🌱 Mayor To Ban Unsanctioned Camping + Portland Ready For Winter

Happy International Repair Day! That's quite the theme for the weekend, but if anyone can rise to that challenge, it's Portland. Also going on today is:

• Portland's preparation for winter
• A cabaret for the end of the world
• An opportunity to destroy all the ivy you want

Here's the skinny.

But first, today's weather:

Another sunny day with a high of 84.

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Here are the top stories in Portland today:

1. Next week, Mayor Ted Wheeler is planning to announce a ban on all unsanctioned camping. Part of his strategy is building three large, sanctioned campsites, each with a 500-person capacity. The city will seek to hire an outside contractor to run the three campuses. This is all in the planning stages; none of the campsites has been confirmed, nor is it clear how they will be funded. Another part of his strategy is "establishing aggressive targets for the construction of affordable housing." Good luck to you, Ted, I hope you're more successful than Dan Ryan. (Willamette Week)
2. With 80-degree days still in October, I feel this announcement is premature, but PBOT wants you to know that they're ready for winter. They're already setting up their snow plow obstacle course. We have a snow plow obstacle course? Dylan Rivera, spokesperson for PBOT, thinks they're prepared for snow, saying, "We have about 55 snow plows. In addition to that we have about half a dozen salt spreaders as well.” (KGW)
3. "Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt unveiled new policy on Thursday to provide 'immigration-neutral case resolutions,' " according to the DA’s Office. Schmidt said the office would not cooperate with any federal immigration enforcement, including with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he and advocates of the reform say is creating unfair punishments for non-citizens charged with the same crimes as citizens." (KOIN)
4. "Two Portland-area men are facing federal charges after authorities say they are responsible for making and distributing hundreds of thousands of counterfeit Oxycodone pills that contain fentanyl. James Dunn Jr., 61, of Milwaukie and Joshua Wilfong, 50, of Vancouver, have both been charged with conspiring to manufacture, distribute, and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl, and possessing with intent to distribute fentanyl, the U.S. Attorney’s Office – District of Oregon said." Authorities arrested Dunn and Wilfong “while they were negotiating the sale of more than 300,000 fentanyl pills.” (KATU)
5. Evidently, this is a bad time to be a university. Portland State University is seeing a dramatic drop in enrollment and it's costing them millions. Oddly enough, Oregon State University is immune to this effect and its student population continues to grow. Every other public university in the state has lost enrollment during the pandemic, according to data from the state’s Higher Education Coordinating Commission. Enrollment has been steadily shrinking at most of Oregon’s community colleges, even prior to the pandemic. (Oregon Public Broadcasting)

Today in Portland:

• Need something fixed? Get it repaired for free at Repair PDX in celebration of International Repair Day! Small appliances, torn clothing, bikes; volunteers will be on hand to fix all sorts of items. Register if you can, but some walk-ins are accepted. Noon to 4:00 PM.
• For an evening of apocalyptic fun, head to the Funhouse Lounge for The Cabaret at the End of the World! Performed by the Ashland-based comedy troupe Puppeteers for Fears, the show will feature original songs, dance numbers, and skits performed with hand-and-rod (Muppet style) puppets and a live band. Early show at 7:00 PM, late show at 10:00 PM.
• The Portland Institute for Contemporary Art invites you to their Dream Wild Dreams Gala! There will be food, drink, music and, most importantly, community. Have trouble making the event? There's a live stream option available as well. The live event is from 12:30 - 4:30 PM.
• Sing your inner warrior to life at Dungeon Battle Karaoke at the Clinton Street Theater. This event will be the odd combination of karaoke and tabletop roleplaying games. Dungeon Battle Karaoke is a gameshow adventure where players navigate an original, interactive storyline while using the power of song to face challenges along the way. 7:00 - 10:00 PM.
• Celebrate the season with “Sinister Songs & Terrifying Tales” with Morticia and Gomez at the Samaritan Odd Fellows Lodge in Historic Milwaukie. This will be "a classy evening of macabre tales of suspense and horror, coupled with haunting tunes." Doors open at 6:30 PM.

From my notebook:

• Portland Audubon: "We're thrilled to see the Oregon State Land Board recognize exciting restoration work at Oaks Bottom. 👏👏👏 The extensive wetland restoration project done at the city park allows juvenile salmon to access the Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge..." (Portland Audubon via Instagram)
• Portland Parks & Recreation: "The Portland Parks & Recreation Park Ranger program is hiring! Join our team of dedicated park ambassadors, helping to keep our parks healthy and safe. We’re filling up to 15 vacancies for the 2023 season, which begins in February. Visit..." (Portland Parks & Recreation via Facebook)
• Would you like the opportunity to help out your local parks? Then volunteer for "No Ivy Day" on Oct. 29. Ivy grows quickly and can choke the life out of plants on the forest floor. On most Saturdays, Portland Parks & Recreation hold volunteer events across the city to help maintain our outdoor spaces. If you're interested in lending a hand, go to this Portland Parks and Rec link and register. (KGW)
• Are you ready for the next creation from local artist Mike Bennett? It's called Wonderwood Springs and opens in St. John's today! Bennett says it’s like a “Choose Your Own Adventure” novel "with plenty of whimsy and imagination." (KATU)
• Who you gonna call? I think we all know the answer. But what if you could do more than call? What if you could stay in the Ghostbusters firehouse in Portland? The three-story, two-bedroom firehouse was built in the early 1900s and has been completely Ghostbustersafied. According to Vacasa’s press release, the firehouse has all the comforts of home, like a full kitchen, multiple living quarters, as well as a scientist-approved ghost containment system. (The Oregonian)
• Portlanders have said that the city feels less safe to them and a new report from WalletHub is backing that up. Out of 182 cities, Portland, OR was ranked at No. 137. Oh, well, we still scored better than Seattle, which came in at No. 148. WalletHub used 42 metrics to assign rank, including the number of mass shootings, wildfire risk level and the debt-to-income ratio. (KOIN)

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That's your Saturday, folks. I hope you have fun with it. Live it to the fullest and tune back in next week and we'll talk more about what'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.

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