🌱Portland Fire & Rescue Understaffed + Joey Gibson Acquitted

It's a Thursday, Portland, which means we're one day closer to the weekend! But who's counting? Here's what's happening today.

First, today's weather:

It's going to be pretty sunny today, but we will see a few clouds move in, giving us a high of 86.

Here are the top five stories in Portland today:

1. The risk of fire is especially high during the summer season, so it may disturb you to learn that Portland Fire and Rescue is currently understaffed. Isaac McLennan is the President of the Portland Firefighters Association. He said the first goal is to fully staff Station 23 in southeast Portland. That station only has enough firefighters to work an SUV-style fire vehicle, even with a fully equipped fire engine sitting in the garage. McLennan said the staff is overworked and morale is low. But he wants Portlanders to know, that their first responders want to be there and be the ones called upon when help is needed. (Fox 12 Oregon)
2. Everyone knows there's a housing crisis in Portland. Developers say one reason for that is the lengthy and complex system for getting building permits from the city. Currently, the wait time for new construction is nearly 200 days. But a new report from the auditor’s office says the city is making progress. (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
3. Two event promotion companies hosted nine gun shows at the Portland Expo Center in 2019. The following year, neither returned. One promoter had health issues, the other blamed poor attendance. It was an opportunity for Metro, the regional government that owns the Oregon Zoo and two convention centers, to abandon a long-criticized revenue stream that was already drying up. Unfortunately, that's not the direction they went. (Willamette Week)
4. Vapers beware! Vaping cannabinoid acetates forms a deadly gas that could cause lung injury, a Portland State University chemistry professor’s research shows. In a new study, Professor Robert Stongin and doctoral student Kaelas Munger found that the toxic gas known as ketene is released when cannabinoid acetates are heated under vaping conditions. (KOIN)
5. Patriot Prayer leader Joey Gibson has been acquitted on a charge of riot related to an incident in Northeast Portland on May Day of 2019, just a day after his trial on the charge got underway. Judge Benjamin Souede said the decision was made because there was not sufficient evidence in the case for jurors to find that Gibson and Schultz participated in the act of “riot” as defined by the state. (KATU)

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Today in Portland:

• Come to the drag show at the Triple Nickle in SE Portland. Who doesn't LOVE a good neighborhood bar drag show. It's a good f-ing time. That's right, a brand new drag show JUST FOR YOU. GOOD VIBES ONLY. Bring your friends. Laugh at some of the funniest hosts around with the classic duo of Autumn Rainz Hart and Coco Jem Holiday. 7 - 10 p.m.
• It's the Hello, Sucker Comedy Show! Join stand-up comedians Joyce Nance and Todd Basil at Cascade Brewing Barrel House for a chance to meet people, eat and drink, and enjoy a great comedy show featuring local Portland comics, POC, Queer, and Women comics. 6:30 - 9 p.m.
• The lecture Beyond the Black Pioneer—Oregon in the Context of National Black History will be presented at Pittock Mansion. Dr. Darrell Millner is professor emeritus of Black Studies at Portland State University and an expert on the history of African Americans in the western movement with a special focus on the Oregon and California trail experiences. Dr. Millner’s talk breaks down the borders of what an examination of Oregon Black history can teach us about race relations today. Doors open at 5:30 p.m.
• Funkanalia will be playing at the Laurelhurst Pub. They'll be gettin' them booty'z movin' with some tasty @$$ grooves ranging from the soulful struts of the 1960s, the 80s Minneapolis sound, all the way up to newer West Coast trunk bumpers. 9 - 11 p.m.
• It's Karaoke From Hell tonight at the Spare Room in NE Portland. Sing karaoke with a live band! Showtime is 9 p.m.

From my notebook:

• Portland Audubon: "Join us next week for our annual Marbled Murrelet community science survey on a spectacular stretch of Oregon’s central coast! It's an evening of learning about the natural history of this remarkable bird." (Portland Audubon via Instagram)
• Portland Art Museum: "Rest in peace, Claes Oldenburg. Claes Oldenburg (American, born Sweden, 1929–2022), “Alphabet in the Form of a Good Humor Bar,” 1970. Color lithograph; 21 ½ × 10 1/2 in. Gift of Mr. Ronald Shindler and Mr. Lowell Shindler, 81.107.2 © Cl..." (Portland Art Museum via Instagram)
• Certain parts of the charter reform measure that should be on the ballot in November are proving more contentious than many would have guessed. One of those things is ranked choice voting. Ranked choice voting is an alternative way for citizens to vote for who they’d like to represent them in office. Ranked choice voting allows voters to rank their preferences, instead of only choosing one representative. The fine folks at KOIN 6 News explain it all here in this informative piece. (KOIN)
• Watch this backpacking beer adventure where they visit 28 breweries in ONE DAY! After hitchhiking to Portland, Kenny Flannery met up with fellow beer-nerd and Portland legend, John Lovegrove. John had previously visited 77 breweries in a single day, and again went to 61 in a day along with Kenny. WARNING: there's some salty language in this one. (YouTube)
• Get ready, Portland! The World Naked Bike Ride is fast approaching! The World Naked Bike Ride is an annual, worldwide bike ride that highlights the vulnerability of cyclists everywhere and decries society’s dependence on pollution-based transport. It’s also a lot of fun and it’s free for all! This year, it's on July 30 and is starting at Peninsula Park. (PDXWNBR)
• One of the oldest continually operating movie theaters on the West Coast, Portland’s single-screen Clinton Street Theater has been chugging along for more than 100 years and showing "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" every Saturday since 1978. This theater is truly one of Portland's crown jewels! (PDX Monthly)

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Hopefully, that's enough of a Thursday to tide you over until tomorrow. Then I'll be back to present you with a whole new day of Portland fun. Ta ta for now!

— 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