🌱PGE Scams + 1000-Person Homeless Camps +Hair Of The Dog Leaving

Wow, Superbowl Sunday and Valentine's Day! We've been busy Portland. But now it's a whole new week, so let me catch you up before the real fun starts.

First, today's weather:

Cooler weather returns, as we get a grey, cloudy day with a high of 47.

Here are the five top stories today in Portland:

1. In a pandemic filled with stops and starts, it feels like people are moving again, yet rideshare giants Uber and Lyft are struggling to bring drivers back. The driver shortage in Portland can mean longer wait times for riders. Today, there are roughly 6,500 Uber, Lyft and taxi drivers registered with the city of Portland, compared to 17,000 three years ago. (KEZI TV)
2. Portlanders beware! Scammers are targeting Portland General Electric customers. One woman who got a scammer's call said it sounded legitimate, and there was even an automated message saying, “dial 1 to make a payment or 2 to speak to a customer service representative.” But the woman says the so-called PGE employee couldn’t look up their customer information and hung up on her shortly after. (KATU)
3. Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler's office sent a memo to other local and state government officials last week outlining a plan to create up to three 1,000-person homeless shelters to end unsanctioned camping in the city. The tone of the memo suggests a preliminary proposal rather than a fully-baked plan, with former Portland mayor and current Wheeler advisor Sam Adams writing near the top that his intent is to "offer some ideas and contextual observations on which they are derived." A Metro spokesperson told KGW that the memo "appeared to be a discussion draft," so the agency did not take any action on the proposal. (KGW)
4. It’s no secret: Roads in the Portland metro region are clogged and the infrastructure needs to be upgraded. So ODOT’s Urban Mobility Strategy is working on all the projects in a cohesive and equitable way. Officials with ODOT said relieving the traffic bottleneck and funding these improvements on I-205, in the Rose Quarter, Abernethy Bridge and others are their top priorities — but they’re also committed to equity. (KOIN)
5. Time to say goodbye to a fixture of the Portland beer scene. Hair of the Dog Brewery, a craft beer pioneer that introduced big, bold, beers and barrel-aging before Portland beer drinkers even knew they wanted them, will close along with its industrial eastside taproom, founder Alan Sprints announced Monday. In a video released on Hair of the Dog’s Facebook group page, Sprints said he is retiring after opening the brewery in 1993. (The Oregonian)

Today in Portland:

• Popular podcast The Moth will be presenting a Live Storytelling Event at Holocene in SE Portland. Tonight's theme is BELONGING. Prepare a five-minute story about fitting in or standing out. The ugly duckling amongst the swans or the new kid in school. Assimilation and alienation. Feeling right at home or trying to find it. Regale us with tales of what you belong to and what belongs to you. Tickets are ONLY available online. Doors open at 7:00 PM.
• Join Greg Baker and virtually bird Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge for a quiz-based class designed for participation. Baker will focus on identifying birds by overall impression. Whether you are a novice or have been birding for years, this class will help you sharpen your skills at finding and identifying winter birds on Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge, South Unit. Tickets available online. 6:00 - 7:00 PM.
• Powell's Books Presents Dana Schwartz in Conversation With Victoria Aveyard. This is an online event. Dana Schwartz’s Anatomy: A Love Story (Wednesday Books) promises a journey full of gothic romance and mystery as Hazel and Jack work together to uncover the secrets buried not just in unmarked graves, but in the very heart of Edinburgh society. Schwartz will be joined in conversation by Victoria Aveyard, author the Red Queen series. Register online. The talk begins at 5:00 PM.
• For a lunchtime talk about Black Women in Tech, register with PDX Women in Tech for an online discussion with Dr. Amber Lenon, Astrophysicist and Data Analyst at iRobot, as well as Tanisha Payne, Software Engineer at Puppet. In keeping with the theme of community, this month they’ll have more space for community networking — but you don’t have to wait until then to meet someone new! Connect with folks in the chat throughout the event as well. Register online. 12:00 - 1:00 PM.
• OMSI is doing a little something different tonight at McMenamins Kennedy School. Panda Speed Dating: Everybody Loves a Winner with Meghan S. Martin, Director at PDXWildlife. Meghan will share trials, tribulations, and results from her efforts over the last twelve years researching the effect of mate preference and male-male competition on reproductive success of endangered giant pandas in the heart of Sichuan, China. She will present the speed-dating protocol for breeding managers and how to determine “winners” versus “losers.” Get your tickets online. Doors open at 6:00 PM.

From my notebook:

• Portland Trail Blazers: "Last home game before the break was fun ‼️" (Instagram)
• Perhaps you watch the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel or the Gilded Age or binge Mad Men and sigh over the costumes of a bygone era? The petticoats, the sweetheart necklines, the fascinators, silk linings, smart housecoats, and kitten heels? You can’t touch through the screen, but in Portland, you can go moon up close and personal at the under-the-radar collection of Elizabeth “Betsy” Warren, a scion of one of the city’s most prominent families and an obsessive curator of vintage fashion from the 1890s–1980s, housed in a stately Colonial Revival manse at the corner of NW 18th and Johnson Street. (Portland Monthly)
• This past weekend included Super Bowl Sunday. The Oregon Zoo wants to remind you that it was also Superb Owl Sunday. (Twitter)
• Relive a little bit of Portland in the 80s with this throwback commercial for the Lloyd Center. The commercial originally aired in August 1985. It was run during a broadcast of "The Three Stooges" on KATU Channel 2. Ah, the memories! (YouTube)
• How do you feel about Skittles? You may love them, you may hate them. But you’re probably not neutral. We have some very strong feelings about snacks. And it’s those powerful snack-linked emotions that Portland felt artist LeBrie Rich taps into in her work. Rich creates life-sized felt sculptures replicating some of this nation’s most iconic brands. Her work has been featured at galleries and museums throughout the country. (OPB)

Loving the Portland Daily? Here are all the ways you can get more involved:

• Send a friend or neighbor this link so they can subscribe
• Get your local business listed in front of readers
• Send me a news tip or suggestion at portland@patch.com

There's your day, my friends. Make the best of it and meet me back here tomorrow for 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.