PORTLAND DRIZZLE

🦺Happy Saturday! Sunny and 64 on Saturday. Good day to be outside, bad day to be a city administrator. Portland's homelessness crisis is getting worse faster than the housing is getting built, and City Hall owes some answers. Theres a parade on 82nd Ave between Division and Holgate at 9:30am today.

Portland City Council held its first-ever oversight hearing Thursday, dragging in the city's Chief Financial Officer and budget officials to explain why $21 million in unspent housing funds sat hidden from the council for months. The CFO, Jonas Biery, acknowledged he withheld the information — in part, a councilor suggested, out of fear it would leak to the press. Multiple councilors pushed back: not disclosing millions in public money during an active budget debate isn't a reasonable call, no matter who finds out. The money has since been allocated, but the damage to trust in city administration is ongoing. Councilor Kanal said another oversight hearing may be coming. Portland Mercury

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The math isn't working. Multnomah County data shows that over the past six months, roughly 360 more people per month entered homelessness than exited it — a widening gap that city leaders say can only be closed by building more housing. Portland's current goals: 2,500 units in the central city by 2030, and 20,000 units citywide by 2032, which would mean just under 3,000 new units per year. A city planner put it plainly: the biggest risk is not building enough. A "Unified Housing Strategy" is in draft. How it gets funded remains an open question. KATU

Oregon's most powerful teachers union is done playing nice with the party it helped build. The Oregon Education Association — 40,000 members strong — is endorsing primary challengers against sitting Democratic lawmakers ahead of May's election, targeting state Sen. Janeen Sollman of Hillsboro for supporting school funding reform OEA opposed. The union also declined to endorse Gov. Kotek's reelection. An investigation by the Oregon Journalism Project found OEA has run a budget deficit every year since 2018, losing roughly $5 million in dues annually after a Supreme Court ruling freed members from mandatory payments. The union is flexing to stay relevant. Whether it works is another question. Oregon Journalism Project

Portland took over 82nd Avenue from the state in 2022 and has been rebuilding it ever since. The $185 million "Building a Better 82nd" project is adding new pavement, sidewalks, pedestrian crossings, lighting, and trees to one of the city's most dangerous corridors. Construction wraps up in 2026. Phase two — more medians, repaving, and transit improvements — starts in 2027, alongside a separate TriMet project bringing high-frequency bus service to the corridor. WEBSITE

On April 25, 1792, Captain Robert Gray named the Columbia River after his ship — setting off a chain of events that would eventually produce Portland, rain, and very strong opinions about bikes.

360 more people fell into homelessness last month than got out. The city has a plan. It just doesn't have the math yet.

by Michael Simpson Contact: [email protected]