City Cast Portland
🚗 Layoffs and service cuts after Oregon transportation bill fails
July 9, 2025 · — Rachel Monahan
Good morning, Portland! ☀️ We’ll get a break from the heat today — and likely tomorrow ☁️ It’ll be cloudy, but there’s no rain in the forecast. Expect the heat to return on Friday 🥵
What's CITY Talking About?
Trail Runner's Forest Park Record
A former Royal Marine who’s lived in Portland since October now has the bragging rights to a local record. Ajay Hanspal, 26, ran the 60 miles out-and-back on Forest Park's Wildwood Trail in 8 hours, 4 minutes. The End-to-End-to-End (or E2E2E as it’s known to trail runners) extends from the Vietnam Memorial to the end of trail at Newberry Road in Northwest Portland — and back. [Willamette Week]
Transportation Cuts Are Coming
After the Legislature failed to pass this year’s proposed transportation bill, nearly 500 Oregon Department of transportation workers are facing layoffs. On the midweek roundup, what does that mean for anyone on Oregon roads? [City Cast Portland 🎧]
- Related: A provision of the recently passed Trump tax bill raises questions about the future of the Rose Quarter I-5 project. The nonprofit Albina Vision Trust remains optimistic that the $488 million grant to cap the highway will come through, but critics suggest the project is likely dead. [Willamette Week]
Sponsored Content
Your Local Source For Wild Alaskan Salmon
Kenai-Red Fish Company is a Portland-based, family-owned business that works like a CSA—but for wild Alaskan fish! Reserve your share of our 2025 catch at KenaiRed.com, and stock your freezer with premium, flash-frozen wild salmon to enjoy year-round. Use code CITYCAST15 for $15 off your Salmon Share today!
What To Do
Wednesday, July 9
- 🚲 Bike to Swim in the Willamette River | Crema (Buckman neighborhood)
- 🥽 Lloyd Live: At the Dock | Duckworth Dock (Eastbank Esplanade)
- 😆 Lady Killers | Show Bar (Revolution Hall, Buckman neighborhood)
Thursday, July 10
- 🎥 Guardians of the Galaxy | Elizabeth Caruthers Park (South Waterfront)
- 🎵 Son de Cuba | Mt. Tabor Park Amphitheater
- 🎤 Bigfoot Poetry Festival | various locations (Downtown)
- 🫛 Rockwood Community Market | Rockwood Market Hall (Rockwood neighborhood)
- 🎵 The SteelDrivers with Haley Johnsen | Topaz Farm (Sauvie Island)
🎨 RIP to Isaka Shamsud-Din, a notable artist who painted many of the Pacific Northwest’s Black leaders. He moved to Vanport just before the 1948 flood after his family fled Texas, and he died last month at 84.
Longtime readers of this newsletter may recognize his mural of Martin Luther King, Jr. on NE MLK that was featured in the weekly scavenger hunt.
Free · Daily