PORTLAND DRIZZLE

🐐Tuesday. A Good Day. High of 67°F and mostly dry, with a small chance of showers but nothing to cancel plans over. Today is Election Day in Oregon, and your ballot is due by 8 p.m. Portland City Council is deep in budget surgery. Good morning. How are you?

Portland City Council began working through budget amendments this week, trying to reshape Mayor Keith Wilson's proposal to close a $171 million shortfall. The draft cuts $6.6 million from Portland Fire & Rescue — including removing the only engine at Station 22 in St. Johns. That means four fewer firefighters and the loss of three overnight medical rescue teams citywide. St. Johns, effectively a peninsula, already lost an engine at a nearby station years ago. Councilor Elana Pirtle-Guiney put it plainly: the neighborhood keeps landing at the top of the cut list. Several councilors are backing a "chop from the top" counter-proposal — 20% cuts to management positions across city bureaus instead of frontline responders. The deadline to pass a final budget is about a month away. KATU

Located right on the PSU campus, University Station Food Carts brings together locally owned food carts serving flavors from around the world in one vibrant downtown Portland destination. From Thai and Mediterranean to pizza, tacos, and more, there’s something for every craving. Grab a bite, hang out at the indoor full-service bar with a daily happy hour, and enjoy weekly events including comedy, live music, trivia, karaoke, plus rotating pop-up events and local markets. Whether you’re meeting friends, studying, or exploring Portland’s food cart scene, USFC is the place to be. Website

Neighbors and homeless advocates rallied Sunday in Multnomah Village to push back against Mayor Keith Wilson's proposal to convert the Multnomah Safe Rest Village into a recovery-only model. Under the plan, residents would be required to participate in recovery programming to remain at the site. Opponents say it would effectively exclude people who aren't ready for or don't need that kind of intervention, displacing some of the city's most vulnerable residents over a condition unrelated to their housing stability. The rally drew a crowd outside the village on SW Capitol Highway. No council vote has been scheduled yet, but the proposal sits inside the same budget process currently tearing up city hall over fire engines and management salaries. KATU

Portland police released bodycam footage Sunday of an officer being struck in the face during a pursuit in the Overlook neighborhood. It started around midnight on May 14 — a woman called 911 to say a stranger had broken into her North Portland home, threatened to kill her and her children, and fled when she chased him off with a stick. He grabbed a metal garbage can lid on the way out. Officers tracked 35-year-old Timothy Reed through Overlook Park and up a pedestrian bridge ramp near North Concord and Prescott — where he turned and hit the lead officer in the head with a softball-sized rock. The officer was treated and released and has returned to duty. Reed is facing first-degree burglary, felony escape, and assault on a police officer. KATU

Emerald ash borers are flourishing after the mild winter we just had. Emerging earlier, fully grown, and now spreading to new areas as well. Please join the fight in stopping them from invading and killing our ash trees. They are small, metallic-green beetles about the size of a grain of rice. Look for S-shaped galleries under the bark, D-shaped exit holes, and canopy dieback starting at the top of the tree. If you spot one, report it to the Oregon Invasive Species Council HERE

May 19, 1841: Oregon settlers launched the Star of Oregon from Swan Island, the first ship built in Oregon Country by American pioneers. They eventually traded it for cattle. Yes, I do post a lot of facts about ships. I like ships 😊

Today's the last day to drop your ballot. Remember that complaining is reserved for people that voted.

by Michael Simpson Contact: [email protected]