🌱 Thousands Without Power + Multnomah Homeless Count

Dominic Anaya
Updated ·5 min read

Hey, all, I'm back for another round of our favorite game, What's Going on in Portland! You already know how to play, so let's start the first round.

First, today's weather:

Partly cloudy today, with a high of 46.

Here are the top five stories today in Portland:

  1. Thousands in the Portland metro area have lost power due mainly to high winds early Thursday morning. Around 6:30 a.m., Portland General Electric reported nearly 5,000 customers lost power. At least one outage reported is due to a tree on a line. However, the majority of the outages are caused by high winds. According to PGE, the outages are caused by wind gusts of 30 mph. (KOIN.com)

  2. The Portland City Council on Wednesday heard public testimony from community members who urged it to delay authorizing the procurement process of body-worn cameras for police officers until the city had established parameters around who owns and may view the footage those cameras capture, among other policy issues. (Willamette Week)

  3. For the first time in two years, volunteers are out to count the number of people experiencing homelessness in Multnomah County. The record number of volunteers conducting the “Point in Time Count” will ask people where they are sleeping, along with other information. It is not intended to show how many people come in and out of homelessness over a year, but rather to be a snapshot. (KATU)

  4. Changes could be coming to many Portland neighborhoods that have been protected by federal historic designations. The City Council voted unanimously on Wednesday to reframe the rules. The city of Portland can now take a federal historic landmark and allow changes to be made to it. The new regulations will take place March 1. (KPTV.com)

  5. Alaska Airlines started the year by announcing flight reductions of 10% due to Omicron, and new data shows the carrier's cuts for the first quarter of 2022 add up to more than 1,200 nationally and nearly 200 at PDX. Data from Cirium Inc. shows that Alaska as of Monday had cut 194 scheduled flights for February and March at Portland International Airport, where it is the largest carrier. (KGW)

From our sponsor:

Tackling a big to-do list around the house to start the new year? Our partners at Thumbtack, the home services app, have made hiring trusted local pros for pretty much any job extremely easy and intuitive. In minutes, you can find a painter, plumber, roofer or someone to help with small jobs such as trash hauling or appliance repair. And Thumbtack's rating system can give you confidence that you're hiring a quality pro you can count on. Click here to get started.

Today in Portland:

  • For some great live music check out the Friday Night Coffeehouse at Artichoke Music in SE Portland. Hosted by Doug Henderson of Nightfolk. Joining him in the lineup is Sigrid Varian, Dale Jones & Chris Baron, and Marianne Flemming & Kevin Neil, and Chasing Ebeneezer. Advance purchase of tickets is recommended. Doors open at 6:30 pm.

  • If you're in an artistic mood, swing by Gather Make Shelter in NW Portland for the closing reception of KHEM's show Smiles of Planet Earth. KHEM paints simple black curves on white paper, arranged in patterns whose meaning he decodes after he has completed the work. KHEM has travelled widely in the Americas and arrived in Portland and experienced houselessness. Smiles of Planet Earth closes tonight with a live painting show at 6pm.

  • Ruckus will be playing at the Jack London Revue in Downtown Portland. Ruckus was born on March 5, 1992 and raised In Miami, Florida, where he has been playing drums since he was two years old. He also plays the piano, bass, trumpet, saxophone and many more. Get your tickets online. Doors open at 8:00 PM.

  • The Drum & Bass Happy Hour presented by Subduction Audio will be happening at Mighty Moe's Tanker in SE Portland. Featuring Uncommon Sense, The Brund, Woodrow and Mr. Solve. There's no cover for this show, so how could you lose? 5:00 - 9:00 PM.

  • Clinton Cult Classics presents The Vanishing at the Clinton Street Theater in SE Portland. A young man embarks on an obsessive search for the girlfriend who mysteriously disappeared while the couple was taking a sunny vacation trip, and his three-year investigation draws the attention of her abductor, a mild-mannered professor with a clinically diabolical mind. Showtime is 10:00 PM.

From my notebook:

  • Portland, Oregon: "A foggy morning over St. John’s. 🌁-Photo by: @__adamblank" (Instagram)

  • Travel Portland: "The Year of the Tiger kicks off on Feb. 1! Join in local Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese Lunar New Year festivities across town. All the info you need is in the link in our bio! #ThisIsPortland📷: @tee.explores #PDX #PDXNOW #TravelP..." (Instagram)

  • Portland Audubon: "📣Action Alert for Portlanders! We need your help to tell the City to increase floodplain protections throughout much of Portland. Right now the city is accepting public comments on a plan designed “to reduce the impacts of future floo..." (Instagram)

  • Oregon Historical Society: "As we continue to celebrate the launch of the Museum Collection Portal, we will be sharing a few of the treasures that you can find on the Portal on social media this week. One of these highlights is the collection of Ivan Collins wagons. Coll..." (Facebook)

  • On Dec. 28, while many of us were enjoying a well-deserved post-Christmas chill, the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission was busy approving a new slate of rules that have not only changed what’s available at your local dispensary, but also what’s stocked in the wellness aisle at Oregon grocery stores. If you partake in any aspect of cannabis commerce here in Portland, you may want to take a look at what has changed. (Willamette Week)

Loving the Portland Daily? Here are all the ways you can get more involved:

There's your Friday, buckaroos! A fine end to a fine week. Enjoy yourself, Portland, and meet me back here tomorrow so I can ease you into your weekend.

— Dominic Anaya

About me: Doctor, educator and now a writer/artist, I'm just chillin' in Portland, OR with my wife, our ferrets, our chickens and our goats.

This article originally appeared on the Portland Patch