City Cast Portland
How Portland is making progress on car thefts
August 1, 2023
Good morning, Portland! Anything you want to do before summer’s over? I’m going to try to see some places in Oregon I’ve never been before. If you’re thinking to go to the coast, check out some options below.
What's CITY Talking About?
A Veto on Studying Decriminalizing Sex Work
Gov. Tina Kotek is saying she might veto $600,000 for two studies on decriminalizing sex work. Her office says the funding should come from the private sector. [Willamette Week]
- Related: Should Oregon decriminalize sex work? [City Cast Portland 🎧]
Artist Behind Bee License Plates
The artist behind a new Oregon license plate that features a European honeybee and a bumblebee (just two of the 870 bee species found in the state) is only 16 years old. He got to know Oregon State University bee experts on Zoom during the pandemic and was invited to submit a design. The license plates will be available starting in November. [KGW]
Progress in Addressing Car Theft
Car thefts are down; in fact, they’re at their lowest point in two years. Kia and Hyundai updated their cars’ software to address a major problem — that they could be started by car thieves with a simple USB dongle. Also: the Multnomah County Auto Theft Task Force announced its first high-profile arrest. Investigators arrested a 24-year-old Portland man they say has been involved in serial car theft. [Willamette Week, KATU]
Sponsored Content
Portland Spirit's 7 Wonders of the Gorge
Experience some of the most majestic views of the Columbia River Gorge on Portland Spirit’s new 7 Wonders of the Gorge cruise on the Explorer Jetboat. Travel under famous bridges on your round-trip journey from Portland to Multnomah Falls. This 3½ hour cruise is offered Wednesday - Monday, July - September.
Where Is It?
This mural, by Jeremy Nichols, is on a parking garage across from the Blumenauer Bridge at Northeast Lloyd Boulevard and Seventh Avenue. It has native plants and species: trillium flowers, doug fir, camas flowers, dandelions, a monarch butterfly, a rufous hummingbird, and more. (Nichols is at work on a new mural right now in Northwest.)
Readers Monique Veraart and Marsha Hanchrow, as well as Mark E. McClure, knew the spot.
This scavenger hunt was inspired by a reader email. Thank you, Steven Kaufman. And thanks to Mark E. McClure for both of these lovely photos!
What To Do
Pedalpalooza: Astrology Ride | Wednesday | 6 p.m.
“Dress like your sign!” The “astro-curious” are welcome along with those with more experience. [Free, Laurelhurst]
BridgeCity Soul | Wednesday | 5 p.m.
Six-piece funk and soul group continues the Music on Main festival. [Free, Downtown]
Pickathon | Thursday - Sunday | Various
Tickets are in relatively short supply for the annual music festival. [$204.75+, Happy Valley]
Today on City Cast
The Plan to Fix Portland’s Troubled Emergency Response
Portland has surprisingly slow emergency response times. And City Hall is trying to fix the problem — by creating a new unified response system by mid-2024. Mike Myers, the transition director of the Community Safety Division, walks through what's working, what’s not, and what the future of emergency response in Portland looks like.
No one thing will fix our response time. You have to look at every item that’s causing response time, wait times, and response time delays, and start fixing each one of them.
Oregon is expected to have great views this August of the Perseid meteor shower, particularly Aug. 12 and 13, if you want to plan ahead.
— Rachel Monahan
Edited by John Notarianni and copy edited by Giulia Fiaoni
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