📈 Oregon’s utility bills set to spike this summer

Prepare to Pay for AC

The average cost to cool a home in Oregon is projected to rise 12% this summer to around $693. The increase comes as temperatures rise and utility rates have spiked. This region's costs are growing fastest but still remain cheaper than other parts of the country, in part because of more mild summers. [NEXSTAR via KOIN]

Jewish Groups Cut Food Donations

The Oregon Food Bank issued and is standing by a statement calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. The nonprofit expressed concern about the killing of seven food aid workers in a bombing. But a dozen local Jewish groups criticized the nonprofit and said they were cutting off support. It’s the first time the food bank has taken a position on an international conflict. [Oregonian 🔒]

PPS’ New Superintendent

Six months after their last permanent superintendent gave notice, Portland Public Schools has picked a replacement: Kimberlee Armstrong, who previously served for a year as the district’s chief academic officer and is currently deputy superintendent of the Evergreen Public Schools in Vancouver, Wash. She’ll be the first Black woman to serve in the district’s top post. [Oregonian]

The River Impacted Portland

As a capstone of the City Cast Portland podcast’s river week series, resident Oregon historian, Doug Kenck-Crispin, explains how the Willamette River shaped modern-day Portland. [City Cast Portland 🎧]

The Willamette River’s Wild and Smelly Past

The Willamette River helped create an industrial boom in Portland, but it also functioned as a literal sewer. And while many people see it every day, few realize just how much it’s shaped modern-day Portland. Our resident Oregon historian, Doug Kenck-Crispin, talks about the Willamette River’s wild past.