🌱Snow In April + Another Deadly Weekend In Downtown

What's going on, Portland? Just last week, we were wearing shorts and tee shirts; now we've got snow in April? I guess Mother Nature is doing her part to keep Portland weird. Thanks for the assist, I guess? Let me tell you about today.

First, today's weather:

It's going to rain for much of the day and, what's this, thunder storms in the afternoon? These are crazy times, people. Oh, yeah, the high temp will be 44.

Here are the top five stories today in Portland:

1. Until Sunday, the latest measurable snow in the Portland-region had been on April 1. That record was set in 1935, five years before the National Weather Service started keeping records here. Then, on April 11, at least an inch of snow fell throughout the region and a new record was set. With the snow, there were power outages, school delays, limbs down, and road closures. Portland General Electric and Pacific Power reported a combined more than 40,000 customers without power. (Portland Patch)
2. For more than a year, environmental advocates have wondered why regional government Metro is still letting dioxins, PCBs, heavy metals and other toxic chemicals stain what could be Portland’s next riverside park. Last week, we put the question directly to Metro Council President Lynn Peterson. “You don’t actually want to touch that dirt until there’s a plan,” she replied. “We need to make sure we’re doing it right. It’s a brownfield.” Both the scope and pace of the cleanup have frustrated advocates, who see the cove as a way to restore river access for the ethnically diverse, blue-collar neighborhoods of North Portland. (Willamette Week)
3. A woman was killed, another was injured and one person is in custody following an early Sunday morning shooting in Southwest Portland. The shooting near SW Clay and 12th happened around 10:15 a.m., police said. Officers began emergency treatment on one woman, who later died at a nearby hospital. This reported shooting comes as the city struggles to contain gun violence downtown. This week, two people were killed within 14 hours of each other in Old Town. (KOIN)
4. Portland General Electric took legal action Friday against the state of Oregon to condemn a piece of property alongside Willamette Falls that is critical to tribal fishing access. The move, together with a notice of condemnation, could allow the utility to control access to roughly five acres of land at the base of the falls, exacerbating tensions between Northwest tribes with ties to the landmark. PGE has been mired in an ongoing dispute over who has authority over the property where the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde have permission from the state to operate a fishing platform. (OPB)
5. Battered, bloodied and bruised by 2020, employment in the Portland area rebounded in a big way. The region was No. 10 in job growth among large metro areas during 2021, according to new data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Oregon was No. 6 among all states, primarily because of the Portland area’s rapid recovery, according to Christian Kaylor, economist with the Oregon Employment Department. (The Oregonian)

Today in Portland:

• RACE TALKS presents Who SHOULD Be in the History Books? The Impact of Critical Race Theory on K - College Education at McMenamins Kennedy School. How did Critical Race Theory go from being a methodology taught in law school to being protested at school board meetings? Join RACE TALKS for their second part of a four-part conversation series as they bring together experts to look at Critical Race Theory and how it is impacting K-12 schools and Higher Education in Oregon. RACE TALKS Community Forums are FREE and open to the public. In-person seating is limited, please register for your spot in advance. 7:00 - 9:00 PM.
• Join YIMBY Action at Rontoms on East Burnside for Cheers to Housing. Yimby Action is super excited to attend YIMBYTown and meet other members of the pro-housing movement! The movement is growing and we're excited to meet more people in the fight for equitable, affordable, sustainable homes for all. Register online for this free event. 7:30 - 9:30 PM.
• Come to The Starday Tavern for Party Portal Liquid Television. Party Portal Liquid Television is a weekly event created by their dear friend Dan Moe. Have you ever wondered what colors sounds like? Or imagined what it would be like to smell a commercial? Do you love randomness and silly things? If you want to experience the weirdest weekly party in SE Portland, then you are in the right place! The madness kicks off at 10:00 PM.
• The movie Touki Bouki will be showing at the Clinton Street Theater. With a stunning mix of the surreal and the naturalistic, director Djibril Diop Mambéty paints a vivid, fractured portrait of Senegal in the early 1970s. In this French New Wave–influenced fantasy-drama, two young lovers long to leave Dakar for the glamour comforts of France, but their escape plan is beset by complications both concrete and mystical. Characterized by dazzling imagery and music, the alternately manic and meditative Touki Bouki is widely considered one of the most important African films ever made. Showtime is 7:00 PM.
• It's once more time for Burlynomicon at the Coffin Club. Burlynomicon - A Darkly Decadent Burlesque Revue ushers in the new season with gloriously fertile performances and more b-day shenanigans! With an incredible lineup of mind blowing entertainers with glorious performances by Lola Coquette, Diva Dott, Lacey Knightly and Viper! Produced and hosted by Natasha Riot. Tickets available online. Doors open at 7:00 PM.

From my notebook:

• Portland Trail Blazers: Next year we’re gonna be back better than before💯 The Letter O addresses the crowd(Instagram)
• Portland Trail Blazers: Until next time, friends ❤️(Instagram)
• Portland Art Museum: "Applications are now open for @pam_cut's Sustainability Labs—a 6-month program for creators, artists, directors, and producers looking to change their personal model of creative, financial, and business sustainability. Designed to ensure..." (Instagram)
• Portland’s government was always odd but now it’s an outlier. No large city has a government like Portland. Eight times in the last century, voters have had the chance to ditch Portland’s commission form of government. Eight times they said no. Could the ninth time be different? On the latest episode of Beat Check with The Oregonian, they chat with Portland City Hall Reporter Shane Dixon Kavanaugh. We went deep into the charter reform effort, what it would mean for voters, some of the recommendations on the table and much more. (The Oregonian)
• Ladd Circle Park in inner southeast Portland was the center of the local cycling solar system and a galaxy of people and wheeled contraptions of every imaginable type orbited around it. Described by one participant as “hipster NASCAR,” dozens of teams and a huge crowd turned out for the very unserious “5th first annual” relay where teams pedal 500 laps around a 0.2-mile traffic circle. (Bike Portland)
• The snow was all anyone could talk about yesterday and the Portland Art Museum was no exception. Here, they share some snowy scenes from their collection of art. (Instagram)

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That's your Tuesday, my friends. It looks like this might be a wild week, so meet me back here tomorrow and I'll try to keep you in the know about what's happening in 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.