🌱 Landlords Help Homeless + Peaceful Stand-Off Resolution

It's a whole new week, peoples, and this weather has gotten me ready for summer. We're not quite there yet, but let's channel that excitement and super charge the day. Here's what's going on.

First, today's weather:

It's a cloudy day today, but still pretty warm with a high of 68.

Here are the top five stories in Portland today:

1. Earlier this month, Multnomah County launched a program that offers a guarantee of one year’s rent to landlords willing to rent their vacant units to homeless Portlanders. So far, the program has reeled in interest from 54 landlords who have offered a total of 374 units. Denis Theriault, a spokesman for the Joint Office of Homeless Services, which is coordinating the program, says there’s no specific number of people the program intends to get housed by June 1 or July 1: He says it’s “as many as we can.” (Willamette Week)
2. A Democratic state lawmaker in Oregon is calling for a formal investigation into a ballot-printing fiasco that will delay results from Tuesday’s primary by weeks in the state’s third-largest county, with a key U.S. House race hanging in the balance. The call from Rep. Janelle Bynum, who represents voters in part of the affected county, comes amid mounting pressure Friday on Clackamas County Elections Clerk Sherry Hall, who has overseen elections in the suburban county south of Portland for nearly 20 years. (KGW)
3. New data from the Oregon Health Authority shows cases of COVID-19 on the rise once again. But some public health professors at Portland State said hospitalizations and deaths are not spiking. With the number of people vaccinated growing, Carlos Crespo of the OHSU-PSU School of Public Health said more people are getting mild cases. Crespo said pharmaceutical companies are also working to develop a more targeted vaccine to the changing virus. (nbc16.com)
4. A new daytime shelter for homeless children and families is opening this summer in Northeast Portland. Family Promise of Metro East is opening the center where people will be able to do laundry, shower, get access to a computer and have a safe place to stay outside of work or school. The Day Center is located within Portland Community of Christ at 4837 NE Couch Street. (KOIN.com)
5. After keeping police at bay for around five hours, a man who held a gun at his own head is at a local hospital being evaluated, according to Portland police. They said that officers arrived by the intersection of Southeast 129th Avenue and Southeast Division Street after getting a report of a two-car crash. Police said that the man held the gun to his head after first pointing it a driver with whom he'd been in a crash. (Portland Patch)

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Today in Portland:

• Powell's City of Books in downtown Portland presents Liz Carlisle in Conversation with Latrice Tatsey. A powerful movement is happening in farming today — farmers are reconnecting with their roots to fight climate change. For one woman, that's meant learning her tribe's history to help bring back the buffalo. In her book “Healing Grounds,” Liz Carlisle tells the stories of Indigenous, Black, Latinx and Asian American farmers who are reviving their ancestors' methods of growing food — techniques long suppressed by the industrial food system. The talk starts at 7 p.m.
• The Infinite Vibes Open Mic Experience will be at Mississippi Pizza in North Portland. Hosted by artist CEG, the Infinite Vibes Open Mic Experience is a welcoming event for local artists of all genres including spoken word, hip hop, comedy, singer songwriters and more. Tickets available online. 8 - 10:30 p.m.
• Oregon Humanities presents the online event Writing on the Landscape: Reimagining Monuments and Memorials. In Spring 2021, the Oregon art organization, Converge 45, started Portland’s Monuments & Memorials Project (PMMP), a year-long project co-led by Jess Perlitz & Mack McFarland. PMMP joined in the national debate to consider the conditions and impacts of public monuments, including those that have been removed in Portland and those that should be built. Register online to log in to this virtual event. 6 - 8:30 p.m.
• It's the Secret Aardvark Comedy Show at Honey Latte Café in SE Portland. Hot comedy from over 30 of Portland’s best improvisers. Hosted by an INCREDIBLE mystery guest! Past guests have included David Lynch, Notable Ghosts, High School Theater Students, Tinder Dracula, and many more... Who's tonight's guest? Well, that's the secret! Shhhhhh... Tickets available online. Doors open at 7:45 p.m.
• Want some comedy on the west side? Go to Suki's Bar & Grill for Mega Suki's Comedy Show! Live comedy show featuring Dahlia Belle, Riley McCarthy, Kellie Irwin, and Chris Hudson. Food and drinks available. The fun starts at 8:30 p.m.

From my notebook:

• Portland: "Have yourself a weekend, @portland! Hope you got to get out and enjoy the sunshine. ☀️ Photo by: @lioneyeaerials" (Instagram)
• During a Saturday cleanup in Portland's Richmond neighborhood, people passing through the area may have noticed Don Merrill holding up a sign announcing free replacements for burned-out taillights. Volunteers with Merril's nonprofit, CNB-Seen, spent the morning inspecting and changing dead lightbulbs, a small but important service. "A lot of people don't even know they have a light that is out," said Merrill, "and in some neighborhoods, that's a bigger deal than in other neighborhoods." (KGW)
• Why do so many intersections in Southeast and Northeast Portland make you push a button to get a green signal to cross the street? Why doesn’t the signal turn green automatically, and drivers can determine if there’s a pedestrian in the crosswalk or not? Cross About Crosswalks asked this question of Willamette Week. And they answer. This should be of interest to any Portlander who is even a part time pedestrian. (Willamette Week)
• According to Multnomah County’s latest homeless point-in-time count, the number of people experiencing homelessness in the county has grown. Other counties in the region saw a similar increase. Public officials, political candidates and just about every Oregonian has thoughts on how to address homelessness. One idea is to scale up the use of master leasing. It’s also one of the main asks in 3,000 Challenge PDX, a pitch from a coalition of Portland homeless service providers and advocacy groups to get 3,000 people housed by the end of 2022. (OPB)
• Planning to get out of your home and stretch your legs, but don’t really want to drive too far if you live in Portland? Check out some of the top-rated hiking trails around Portland, according to Google. (KOIN)
• It's a good news, bad news scenario, depending on how you look at the voter turnout numbers released by the Oregon secretary of state's office. On one hand, 1,039,342 people cast votes in Tuesday's primary election, the fourth-largest turnout since 1960. On the other hand, only 35.25 percent of the state's registered voters cast ballots, the second-lowest over the same period. Only the 33.91 percent turnout in 2018 was lower. (Portland Patch)

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That's your Tuesday, Portland. I wish you nothing but joy today and I hope you meet me back here tomorrow so I can tell you more awesomeness 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