🌱 Police Oversight On Hiatus + 5 People Shot In Under 6 Hours

It's Friday once again, but not just any Friday. It's April Fools Day! So be on your guard for any merry pranksters out there. But not me, you know I wouldn't trick you. Not when it comes to Portland. Here's what's going on.

First, today's weather:

It's going to be a partly cloudy day, with rain coming on in the evening and a high temp of 58.

Here are the top five stories today in Portland:

1. Portland’s mayor proposed that the city’s community police oversight committee go on a two-month hiatus to figure out how to fill nearly half of the group’s vacancies and hire more staff to help support the group. The idea comes five years after the predecessor of the Portland Committee on Community-Engaged Policing was disbanded due to lack of training for its members, lack of city support and dwindling membership. (OregonLive)
2. A report released by the Oregon Secretary of State’s Office found gaps in the state’s attempts to counter domestic extremism and suggested five areas where lawmakers should focus to better counter the growing threat. The advisory report, titled “Oregon Can Do More to Mitigate the Alarming Risk of Domestic Terrorism and Violent Extremist Attacks,” says the state should focus on new laws and other fixes to state governance, raising public awareness, addressing threats inside the government, securing vital infrastructure and fully leveraging state grants designed to help prevent and respond to catastrophic events. (OPB)
3. On Wednesday night, Portland City Council voted to extend the citywide housing state of emergency for three more years. In the meeting, Commissioner Dan Ryan explained a change in city code intended to end the emergency has fallen short of expectations. He said his bureau needs more time to arrange additional code changes, but the emergency declaration is necessary for existing projects to continue. The housing state of emergency declaration gives the city flexibility when it comes to zoning. Portland’s zoning code does not allow mass shelters on industrial property, but with the extension the city says it can bypass those zoning laws to build shelters. (KOIN)
4. They don’t directly prevent crime; they’re not even armed, but one city commissioner believes Portland’s park rangers play a big role in public safety. So much so that the Parks Bureau is asking city commissioners for $2.6 million to expand the program and make improvements to city parks. A KATU investigation sheds light on where park rangers have spent most of their time in the last six months, as Portlanders push city leaders for solutions on the city’s public safety, but it's still unclear if the rangers have had a direct role in reducing crime in or around city parks. (KATU)
5. The Portland Police Bureau said five people were injured in three different shootings in just under six hours between Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning. The first shooting happened just after 7 p.m. Tuesday on Southeast Woodstock Street. A man was found shot multiple times and was taken to the hospital. He is expected to recover. The second shooting happened just before 1 a.m. Wednesday on Powell Boulevard at the I-205 exit. A witness said they saw one car shooting at another car while they were both driving. One of those cars was reported stolen. While police were at the hospital investigating, they were flagged down by hospital security and told that two more gunshot victims had just walked in. (KPTV)

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Today in Portland:

• The John Daniel Teply Gallery presents the Festival of Portland’s Migrating Crows at the Tree Farm Building in Southeast Portland. Each year, over 15,000 crows migrate to our amazing city of Portland. This April the John Daniel Teply Gallery presents a festival in which people who have a great fondness for crows can congregate and celebrate. Well-known Portland personality Eleanor O’Brian, Director of Dance Naked Productions, will begin the festivities with a Naked Crow Bike Ride. 6:00 - 9:30 PM.
• It's opening night for the Young Artists Exhibit at AFRU Gallery in SE Portland. Youth from Portland and the Pacific Northwest have been working hard on their own artistic endeavors, as well as collaborations, to bring this exhibit to life. Curated by Rachel Lautaret. AFRU Art Openings are FREE community events. Bring cash though, because when you see what these kids have been working on, you will want to purchase some. Snacks and drinks available. 6:00 - 10:00 PM.
• Purchase a to-go bowl of delicious, donated soup (16 oz.) and a hand-crafted bowl from local artists. 100% of sales support SW HOPE. This event is a part of Neighborhood House's 16th annual SW HOPE food & fund drive, a 6-week campaign that supports our food-insecure neighbors and keeps the Neighborhood House Food Pantry shelves stocked. "Empty bowls" signify the number of food-insecure neighbors in our community. Purchase a ticket and reserve the soup of your choice! Soup and bowls can be picked up at event. First come, first served! 5:00 - 7:00 PM.
• Tonight is The Return of 7 on 7 at The Siren Theater in downtown Portland. Up to 7 comedians get 7 minutes for sets that will inspire improvisers to make their own jokes. Your improv team for this evening is LoveJoy Improv, and your standups are Lucky Mincer, Bryan Bixby, Thomas Lundy, and Drew Wilson-McGrath. Doors open at 7:30 PM.
• You're invited to the Funeral For The Human Race happening at the High Water Mark in NE Portland. Featuring performances by Captured By Robots, Headless Pez, Sidewalk Slam and NÜR. Tickets available online. Showtime is 8:30 PM.

From my notebook:

• Portland Art Museum: "On Monday, artist Lee Kelly passed away at age 89. An artist who helped define Northwest sculpture through his monumental public works, his COR-TEN and hand-polished steel sculptures are focal points in gathering spaces across Seattle, P..." (Instagram)
• The well-loved jewelry retailer, gorjana will open a new store in Portland, Oregon today. The store is located at 818 NW 23rd Street with a size of 1,100 square feet and is amongst several that will open across the country throughout this year. The Laguna Beach-founded jewelry brand continues its growth in the brick-and-mortar game after successful retail launches in numerous cities from the previous year. (Portland Patch)
• Hey, all you Portland bookworms! These 10 must-read books set in Portland include award-winning novels and travel guides by award-winning novelists, beloved children’s series, and post apocalyptic sagas. Travel to the City of Roses with these books that take place in Portland. (Bookglow)
• Why do people decide to move to the Pacific Northwest? According to a new poll from PEMCO Insurance, not only do many Portlanders and Seattleites tolerate the rain, they like it. The report said 43% of those polled said the climate mostly matches their preferences. Only 3% said they are extremely bothered by the rain. 32% said they are not at all bothered. (KATU)
• Could a bullet train be in our future? For more than five years, Washington state, Oregon and British Columbia have collaborated on studies of a possible Cascadia bullet train to run between Portland, Seattle and Vancouver, Canada. This winter, the Washington Legislature approved money for yet more studies. But state lawmakers also set aside a much bigger sum to attract federal support that could advance the bullet train dream toward being shovel-ready. Project supporters envision a train with a top speed of at least 250 mph operating on a dedicated track. That could whisk travelers from Vancouver, B.C., to Seattle in one hour and from Seattle to Portland in another hour, in a climate-friendly manner to boot. (OPB)
• Portland ice cream favorite Salt & Straw will launch their April menu with five new flavors, straight from the minds of kids. Think key lime cheesecake chunks and strawberry ice cream with gummy bears and sprinkles. The flavors come from Salt & Straw's 2022 Student Inventor Series. Out of hundreds of submissions, three kids won a short story contest about the wildest ice cream flavors they could imagine. The hard part was, founder Tyler Malek and his team actually had to make the flavors the kids described in their stories. Developing recipes for one pint of ice cream at first, then scaling up to 4,000 pints per batch. It took months, but now they're here. (KGW)

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There's your Friday, my friends, and Fridays are something I never joke about. But that doesn't mean we're not going to have fun. Enjoy the day, Portland, and meet me back here tomorrow for more tales 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.