The Portland stripper who’s running for mayor

Portland’s Best-Known Stripper and Now Mayoral Candidate

Portland’s best-known stripper (stage name: Viva Las Vegas) is now in the running to be the city’s next mayor. Liv Osthus has been an advocate of sex workers’ rights and is seeking to give voters a sense of hope about Portland. [Willamette Week]

• Related: What a stripper knows about Portland lust. [City Cast Portland 🎧]

Expanding the Urban Growth Boundary

To address the housing shortage, Gov. Tina Kotek’s priority legislation would allow cities an exemption to Oregon’s signature land use laws. To expand housing in rural areas, cities would have to meet certain criteria, including using the vast majority of available urban land. But it’s unclear if the bill will pass in the last two weeks of the legislative session, because some Democrats are critical of the proposal. [OPB]

Portland’s Trailblazing Black Spy

Until recently, Portlanders only knew George E. Hocker Jr., 84, for his work for the late Portland City Commissioner Nick Fish and former Multnomah County Commissioner Loretta Smith. But Hocker was also a trailblazing Black spy for the CIA, where he served from 1957 to 1992. He broke down barriers as the CIA’s first Black spymaster and the first Black special assistant to two CIA directors: at the time, “the mantra for the CIA … was ‘pale, male and Yale,’” he said. [Oregonian 🔒]

Last week’s scavenger hunt was for The Paper Bridge, specifically its back room. The restaurant opened in November and adds some North Vietnamese flavors to Portland’s food scene.

As always, a shoutout to the readers who identified last week’s location: This week they are Lisa as well as Melanie Aleman de la Garza, who described the restaurant as “an absolute delight. The moment u walk in u feel like u are in another country & on vacation 😋 Definitely one of my favorite new spots in PDX!”

Another indoor spot for the scavenger hunt this week. Thanks to Bryan M. Vance, City Cast’s director of digital strategy, for this notable photo:

Hint: This is a place known to be quintessentially Portland weird. Have you been there?

A Local Historian Tests Our Knowledge of Portland History

Oregon historian Doug Kenck-Crispin put together a quiz show on Portland history that will teach us all a little more about our city. He’s testing host Claudia Meza and producer Giulia Fiaoni on their knowledge. Play along and see how many you get right!