City Cast Portland
🍌 Saving a beloved giant banana
April 28, 2025 · — Rachel Monahan
Good morning! An effort is underway to save the beloved Portland mural of a giant banana in the Hosford-Abernethy neighborhood.
After more than 40 years, "Art Fills the Void" (as the banana mural is formally named) is now under threat. What’s the deal with Portland's long history of street art, and where can you see some of the city's best murals right now?
What's DC Talking About
Doubt About Nike’s Progress Since Sweatshop Scandal
Nike says it says it pays its factory workers an average of 1.9 times their local minimum wage. But an investigation of one Cambodian factory shows that only 1% of workers were making 1.9 times the roughly $1 per hour minimum wage there. [ProPublica via Oregonian]
Mercy Corps’s Financial Woes
Portland-based international nonprofit Mercy Corps is selling its Old Town headquarters to cut expenses after the Trump administration slashed federal funding. The group has also been forced to shut down 40 of its 60 federally-funded programs, including the group’s work helping to feed 200,000 people in Sudan. [OPB]
$300K Ends Middle School Sexual Harassment Case
A Portland teacher who faced sexual harassment from middle school boys has settled her lawsuit against Portland Public Schools. The district admitted no wrongdoing, but incidents include seventh-graders making a video of her buttocks. [Oregonian]
What To Do
Monday, April 28
- 🖼️ This is Vietnamese Portland | 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., through Wednesday | free for Multnomah County residents | Oregon Historical Society
- 🤓 History Pub: Dreams Like Thunder | 7 p.m. | $5 | Kennedy School
- 📚 Oregon Book Awards | 7:30 p.m. | $15 | Portland Center Stage
Tuesday, April 29
- 🖼️ This is Vietnamese Portland | 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. | free for Multnomah County residents | Oregon Historical Society
- 🪓 Laid Off. Now What? | noon | free | online
- 💪 Show Up for Small Business | 5 - 8 p.m. | various | Ankeny Alley
- 🎵 Obituary | 6 p.m. | $38.25 | Roseland Theater
- 🎬 The Last Unicorn (1982) | 7 p.m. | $10 | Clinton Street Theater
- 🎭 Six the Musical | 7:30 p.m. | $71+ | Keller Auditorium
Saturday, May 3
- 🎉 503 Day Block Party | 1 - 6:03 p.m. | Free | Downtown
🛏️ After six years, Multnomah County finally has a sobering center again. Starting today, it’ll run 24/7, have 13 beds, and give police a place to take people who are intoxicated and need help but aren't necessarily under arrest.
Free · Daily