🌹 What lives up to the Portland hype?

Oregon’s Poverty Rate

One in 9 Oregonians are below the federal poverty level, which amounts to a single person surviving on less than $15,480. But according to the nonprofit United Way’s estimates (which include cost-of-living and may be more accurate in higher-cost states), “42% of Oregon households didn’t make enough to cover the necessities in 2023,” the Oregonian reports. That’s in line with the U.S. as a whole. [Oregonian]

Becoming a Swimmable City

After a $1 billion investment in the big pipe project, Portland has made progress cleaning up the Willamette River. This week, a City Council committee is weighing whether to recommend signing up with the Swimmable Cities — an international group based in Australia that advocates for cleaning up waterways. About half of U.S. rivers are unsafe for swimming and fishing, by one estimate. [OPB]

Oregon’s Underfunding of High-Poverty Schools

Nearly 1 in 4 Portland Public Schools’ students meet a state definition for high-poverty household, but the state’s school funding formula treats only 9% of the district’s students as needing extra resources. Lawmakers aren’t planning to fix the funding formula this year, for fear of the budget hole it would create. [Oregonian 🔒]