City Cast Portland
🚗 Should we expect $20 tolls for the I-5 bridge?
April 21, 2025 · — Rachel Monahan
Good morning! I asked you all for your ideas for Portland icons — to help inspire anyone thinking to enter our Portland Icons Costume Contest on 503 Day. (In case you’ve missed it, you’re invited to come celebrate our city on May 3.) Thanks to readers Erica, Christina E., Amy M., R.C., and Ruth for their ideas:
- 🪚 Timber Jim or Timber Joey!
- 🍴 A food cart. Bonus points for anyone who dresses up as a food cart pod.
- ☂️ The man with the umbrella in Pioneer Square
- 👭 Ramona Quimby
- 🎤 Bud Clark
- 🚆 A MAX train
- 🎸 Portland's Elvis, and
- 🦄 The Unipiper.
You can still sign up to participate in the contest — or just submit your ideas to help inspire some fun competition.
Related: More details on the Portland Icons Costume Contest,
What's CITY Talking About?
Lower Success Rate at Housing Pods
According to new data, only 14% of people who stayed at Portland’s pod-style homeless shelters this year have left for permanent housing — a significant decline from last year when the number was 47%. The reason? The city says there’s been less rental assistance available, though that could still change. [Willamette Week]
$20 Tolls for I-5 Bridge?
An expert is warning that the cost of the I-5 bridge replacement over the Columbia River could be upwards of $9 billion, because of inflation and tariffs on steel. Compounded by the prospect of less federal funding, tolls on the bridge could be set at $20 — says Bob Ortblad, a retired civil engineer. [KATU]
Turning Portland's Offices Into Homes
As of the end of last year, more than 30% of downtown office space was vacant. Sara Edwards of the Portland Business Journal explains the challenges facing two big commercial-to-residential renovation projects getting underway — and what they show about the future of addressing the city’s housing crunch. [City Cast Portland 🎧]
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Come celebrate Portland!
Join us for a free block party on May 3. Featuring a beer garden, performances by the Clinton Street Cabaret, a chance to sing with Karaoke From Hell, as well as a Portland Icons Costume Contest and more. Learn more here!
What To Do
Monday, April 21
- 🎵 Magic Luscious Spirit Sounds | 2 - 4 p.m. | free | Turn! Turn! Turn!
- 🖼️ Artshitz 2025: Art & Craft Market | 6 - 10 p.m. | free | The High Water Mark Lounge
- 🎵 Leprous: Melodies of Atonement 2025 | 7:30 p.m. | $38.37 | Wonder Ballroom
- 🎵 L.A. Witch | 8 p.m. | $26.05 | Mississippi Studios
- 🎵 Bermuda Search Party | 8 p.m. | $22.50 | Hawthorne Theater Lounge
Tuesday, April 22
- 🌷Hood River Tulip Festival | ongoing | $19.95 | Packer Orchards
- 🌷 Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival | Timed entry, 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. | $16+ | Woodburn, Oregon
- 🎥 Midnight Special (Sci-Fi Film Fest) | 6 p.m. | $9 | OMSI
Saturday, May 3
- 🎉 503 Day Block Party | 1 - 6:03 p.m. | Free | Downtown
🍃 State cannabis regulators have found that a lot of hemp products have enough THC to legally be considered cannabis – a violation of state rules:
“About 60% of the products that we purchased were actually very high total THC products, essentially indistinguishable from the marijuana products…sold in our licensed retail markets," Steven Crowley, cannabis and education policy analyst at the OLCC, told KGW.
Free · Daily