🌱 Squatters Take Over Apartment+Forest Park Gets Bigger

It's not just any Saturday, my friends, it's National Hot Sauce Day and I like things spicy! Which is great since here in Portland we've got places like Hat Yai, Fire on the Mountain and Duck House. I'm already getting hungry, so let me tell you about today, before I get something to eat.

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First, today's weather:

It's a sunny day with a high of 47. Sounds like a great weekend.

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Here are the top five stories in Portland today:

1. Someone is posting fake camp removal notices around the Portland metro area that features the Multnomah County symbol. The Multnomah County Joint Office of Homeless Services on Thursday issued a message calling out the illegitimate camp removal flyers, saying it does not post notices for camps to vacate. Additionally, any official notice would come from the city of Portland. (KATU)
2. In a situation which I can only describe as a modern-day nightmare, a Northeast Portland man returned from a months-long getaway to find unwelcome residents in his apartment: squatters. The man, who we will call Andy, told KGW he locked up his apartment at Milepost 5 in Northeast Portland and left town in August to care for his mother. Andy spent the rest of the year at his mom's side and would have stayed longer had he not gotten a call from the managers of his apartment complex last week. They told Andy that somebody was living in his apartment. (KGW.com)
3. The city may be in for some troubling times as more than 1,100 municipal trade workers may soon walk off their jobs. Portland leaders and a coalition of public employee unions remain unable to reach a new contract agreement. Members of the District Council of Trade Unions voted to authorize a strike after overwhelmingly rejecting the city's latest offer of an annual pay bump and four-figure bonus, the coalition announced Thursday. The District Council of Trade Unions' members make up about 16% of the city's workforce. (The Oregonian)
4. It's a blast from Oregon's political past! Kevin Mannix, a Republican, announced Thursday that he'd seek the Salem-area House District 21 seat long held by state Rep. Brian Clem, a Democrat. Mannix, a lawyer, represented Salem in the Oregon House from 1989 to 1996 as a Democrat. Call that Act 1 of his long and convoluted political journey. (Willamette Week)
5. Forest Park just got a little bigger. This is due to a 60-acre donation from Diane Field and Richard Williams, who bought the property in 2004. It's the first donation that the Forest Park Conservancy has received in 25 years. The Forest Park Conservancy will take over the habitat and its native animals, plants, fungi and clean water. There are two streams that drain into McCarthy Creek and a small seasonal pond. There's even a meadow that often attracts elk. (KPTV)

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Today in Portland:

• How about a side of funky jazz with your beer? Special Purpose will be performing at Tomorrow's Verse Taproom and Bottle Shop in NE Portland. The band features Lance Vallis on guitar, Melissa Carroll on saxophone, Tommy Houston on keyboards, Joshua Slamp on bass, and Juan Felipe BZ on drums. Tickets available online. The music starts at 8:00 PM.
• Fans of the Clash and Johnny Cash will want to head to The Fixin' To in North Portland for Know Your Rights, A Tribute to the Clash. The Fixin To is requiring boosters when checking vax cards. 8:00 - 11:00 PM.
• ARCOPDX presents "Incantation" at Holocene in SE Portland. Join them for an intimate evening of enchanting music written entirely by 21st century composers. Find yourself sailing on a peaceful Cascadian lake, gliding over the craters of the moon, or riding on the railways across Imperial Russia. It features the U.S. premiere of "Train" by Moscow-based composer Alexey Kurbatov, along with music of Arvo Pärt, David Baker, Durwynne Hsieh and Alan Hohvahness. Get your tickets online. Doors open at 6:30 PM.
• In an event that seems tailor made for Portland, the Alberta Rose Theater presents BOOKLOVER'S BURLESQUE: Cozy Classics. Booklover's Burlesque is the world's sexiest literary salon which matches titillating, inspiring, and empowering book readings with burlesque, boylesque, and draglesque performances all in one show! Tickets available online. Doors open at 6:00 PM.
• M Strange Music and the Good Medicine Theater present Red Lights Live. This is an all-ages show with performances by such battle rappers as Cutface, TooBurnt, Tripolar503 and more. Get your tickets online. 7:00 - 10:00 PM.

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From my notebook:

• Thursday marked an important day for Portlanders. Why, you ask? It was the first day of 2022 in which the sun set at 5 p.m. or later. The last time we had a sunset that late was before daylight saving time ended in November. (The Oregonian)
• For some reason the Portland Art Museum let a group of comedians pretend to be tour guides and it went about as well as you'd expect. Directed by Alex Falcone. (YouTube)
• The fact that it is National Hot Sauce Day inspired me to search for spicy things in Portland. What I found was that back in 2019 there was a Hot Sauce Expo at OMSI. There were competitions such as the Sausage of Destruction Challenge and the Annual Chihuahua Beauty Pageant. Ah, it's not really a wonder why I love Portland. (PDX Hot Sauce Expo)

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So, is today spicy enough for you? I'd say that this is a Carolina Reaper level weekend. I hope your weekend is equally as exciting, but don't forget that I'll be back next week to tell you more news of 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.