🛢️ The mayor's latest tie-breaking vote

Last week's scavenger hunt was for some portraits City Cast Portland senior producer Rachel Monahan spotted recently — you'll find them in the heart of the Kerns neighborhood.

"This is off Burnside in the Kerns neighborhood (SE Ankeny) at the Gorges Beer Co. rainbow road pub. Love popping over there after a movie at the Laurelhurst theater :)," says reader Jamie G.

"SE 28th & Ankeny. This section is closed to car traffic and is a public square. There is an artist that does portraits at this square. I ride my bike through here all the time," says reader Brian Finlayson

"Great community hub and gathering area - I love walking by and seeing what's going on here," says reader Kate R.

A shoutout to them and to Ben B., David Stevick, Robin S., Mark M., Ryan Mayfield, Sido Surkis, and Lila for guessing the location correctly.

Longtime readers might know this week's scavenger hunt — it's for one of my favorite murals in town.

Do you know where it is?

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!

Mayor Wilson's Tie-Breaking Zenith Vote

This week, Portland Mayor Keith Wilson voted to transfer a contract the city has with fossil fuel company Zenith Energy to an international investment company — this was his second tie-breaking vote in office. I Squared Capital will take over Zenith's operations at the Critical Energy Infrastructure (CEI) Hub in Northwest Portland, with no changes in enforcement. The hub has long been a concern of local leaders and activists because of the severe risk of explosion and environmental harm in the case of a fire, earthquake, or other natural disaster (like a mega earthquake we’re due for any day). [Portland Mercury]

Student Test Scores Show Minor Improvement

New testing results from the Oregon Department of Education show students are still recovering from pandemic setbacks in reading and math. The results show 43.3% of elementary and middle school students are proficient in reading and writing — only a single percentage point more than last year — and 34.1% of students are proficient in math — only 1.4 percentage points more than last year. [Oregonian]

Gresham Finds Success in Shuttering Illicit Massage Parlors

Over the past year, Gresham City Hall and police have collaborated to crack down on illicit massage parlors. They’ve shut down seven different illicit businesses in the area. One change that helped is requiring an in-person application for massage businesses and a thorough inspection of the parlor before handing over a license. [KOIN]

Related: Portland has its own challenges with illicit massage parlors. [City Cast Portland 🎧]