u/Traindodger2

I publish every weekday, sometimes Saturdays too but there’s no rules- just vibes. It’s mostly AI written, I just throw in extra comments here and there. I spend 15-30 minutes on it daily. Then a little extra for social media.

950 subscribers, 57 percent open rate. I’ve been advertising local businesses, they get four ads per month for $150 but I think it’s about time to raise the price again.

https://www.portlanddrizzle.com/

What else is going on this weekend?

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🐧Hey Thursday! High near 63°F, 25% chance of rain, basically a perfect Portland May. Thunder last night! Rad. The school district is cutting teachers while its vendor contracts somehow went up 62%. A doctor got a shockingly gentle sentence. And Tuesday night the Portland Fire got their first win in franchise history on a buzzer-beater.

PORTLAND SCHOOLS FOUND MONEY — JUST NOT FOR TEACHERS

Portland Public Schools is heading into its third straight year of budget cuts, trying to close a $56 million gap by trimming staff and programs. But buried in the proposed 2026-27 budget is a line item going the other direction: spending on outside contractors jumped 62%, from $270 million to $437 million. The board votes May 26 after public comment sessions this week at Benson High. A separate oversight committee raised an uncomfortable question: that students without resources at home may be getting "meaningfully fewer instructional resources" despite the district's high per-pupil spending, and that lower-income kids are the ones most harmed when that's true. OPB

THE DOCTOR WHO LEFT A MAN IN THE ROAD GETS 13 MONTHS

A Portland-area ER doctor was sentenced Tuesday to 13 months in prison for a hit-and-run that killed a man on a Woodburn crosswalk in December 2024. Dr. Kenneth Kolarsky, 59, struck Nicolas Hernandez-Mendoza, who had activated the crosswalk safety lights before crossing, then stopped, drove around his unconscious body, and kept driving to work at Silverton Hospital, arriving about 20 minutes later. Hernandez-Mendoza died in surgery. Prosecutors couldn't charge Kolarsky with causing the crash itself, only leaving the scene. During sentencing, the judge said Kolarsky left a community member "fallen and in the dark." KGW

LAIKA JUST DROPPED THE WILDWOOD TRAILER AND YES, IT'S VERY PORTLAND

After seven years, the stop-motion studio behind Coraline is finally back. Laika, based in Hillsboro, unveiled the first trailer for Wildwood at Cannes today, a darkly magical feature adapted from the beloved kids' novel by The Decemberists' Colin Meloy and Portland illustrator Carson Ellis. The story follows Prue McKeel, a Portland teenager who chases her baby brother into the Impassable Wilderness after he's stolen by crows. Pittock Mansion shows up. Talking animals show up. The voice cast, Carey Mulligan, Mahershala Ali, Tom Waits, Awkwafina, Jacob Tremblay, shows up in a big way. Travis Knight directed and called it "a love letter to Portland." It opens October 23. Deadline

On this day in 2011, the Portland Timbers hosted the Seattle Sounders in their first MLS regular-season match. The Derby was born. Portland lost 2-1.

PDX TONIGHT • MAY 14, 2026

Portland Fire vs. New York Liberty @ Moda Center

Copland & Rachmaninoff @ Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall

Com Truise @ The Get Down Music Venue

Mel Brown B3 Organ Group @ Jack London Revue

Well... A doctor drove around a dying man before going to his shift…. at the hospital… where he- saved lives? Make it make sense.

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I send out these lists every day in a newsletter, free to subscribe https://www.portlanddrizzle.com/

🦜Happy Monday. The heat wave breaks a little, high of 75° after yesterday's scorcher. Which, given what happened Saturday morning on SW Salmon Street, feels like the city could use a deep breath anyway.

