🌱 Southeast Mailbox Stolen + Problem With Clackamas Ballot

It's another Wednesday in Portland, my peeps, and a fine one at that. I'm here to fill you in on some of the interesting happenings today.

First, today's weather:

The rain comes back until the afternoon and we'll have a high of 61.

Here are the top five stories today in Portland:

1. Some candidates for Oregon governor are using Portland’s problems as campaign fodder and Portland city leadership as a political punching bag. Republicans Stan Pulliam, Christine Drazan, and Bob Tiernan, specifically, are calling out Portland in their fight for the Oregon governorship. “Portland is such a mess,” Tiernan said in an interview about why he has focused on Portland’s problems in his TV ads. “It’s in all my ads, and it should be in all my ads.” Pulliam said mentioning Portland in his ads will help him win. (KATU)
2. A mailbox was stolen from Southeast Portland. Multnomah County officials are concerned that it may have contained ballots headed for the county's election division, they said Monday afternoon. The box had been located by Southeast Reed College Place and Southeast Woodstock Boulevard. The county said that it does not know when it was stolen or when it was discovered missing. (Portland Patch)
3. A former bartender at the Pizza Schmizza locations in Portland’s Pearl District and Northwest Portland is suing the company’s owner and asking him to pay back the $1,400 in wages he’s owed. Richard Lederer filed the complaint on May 6 against Enso Elite Inc., the franchise operator of the Pizza Schmizza locations he worked at. In the lawsuit, Lederer accuses the franchise operator of wage theft by failing to pay all compensation owed to its employees at the two locations. Lederer filed the lawsuit individually and on behalf of other employees in similar situations. (KOIN)
4. After a printing error caused blurred barcodes on many Clackamas County ballots, the County Clerk is assuring voters that their ballots will still be counted but it will take a little bit longer than expected. Sherry Hall, the Clackamas County Clerk, says the county sent out over 300,000 ballots in April before catching the problem early this month. Due to the blurred barcodes, some ballots cannot be read by the machines. This means the damaged ballots will have to be duplicated by hand. Hall says it’s a process they have used for years now, just not on this scale. (KPTV)
5. When it was a motel, the Days Inn on Northeast 82nd Avenue got some rugged reviews. “We were planning to stay for three nights, happy we only booked one at the time,” said a 2018 review on TripAdvisor. This week, the 40-bed motel will reopen as a homeless shelter, and it will have 24-hour mental health services provided by New Narrative, a nonprofit founded in 1977 that provides mental health services, housing programs and peer support and mentoring services to adults with mental illness. (Willamette Week)

From our sponsor:

Hey, Portland — need something done in your home? Check out our new Local Businesses feature in Portland to find top-rated local pros for gardening, plumbing, house cleaning and so much more!

Today in Portland:

• Meet author and hiking expert Matt Reeder at Palio in SE Portland. Matt Reeder has logged over 5,000 trail miles and published three books on hikes in our area. He will share with you the best hikes in the Oregon and how to do them safely. Register online for this free event. 6 - 8 p.m.
• It's once again time for Reel Science - Empirical Theater at OMSI! Tonight's feature is Beaver Believers! Sometimes the best solutions to the biggest problems can be found in the most unexpected places. Meet the beaver believers: five scientists and a sassy, spicy hairdresser who are tackling climate change one stick at a time. Tickets are available online. Doors open at 6:15 p.m.
• The Brain Institute at OHSU hosts another online presentation for its Brain Awareness Lecture Series. Tonight Dr. Ahmed Raslan will speak about The Computer-Connected Brain: 21st Century Treatment of Epilepsy and Brain Cancer. Neurosurgeon Ahmed Raslan, M.D., takes a fascinating look at the future of awake brain surgery and how new technology promises better results for people with treatment-resistant epilepsy. Raslan and a team of researchers at OHSU and UC San Diego received a $12.25 million NIH grant to develop film-like sensors that show brain activity in resolution that is 100 times higher than what is currently available. Register online for this free lecture. The talk starts at 4 p.m.
• Hear author Angela Garbes speak about her book "Essential Labor: Mothering as Social Change" at Powell's City of Books. In Essential Labor, Garbes explores assumptions about care, work and deservedness, offering a deeply personal and rigorously reported look at what mothering is and can be. The conversation starts at 7 p.m.
• Alberta Abbey presents Freedom of Speech: An Evening of Theater and Community to Benefit Recovery Works Foundation. Decades ago, Eliza Jane Schneider, voice actor and dialect coach, quit her job with an Emmy-award winning sitcom, shaved her head and set off on a 317,000 mile spiritual quest in a second hand ambulance. After years of exploration, chasing a dream to catalogue dialects from every corner of the nation, she was sure she had something — though not sure exactly what. Get your tickets online. The fun starts at 7:30 p.m.

From my notebook:

• Portland Art Museum: Eunice Kim’s collagraph monoprints are intimate, meticulous constructions. Works in the “Tessellations” series are created from three-inch square monoprints—each individually inked and printed — which are then assembled to create a composition. (Instagram)
• Portland placed 22nd on a new listing of the top 150 places to live. It was joined by Salem and Eugene as the three Oregon cities to make the list, which was compiled by U.S. News. That would be great news except that all three cities fell substantially in the rankings. Portland's 22nd place was a drop from 10th last year. Eugene plummeted 54 spots to No. 119, while Salem fell 61 spots to No. 123. (Portland Patch)
• Young people from middle school to college-age are invited to join Multnomah County’s second Youth Mental Health Forum on Saturday, May 21 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The forum is a way for people to connect with peers and share with elected officials their ideas that could inform policies around mental health access and care. Youth are invited to attend all or part of the event. It will feature behavioral health providers, a resource fair and affinity spaces. There is no cost and lunch is included. (Multnomah County)
• One of the main causes of homelessness is when youths exit foster care and are unprepared to live on their own. At Parenting With Intent, a Portland nonprofit mentoring youth in long-term foster care, this is a problem they’re trying to fix. One of their youths, Victoria Boam, is about to leave foster care. The nonprofit has secured grant money to continue helping her as she transitions to independent living. “I’m just going to have to stand on my own two feet and help myself,” said Boam, who was placed in foster care at 16 years old. Growing up, she was abused by her parents who struggled with addiction. (KGW)
• Pono Brewing is back at it with a new beer release this week as it partners with Market of Choice on John the Kiwi. This new, light bodied fruited beer is inspired by local beerlebrity and Kiwi, John Lovegrove. John the Kiwi is a Blonde Ale that is tweaked by adding some brightness with kiwi from New Zealand. We are told that if you’re a fan of Pono’s Pineapple Express Kolsch you are almost guaranteed to love this one. (Brew Republic)
• The Portland Bureau of Transportation will install two new advisory bike lanes this summer in Northeast Portland. The bike lanes are “advisory” because drivers are allowed to enter into the lanes in order to safely pass each other — but only if there are no bike riders present. Since the design also removes the center-lane stripe, it forces drivers to be more present and less entitled, thus slowing them down and leading to better safety outcomes. At least that’s the idea. (Bike Portland)

More from our sponsors — thanks for supporting local news!

Featured businesses:

• JAK CBD — (Visit website)
• Add your business here

Events:

• Shred-A-Thon (May 21)
• Add your event

I could go on and on about Portland, but I know you're busy people with lots to do today. So I'll bid you good day and be back tomorrow with more stories about my favorite town. I said Good Day!

— 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