A baffling spike in affordable housing evictions

Eviction Cases From Affordable Housing Are Up

During the first six months of the year, there were 1,200 eviction cases filed against residents of affordable housing in Oregon. That’s likely to surpass last year’s 1,800 cases and comes as affordable housing developers are seeing a dramatic rise in their costs. [Oregonian 🔒]

Privately Funded Street Upgrades

The nonprofit Oregon Humane Society is paying $3.3 million for safety upgrades to Northeast Columbia Boulevard after multiple crashes and near-misses. It’s an unusual move for a private group to pay so much for a road project, but the city says it doesn’t have the money. [KGW]

Portland’s High Pressure Mayor’s Race

On the Friday news roundup up, there’s an update on the Portland mayor’s race. Despite revelations of repeated traffic and parking infractions, City Commissioners Carmen Rubio and Rene Gonzalez still appear to be the frontrunners. Plus, City Commissioner Mingus Mapps is trying to take advantage of his opponents’ bad press. [City Cast Portland 🎧]

The butterfly-bedecked fence is at James John Elementary School in North Portland.

“The art teacher here does so much to make our neighborhood colorful,” wrote reader Kathryn Gearheard, a self-identified proud St. Johns resident. “My dog, Stash, and I walk past them early every day.”

A shoutout to the other readers who knew the spot: Jennifer Siebold, Denise Cloud, and Cameron.

We’re onto the next scavenger hunt:

Have you climbed these stairs? Where are they located? As always, send your name as you’d like it to appear in the reader shoutout as well as the location.