🌱Record Breaking COVID Cases + Airbnb Experiments In Oregon

Hello to all of you out in Portland! I hope you are all well. Almost a week into 2022 and the city is already bustling. Let me tell you some of what's going on.

First, today's weather:

Another gray and rainy day, but we'll have a high of 52. It's starting to feel like summer!

Here are the top five stories in Portland today:

1. Will they or won't they? Oregon election officials are trying to decide whether or not Democratic gubernatorial candidate Nicholas Kristof meets the constitutional residency requirement to appear on the May primary ballot. At issue is an ambiguous phrase in the Oregon Constitution that sets out the residency requirement for candidates for governor: “No person shall be eligible to the Office of Governor who shall not have been three years next preceding his election, a resident within this State.” (Willamette Week)
2. The pandemic rages on in Oregon, the latest case numbers breaking another record for new daily cases. The Oregon Health Authority reported 4,540 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday; the previous record was 3,534 new COVID-19 cases, set on December 30. The OHA says statewide adult ICU bed availability is at 9% and adult non-ICU beds are down to 6% availability. (KATU)
3. Flooded with record numbers of calls for service and hamstrung by chronic understaffing, the Portland Police Bureau is leaning on its growing staff of unarmed public safety officers and is actively looking to expand the program. The officers, known as Public Safety Support Specialists, or PS3s, have been active since 2019, but the program has been growing since. This fall, Mayor Ted Wheeler announced plans to more than double the number of officers in the program. (KPTV)
4. The pandemic isn't the only healthcare crisis we're facing. “There is truly an unprecedented, prolonged national blood shortage,” said Bloodworks Northwest Executive Vice President of Blood Services, Vicki Finson. “I would call it a crisis.” Finson said the dire, pre-existing need for donors was exacerbated by recent inclement weather, staff shortages, and the Omicron variant surge. (KOIN)
5. Airbnb is about to try a new experiment here in Oregon. For the next two years, hosts will see a prospective guest's initials only — not their first name — until the reservation is completed. The move comes nearly 2 1/2 years after Airbnb settled a lawsuit with three African-American women who alleged that the site allowed hosts to discriminate against Black users by displaying their full names and photographs, in violation of Oregon's public accommodation laws. (OPB)

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Today in Portland:

• Think you know Harry Potter? Then test your knowledge at the Cascade Brewing Barrel House in SE Portland at their Harry Potter Trivia night. Get ready for the most challenging trivia you've ever done! All original questions - created, written, and hosted by super fans! Developed by Faye Fearless Trivia in partnership with Worthwich School of Wizardry. Get your tickets online. 7:00 - 9:00 PM.
• Have a cold one and listen to some tunes at Steeplejack Beer in NE Portland as it features Rich Swanger, an Oregon based songwriter with roots in folk, gospel, and country-blues music. Born amongst the Appalachian hills of Pennsylvania, he was surrounded by song from the very beginning. 7:00 - 9:00 PM.
• Are you a Sci-Fi fan? Do you love author Ursula K. Le Guin? Then tune in to a livestream reading of a book that is a tribute to her work, Dispatches from Anarres. Hosted by Annie Bloom's Books, Dispatches from Anarres is a collection of stories that range from fantasy to sci fi to realism, some of Portland's most vital voices have come together to celebrate Le Guin's lasting legacy and influence on that most subversive of human faculties: the imagination. Register online in advance to listen in. 7:00 PM.
• There's another Portland Music Month performance taking place tonight. This time it will be the Audra Nemir Band at the Alberta Street Pub in NE Portland. Joining them will be Leah Heuser. Audra Nemir's music background includes stints on piano, guitar, upright and electric bass, and in vocal groups of all sizes. Her songwriting reflects her Texas roots, with an emphasis on storytelling, simple chord progressions, and feel-good harmonies. 6:00 - 8:00 PM.
• Do your musical tastes run a little differently than most? Maybe you'd be interested in Live in the Depths 49 at Mississippi Pizza in North Portland. Live in the Depths is an evening of live experimental electronic music that happens every first Thursday at Atlantis Lounge PDX. Featuring Greystar, FLX, T0k4, xoke and DJ Ogo. 7:00 - 11:00 PM.

From my notebook:

• Portland Trail Blazers: "4 starters in double figures…everyone contributed 🙌" (Instagram)
• Travel Portland: "Mark your calendars! The annual @PortlandWinterLightFestival is less than a month away. This free, all-ages experience covering Portland with projection art, pop-up installations, and more is always a ton of fun. This year it runs Februa..." (Instagram)
• Portland Farmers Market: After a 2-week break, the PSU Farmers Market will be open Saturday, January 8th! 🥬 Lettuce know how you will root for your local farmers and food producers in the new year. (Facebook)
• Oregon Historical Society: "We are so excited to see copies of the Winter 2021 "Chinese Diaspora in Oregon" special issue of the Oregon Historical Quarterly arriving in member and subscriber mailboxes and inboxes this week! In this issue, co-guest edited by Jennife..." (Facebook)
• Have you heard about Polybius, the video game that didn't exist? The one that was rumored to be a government funded mind control device? The BBC takes a deep dive into some weird Portland history and this urban myth that came out of the Lloyd Center Mall. (YouTube)
• If you thought that the protests and civil unrest that happened in Portland in the wake of George Floyd's death was out of control, then you may not have lived in Portland that long. This has been a rebellious city for long enough that it earned the nickname "Little Beirut" back in the 90s. Now you can read about one of Portland's earliest rebels, the queer radical Marie Equi, nicknamed "Queen of the Bolsheviks." How do you think Portland became an anarchist jurisdiction? (The Nation)

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Political turmoil, Portland Music Month events and mythical video games? That's what I call a Thursday! But we've still got more days in the week, so join me again tomorrow and we'll 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.