City Cast Portland
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January 2, 2024
Hello, 2024! If you’re looking for some post-holiday fun, it’s officially Portland Music Month: There’s more on that below.
What's CITY Talking About?
It’s Music Month
January is officially Portland Music Month. The City Cast Portland podcast has some picks of events. [City Cast Portland 🎧]
First Fare Hike in a Decade
On Jan. 1, TriMet hiked fares for the first time in more than a decade. Adults fares rose 12%: tickets are now $2.80, up from $2.50, and day passes are now $5.60, up from $5. The price of a monthly pass remains $100, though. [TriMet]
9 Laws in Force as of Jan. 1
The state Legislature passed 650 bills that the governor signed last year. Learn about nine notable laws that went into effect, including a requirement to give two doses of Narcan to patients discharged from drug treatment, lengthening the statute of limitations for first-degree sex crimes, and modernizing the drug treatment guidelines for treating people in prison. [KGW]
No Flavored Tobacco Sales in Portland
Multnomah County’s ban on selling flavored tobacco went into effect with the start of the new year. Public health officials support banning flavored vapes and other products that have hooked young people on nicotine. Tobacco companies unsuccessfully sought to overturn the ordinance. [Willamette Week]
Illegal Cannabis Growth Has Hit Southern Oregon Hard
It’ll be a decade this year since voters approved legal recreational cannabis. In Portland, that’s meant easy access to a new legal high. But in Southern Oregon, that’s led to an unexpected explosion of illegal cannabis farms and related troubles: Police seized around 1.4 million unlicensed plants in 2021 — a seventyfold increase from just 20,000 plants in 2018. Cartels have moved in. But also legal, licensed farms are selling product illegally across state lines as Oregon prices have fallen to less than $4 a gram from $10, state regulators say. [Willamette Week]
What To Do
Tuesday, Jan. 2
- 🎨 ‘Leonard Baskin, the Great Birdman’ (exhibit) | 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. | $10 | Oregon Jewish Museum
- 🎶 Black Flag | 6:30 p.m. | $37.96 | Buckman
Wednesday, Jan. 3
- 🎶 Portland Music Month Kick-off Party | 8:30 - 11:30 p.m. | $18.20 | Holocene
Thursday, Jan. 4
- 🖼️ Free First Thursdays | 10 a.m. - 8 p.m. | Free | Portland Art Museum
Today on City Cast
Your Live Music Guide to January in Portland
Happy January! It’s officially Portland Music Month. PDX Presents founder J. Pinky Jansen, along with City Cast Portland podcast host Claudia Meza and executive producer John Notarianni, shares top music-related events in and around town this month.
You’re probably not even going to be able to hear whoever’s singing because everyone’s just going to be singing along.
I don’t have tickets to see any music yet. How about you? Are there any music or other events you’re looking forward to this month?
— Rachel Monahan
Edited by John Notarianni and copy edited by Giulia Fiaoni
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