NE Portland for a unique VIP event featuring PNW Paint Night's Artist "Theo" instructing attendees to paint an artist exclusive design on canvas. Attendees will get to choose from 1 of 4 designs. Tickets available online. 7:00 - 10:00 PM.
• Nile will be playing at the Hawthorne Theater in SE Portland tonight. Since the release of Nile’s first demo, die-hards have successfully pushed the North Carolina-born Egyptian folklore-inspired band to the top tier of American death-metal bands, cementing them as much more than just a gimmick that happened to work. Nile will be joined by longtime metalheads Incantation. Get your tickets online. Doors at 6:30 PM.
• Booklover's Burlesque is back and this time it's at the Alberta Rose Theater in NE Portland. Billed as the world’s sexiest literary salon which matches titillating, inspiring, and empowering book readings with burlesque, boylesque, and draglesque performances all in one show! Tickets available online. Doors open at 6:00 PM.
• Hip hop comes to the Star Theater in downtown Portland as it presents Sa-Roc with DJ Sol Messiah and Yawa Amenta & DJ O.G. One. Sa-Roc is arguably one of the most vibrant MCs in the world today. Her crisp articulation, fiery delivery, and her elevated and insightful lyricism has often placed her within the same conversation of some of hip hop’s most notable artists. Get your tickets online. Doors open at 8:00 PM.
• Clinton Cult Classics presents Chunking Express showing at the Clinton Street Theater in SE Portland. The whiplash, double-pronged "Chungking Express" is one of the defining works of nineties cinema and the film that made Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar Wai an instant icon. Two heartsick Hong Kong cops (Takeshi Kaneshiro and Tony Leung), both jilted by ex-lovers, cross paths at the Midnight Express take-out restaurant stand, where the ethereal pixie waitress Faye (Faye Wong) works. Tickets available online. 10:00 - 11:30 PM.

From my notebook:

• Portland Art Museum: "🔎 We hid 10 emojis in this French still life. Can you find them all? 🎨 Jean-Baptiste Monnoyer (French, 1636–1699); Antoine Monnoyer (French, 1670–1747), “Still Life with Flowers, Fruits, a Parrot and a Monkey,” 1690/1699. Oil on canva..." (Instagram)
• Portland Audubon: "We have a few spots left in two great local birding trips coming up in March, to the Central Coast and Klamath Basin! Join us for a coastal adventure March 19 - 21 exploring the rugged landscape of the central coast to look for seabird..." (Instagram)
• Sober locals looking for a social experience now have a new experimental option on the horizon, as Suckerpunch announced it will open Portland’s first pop-up non-alcoholic bar Feb. 22. Since 2020, the Portland-based bar and retail company has cornered a unique market by producing zero-proof (non-alcoholic) cocktail events and cocktail kits. (KOIN)
• Umatilla tribal member Acosia Red Elk has spent years on the powwow circuit as a world-champion jingle dancer and collaborator with artists ranging from Supaman to Portugal. The Man. She has also combined different powwow dance styles and indigenous teachings with yoga to create what she calls “powwow yoga” and “seven generations yoga,” with the goal to promote contemporary indigenous healing through movement and dance. (OPB)
• If you’re walking on 11th Avenue in Southeast Portland, you’ll find a colorful building on the outside with a black light décor on the inside. Rainbow City is an art collective featuring electronic music and events. The business first started right before the coronavirus pandemic began and had to weather the storm of the virus for the last couple of years. (KOIN)
• I've talked about the Portland Charter Commission, and its review of the city charter, quite a bit in this newsletter. Its just released the first progress report. You can read it here if you're interested. (Portland.Gov)

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Another delightful week comes to a close and the weekend is on the horizon. Enjoy your Friday and come back tomorrow and I'll tell you what Saturday has in store.

— 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.