🫖Great Wednesday. Clouds this morning, high of 67°F, 20% chance of rain, but the back half of the week is looking like actual summer. Today at City Hall: the first formal reading of Portland's $8.5 billion budget. Budget nerds and people who like parks, fire stations, and police officers should probably pay attention.
🚨 THE NEWS
Portland's Budget Gets Its First Vote Today
Portland City Council takes up the first formal reading of the $8.5 billion FY 2026-27 adopted budget Wednesday morning — the final stretch of a process that closed a $160 million shortfall. Councilors already fought through 40-plus amendments in May, with several landing on 6-6 ties. The public can testify in person or online at the 9:30 a.m. meeting. A second reading follows June 17, when the budget gets formally locked in. The approved plan makes deep cuts to homeless services — shelter funding down 29%, outreach down 32% — while preserving fire stations, parks, and police. However Portlanders feel about those choices, today is the last real chance to say so out loud. Portland.gov
A Colin Kaepernick AI Assembly at a Portland Middle School Did Not Go Great
Portland Public Schools has been quietly piloting an AI literacy program called Lumi Story, built by Colin Kaepernick's edtech startup. In May, the district threw an assembly at Beaumont Middle School to show it off, busing in kids from two other schools, bringing out a DJ, and firing free Nike gear from a T-shirt cannon. Two students allegedly got into a fight over the swag. Most parents, according to the Portland Mercury, had no idea the program existed. A Portland chapter of Schools Beyond Screens is now pushing the district to change its edtech policies, and wants community members to show up to School Board meetings wearing yellow June 9, 11, and 15. There's also a survey to fill out if you want to weigh in before those conversations happen. Portland Mercury
Counterfeit Bills, Stolen Clothes, and a Hail of Gunfire at a Tualatin Park
A 20-year-old Portland man is facing attempted murder charges after allegedly opening fire on two people during a Facebook Marketplace clothing sale gone wrong. Daniel Jaden Rodriguez Jr. met the victims at Jurgens Park in Tualatin on June 2, paid with several hundred dollars in counterfeit bills, and then ran off with the clothes when confronted. He fired multiple rounds toward the sellers as he fled. Nobody was hit. Tips from the public helped investigators ID Rodriguez, and Washington County deputies arrested him June 5. He's also charged with first-degree robbery, forgery, and unlawful use of a weapon. The victims, for their part, were just trying to sell clothes. KPTV
🍝 NEW RESTAURANT SPOTLIGHT
Ding & Spice: Hawthorne has a new Sichuan spot worth knowing about. Ding & Spice at 3500 SE Hawthorne does bold wok-fried Chinese, pan-seared dumplings, Chongqing hot chicken, and they make these mini hotpots. We tried their Peking pork dish that came with fresh steam buns and veggies. Then we had pork wontons in chili oil- I’m so obsessed with chili oil 😂 Great cocktails too! Ding & Spice website is here, and we made a video about it here
📚 ON THIS DAY
On June 10, 1977, the Portland Trail Blazers defeated the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 6 to win the NBA championship - the franchise's only title… yet.
🥳 UPCOMING EVENTS
