🌱Suspicious RV Fires + People For Portland Ballot Initiative Gets $$$

Hey, what's happening Portland? I'm back to give you the skinny on what's going on around our town. Here's what Thursday brings.

First, today's weather:

It's a cloudy day with showers in the afternoon and a high of 53. That's spring for you.

Here are the top five stories in Portland today:

1. The list continues to grow: Shells of what once were RVs or homes for some are now burned out with nothing left. “I was on my couch Friday night. It was an explosion,” Chris Pearcey said. Pearcey lives near a RV fire that happened in the past month. Since then, there have been four more. Portland Fire & Rescue says its investigators haven't determined any connection, and they are still working to figure out how each fire started. (KATU)
2. When you think of the Oregon Zoo, animals like lions, tigers and elephants probably come to mind. But the zoo also works closely with the some of the smallest creatures, like caterpillars — which later become butterflies. The Oregon silver spot butterfly has slowly been dying off for decades. It has been considered a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act since 1980. In recent years, the zoo launched a program to help bring up the species' population in its native habitat. (KGW)
3. Portland’s 14-month old crisis response program that sends mental health workers instead of police to most low-level mental health crisis calls received high ratings from people it served, according to a year-end progress report released Tuesday. In the first year, the Portland Street Response team responded to more than 900 calls. Most individuals received assistance on site and many were connected to additional follow-up support, the report said. That led nine formerly unhoused individuals to receive help finding an apartment. No one was harmed during any incidents the team responded to and no one was arrested, the report said. (The Oregonian)
4. During the pandemic, transit agency TriMet dramatically reduced bus and light-rail service, and hundreds of drivers left as part of a nationwide great resignation. But now, the transit agency is facing what it calls “its most severe staffing shortage” in history. It needs about 300 new operators, and the lack of drivers has caused delays along some routes. As a result, TriMet has increased starting pay from about $17 an hour in the fall to more than $25 an hour. That’s the equivalent of a 46% increase. TriMet spokesman Tyler Graf said applicants don’t have to have a commercial driving license. (OPB)
5. A political action committee was formed last week to support a ballot initiative put forth by People for Portland, the new advocacy group that seeks to wrest control of taxpayer dollars spent on homeless services. In just a week’s time, the PAC has garnered $320,000 in donations from both local and out-of-state developers that own property in Portland’s downtown, Northwest, Southwest and the Central Eastside. (Willamette Week)

Today in Portland:

• Tonight is a very special benefit art show featuring the work of IPRC Board Member Stacey Daley’s mother, Linda Daley, taking place at the Independent Publishing Resource Center in SE Portland. Masks will be required in the space. 100% of art sales will go to the IPRC! 6:00 - 9:00 PM.
• Every year on Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, communities around the world uphold the memory of victims of the Holocaust through the Reading of the Names, a public recitation of Holocaust victims’ names, ages, and birthplaces. Today, Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education will sponsor the Reading of the Names at Pioneer Courthouse Square. A selection of community members and elected officials will be reading the names of those murdered in the Holocaust. This program is part of Rising Up for Human Dignity, a free series of events in April for Genocide Awareness and Prevention Month. 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
• Paul Lesinski and John Shipe will be playing at the White Eagle in North Portland. Paul Lesinski has been playing guitar for 40 years and cites Mick Taylor, David Gilmour, Steve Howe and Ace Frehley as his primary influences. In the Paul Lesinski Band, Paul is joined by David Kendall on drums and vocals and Mike Budd on bass. The trio has been performing for more than 10 years in the Pacific Northwest. Paul Lesinski Band is joined by John Shipe, who will open with an acoustic set and will join the band for a few songs. Over 34 years, John has eased through multiple genres of music with ruthless empathy and a literate flair. His songs blur the line between autobiography and hard-luck narrative storytelling. Tickets available online. Showtime is 8:00 PM.
• XRAY.FM and Holocene present: Rose Tinted - Live Hip-Hop Band Playing Classic Cuts! With Fountaine! Calling all hip-hop fans and beat heads! Rose Tinted is the hip-hop project you didn't know you needed. The Portland-based band is back at Holocene. This show is part of their Spring residency, celebrating the very best hip-hop artists in the PDX scene. Through their residency with Holocene and co-presented by XRAY.FM, Rose Tinted strives to showcase and collaborate with Portland's finest MC's, beat producers, DJ's, and R&B artists. This month’s edition features Fountaine! Tickets available online. Doors open at 8:00 PM.
• Come join JAJA PDX for an amazing night. They have assembled some of Portland's most talented physical artists and performers for this exciting and beautiful evening. JAJA PDX is a community of artists, healers, performers and craft people. Each month they develop an experience like you have never seen. The artists are dedicated to their craft and to building our artistic community in Portland. Get your tickets online. 8:30 - 10:30 PM.

From my notebook:

• Is anyone missing their pet pig? The Portland Police Bureau is searching for the owner of a pig that was found in traffic in the Powellhurst neighborhood early Tuesday morning. Just after midnight, an officer was driving near the area of Southeast Division Street and Southeast 138th Avenue when she saw traffic slowing in front of her and appearing to drive around something in the road. The officer then saw the object was a pig. (KPTV)
• Oregonians can now download a unique QR code that proves their vaccine status. The optional digital vaccine verification tool, created by Oregon Health Authority (OHA), aims to eliminate the need for vaccinated Oregonians to provide a physical copy or photo of their vaccine card to prove their vaccination status and streamline the verification process for entertainment venues and restaurants that have a vaccination requirement in place. (Portland Mercury)
• We’re guessing you’re already pretty angry. Most Oregonians are: A February survey by the polling firm DHM Research found that most voters, in both parties, were disgusted by the condition of the state and ready to blame anybody at the helm. The result should make any Democrat shake in their Nikes. More Oregonians held a positive view of Donald Trump than of Joe Biden, Kate Brown or Ron Wyden. Two years ago, we warned that Portland’s and Oregon’s leaders needed to act urgently to restore order to the city’s daily life. They didn’t. So we walked into endorsement interviews this month ready to throw the bums out. (Willamette Week)
• A little over a month ago, the team at Feast Portland — the city’s most famous food festival — announced its impending return. Co-founder Mike Thelin teased potential events in the Willamette Valley and Portland proper in September, spanning three days. “Having an opportunity to bring people together and celebrate over one weekend, that’s exciting,” he said. However, it looks like Portlanders and tourists will have to wait a little longer: The Feast team has decided to postpone its live events this year. (PDX Eater)
• In the fast-paced world of fine-dining, restaurants come and go as quickly as the trends they follow. According to a Bureau of Labor statistics survey, the average lifespan of a restaurant in the U.S. clocks in at less than five years. This makes Huber’s restaurant, at 130 years old, an extreme outlier by comparison—as well as earning it the distinction of being the oldest operating restaurant in Portland, Oregon. “We don’t follow trends that closely, because we’re kind of a vintage restaurant,” said James Louie, one of the owners and managers of Huber’s. “We have to maintain our integrity and identity.” (PSU Vanguard)
• As a long-time Oregon voter, the closed primaries that the state has is one of its most annoying features. What this means is that Oregon voters need to register with a party to vote in partisan primary elections. At least one party in 14 states has closed primaries for congressional and state-level elections. If the concept of closed primaries is a bit confusing, KGW News made this handy video to explain them. (YouTube)

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That's your day, Portland. Love it or leave it! How would one go about leaving it? I, for one, am going back to bed. But I'll be up and at my keyboard tomorrow for another exciting installment of Portland! The newsletter!

— 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.