💸 Will Mayor Wilson raise taxes?

New Portland Tax for Transportation

Mayor Keith Wilson is considering emulating Hillsboro by instituting a utility fee to fund the Portland Bureau of Transportation. In 2023, former City Commissioner Mingus Mapps proposed a similar idea with fees of $8 a month per house, or $5.60 per apartment, but it faced immediate opposition. [Oregonian 🔒]

• Key fact: Clearing PBOT’s maintenance backlog on city streets would require a $4.8 billion investment, up from a mere $93 million in 2005. [Oregonian 🔒]

Republicans Pick and Choose Local Challenges

The metro area’s most vulnerable congressional Democrat is Southwest Washington’s Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez. That’s according to the National Republican Congressional Committee, which plans to mount a challenge there in the 2026 midterms. [OPB]

• Related: They’ll pass over Oregon Reps. Andrea Salinas and Janelle Bynum, who faced NRCC-supported candidates last year. [OPB]

Too Many High Schools

On the weekly news roundup, Portland Public Schools are on track to have a declining number of high school students. How should that impact plans for the new school bond? [City Cast Portland 🎧]

This cartoon T-Rex is by artist Mike Bennett found its way to Multnomah Village, at Southwest Troy and 36th Avenues:

“Finally deep SW getting some love!” writes reader Andrew M. “That’s us down here at Multnomah Village rocking that T-Rex cut out.... All I know about it is it’s just been sitting in a vacant looking lot for, like, years. But it appears to be staring directly at Yalla— one of the best restaurants in the village.”

One reader LE gave it a name: “Rusty the Dinosaur — a mural on the side of Healthy Pets NW pet store and behind Village Park.”

It’s also apparently “Multnomah Village’s newest pocket park. Music and other events are forthcoming and led by dedicated community leaders,” writes reader Maria.

“There’s a lovely landscaping plan to improve this 'Village Park' at SW 36th & Troy,” writes reader William Campbell. “There’s so much to do here (great restaurants, bars, shops, coffee/tea houses, and much more) - We love it!”

A shoutout to the rest of the first 10 readers who answered correctly: Amy M., Christina F., Christine I., Dennis P., Diana, and Shannon W. Plus, an honorable mention for reader Jeanne P., who spotted the location on Portland’s yearly yarn crawl. (I did too.)

This week’s scavenger hunt is from reader Mel Maehara:

Where is this tree? Please click here to send me the location — and anything you know about it.

If you’re new to the newsletter, there’s a scavenger hunt every Friday. Please send me the location if you know it — and for unofficial bonus points, anything you know about it. In next week’s newsletter, I’ll shout out the first 10 readers who respond correctly (and reveal the answer).

📸 Want to submit a photo? Please email me a snapshot of somewhere in the Portland metro area, and we’ll consider it for an upcoming “Where Is It?” segment!