A new Oregon law will help consumers everywhere

Portlanders 💗 EVs

The Portland metro area has the seventh highest share of new electric cars among the country’s 50 largest urban areas. (Only Seattle and five California cities rank higher.) Oregonians registered 25,000 new electric vehicles in 2023, 41% more than the previous year. [Oregonian]

'Type A' Lawyer IDs 3-Point Line

A Portland divorce lawyer with a self-identified Type A personality discovered the problem with the three-point lines at the NCAA’s women’s basketball tournament at Moda Center this weekend. “I’m a lawyer, so that’s what I do all day long is I proofread stuff. I notice grammar mistakes. I do divorce, so half my job is … making sure that whatever we negotiate is accurate,” he told Willamette Week. The NCAA has apologized for not discovering the problem sooner. [Willamette Week]

Safety Concerns at the Vera Katz Eastbank Esplanade

During two weeks in March, there were three assaults along the Eastbank Esplanade that killed two people and severely injured a third. An immigrant fisherman was attacked near a spot he has fished since 2020. He ended up with a concussion and a badly broken arm that required surgery, according to OPB. Police are upping patrols, but safety may ultimately depend on more people using the riverside park. [OPB]

Right to Repair

On the midweek roundup, a new law will give Oregonians the right to repair consumer electronics without going back to the manufacturer. Oregon will have among the strongest protections in the country starting next year, when the law goes into effect. [City Cast Portland 🎧]

There’s something amusing about how pickleball has set off legal and political fights in some of the wealthiest communities: West Linn, Lake Oswego, and now Irvington. Maybe it can seem entertaining because the fights seem low-stakes, compared with pressing issues like homelessness, drug overdoses, and the collapse of downtown.

But that’s surely only until we consider our own annoyances. One person’s good fortune or fun is another person’s headache. Living in the city or even the suburbs is full of neighbors' grating noises, even if it's not so bad as the smack of pickleball.

On my block, I’ve lived with the near-constant buzz of construction. At least 20 units have been added on lots across the street since I moved to my house half a dozen years ago. To be sure, it’s a good thing. Portland needs more homes.

And I’ve been surprised about what I can get used to: The sound of buzzing saws and even the jarring sound of hammering has faded into the background for me — mostly. Really, I don’t usually mind.

But then there are those first warm days of (the latest) spring, and my patience can be thin when I actually want to be outdoors — and the noise becomes louder.

The good weather too means yardwork. As one reader noted, the sounds of leaf blowers used in the spring for yard debris are the worst (never mind that they sometimes blow the debris your way).

Similarly, pickleball noises are only a problem when the weather is pleasant.

So here’s a consolation for the next bout of rainy weather that’s surely coming our way — as soon as tonight:

All those noises fade away when we stay inside.

Who needs sun anyway?

How about you? What noises have you gotten used to? What noises are like screeching chalk on the blackboard?

Oregon’s New ‘Right to Repair,’ the Latest Pickleball War, and Our Listener Mailbag

On the midweek roundup, Oregon’s new “right to repair” law could help customers across the country get cell phones fixed. There’s a local battle over pickleball noise complaints. Plus, the mailbag includes discussions of city smells and spring bicycling tips.