🌱 Re-Examining Downtown Clean & Safe+Psylocybin Investors

Happy Thursday, Portland! But more importantly, Happy St. Patrick's Day! I'd say kiss me, I'm Irish, but I'm only half Irish, so maybe a hug will do. Before we get on with the festivities, let me tell you what's going on today.

First, today's weather:

A gray and cloudy day, with a few showers coming in the afternoon and a high of 52.

Here are the top five stories today in Portland:

1. The city auditor’s race is perhaps less glamorous than those for Portland City Council, but the auditor plays a critical role in watchdogging the city’s ethical and financial responsibilities. The current auditor, Mary Hull Caballero, is not running for reelection. That leaves two candidates vying to fill her seat: Simone Rede, principal management auditor at Metro, and Brian Setzler, a Portland CPA. WW wanted to gauge how the next city auditor would respond to the transition process from Independent Police Review to the new community police oversight board, as well as whether their stance today has changed from how they voted on the measure more than 14 months ago. (Willamette Week)
2. Portland leaders say they will slowly phase out a controversial arrangement between the police bureau and Downtown Clean & Safe, a nonprofit that provides extra cleaning and security services in the city center. Since 1997, the nonprofit has hired Portland police to patrol the enhanced services district downtown, one of three zones in the city in which property owners pay a fee to get better services than what the city supplies. With a separate agreement between Downtown Clean & Safe and the police bureau expiring at the end of June, city leaders have been quietly re-examining the relationship. (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
3. The Portland Housing Bureau, in partnership with the Oregon Law Center and Portland Community College’s Clear Clinic, is offering free legal support for low-income tenants facing eviction. Tenants can seek legal services as soon as they receive a notice of termination and do not need to wait until an eviction case is filed. Oregon Housing and Community Services will begin processing 2022 applications as early as this week, the state said in a press release. (KGW)
4. Hundreds of nurses are currently gathered at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center to draw attention to the nurse staffing crisis taking place at the hospital. The nurses, represented by the Oregon Nurses Association (ONA), are joined by elected leaders, worker advocates and community allies. The nurses say the gathering is about Providence getting more staff and better health care, and that the raise they were offered isn’t going to cut it. (KOIN)
5. Last week, the state’s top psilocybin adviser, Tom Eckert, resigned from his role as chair of the Oregon Psilocybin Advisory Board amid scrutiny by WW and other news media of possible personal and professional conflicts of interest. His departure was a reminder that psilocybin legalization in Oregon isn’t just the new frontier for consciousness expansion: It’s potentially a $1 billion industry that could be a windfall to those who run it. In recent months, these Silicon Valley investors have turned their eyes to California’s northern border—and Oregon’s nascent psilocybin market. (Willamette Week)

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Today in Portland:

• One of Nashville's finest men's vocal bands, New Legacy Project (formerly known as Blackwood Legacy) will be live and in-person at the Woodstock Bible Church in SE Portland. Known for its impeccable harmonies, home-spun humor, dynamic stage presence and love of God, this is an event you don't want to miss. Non-denominational and open to the public. Admission is free to this non-ticketed concert, so come early for best seating. 7:00 - 8:30 PM.
• It's St. Patrick Swayze Day at The Pharmacy in NW Portland! While everyone else is playing bagpipes and pouring weird green drinks and beer, they will be playing Patrick Swayze movies all day and night long! 2:00 - 11:55 PM.
• Join Paddy’s for Portland’s best St Patrick’s Day Celebration. They'll have a huge outdoor tent and more Irish activities than you can shake a shillelagh stick at. Plus, there’s a raffle where you could win a trip to Ireland! 2022 marks the 13th year partnering with The Children’s Cancer Association. A portion of net proceeds for the St Patrick’s event will be donated directly to Children’s Cancer Association. 11:00 AM to midnight.
• Not in the mood for St. Patrick's Day activities? Check out Life During Wartime at the Goodfoot in SE Portland. LDW is The West's finest Talking Heads tribute band! Armed with one of music's most iconic song books and brimming with tight musicianship and the David Byrne-esque presence of front man, Lawrence Orleck, LDW delivers two sets of choice tunes for your dancing pleasure. Tickets available online. The show starts at 8:00 PM.
• There's even more dancing at NE Portland spot Turn! Turn! Turn!. With headliners RAD MAX, a rad wave dance rock band from Portland and local bands Karen Casket and Arms For Legs you'll have all night to boogie. Vax card and masks required. Doors open at 7:30 PM.

From my notebook:

• Some Portlanders love biking so much that they created an event dedicated to celebrating the sport no matter the weather. The 18th annual “Worst Day of the Year Ride” will take place this weekend, starting at the Lucky Labrador Brew Pub in Southeast Portland. According to the event’s website, riders have a choice of joining a 15-mile urban course or a 42-mile hill climb challenge. (KOIN)
• Under Cultivate's Beautification Program, current and former houseless workers are paid a living wage to clean up dumped trash in East County. Participants say the county-funded program, which draws from the Metro Supportive Housing Services Measure, is changing lives. (YouTube)
• I've told you about the St. Patrick's Day celebration going on at Paddy's Pub, but the largest St. Patrick's Day festival in the entire state of Oregon is happening at Kells Irish Pub. On this segment of KOIN 6 News Kohr Explores, he visits Kells to get an idea of what these festivities are. (YouTube)
• And speaking of celebrations, the Rose Festival will be coming up in May! Nothing says "Let's get this party started!" quite like carnival rides, live music, food, drink and fireworks! The Portland Rose Festival's return in 2022 will bring out the biggest, baddest fireworks in town! A full concert by fan favorite Hit Machine will warm up the crowd and the fireworks begin just after dark, exact time TBA. (Rose Festival)
• THIS FRIDAY: At the Portland Art Museum, there is an in-person performance lecture, “Multiple Journeys: The Life and Work of Gómez-Peña.” Post-Mexican artist, writer, and activist Guillermo Gómez-Peña will use visual and literary forms to discuss his 35 years in performance in context to the evolution of the field and the socio-political landscape. (Instagram)
• And, finally, I present you with a set of Unipiper custom Nikes by the amazingly talented Portland sneaker artist @lizmillercustoms. (Instagram)

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Well, Erin go braugh, my friends. Celebrate the day however you find the most fun. There's more than enough options on this fine Thursday. But tomorrow is another day and I'll be right back here to tell you all about it.

— 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.