🌱 Money Raised For Charter Reform + Portland Police Found Guilty

Hey, my friends, it's the first Thursday of October. Today brings:

• Betsy Johnson under scrutiny from the Secretary of State
• A history lesson from drunken drag queens
• More people moving out of Portland

Let me elaborate.

But first, today's weather:

It's a mostly sunny day with a high of 84. I guess summer is still here. Sort of.

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Here are the top stories today in Portland:

1. Betsy Johnson is facing some scrutiny from the Oregon Secretary of State's Office. They're investigating 74 signature sheets that the unaffiliated candidate for governor submitted in August to qualify for the ballot. Ben Morris, a spokesman for Secretary of State Shemia Fagan, the state’s top elections officer, says the investigation is preliminary and being conducted by staff in the Elections Division. A spokesperson for Johnson's campaign says the investigation only involves the signature-gathering firm, Initiative & Referendum Campaign Management Services. (Willamette Week)
2. "With Election Day less than a month away, elected officials in Oregon came together during a press conference Tuesday morning to speak about the threats towards election workers and the integrity of the vote-by-mail process. Oregon's Sen. Ron Wyden led the press conference with other politicians about the issue." In addition to assuring election workers that they are protected, he also wanted to assure people that Oregon's vote-by-mail system is secure. (KGW.com)
3. Will voters approve City Charter reform this November? Mingus Mapps, with the support of other elected officials, has pushed his alternative to the current measure. On the other hand, the political campaign promoting the contested ballot measure to change Portland’s form of government continues to draw big bucks from a small cluster of non-profit advocacy groups and wealthy backers. Portland United for Change reported raising nearly $411,000 through Tuesday, records show, almost eight times what opponents to the Nov. 8 proposal have collected thus far. (OregonLive)
4. "Portland city officials have approved Zenith Energy’s plan to phase out crude oil at its terminal and move to renewable fuels in the next five years. The Portland Bureau of Development Services OK’d the company’s land use compatibility statement on Monday and said Zenith’s plans for its terminal now meet the city’s climate action goals. Zenith Energy's oil terminal in Northwest Portland receives crude oil from trains, stores it in tanks and sends it via pipes to outgoing ships. The company plans to upgrade its facility to handle biofuel." (Albany Democrat-Herald)
5. The Portland Police Bureau has been found guilty! "The trial centered on Erin Wenzel, a care coordinator at Oregon Health and Science University who attended a racial justice protest on August 14, 2020. The jury found PPB liable for battery and unreasonable force in an incident that left a Wenzel with a broken arm and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Jurors awarded her just over $40,000." (Portland Mercury)

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Today in Portland:

• Hey, Portland, it's First Thursday! Why am I always quick to point out that it's First Thursday? I consider this to be one of the most quintessential events of the city. It brings out the artistic and the weird. There's art and music, food and drink, the best of what Portland has to offer. And it's free. Make a night of it! 5:00 - 10:00 PM.
• For a drag-filled evening, come to the Alberta Rose Theater for "Drunk Herstory: Queer history as told by Portland's most intoxicated drag performers." Enjoy live sketch comedy about the people, places and events that shaped the LGBTQIA community into what it is today! Doors open at 6:00 PM.
• As part of Produce Row's Bare Bones first Thursday Residency, Jay Si Proof will perform this evening. "Described as 'earth jazz alchemists' by Vortex Magazine, Jay Si Proof's original music plays between rhythmic grooves, personal lyrics, and jazzy harmonies, blending the finesse of a Steely Dan record with the aesthetic of old school funk like The Meters and new school R&B like Erykah Badu." 6:00 - 8:00 PM.
• A genetically engineered rat bent on revenge, you say? That's what you'll hear about if you tune into Powell's Books' online presentation of Shäron Moalem & Daniel Kraus in Conversation with Grady Hendrix. Wrath is the new book by Moalem and Kraus and is "the story of a lab rat instilled with human genes whose supersized intelligence helps him to engineer his escape into the world outside the lab." Yikes! The talk starts at 5:00 PM.
• Come to "Some of my best friends are... pianists" at Vino Veritas Wine Bar and Bottle Shop. Tonight the group is the Brent Follis Trio, featuring Tom Grant, "master instrumentalist, talented singer and natural entertainer [who] nimbly walks the line between jazz tradition and modern pop." Showtime is 7:30 PM.

From my notebook:

• Travel Portland: "Get ready, everyone, to start your pumpkins! The West Coast Giant Pumpkin Regatta is back in Tualatin on Sunday, October 16. All the details in the link in our bio. Don’t miss it! #ThisIsPortland 📷: @adventureadrift #PDX #PDXNOW #Trav..." (Travel Portland via Instagram)
• Portland Art Museum: "CLOSING OCTOBER 30: It’s the last month to visit the AUX/MUTE Gallery (@auxmutegallery)—a yearlong exhibition series that concludes with “Album Intro 07:22.” Featuring the Numberz FM’s (@thenumberzfm) growing art collection including wo..." (Portland Art Museum via Instagram)
• It's no surprise that some people don't love Portland as much as I do. New data shows that more people are moving out of the Rose City than are moving in. The Portland Business Journal, found that the population of the Portland metro area went up by just 0.1% between 2020 and 2021 — much lower than in years past. The journal's analysis of data from the IRS showed that most people who left Multnomah County between 2019 and 2020 went to Clackamas County, then to Washington County, and thirdly, across the Columbia River to Clark County. (KGW)
• Tri-Met is going through some big changes and they want to move forward together. Their Forward Together Draft Service Concept is based on what they have heard from the community in the spring of 2022, to focus on ridership and on improving connections to destinations for people with low and limited incomes. They're hoping to grow their bus service by more than 30% over current levels in the coming years. Here are some of the changes they're planning on making: (Tri-Met)
• Get ready for the Grass Hut Art Market! Put on by Goopygravy, Bwana & friends house of toys and art, it will start on Friday October 28 with a "sorta half catwalk runway show for weirdos, half dance party." Then Saturday from noon - 7 pm will be the Grass Hut Art Market. "Inside Floating World Comics we will have the Martin Ontiveros Mini show, and Deth P Sun mini show, and FWC will have their own Josh Simmons Book release and art show as well." (Goopygravy)
• R.I.P. Loretta Lynn. Country music fans lost a great performer when she died. Lynn was active for over half a century, putting out brilliant, honest music that demanded multiple listens. And in 2004, at what some might call the height of Portland’s Old Portland cool phase, she and Jack White teamed up for a song called “Portland, Oregon.” (The Oregonian)

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That's your Thursday, people! Get out there and make Portland proud. And come on back tomorrow so I can set your Friday right.

— 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