🏠 Closing shelters as Portland homelessness rises

Shelters Closing

After budget cuts at the county and city, ten homeless shelters — amounting to 1,100 permanent beds — are slated to close by the end of the calendar year. The cuts come at a time when federal funding is declining, and the number of people experiencing homelessness is continuing to rise. [City Cast Portland 🎧]

• More people living on the streets: “There's gonna be fewer safe places for people to sleep who don't have permanent housing,” Oregonian reporter Lillian Mongeau Hughes explains on today’s podcast. “It's gonna be a bigger gap.” [City Cast Portland 🎧]
• More shelter beds compared to past: According to Mongeau Hughes' story for the Oregonian, the Portland area will still have more shelter beds than in early 2025 and more than double the number available in January 2022. [Oregonian]
• A change in shelter system: But in 2025 nearly all the beds were 24-hour shelters. With these cuts, the shelter system will look very different, with a much higher percentage of overnight-only shelters going forward. [Oregonian]

$2.15B Renovation of PDX Is Now Done

It took 11 years to plan and finish construction, but now the massive project to rehab the PDX airport is complete as of the end of June. [Willamette Week]

Police Oversight Board Members Object to Budget Ordinance Proposal

Six members of the city’s new police oversight board — the Community Board for Police Accountability — officially objected to City Council's budget ordinance proposal that would use some of their unspent funds to save city jobs. [Portland Mercury]

• What they said: “Regardless of Councilors’ intent,” the letter reads, “this ordinance has both the appearance and the effect of eroding that independence and limiting the board’s power just as the CBPA has finally been established — six years after Portland voters mandated its formation.” [Portland Mercury]
• Related: On Tuesday’s podcast, Councilor Angelita Morillo said the mayor has announced his support for the proposal via email. [City Cast Portland 🎧]

A Smaller Keller Auditorium?

Two committees advising the city on the future of performing arts venues recommended creating a new 3,200-seat auditorium at Portland State, to accommodate traveling Broadway shows. They also recommended renovating the Keller Auditorium but making it smaller — 1,500 to 1,800 seats, down from its current 3,000 — to meet "unmet market needs." [KATU]