City Cast Portland
A simple explanation for Portland’s homelessness crisis
September 26, 2023
Good morning, Portland! Even some religious leaders are getting into Oregon’s legal psychedelics. Chaplains are among those training to administer the drug and participating in studies on its benefits 🍄
What's CITY Talking About?
Oregon EVs Doubled
The number of electric vehicles in Oregon is climbing fast. As of April, there were 70,000 registered in the state — nearly twice as many as there were two years ago. But that’s not nearly enough to meet the state’s climate goals, and the program to incentivize EV purchases is currently out of money. [OPB]
Jefferson HS Compromise
Portland Public Schools is working out a way for Jefferson High School juniors and seniors to spend more time on the nearby Portland Community College Campus while their school is under construction. If the plan moves forward, 80 to 100 students will spend a day or two each week on the PCC campus, instead of commuting the 11 miles to the Marshall High School campus. [Willamette Week]
No. 1 Vegan City
Duh! Portland ranks at the top of the list for vegan food, according to the site WalletHub. But Oregonian food writer and restaurant critic Michael Russell argues that more cities in the region should have ranked high on the list. [Oregonian 🔒]
Housing Costs vs. Addiction
Morgan Godvin — a post-graduate fellow at The Action Lab, Northeastern University’s drug policy research organization — makes the case for why the opioid epidemic is less to blame than housing costs for Portland’s homelessness crisis. [City Cast Portland 🎧]
Where Is It?
The horse featured in last week’s “Where Is It?” is from the Jantzen Beach Carousel, which was built in 1921. Her name is Lillie Belle; when mounted in her proper place, she’s very visible on the outside ring of horses. Lillie was famous enough to make the 32-cent stamp in 1995. Until last weekend, a few of the carousel horses were on display at the Oregon Historical Society before they head to a new home in The Dalles.
A shoutout to the readers who identified the spot where the horses were displayed, the Jantzen Beach Carousel, or its new home: Valerie Impson, Crystal Thornton, and Richard Brusatori.
For this week’s region-wide scavenger hunt, we have a reader submission. Have you seen this mural before? What can you tell me about it?
What To Do
📚 ‘Funeral for Flaca’ | Wednesday | 6 - 7:30 p.m.
Writer Emilly Prado, who lives in Portland and is also an educator and D.J., discusses her debut book, a memoir in essays. It’s part of a fall lecture series. [Free, Milwaukie]
🌲 Bijoux Cone | Wednesday | 9 p.m.
The Portland-based musician and producer creates synth-pop and disco sounds. It’s also one of the last shows at the original Doug Fir. [$19.41, Buckman]
🎪 Flynn Creek Circus | Thursday - Sunday | Various
A talented international group of acrobats perform their “Desert Myth” show. Check for family-friendly shows or raucous adult-only times. [$18+, South Waterfront]
Today on City Cast
A Simple Explanation for Portland’s Homelessness Crisis
It can be tempting to conflate the opioid epidemic and Portland’s homelessness crisis, but researchers say homelessness has a lot more to do with housing costs than addiction. A lifelong Portlander, Morgan Godvin spent several years incarcerated related to heroin and is now a post-graduate fellow at Northeastern University’s drug policy research organization, The Action Lab. She offers a new narrative to explain what we’re seeing on Portland’s streets.
If we can make the treatment as easy to access as the drugs, we will be better off.
Don’t forget to order some free COVID-19 tests 🦠 They’re available again.
— Rachel Monahan
Edited by John Notarianni and copy edited by Giulia Fiaoni
Free · Daily