🧄 Portland’s rarest and most distinctive foods

Competition Lowered Grocery Costs

Intense competition between Kroger’s (which owns Fred Meyer and QFC) and Albertsons (which owns Safeway) helped push grocery prices lower in Portland — according to new documents filed in the lawsuit to block their merger. “We must stay hungry, sharp, and on top of our business,” reads one internal Albertsons email about Portland promotional ads. Kroger’s documents refer to Albertsons and Safeways as our “biggest competitors.” The Federal Trade Commission sued in February to block the $24.6 billion deal to merge. [Oregonian 🔒]

Finding Hippo-Like Fossils on the Oregon Coast

Some 25 million years ago, a hippo-like mammal species lived along the Oregon Coast. In recent weeks, desmostylus fossils have been found twice at Lincoln County Beach. The latest desmostylus fossil — the teeth and jawbone — were spotted by a local nicknamed “the fossil guy.” [KOIN]

Easy Access to Drug Treatment

Under a new program, Portland police and drug treatment workers are providing people potentially facing drug charges a chance for immediate access to treatment. The $700,000-a-year effort aims to address a key failure of Measure 110. Under the drug decriminalization law, people given a $100 ticket for drug possession almost never placed a call to seek drug treatment (which would waive their fine). The new pilot program will try to eliminate any hurdles to accessing treatment. [Willamette Week]

The $167K for Mayor Ted Wheeler’s Missing Texts

On the Friday news roundup, the city has agreed to settle a lawsuit over an accusation that Mayor Ted Wheeler and the city withheld thousands of text messages. [City Cast Portland 🎧]

Mayor Wheeler’s Missing Texts, Who Can Swim in Lake Oswego, and the Jefferson High School Rebuilding Saga

On the Friday roundup, Mayor Ted Wheeler’s missing text messages led to a costly outcome. Lake Oswego is battling to keep the public out of their lake. And there was a dramatic cost increase in rebuilding Jefferson High School. To hash out what’s happened this week, Althea Billings, KBOO news director and host of the weekly talk show “The Gap,” joins City Cast Portland host Claudia Meza and producer Giulia Fiaoni.