🌱 Mount Scott Park Gun Violence + Portland Expo Homeless Camp

Another Friday in Portland, my friends! We don't have the nice weather we had yesterday, but that's fine. It's still a Friday. Let me tell you about today.

First, today's weather:

We've got rain on and off throughout the day with a high of 56.

Here are the top five stories in Portland today:

1. While we don't yet know what floats will be seen at this year's Spirit Mountain Casino Ground Floral Parade, we do know where the floats will be seen. And where they won't. The Rose Festival says that there will be changes to two of the three parades that are associated with the festival – The Grand Floral and The CareOregon Starlight Parade. Rose Festival spokesman said that the Grand Floral, the festival's centerpiece, will be entirely on the East Side this year. It will mark the first time that it won't be downtown since 1948 when the Vanport Flood forced the festival to move the parade. (Portland Patch)
2. Despite signs of progress, the concerns are the same for many people in and around Mount Scott Park in southeast Portland, as gun violence continues to frustrate residents and business owners. It’s been just over a month since several Portland city leaders highlighted a reduction in gun violence around the park, but another shooting last week has some neighbors worried it’s coming back. The Mount Scott-Arleta neighborhood has gotten a lot of attention from city hall, after the area saw a spike in gun violence last summer. However, the gun violence slowed down in the late fall and early winter, coinciding with a three-month pilot project in the neighborhood. (KATU)
3. Portland’s $258 million housing bond, which voters approved in 2016, promised city residents struggling to find affordable housing a glimmer of hope: 1,300 cost-friendly apartments by 2023. In the more than five years since its approval, however, only 314 apartments in two buildings have welcomed renters in. But nearly 1,200 more are on track to become home this year or next to people teetering on the financial edge, officials told the City Council on Wednesday. (OregonLive)
4. Tom Rinehart told staff his last day would be in early May. Portland’s chief administrative officer will receive one year’s salary in exchange for his resignation. Over his five years at the city, Tom Rinehart led the Office of Management and Finance and helped start the city’s Community Safety Division, which is intended to bring together the city’s four public safety bureaus. In a city rife with political bickering and siloed departments, Rinehart had a reputation among some city staffers for offering an apolitical hand steadying the city through financial and administrative bumps. It’s not immediately clear why Rinehart, a top aide to Mayor Ted Wheeler during his stints in county, state and now city government, is departing. (OPB)
5. Elected officials from Metro and the city of Portland are convening an emergency meeting April 18 to discuss using a portion of the Expo Center parking lot as a sanctioned car camping site for people living in their vehicles. It’s the revival of a yearlong conversation that disintegrated last fall after the two governments could not agree on which part of the property to use. Metro President Lynn Peterson told WW in a Wednesday interview that she and City Commissioners Jo Ann Hardesty and Dan Ryan will jointly ask the seven-member Metro Exposition Recreation Commission, which oversees the Expo Center’s operations, to allow negotiations to begin for use of a portion of the Expo parking lot. (Which lot or lots are on the table is not yet clear.) (Willamette Week)

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Today in Portland:

