🪩 Will Portland get a night mayor?

A Night Mayor for Portland

There’s more talk in Portland about City Hall hiring a night mayor. More than a dozen cities have the role (technically called a nighttime economy director). And now City Council president Jamie Dunphy supports it. City Cast Portland host Claudia Meza explains why on the Your City Could Be Better podcast. [Your City Could Be Better 🎧]

Drivers Ignoring Road Closure Signs

A local road closed last month by a landslide has remained closed, but drivers kept ignoring the signs on Southwest Fairmount Boulevard — potentially causing conditions to deteriorate further. The Portland Bureau of Transportation responded to this behavior by installing concrete barriers to out-and-out block cars. The stretch of road is expected to remain closed through the summer. [KOIN]

Chef Greg Higgins Is Selling His Restaurant

Higgins, the restaurant that helped launch the city’s farm-to-table dining scene back in 1994, was poised to close last July. But then chef Greg Higgs put the call out to Portland — and diners responded, returning to his downtown institution. Now at 68, he’s ready to call it quits, and pass off the baton to anyone who wants to buy the place. [Oregonian]

Appeals Court Victory for PacifiCorp

A class action lawsuit stemming from the 2020 Labor Day fires could pause the 160 trials underway to establish damages the company would owe — and it could send other survivors of the fire back to court. The Oregon Court of Appeals found a procedural flaw in the 2023 lawsuit. It’s not clear what happens next, but it may be appealed to the Oregon Supreme Court. [OPB]

Last week’s scavenger hunt was for another spot in the suburbs — in downtown Beaverton.

Painted in 2017 as part of the mural festival Forest for the Trees, the mural by Blaine Fountaine is entitled “A Miyazaki Moment.” That’s a reference to director Hayao Miyazaki, co-founder of Studio Ghibli, a Japanese animation studio.

One reader, without knowing the location, called it: “No clue but I really love the kodama-ish little creature 🥹” wrote reader Misty.

Other readers filled in details:

“This mural is part of a larger one at Southwest Washington and Southwest First,” writes reader Anita Carroll. “It is on the wall bordering a parking lot that is adjacent to some great restaurants like Ate-oh-Ate, The Whole Bowl, the new (and currently closed) Blutos and a new place called Fly Chai. I spend a lot of time in that area.”

“Saw it during a walking tour of Beaverton,” wrote reader Julie C. “My guide mentioned something about deforestation and releasing the tree spirits.”

A shoutout to them as well as three other readers who identified the spot: Amy M., Heidi F., and AJ.

This week’s photo is another from photographer Mark E. McClure:

Do you know this mural?

Please click here to submit the location — and, for unofficial bonus points, anything you know about it.

If you’re new to the newsletter, there’s a scavenger hunt every Friday. In next week’s newsletter, I’ll reveal the answer and shout out the first 10 readers who respond correctly.

📸 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!