🌱 Out-Of-State Money In Portland Elections + Natural Gas Prices Go Up

Hey, Portland, it's Saturday! Time to sleep in and wear your PJs until noon. Today we've got:

• Homeless campers starting fires
• A celebration of witches
• Falcons controlling crows

Let's get on with our weekend!

But first, today's weather:

Some showers in the morning and cloudy skies in the afternoon with a high of 60.

🏡 Attention, real estate pros in Portland! We're now offering an exclusive sponsorship opportunity for an agent interested in attracting local clients and standing apart from the competition. Click here to learn more.

Here are the top stories today in Portland:

1. Out-of-state money is making a big impact on Oregon elections. Outside groups have poured money into elections for both the 5th and 6th congressional districts, as well as the vote for Portland City Charter reform. "The Congressional Leadership Fund, which is controlled by allies of Republican House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, announced the $800,000 ad buy in the 6th District on Wednesday." Oregon isn't the only state the Republicans are spending money in; they need only five more seats in the U.S. House to take control from the Democrats. (OregonLive)
2. It's that time of year again, when homeless camps start lighting fires to stay warm. And this should concern Portlanders, as, according "to Portland Fire Bureau records, homeless camps are responsible for thousands of fires in the city each year." Could Mayor Ted Wheeler's plan for the homeless help reduce these illegal fires? Some residents hope so. " 'I have been waiting for the mayor, the city to do something like this,' [Lents resident Todd] Littlefield said. 'I’m really hoping that Metro and the county get behind the mayor’s proposal and we can move forward with this.'" (KATU)
3. Private development company Guerrilla Development "is taking an innovative approach to tackling the crisis of housing and homelessness." Every tenant in its complexes is "connected to a case manager and rent is about $400 a month. The rest of the rent is subsidized by JOIN, a local non-profit focused on transitional housing. ... Guerrilla Development is working on more projects like this one, including affordable housing specifically for social workers where rent will be about $1,000 per month. They plan to break ground on a new affordable apartment building for the homeless before the end of the year, and a third next year." (KGW.com)
4. Looks like Rene Gonzalez is off the hook. "An Oregon judge revoked a $77,000 campaign finance fine against Portland City Council candidate Rene Gonzalez on Thursday. The judge stated that Gonzalez did not violate campaign finance rules by renting a deeply discounted campaign office space. ... The Small Donor Elections program said the value of the space the Gonzalez campaign has been renting had been advertised at $26 per square foot, equivalent to $6,900 per month. ... However, the judge said an advertisement for a property doesn't represent fair market value, as it represents the starting point for negotiations, rather than an end." (KGW)
5. If you get your gas from NW Natural, get ready to see your bill go up. "NW Natural said the average residential customer can expect to see about a $14 per month increase on their bill. Rates for the average small-commercial customer will be about $56 more a month. ... The company said despite the increase, its customers will still be paying less than they were 15 years ago. ... NW Natural is a local distribution company that currently provides natural gas service to approximately 2.5 million people in more than 140 communities through more than 790,000 meters in Oregon and Southwest Washington." (KPTV)

Today in Portland:

• Come to a Halloween-themed art picnic at Laurelhurst Park! This will be "an outdoor gallery and sale of local artists. ... There will be paintings, clothing, jewelry, stickers, and more available for purchase from over 5 dozen Portland artists. Some artists will also be creating live during the event or may have interactive art displays. There will also be live music from Eel Sallad." Noon to 5:00 PM.
• The 4th Wall is having an Extreme Halloween/Anniversary Party! "Costume contest, swag & prizes, merchandise. [They've] got it all! Stone Brewing will be there too, handing out beer samples and swag of their own. It’ll be SPOOKTACULAR!" Party time is 6:00 PM.
• It happens every year: It's the 16th Annual Thrill the World event happening near Irving Park! "Portland will again be dancing Thriller as part of a global dance event, and we hope you can come and participate, or watch and cheer on the undead, as we shake off the funk of 40000 years." It happens at 2:00 PM.
• Come celebrate "Witches: the Original Brewers" at Neighbor's Taproom. "A spooky witch-themed tap takeover from the Portland chapter of the Pink Boots Society with a portion of proceeds supporting educational scholarships and advancement opportunities for Portland’s women in beer. Costume prizes, raffles and swag giveaways and featuring special guest beer historian Tiah Edmunson-Morton giving a brief talk on 'Female Brewing and Witchcraft: it’s complicated.'" 4:00 - 8:00 PM.
• Get ready for Killer Pumpkin Fest at Rogue Eastside Pub and Pilot Brewery. There will be "pumpkin beer, costume contests, ax throwing, and of course PUMPKIN SMASHING - and many more fun activities for a full day of spookiness and fun!!" Noon to 11:00 PM.

From my notebook:

• "Portland Audubon and The Center for Biological Diversity filed a formal notice today of their intent to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to better protect the Streaked Horned Lark, a rare bird found in Washington and Oregon..." (Portland Audubon via Instagram)
• "👉 We want to wish YOU a happy birthday, Roy Lichtenstein! Born #OnThisDay in 1923, this artist brought his playful, pop sensibility to prints, paintings, and sculpture. He was inspired by comic books, and imitated the Ben-Day dots of ..." (Portland Art Museum via Instagram)
• I mentioned how the Thrill the World event will recreate Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video, but if you want to see how it's been done in the past, here's a video from Christian Aniciete showing how it was done in 2017. (YouTube)
• Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird. It's a plane. No, no, it is a bird. A hawk, to be honest. And it's being employed to help Portland control its crow population. "This is the sixth year Integrated Avian Solutions has worked with the city of Portland to use birds of prey to move the crows around. The company focuses on a 72-block radius that’s centered around Pioneer Courthouse Square. The falconers work four nights a week from October through April." (KOIN)

More from our sponsors — thanks for supporting local news!

Featured businesses:

• JAK CBD — (Visit website)
• Sunset Heating & Cooling — (Visit Website)
• Add your business here

Have a great weekend, Portland. I'll meet you back next week to talk more about my favorite city.

— 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