Portland’s best summer events ☀️

Salary Hike for Portland Electeds?

A city salary commission is recommending a pay hike for Portland elected officials, with upwards of $142,000 a year for new Portland City Council members. Voters approved a change in the form of city government last year. Elections are next year. Commission members say they want salaries that are “open opportunities for historically marginalized communities and will not be a deterrent to running and holding office.” [Oregonian]

A.I. Starts Answering Non-Emergency Calls

The city is struggling to get emergency calls answered quickly. Currently 911 operators answer only 42% of emergency calls within 20 seconds, even as the gold standard is 95%. Artificial intelligence will begin assisting this week by answering non-emergency calls, but a broader recommendation to switch to a 24-hour-a-day 311 call center for nonemergency calls will take time and bureaucratic wrangling. [Willamette Week]

Washington County’s Sharp Wage Decline

Washington County ranked near the bottom among large counties nationally in wage growth for the final three months of last year, with a 4.3% decline from the same period the previous year. That could be worrisome as the county is an economic engine for the state. The decline doesn’t appear to be related to tech layoffs, but may be from companies cutting back on year-end bonuses as the economy weakened. [Oregonian]

Blazers Future Hangs on a Draft Pick

Oregonian columnist Bill Oram makes the case that the Portland Trail Blazers should take their No. 3 draft pick, not trade it away. It’s a chance to build a team around Dame. [Oregonian]

• Related: What went wrong with the Blazers last season? [City Cast Portland 🎧]

On Monday, 1,800 nurses began a strike at Providence hospitals in Portland and Seaside, with support from Democratic elected officials. Hospital officials had canceled surgeries and transferred patients in advance of the strike, but said all was running smoothly. They did also suggest seeking emergency care elsewhere if possible. People had a lot of takes on the walkout, ranging from serious to silly.

⁩”Proud to support the ⁦‪@ProvHealth⁩ nurses & clinicians working to achieve a fair contract dealing with workforce recruitment, retention & fair treatment of these excellent Oregon caregivers. #ProvStrike” —⁦ U.S Senator Ron Wyden on Twitter

“Try not to have any emergencies.” — cafedude on Reddit

”So the pedalpalooza bike with scissors event is off? 😢” — That1FromThatPlace on Reddit

Celebrating Birds of the Pacific Northwest | Ongoing | Various

“Contemporary photographers Ken Goldman, Ryan Hooper, Dan Kearl, and Diana Rebman explore the beauty, diversity, and behavior of birds in the region.” [Free for Multnomah County residents, Downtown]

The Soul Rebels | Wednesday | 8 p.m.

The long-time hip-hop brass band hails from New Orleans. [$25, Old Town]

Street Roots Ride | Friday | 6 p.m.

This Pedalpalooza bike ride circles miles of downtown and shows off the work of nonprofit Street Roots, which publishes a newspaper sold by unsheltered people that focuses on social-justice issues. [Free, Downtown]

Debunking the Biggest Misconceptions About Portland

When we started this podcast last December, it felt like we were at the height of stereotypes and misconceptions about Portland all over social media. People wanted to know what the heck was going on over here. Even City Cast CEO David Plotz had questions. Today we’re re-airing that conversation.