Is Portland making progress on homelessness?

Slower Income Growth in Portland

In the last five years, household income has risen more slowly in Multnomah County (where the median household income is $83,000) than in Washington and Clackamas counties, where the median is above $100,000. [Oregonian]

Complexity to PDX Sustainability Claims

The airport hyped its new mass timber terminal as being sustainable and supporting local tribes. But “Tribes provided just about 13% of the terminal’s wood,” OPB reports. “A larger chunk — about 27% — came from timber companies that only followed minimum legal logging standards.” [OPB]

$1B Proposal To Help Utilities Pay Wildfire Victims

Moderate Democrats in the state Legislature are eyeing bills to help public utilities recover from the 2020 wildfires, including creating a $1 billion fund to settle lawsuits. Lawyers for plaintiffs as well as renewable energy advocates are questioning what taxpayers gain from such an investment. [Willamette Week]

Portland has so much to offer — but has some downsides too.

Today, Scott Kerman, who also spoke to the City Cast Portland podcast about the mayor’s approach to homelessness, shared what he’s loving about the city right now — and one thing that’s bugging him:

2 Things To Look Forward To

🏀 Fans Welcome the Women’s Basketball Team

“I'm very excited about the WNBA franchise. I know it's another year away, but we're really close to the Moda Center, where the basketball teams play — it's actually a short walk. We also are able to get tickets for our residents to go see the Portland Trail Blazers. I think it's gonna bring a lot of people to this area. It will give us an opportunity to partner with something very exciting and see how we can take some of that energy and steer it toward people that we serve.”

🍴 New Food Fun

“I'm very excited about the James Beard Market being planned for downtown. In fact, we're looking for ways that we might be able to encourage some nonprofit participation in this new enterprise, because I think it could be a great opportunity for nonprofits to collaborate.”

1 Weather Gripe

🌧️ Extremely Rainy Weather
“I don't normally complain about the rain. It's part and parcel of what we love about living here in Portland, but I could do without the atmospheric rivers…. I didn't even know those were a thing, right? I'll tell you, when we opened for breakfast [one day last month], people were just soaked to the bone and miserable. I can only imagine what it was like for them to be outdoors in that weather.”