🌱 Portland Short Of Air Conditioners + Close Call In Forest Park

Hey, everyone! I'm back and brimming with things to tell you. It's another hot day here in the City of Bridges, so pour yourself an iced tea and I'll get to gabbing.

First, today's weather:

What can I say? It's another sunny day with a high of 97. It's not as hot as yesterday, but it's still mighty warm, so stay cool, Portland.

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Here are the top five stories today in Portland:

1. If you don't have an air conditioner yet, you may have a hard time finding one. As of Monday, pickings are slim in the Portland metro area. A few stores still have some in stock, including a small business in Southeast Portland. Norm Chusid, owner of Ankeny Hardware said they sold around 50 air conditioners on Monday alone and would likely have enough inventory to last until Saturday. He said some customers bought more than one AC unit, including a man who purchased 12 of them after his apartment building lost central air conditioning. (KGW.com)
2. Well, with a week like this, a forest fire is the last thing we need. It was a close call on Sunday, when a discarded cigarette sparked a fire in Forest Park Sunday afternoon. Luckily, someone saw it in time and called 911, summoning Portland Fire & Rescue. “We’re all very lucky that this was in the middle of the afternoon, when someone was walking nearby and called 9-1-1, and not in the middle of the night, when the fire may have spread rapidly,” said PFR in a tweet. (KPTV)
3. It's nice to see Portland doing some things right. In this case, it's getting federal emergency housing vouchers into the hands of people who can help. The largest chunk of those vouchers, 476 of the 1,582 allocated to Oregon, are in the hands of Home Forward and its partner, the Multnomah County Joint Office of Homeless Services. Home Forward’s deputy executive director, Ian Davie says that in addition to the 199 Portlanders who have found homes with the emergency vouchers, Home Forward has issued about 200 more vouchers to individuals who are now in the process of trying to secure a home. (Willamette Week)
4. A retired Portland police officer pleaded guilty to felony assault and official misconduct Monday stemming from an incident that took place during a June 2020 protest. Scott Groshong was working undercover in an unmarked van when he saw people break into a skateboard shop in Northwest Portland. Video shows Groshong driving a van toward a man leaving the store and knocking that man to the ground, injuring him. Groshong failed to report the incident to a supervisor or note the use of force in his report. (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
5. In an earlier newsletter, I had written about the destructive emerald ash borer beetle that had arrived in Oregon. Now, Portland Parks & Recreation is laying out its plan to manage the invasive species. Portland Parks says it’s now keeping inventories of ash trees and other tree species across the city. It’s also removing those trees from the city’s Street Tree Planting list. They are also talking with the Oregon Department of Forestry to help create a response plan. (KPTV)

Today in Portland:

• If you're curious about pesticides and your health, register for this free Zoom event presented by North Coast Communities for Watershed Protection. It's Spray Season discusses chemicals that are used by logging operations that can leach into the air and drinking water. Guest speaker is Deke Gundersen, Ph.D. 6 - 7 p.m.
• If the Netflix series Stranger Things has you longing to hear more Kate Bush, then you're in luck. Holocene in SE Portland presents THUNDER IN OUR HEARTS: A Dance Party Celebrating Kate Bush! Join them for a night on the dancefloor full of Kate Bush songs, edits and remixes, and related artists and styles, all selected in a special guest DJ set from the synth-pop lovelies New Constellations and their fellow DJs. Doors open at 9 p.m.
• The Portland Spelling Bee will be at Mississippi Pizza in North Portland! Join Erin Ergenbright while he hosts these spelling and spelling-adjacent games. If you’d like to compete in the Bee, sign up between 5:30 and 6, and 20 names will be drawn from a hat for a single elimination tournament. They’ll also have rounds of audience participation. The spelling starts at 6 p.m.
• Come celebrate with Poison Waters and Friends at the Alberta Abby! Poison Waters is not just a personality. Poison is an experience!! Whether dressed as Poison Waters or her alter ego Kevin Cook, they are both captivating and one of a kind! There will be an all ages amateur drag talent contest w/ audience choosing the best act to win $100! The fun starts at 6:30 p.m.
• Come to a beach-themed edition of OMSI's After Dark: Surf & Sand! Explore the science of surf, sand, and sunsets, all in one place. Deep dive into all things ocean to understand the fun and mystery that makes up the deep blue. There will even be a special visit from Una the Mermaid. 6 - 10 p.m.

From my notebook:

• Portland Audubon: "We've seen a lot of bird photos, but this is truly a rare capture. Behold, a Brown Creeper at its nest site! Brown Creeper nests are hard to spot. That's because this bird almost always builds its nest in the gap between a tree trunk and..." (Portland Audubon via Instagram)
• Portland Art Museum: "🥵 Escape the heatwave this week and find a new favorite on view! Our air-conditioned galleries are open Wednesday–Sunday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Did you know? ➜ Members enjoy unlimited free visits ➜ Kids 17 and under are always free ➜ Arts for..." (Portland Art Museum via Instagram)
• Portland once again rocks the comic book scene. This time, it's the SE Portland comic book store Books with Pictures taking the prestigious Will Eisner Comic Industry Award, as it was voted the best in the nation. Other Eisner Award winners from Portland are Casey Gilly, Kelly Sue DeConnick, David F. Walker and Douglas Wolk, just to name a few. Congratulations to all of you! (OPB)
• The Lloyd District and Central Eastside are getting a new bicycle and pedestrian bridge to help us get around. The Earl Blumenauer Bicycle and Pedestrian bridge is 475 feet long and will span above seven lanes of I-84 traffic and two railroad lines. The bridge will also have a 10-foot-wide pedestrian path and a 14-foot wide path for two-way bike traffic. The bridge is expected to open on July 31 and there will be an all-day community block party to celebrate the opening of the bridge. This will close down streets north and south of the bridge. (KATU)
• This newsletter is focused on Portland, but what about the suburbs of Portland? What about the neighboring communities that surround our little home? A lot of people want to move to the Portland suburbs. Home prices, walk scores, days on market—all of that is a good indication of what a place is like, but to really get to the heart of the matter, you need a quick vibe check. (Portland Monthly)
• There may be a new food cart pod coming to Portland! Win Win, created by Jasper Shen and Linh Tran of the dumpling- and bun-focused North Williams Avenue eatery XLB, along with poet and visual artist Catie Hannigan, are scheduled to open Lil’ America this fall at 1005 SE Stark St. Win Win is currently accepting applications for operators, whose food concepts would be brought to life with the assistance of the restaurant group. (Willamette Week)

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There's your Wednesday, peeps. Take it easy and stay out of the sun and come on back tomorrow so I can talk more about 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.

Have a news tip or suggestion for an upcoming Portland Daily? Contact me at portland@patch.com