• Want to end the week with a sunset hike? Step into a lush green forest covered in Spring's wildflowers and wildlife. Discover anything from owls, woodpeckers, squirrels, various mushrooms, insects, and the season's most beautiful blooms. Located about 15 minutes from downtown Portland, Tryon Creek is Oregon's only state park within a major metropolitan area! Come explore the 658 acres of second-growth forests, the winding Tryon Creek, and connect other outdoor enthusiasts with Vive NW. 4:00 - 7:00PM.
• Powell's Books presents J. Kenji López-Alt in Conversation with Bill Oakley. J. Kenji López-Alt is releasing his latest cookbook, The Wok. López-Alt an will be joined in conversation by Bill Oakley, former head writer and showrunner for The Simpsons— also known as “The Gordon Ramsay of Fast Food.” In addition to enjoying the presentation, ticket buyers will receive a hardcover copy of J. Kenji López-Alt’s book, The Wok. This is taking place at Everett West in NW Portland. 6:00 - 8:00PM.
• Come see SCIENCE ON TAP – DIFFERENT: GENDER THROUGH THE EYES OF A PRIMATOLOGIST at the Alberta Rose Theater. How different are men and women? Are differences due to biological sex or to culture? World-renowned primatologist Frans de Waal draws on decades of observation and studies of both human and animal behavior to argue that despite the linkage between gender and biological sex, biology does not automatically support the traditional gender roles that exist in human societies. Tickets available online. Doors open at 6:00PM.
• There will be an art opening tonight at EARTH Space PDX in SE Portland. Shaina Morales is an East Coast multi media artist creating artworks using found imagery, acrylic painting and hand cut paper. With a great interest in self search, all works collage and photo work alike, reference nostalgic memory. Gongfu tea lounge by Russell Bohr. Readings by Tula Fae. 6:00 - 10:00 PM.
• The Boondock Boys will be performing at the Ponderosa Lounge and Grill in North Portland. They are a mix of mostly classic/southern rock, and country. They have a setlist full of classic rock and country hits that will keep the crowd entertained. They have original music too, but they make sure to spread it out throughout the sets to give a good mix of covers and originals. Get your tickets online. Showtime is 9:00 PM.

From my notebook:

• Portland Art Museum: "😌 Slow down, look closer, and de-stress from a long week with an evening visit to the Museum. Friday hours are extended until 8 p.m. through June 3. Plan your visit by tapping the link in bio. ➝ 📸 @s.sioux [ID: Hispanic woman views..." (Instagram)
• Portland Audubon: "At first glance and from afar these birds can look like a nondescript dark brownish red, but when the sunlight hits their plumage just right, suddenly an abundance of rich colors become apparent. What species is this? 📷: @tinyseedphot..." (Instagram)
• Kevin Long and Sarah Smith just spent the last 6 months traveling around the United States camping in a camper van they've dubbed the "Dyrt-mobile." "We really wanted to go out and take the opportunity to meet people again and talk to users," Smith said. Some of those they talked to were among the more than 30 million people to visit their site or use their app, The Dyrt, over the last year. The founders of the app took a survey of campers they talked with. They published their findings in their 2022 Camping Report. The survey found over 66 million people went camping in the United States last year, with more than 8 million of those having camped for the first time. (KGW)
• Considering how few Jewish delis and markets exist here, stocking up on Passover staples can be tricky in Portland — especially for those who don’t want to make their own matzo ball soup or gefilte fish. Nevertheless, a handful of restaurants, markets, and temples do serve a variety of specials for Seder dinner — below, find brisket, matzo ball soup, vegan Seder plates, and tsimmes. 2022 looks similar to the last few years, with the majority of meals being prepared for takeout and delivery, rather than seated dinners. (Eater PDX)
• Oregonians can now dial a hotline featuring local poets during National Poetry Month. Throughout the month of April, people can call a number and hear poems from various Oregon Poet Laureates, such as Elizabeth Woody and Kim Stafford. Anis Mojgani, Oregon’s current poet laureate, came up with the idea of the hotline during the pandemic after spotting a telephone booth in Southeast Portland. (KOIN)
• A local nonprofit is making sure that elderly homeowners can age in peace without worrying about yard work or upkeep they can no longer physically do. On the day KOIN 6 News watched the H.O.P.E. organization in action, they were cleaning up junk and debris from an elderly homeowner’s yard in Southeast Portland, with assistance from Central Catholic High School students. Hen Truong started H.O.P.E. back in 2018. It stands for “Honoring Our Precious Elders,” which is a message Hen’s dad instilled in him and his brother growing up. (KOIN)

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There's the start of your weekend. Have fun, Portland. If you liked my daily report, you know where to find me tomorrow, as I tell you more news of 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.