🌱 PPA Endorse Rene Gonzalez + Metro Gets Money For Clean Up

Due to the cyclic nature of time, or, perhaps, our perception of it, we find ourselves at another Wednesday in Portland. Rather than go down the rabbit hole of our space-time reality, I'm going to stick with what I know and just talk about Portland.

First, today's weather:

It's going to be an overcast day, but mostly rain-free and with a high of 56. I'll take it!

Here are the top five stories today in Portland:

1. With the primary election less than one month away, Rene Gonzalez received a big endorsement Monday. The Portland Police Association, the union that represents the city's police officers, threw its support behind his campaign to unseat city Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty. It was not a surprise that the union would not endorse Hardesty given that they've clashed over the past four years as she called for more police oversight. (Portland Patch)
2. The City of Portland is moving swiftly to place a transitional housing village in the Multnomah Village neighborhood, with the plan to open it next month. All Good Northwest, the organization that would manage the outdoor village, says 35 people would be housed in the community. The non-profit would also provide meals, bathrooms, showers, laundry, counseling and help people find permanent housing. The small houses can fit one to two people. (KOIN)
3. "Call it irreconcilable differences." That's the message from Grand Central Bakery on why they will no longer be including avocados on their menu. "We're breaking up with avocados," the company said in a statement. "As a company guided by sustainability and community values, we can't continue to purchase this product." The company's statement cited violence connected to the avocado market in Mexico and the tremendous amount of water needed in growing avocados. (Portland Patch)
4. A new report from the Oregon Health Authority shows that health care costs are the biggest expense for Oregonians. The report found that annual cost of insurance premiums alone average about $20,000 per family, and the average cost of health care is more than $7,600 per person. That’s a more than 30 percent increase in health care costs from 2013 to 2019. For an average person or family, health care makes up over 20 percent of the things they pay for, even more than most pay for housing, utilities and fuel - and double what people pay for food and clothing. (KPTV)
5. Metro will receive an additional $10 million in state funding to pick up dumped trash around the Portland area, a problem that spiraled out of control during the pandemic. The regional government agency oversees most garbage collection in Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington Counties. Most of the money, which was allocated in House Bill 5202, will go to cleanup programs, doubling the number of crews responding to reported dump sites from six to 12. (KGW.com)

Today in Portland:

• Join OMSI After Dark: Party for the Planet to learn about zero waste initiatives, ocean conservation, and how to protect Oregon's forests. There'll be science demonstrations, activities, performances and planetarium shows. Also food and drink vendors! Tickets available online. 6:00 - 10:00 PM.
• It's Drag Trivia - Trivia Night at Donnie Vegas in NE Portland. Have you ever been to a trivia night hosted by drag artists? Yes, it's as dumb as it sounds but it is so funny! All you need to do is bring YOURSELF and up to 5 additional friends to create your team (Yes, you can also be a team of 1). From there Donnie Vegas supplies all the gaming supplies for five rounds of Trivia. Doors open at 7:00 PM.
• Cosmic Monkey Comics is excited to have Patric Reynolds signing copies of Blood-Stained Teeth. CHRISTIAN WARD, the Eisner Award-winning co-creator of ODY-C, Invisible Kingdom, and Machine Gun Wizards, returns to Image with red-hot artist PATRIC REYNOLDS (The Mask) for an all-new ONGOING SERIES-a fast-paced 100 Bullets-style crime saga with fangs!4:00 - 6:00 PM.
• Hawaiian musician Makana will be at the Alberta Rose theater this evening. Makana is a master of the Hawaiian Slack Key guitar. The New York Times calls him “dazzling.” His music has been featured on three Grammy-nominated albums, including the soundtrack of the Academy-Award winning film “The Descendants.” Guitar Player Magazine ranked him as one of the top 3 guitarists in America, and the Hawai’i Academy of Recording Arts recognized him with the Slack Key Legacy Award. Tickets available online. Doors open at 7:00 PM.
• It's a Buck Rodgers Double Feature at the Hollywood Theater and their Re-run Theater Series. Two episodes from each season of the early eighties campy science fiction series “Buck Rogers in the 25th Century.” Frozen for 500 years in a freak space accident, pilot Rogers (Gil Gerard) becomes Earth’s protector against a myriad of interstellar threats. Tickets available online. Showtime is 7:30 PM.

From my notebook:

• Portland Audubon: "THANK YOU for turning your lights off for migrating birds last night (and for sharing this guidance with others)! According to the new resource that BirdCast (Cornell) developed, we actually had an estimated 10 million birds pass throug..." (Instagram)
• Portland Police Bureau: "PPB is looking for volunteer community members to serve on its Bureau-wide Advisory Committee, which advises the Chief’s Office on budget development, community priorities, equity and inclusion initiatives, Bureau projects, and Bureau/Ci..." (Facebook)
• Friends of the Children - Portland: "These kids are here to remind you to register for our Friend Raiser online auction! Learn how to register here: http://ow.ly/G9mi50IRHVm Registering for the online auction will get you ready to bid on amazing auction packages May 3 - 10,..." (Facebook)
• Helium Comedy Club now has a second function: recording studio. Sure, standups have been filming their acts at the inner-eastside venue for years, but this week the company announced it would start recording performers and then releasing that content on a new streaming channel. The new programming applies to all eight Helium locations across the country, so now you can watch top talent from Philadelphia, Indianapolis and St. Louis without ever leaving your living room. (Willamette Week)
• Ballots will soon be circulating for Oregon’s first primary election since state lawmakers redrew congressional boundaries — greatly altering the 5th District and creating a new one. This change in boundaries for the 5th District set the stage for a battle between the major parties in November, as national Republicans eye the rejiggered district in their quest to regain control of the U.S. House. But first, six-term Democratic incumbent Rep. Kurt Schrader faces a primary challenge from the left, and a mutiny among grassroots organizers in his own party. (OPB)
• Have you ever wondered about the big pink SE Portland home that is on the corner of Belmont and 55th? YouTuber Frankie Tresser got the opportunity to go into this iconic building and talk with Patty Merrill, one of the owners of the structure. Patty is a self-made business owner, entrepreneur, and artist, founding Cargo inc. which she currently co-owns. Her business focuses on her travels across the world and the treasures she finds, which she brings back in a shipping container. From her adventures and travels, Patty has gathered some incredible art pieces which she displays in her home. Everywhere you look there is something with a story behind it. (YouTube)

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That's your Wednesday, Portland. At least, that's your Wednesday in this dimension of the multi-verse. Avoid the gravity wells out there people and remember, no matter which dimension we're in, I'll still be 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.