Why your utility bill is going up — by a lot

Record Increase on Electric Bill

Utility costs are going up next year: Expect your Portland General Electric bill to go up about 17.2%, beginning Jan. 1. That’s the largest rate hike in more than two decades. The state’s regulatory agency, Oregon Public Utility Commission, approved the increases because the utility faces higher costs in generating power, is making safety and reliability investments, and must make changes to meet the state’s clean energy goals. [Oregonian]

Release of Jailed Inmates With No Public Defense

Beginning Nov. 16, Oregon sheriffs must release inmates who haven’t been assigned a public defender within seven days after their first appearance in court. That’s according to a federal judge’s ruling released last week — which steps up the federal oversight of Oregon’s public defender crisis. There’s a shortage of lawyers for indigent defense, which has been causing defendants to languish in jail and also led to botched prosecutions in criminal cases. [Oregonian 🔒]

Parking O.K. in This Bike Lane

This is the Portland version of cutting the baby in half: The Portland Bureau of Transportation erred by not notifying Northeast Portland neighbors about plans to put in a bike lane. The city has backtracked on plans to remove the bike lane after cyclists physically blocked the removal. But there will be no parking enforcement either, so cars can park there. “We recommend not parking in the bike lanes, but at the same time we do not plan to issue tickets with fines,” says a letter to neighbors along Northeast 33rd Avenue. [Bike Portland]

Why Other Cities Have Adopted a Portland Bathroom

Cities across the country have imported a different kind of public restroom from Portland. Get to know the Portland Loo. [City Cast Portland 🎧]

🎨 A Question of Hu: The Narrative Art of Hung Liu | Ongoing | Various

Liu (1948–2021) was a Chinese-born American contemporary artist who drew inspiration from Chinese photographs of refugees, women, and soldiers. [Free, Downtown]

🎻 Kishi Bashi Presents His Song Film: ‘Omoiyari’ | Monday | 7:30 p.m.

The Japanese-American musician confronts the painful legacy of Japanese incarceration during World War II, prompted by the rising tide of anti-Asian racism. He’s composed a film and music that make up his fourth album. [$50.17, Buckman]

📚 Brianna Wheeler | Wednesday | 7 p.m.

Willamette Week’s "Potlander" columnist and "Dive" podcast host is out with a new book, “Altogether Different: a Memoir About Identity Inheritance & the Raid that Started the Civil War.” Better known to City Cast Portland podcast listeners as a frequent guest on the show, she’ll be talking with our host Claudia Meza. [Free, Pearl District]

• Related: Wheeler joined the show last week to talk about the teachers’ strike. [City Cast Portland 🎧]

Portland Made a National Change in How to Pee in Public

Cities across the country are investing in a different kind of public restroom. They’re sleek and accessible. They also have our city’s name pasted on the side: the Portland Loo. City Cast Portland audio producer Giulia Fiaoni fills in as host for the first time, interviewing lead producer John Notarianni, who shares the history of this underappreciated export.