🌱 Prepare For Power Outages + Portland Graffiti Skyrockets

Has everybody been waiting for the weekend? Well, it's here and what a weekend it is! We've got power shut offs happening around town, a secret garden on Sauve Island and more festivals than you could possibly attend. Let's crack this sucker open!

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First, today's weather:

Wow, it's going to be a hot one! The summer is not letting us forget it's still here, as we'll have nothing but sun and a high of 96.

Here are the top five stories in Portland today:

1. Pacific Power and Portland General Electric have been shutting off power for thousands of customers this weekend during critical wildfire weather conditions. If your house is at risk for power shut offs, how can you prepare? Portland General Electric suggests people create a summer outage kit and make sure everyone in the household knows where to find it. The Red Cross also has information online about how people can prepare for a power outage. (KOIN)
2. Police are asking for help identifying four people who attacked and stabbed a man on Aug. 30, according to the Portland Police Bureau. At about 3:15 a.m., police responded to the 5400 block of Northeast 57th Avenue. They found a man bleeding from multiple stab wounds in his leg and torso. Officers used a tourniquet on the victim’s leg and applied “chest seals” to his kidney area and upper back before medical responders took the victim to a local hospital. After watching security footage of the event, police determined that the victim was attacked by four men. (Fox 12 Oregon)
3. Portland has graffiti. Of course it does, all cities have graffiti. But Portland's graffiti problem seems to have skyrocketed since 2020's civil unrest. Analysis of a city database shows the number of graffiti reports this year has already eclipsed last year’s total and is more than five times 2020′s number. Government agencies have redoubled efforts to address the problem. The city allocated $3.4 million for graffiti cleanup in this year’s budget. (Willamette Week)
4. Portland Freedom Fund began several years ago, but it gained real momentum in the wake of the 2020 racial justice protests. Organizers focused on helping low-income, BIPOC defendants post bail. They also want to bring attention to the racial inequities embedded in the cash bail system more broadly. The group came under fire recently after a defendant who they’d helped was charged in the murder of the mother of his children after being released. OPB spoke to Terrence Hayes, one of the board members of PFF, about the group and its mission. (OPB)
5. Portland has a stolen cars problem. For those who have lived in the area for a while, that fact comes as no surprise. From January to July 2020, some 3,300 cars were reported stolen to the Portland Police Bureau (PPB). Two years later, over that same seven-month period, that statistic spiked to 6,312 stolen cars. A growing movement on social media aims to address that issue, with crowdsourcing members cross-referencing vehicle descriptions and vehicle identification numbers (VINs) with what they've seen and heard to help reunite owners with their stolen cars in the Facebook group called "PDX Stolen Cars." (KGW.com)

Today in Portland:

• It's not really fall yet, but why let that stop the fun? It's the Oh My Gourd Fall Festival at the Sellwood Community House! Food. GOATS and music. This event is free to attend! There will be some no-cost activities such as story-time, crafts, photos and a scavenger hunt! 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• The Belmont Street Fair is happening today. There will be live music, vendors with delicious food and drink and all the people watching you could want. Check it out! 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Wow, how many festivals are going on today? The Portland Dragonboat Festival is happening at Tom McCall Waterfront Park. With dragonboat races organized by the Portland-Kaohsiung Sister City Association (PKSCA). Fun! The excitement starts at 8 a.m.
• Come to the Portland Mercado for the 5th Annual Brazilian Festival! Celebrating the Brazilian culture, it is bringing the community together, sharing music, food, art, dance and much more! noon - 5 p.m.
• Can we possibly fit any more festivals into today. Well, this is Portland, so yes, yes we can. It's the Portland Mid-Autumn Moon Festival at CORE - Collective Oregon Eateries on 82nd Avenue. Also known as the Moon Festival or Mooncake Festival, this is a traditional event celebrated in many SE Asian cultures. This event is free to attend — with food, drinks, giveaways and more. 5 - 10 p.m.

From my notebook:

• Travel Portland: "There is a secret garden on Sauvie Island waiting for you. The @LoveOregonProject is hosting a "magically curated celebration of Oregon" on September 17. The menu will be absolutely awesome and the event is focused on what unites us." (Travel Portland via Instagram)
• A Portland journalist has a new podcast that brings a deep analysis to past events. “I would describe "You’re Wrong About" as a show that tries to be the audio equivalent of those feverish nights you might spend on Wikipedia,” Sarah Marshall told the Mercury. “When we started doing the show, one of the things we set out to do was to figure out why we as people misremember history and with so much information available to us.” (Portland Mercury)
• Hey, Portland, superheroes are coming to town! Well, yes, Rose City Comic Con is in town, but that's not what I'm talking about. Marvel, Universe of Super Heroes is a new exhibit coming to OMSI next month. Marvel: Universe of Super Heroes features hundreds of artifacts including original comic book pages, interactive displays, life-size statues of your favorite super heroes and costumes and props from Marvel films and television programs, many of which have never been on public display outside this exhibition. (OMSI)
• Fall is coming and that means pumpkins! Pumpkin spice, pumpkin pies, pumpkin patches; all things celebrating this versatile gourd. Writer Cami Hughes has compiled this list of 11 Portland-area pumpkin patches you should check out this season. (Portland Monthly)
• Why should pumpkins have all the fun? Sunday is Tomato Fest '22 at Wellspent Market! The market is teaming up with friends at the Culinary Breeding Network to host the Oregon State University Vegetable Program, the Dry Farming Institute, Wild Roots Farm and Gathering Together Farm for an afternoon of tomato tasting, education and more. Plus, there will be sweet and savory tomato-based treats from Portland’s beloved Lauretta Jean’s bakery and the return of last summer’s smash hit, the Wellspent BLT! (Wellspent Market)
• The second annual PDX Deaf Film Festival and the first annual PDX Deaf Art Fair is happening this weekend at the Holiday Inn - Portland Airport. Both events are free to the public. Parking is also free. The event is an ASL environment. (Facebook)

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I'm so torn. There's so much going on, but it's so freakin' hot! Well, I think I'll manage. Fun trumps heat every time. And I'm sure you'll have a fun weekend, too. After that fun, catch me next week, because I just can't shut up 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