👯Friday, my Friends! It's a mild one — 58 degrees, mostly dry. The weekend ahead is the kind of April weather that makes you forgive the prior six months. Saturday hits 69. Sunday touches 75. Go outside. You've earned it. In the news: City Hall moved to cut a break for small businesses, East Portland’s food desert problem grows, and maybe just don’t read the third article if you don’t want to be sad.
🚨 THE NEWS
Portland's smallest businesses may finally catch a break — in 2027
Portland City Council voted unanimously Wednesday to advance a plan that would raise the city's Business License Tax exemption from $50,000 in gross receipts to $75,000 this year, and $100,000 by 2027. Mayor Wilson and Councilor Zimmerman pushed the change; that threshold hasn't moved since 2007. About 5,800 businesses would see an average of $207 in relief — not a fortune, but something. The full vote is set for April 8. The city faces a $170 million budget shortfall, so every dollar counts on both sides of this one.
East Portland just lost another grocery store.
The Grocery Outlet on NE Sandy Blvd. in Parkrose is closing this summer, the store's owner confirmed Wednesday. Thefts, vandalism, and the assault of employees is partly to blame. City Council President Jamie Dunphy insists that crime is decreasing in Parkrose, though. This is the second grocery to leave Parkrose in less than a year — the neighborhood Fred Meyer shut down in fall 2025. That leaves Hong Phat as the only grocery store left in the area. Councilor Candace Avalos called it a hit to the community: the store donates to school pantries, funds high school sports teams, and employs about 15 people. The corporate office made the call back in August.
Oregon Zoo's lion is gone. He was 18, and he was enormous.
Zawadi Mungu, the Oregon Zoo's African lion and one of the oldest male lions in North America, died Thursday. He arrived at the zoo in 2009, fathered two litters of cubs, and lived six years longer than male lions typically survive in the wild. Keepers built him ramps in his later years so he could still reach his favorite spot on the rocks. "He had paws the size of dinner plates and a roar so loud you could feel it in your chest," said Kelly Gomez, who ran the zoo's Africa area. Two of his cubs, Niara and Mashavu, are still at the zoo. Rest in Peace, King.
🥎 OREGON HUMANE SOCIETY SPOTLIGHT
Before I introduce Spud, I have to tell you that KATNISS was adopted the day I posted about her on 3/28! Was it one of you? Congratulations! Okay Spud here is a 10 y.o. male that looks like a pit bull/ terrier mix. He has lived with children and other dogs in the past, but he can be shy around new people. Let him come to you and walk right into your sweet heart. More info HERE
📚 ON THIS DAY
April 3, 1893: The city of Mt. Angel, Oregon was officially incorporated — a small farming community in the Willamette Valley that would later become famous for its Oktoberfest.
🥳 UPCOMING EVENTS
🌧️ Well…
Zawadi Mungu outlived every expectation. Parkrose is running out of grocery stores, and also measles is spreading. But there is also life!
by Michael Simpson Contact: [email protected]