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City Cast Portland

City Cast Portland

🔌 PGE wants to lower your bill

June 5, 2026 · — Rachel Monahan

Good morning, Portland! 🍩 It’s National Donut Day, and local shops have some sweet offers — pun intended. Sesame Donuts, for one, is giving away free mini-donuts while supplies last.

Some other food events this weekend: 🍓 Strawberry Shortcake Week continues, and Veganizer Asian Market is on Sunday 🥕

Also happening: 📚 Portland Book Week is getting under way with lots of events around town. 🏳️‍🌈 Laurelhurst Park is hosting Gays Eating the Rich as well as the start of the Comedy in the Park season 😆

I have more ideas for your weekend, but first some news and our local scavenger hunt ⏬

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What's CITY Talking About

PGE Rate Decrease for Residential Customers

After years of increases, Portland General Electric wants to lower residential customers’ rates — by 1.3%. The proposal, which still needs approval from state regulators, comes after a new state law requires data centers to fully foot the bill for their massive electricity use. PGE’s proposal also calls for a 29% increase in rates for data centers. [KGW]

Longview Investigation Rescued From Trump Cuts

Congresswoman Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D., Wash.) successfully championed an amendment to protect the federal agency investigating the Longview paper mill disaster. Trump's budget proposed eliminating funding to the U.S. Chemical Safety Board. The Trump budget, if approved, could have ended the attempt to discover what went wrong in the disaster that killed 11 people. [KGW]

Sexual Misconduct Allegations at Portland Buddhist School

The spiritual leader of a Tibetan Buddhist university has been placed on leave after a woman came forward alleging that she was pressured into a five-year sexual relationship with him. Yangsi Rinpoche co-founded Maitripa College, which offers master’s degrees in applied Buddhism or in divinity. Rinpoche has been the school’s spiritual leader since 2005. [City Cast Portland 🎧]

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Where Is It?

Woman in a blue jacket with her arms outstretched.
A new Portland building goes local. (Stephan Vertal / reader submission)

Last week’s scavenger hunt was for a new addition to Portland.

“On the brand new apartment building on Interstate right next to Overlook Park, it's a mural of Margaret Carter, the first black woman elected to the Oregon State Legislature,” writes reader Lindsey H.

A shoutout to Lindsey H. as well as Irisa P. — the two readers who named the correct location.

This week’s scavenger hunt comes from reader Nancy Boykin:

Brightly colored geometric shapes form a tree with a butterfly in the foreground on the long low wall with a mural.
A spot of color. (Nancy Boykin / reader submission)

Where is 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.

Where Is It?

📸 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!

What To Do

Friday, June 5

Saturday, June 6

Sunday, June 7

More DC Events

🍒 It’s looking like it will be a good year for the Pacific Northwest’s cherry orchards — as long as there’s no rain. But the harvest starts now.

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