🌱 Permanent Mask Mandate + Emergency Rooms Full

Happy Friday, people of Portland! Before I continue, I wanted to apologize for my misleading headline yesterday. The Portland Daily teased a news item about Free COVID Test Kits in Thursday's headline. Unfortunately, actual news about those test kits did not make it into the newsletter. Anyone in Portland can sign up at covidtests.gov to get their free test kits. Stay safe out there everyone. Now let's talk about today.

First, today's weather:

Mostly cloudy in the morning, clearing slightly in the afternoon, with a high of 47.

Here are the top five stories today in Portland:

1. Don’t get rid of those masks just yet as the Oregon Health Authority is proposing a permanent mandate. Despite the name, health officials would be able to cancel the mandate when they feel it’s no longer necessary. There would be no set expiration date. On Monday, they will hold two more public hearings. The first will be on a masking requirement in schools and COVID-19 vaccination requirements for teachers and school staff. The second will be on masking and vaccination requirements in health care settings. (KOIN)
2. The Portland Police Bureau’s Focused Intervention Team (FIT) is now out on the streets. But the team wouldn’t be possible without the community’s input. Kimberley Dixon is the vice chair of the Community Oversight Group. She said it’s an opportunity that couldn’t come at a more critical time. “It’s a tsunami of violence we’re experiencing, and we have to be able to intersect, we have to be able to respond,” said Dixon. (KATU)
3. Emergency rooms are feeling the impact of the Omicron surge and many are overwhelmed with patients. “Typically, we had an average of about 91 patients coming in per day now we’re seeing up about 160,” Laura Chess, MD/MPH Medical Director of OHSU’s ER Dept. and critical care physician, said. “With only a 31 bed ER you can imagine that’s a lot of patients.” (KPTV)
4. The Oregon Department of Transportation must redo the environmental assessment of its planned expansion and capping of Interstate 5 through the Rose Quarter stretch, a task that could tack on an additional five to six months to the project’s timeline. The Federal Highway Administration told ODOT this week it is rescinding approval of the environmental assessment it gave in 2020 to a previous iteration of the project which found there was no significant impact to the local area. (OPB)
5. A Portland Public Schools (PPS) board committee on Wednesday voted against using the former Whitaker Middle School campus in Northeast Portland as a site for a city-sanctioned homeless village. Commissioner Dan Ryan, who is leading the city's Safe Rest Village program, released a statement that said, in part, "Although today’s vote is unfortunate in terms of the Safe Rest Villages program, it is understandable. The City is passionate about building partnerships with organizations and entities that are ‘all in’ to deliver concrete action for." (KGW)

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Today in Portland:

• We could all use a laugh these days, so check out Comedy in the Time of COVID taking place at The Headwaters Theater in NE Portland. Rodrigo Baena and Stefano Iaboni debut their first show together, finding laughter in times of COVID, sharing cultural differences, improvisation skills, at this all-ages comedy show. Tickets available online. Showtime is 7:00 PM.
• Clinton Cult Classics presents Border Radio screening at the Clinton Street Theater in SE Portland. A low-key, semi-improvised postpunk diary that took four years to complete, Border Radio features legendary rocker Chris D., of the Flesh Eaters, as a singer/songwriter who has stolen loot from a club and gone missing, leaving his wife, a no-nonsense rock journalist, to track him down with the help of his friends. Get your tickets online. Showtime is 10:00 PM.
• Portland's own Mike Danner Trio will be performing at Studio One Theaters in SE Portland. Whether playing the piano, accordion or organ, Danner will bring a night of memorable music. And it's free! 6:30 - 9:30 PM.
• Wallace will be playing at the Alberta Street Pub in NE Portland. Portland natives Wallace are a bluesy rock 6-piece that are sure to get you moving with their soul-tinged jams and pop-influenced lyricism. Tickets available online. 6:00 - 8:00 PM.
• For an interesting take on the heavy metal genre, check out Metalachi with El Gordo performing at Dante's in downtown Portland. What began as an innocent night of snorting horse tranquilizers in a hotel room with seven members of the village jai alai team went on to produce the greatest metal band to ever live. Doors open at 8:00 PM.

From my notebook:

• Portland Trail Blazers: "A defensive highlight leads to an offensive highlight:" (Instagram)
• Portland Parks & Recreation: "Completion of Better Naito Forever means the return of Portland Parks & Recreation’s world-famous Mill Ends Park! News from Portland Parks & Recreation and Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT): portland.gov/parks/news/2022/1/19/compl..." (Facebook)
• Portland Art Museum: "Thanks to The Oregonian for featuring Jason Hill's work in the Aux/Mute Gallery and also Ka’ila Farrell-Smith!" (Facebook)
• If you've been keeping up with the local news, you know that Portland's city charter is currently under review. The Charter Commission's decisions may completely change our city's government. They've just released a survey they want community members to take, so they can get additional input. You can take the survey here.
• Do you like soup? How about Latin American soups? Portland's Mercado is having a festival of soups this weekend. They've got some pretty tasty options there, so you might want to give them a look. (Portland Mercado)
• When it comes to representing Portland, Portlandia did a pretty good job during its 8 season run. Now here it is again to remind us how Portland used to be. (YouTube)

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Thank God it's Friday! Am I right? Enjoy your day and meet me back here tomorrow for another slice 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.