🎆 Why Portland’s keeping its fireworks ban

Record Utility Shutoffs for Nonpayment

Oregon’s largest utility companies have raised rates by 35% or more since Oct. 2021. One apparent consequence is shutoffs for nonpayment have risen too. In April, utilities cut power or gas to a record 8,700 homes in the state. [Oregonian 🔒]

• Related: The relentless utility rate hikes. [City Cast Portland 🎧]

Portland’s Fireworks Ban Continues

Portland has banned the sale and personal use of fireworks for three years now. That’s because, well, fireworks cause fires. Traditionally, the Fourth of July has been a dangerous time for fires. And last year, even with the ban, Portland Fire and Rescue responded to 50 calls on the Fourth. [KOIN]

Park Glow-up for Creatures Too

Portland’s Errol Heights Park got a new miniature skatepark as part of a $12 million renovation that also made the area more friendly to local fauna — and to birdwatchers and others who want to check out the animals. Since the city removed the park’s human-made dams, starting in 2007, beavers have moved in and created their own. (It’s not likely you’ll see those furry creatures, but you may hear their signature tail smack.) [Portland Monthly]

Back in 2020, social justice protesters toppled the Harvey Scott sculpture at the top of Mt Tabor. Scott, a longtime editor (from 1865 to 1910) and part owner of the Oregonian, espoused racist views and was against giving women and people of color more freedoms, including the right to vote.

In 2021, an artist installed a temporary statue of York, an enslaved man who was the only Black man on the Lewis and Clark expedition. The York sculpture was defaced by white nationalists and later removed, but the city has now commissioned a permanent sculpture of York.

A shoutout to the first 10 readers to respond with the answer: Derek B, Erika Bolstad, Jacob Loeb, Mike Bissell, Andrew M, Brian Finlayson, Dina Campeau, Dana Busch, Laura Darnell, and Bonnie Flick.

Your hint for this week’s scavenger hunt: This one is of a bathroom at a trendy restaurant. Please email the location — and if you know anything else about these images!

Why Liv Osthus Wants To Be Mayor

In the second in the series of mayoral interviews, Liv Osthus, also well known by her stripper stage name Viva Las Vegas, explains why she’s a good fit for the job. Besides running for office, Osthus is also an artist and sex workers’ advocate.