Mayor Recall Sunk+Safe Rest Village Controversy+Intel Labor Needs

Happy Tuesday, Portland Peeps! And a very special Tuesday it is, because today is Get Funky Day! Who knew that there was a day dedicated to just getting your funk on. Well, who am I to argue? Let's talk about what funk is going on in Portland.

First, today's weather:

The rain returns on this dark and stormy day with a high of 57. Don't forget those umbrellas.

Here are the top stories today in Portland:

1. With the recent violence taking place in the Mt. Scott Park area, the Mt. Scott Neighborhood Association is taking action. The neighborhood association worked with the Portland Bureau of Transportation and city commissioners to add traffic barriers this week, with the goal of slowing down drivers and improving safety. PBOT plans to bring in 18 additional traffic barriers around Mt. Scott Park later this week. (KATU)
2. Put a fork in it, it's done. The petition drive to recall Mayor Ted Wheeler will reportedly fail to submit the required voter signatures by the Oct. 6 deadline. As first reported by Willamette Week, the Total Recall political action committee asked Portland election officials for a 90-day extension to continue gathering signatures on Sept. 22. Committee treasurer Seth Woolley said highly contagious delta variant of COVID-19 and the summer heat wave had made it impossible to collect the minimum number by this coming Wednesday. Election officials denied the request on Sept. 24, saying social distancing requirements had been lifted and the most extreme temperatures had passed before the campaign launched its 90-day signature-gathering drive on July 8. (KOIN)
3. Since the announcement of the planned locations of 3 sites for Safe Rest Villages, many people have spoke out in opposition of the sites. Now another organization may be voicing its concern. On Oct. 1, the Audubon Society’s conservation director, Bob Sallinger, challenged the city on its placement, saying he thinks the parcel of land is the staging site for a future wetlands restoration project by the Bureau of Environmental Services, which owns the parcel of land, and should therefore not be used for the shelters. (Willamette Week)
4. The vaccine mandate for Oregon healthcare workers demands that all such workers be vaccinated by Oct.18. In an Oct. 13 scheduled meeting, the Oregon State Board of Nursing plans to consider these rules. (KPTV)
5. Many have been hearing about the labor shortage facing businesses in the Portland region, but if you think it's only restaurants and retail having these problems, you'd be wrong. Intel, the state’s largest corporate employer, needs workers for its computer chip manufacturing facilities and it is running television ads to let people know. Chip manufacturing equipment supplier Watlow said last week that it is hiring 20 technicians for its Hillsboro site at a starting wage of $25 an hour, with a retention bonus for those who stay with the company and an annual corporate performance bonus. (Oregonian)

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Today in Portland:

• Powell's Bookstore will be hosting an online conversation between Ben Hodgson & Laura Moulton about their new book Loaners: The Making of a Street Library . In 2011, Laura Moulton founded Street Books, a bicycle-powered lending library serving folks living outside in Portland, Oregon. That summer, Ben Hodgson became one of her most dedicated regulars, setting the still-unbeaten single season record for borrowing. Moderating will be author and journalist Omar El Akkad. The event is free, but you must register online to attend. The discussion starts at 5:00 PM.
• Global Fest Walk will be hosting a "Walky Talky" event, to get people talking and bodies moving. The event pairs you and another walker and gives you each 60 minutes to help the other unstick something about their professional or personal lives. How should you ask for that promotion? What should you tell that friend who’s too needy? Are you on the right track with that side hustle? Nothing’s off limits here. Tickets available online. Starts at 5:00 PM.
• This evening, OMSI presents Science Pub Portland: Sculpting Oregon’s Prehistoric Mammals. When a paleontologist discovers a new prehistoric animal, they will measure it, describe it, name it and catalogue it, but it takes an artist to realize what it looked like when it was alive. This is the vocation of paleoart, and it is a key component in education about natural history. In this talk you’ll hear about that process from paleoartist Reid Psaltis as he discusses two projects where he sculpted anatomically accurate, life-sized models of two ancient animals with ties to Oregon; Eohippus, the first horse, and Cynarctoides, a tiny cousin of today’s dogs. Get your tickets online. Doors open at 6:00 PM.
• Darren Springer will be presenting a talk about the history and nature of mycology and permaculture, and offering an introductory workshop. Mushrooms have been used for millennia as both food and medicine by ancient cultures. In this presentation Darren explores the connection between these practices and the principles of permaculture which you also find interwoven in these ancient traditions. This talk will be held at Earth Space PDX in SE Portland. Register online to attend. Talk is at 7:00 PM.
• Psychedelic band King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard will be at the Roseland Theater tonight in downtown Portland. Experience the "Gizzardverse" at this all-ages show. Tickets available online. Doors open at 8:00 PM.

Portland Patch Notebook

• Portland Trail Blazers: "“He just kept asking ‘Why me Pat?? Why me Pat??’” #WeTheRipCity" (Instagram)
• Portland Flea: "3-week countdown to our last FLEA of the year! @worldfamousoriginal will be there with their line of customizable items you can get embroidered on the spot using their rad vintage machines! Do we sense a really good costume brewing?" (Instagram)
• Portland Art Museum: "Mexican artist Leticia Tarrago offers dreamlike scenes of both the ordinary and the extraordinary in her prints, inviting us to look, and then look again, at the beguiling details and unexpected characters she presents. This piece invite..." (Instagram)
• The robots have come! And this time they're serving you coffee. A new business in Portland's downtown Pearl District offers robot baristas and sweet treats from a Netflix-famous dessert maker. Broobee Café on Northwest 10th off Glisan collaborated with The Hungry Hero Dessert Company in Sherwood to bring you a shop with automated service. (KGW)
• The Oregon Zoo just got a new 3,000-pound resident. King, a black rhinoceros from Chicago’s Brookfield Zoo, is now out and about in the outdoor quarters of his habitat, which means guests can probably catch sight of the transplant. The 8-year-old actually arrived in Portland on Sept. 10. (Willamette Week)
• Tiny houses are all the rage and now and Northeast Portland church sees its own parking lot as a solution to help the city’s homeless crisis. Construction is underway on a 10-unit housing village at the Bridgeport United Church of Christ on Northeast 76th Avenue. The church is working with the non-profit Beavon PDX to build micro-units and provide services. (KOIN)

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If you can't get on down to a Tuesday like that, then you may want to get your funk checked out. If that's the case, then remember, the Doctor is in! But if you're living in Portland, I think you'll be just fine, so join me here tomorrow and we'll get on down in Stumptown. If you're enjoying these newsletters, consider bringing some friends and neighbors on board. You can send them this link to subscribe.

— 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? Reach out anytime to portland@patch.com.