Someone Drove a Car Into the MAC. On Purpose

Early Saturday, a man drove an explosives-laden car through the front entrance of the Multnomah Athletic Club around 3 a.m. and died in the resulting fire. Police and FBI investigators spent the better part of the day using robots to remove incendiary and improvised devices, some already partially detonated, from the building. The Metro Explosive Disposal Unit called it the most complex scene their bomb tech had worked in 13 years on the job. A law enforcement source told FOX 12 the driver was a 49-year-old former MAC employee named Bruce Whitman, who the club had been warning members about since 2022 after he approached members at their homes. The club sustained "significant but contained" damage. No members, staff, or guests were injured. Police said there's no evidence of terrorism and believe it was an isolated incident. The medical examiner has not yet formally identified the driver due to ongoing safety concerns at the scene OPB

The DA Is Watching the Budget Very Closely

Multnomah County DA Nathan Vasquez is sounding the alarm about proposed cuts to his office in the county's 2026–27 budget. County Chair Jessica Vega Peterson's plan would slice about $3.5 million, roughly 5, from the DA's $55.1 million budget, potentially eliminating up to 20 positions, including eight to ten deputy district attorneys. Vasquez called it "the single largest defunding of the district attorney's office in the history of Multnomah County." He warned it could kill the auto theft and burglary task forces and a pre-trial monitoring program serving about 450 people. Vasquez said homicides have dropped from a high of more than 100 countywide in 2022 to 66 last year and called this a critical moment not to blink. The county board is set to adopt a final budget on June 4. KGW

The Mask Ordinance Fight Keeps Getting Messier

Portland City Council gave a first reading last week to Councilor Sameer Kanal's "Right to Know" ordinance, which would ban face coverings for local officers and direct Portland Police to investigate and document any masked agents operating in the city. Mayor Keith Wilson sent a memo urging council to drop it, citing a Ninth Circuit ruling that struck down a similar California law, and warning that the federal administration "is hungry for a win in Portland." Kanal pushed back, arguing the ordinance doesn't regulate federal agents but directs city employees to document encounters, a legal distinction he says survives the court ruling. The city's police union added another wrinkle: they say any changes to officer protocols must be collectively bargained before the ordinance passes, not after. It's the kind of fight where everyone is technically right and nothing gets resolved. KPTV

Portland Nursery has been helping Portland grow since 1907 — with two SE locations on Stark and Division, monthly gardening tips, and classes all season long. This month’s tips include: smart watering, mulching, and pond prep. TIPS

ON THIS DAY May 4, 1923: Benson High School launched Portland's first public radio station. A century later, kids are just on their phones in class. Progress.

TONIGHT'S EVENTS

• The Dear Hunter @ Aladdin Theater
• Yebba @ Crystal Ballroom
• The Moth Presents @ Holocene
• Square Dancing w/ Paradise String Band @ Showdown Saloon

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I send out these lists every day in a newsletter, free to subscribe https://www.portlanddrizzle.com/

🥃Thursday could be worse-day hits 77 and sunny, so enjoy it while it lasts. Today: Home Forward's “embattled” CEO is out, Waymo cars are literally learning Portland's streets, and high school poets take the Schnitz stage tonight. I wrote embattled like that because that's how the major press outlets keep referring to her, though to me that makes it sound like she's just been fighting the good fight instead of wasting taxpayers funds on lavish vacations. Sorry to report that the Blazers have been eliminated by San Antonio Spurs 4-1.

Home Forward's CEO Is Gone. Now Everyone's Looking at the Board.

The CEO of Home Forward, Ivory Mathews, resigned Wednesday effective May 1 — the end of a weeks-long pressure campaign sparked by Willamette Week reporting that she had spent more than $100,000 in taxpayer money on travel over three years, even as the agency left nearly 1,000 units vacant and slid toward financial distress. Michael Buonocore, former Home Forward director and current interim head of the Portland Housing Bureau, will step in as interim director, his third stint atop one of these two agencies. One resignation may not be enough: the union representing 205 Home Forward employees says leadership failures go beyond any single person, and a county commissioner and city councilor are now calling on the full board to step down. Board chair Matthew Gebhardt, who repeatedly defended Mathews, issued a brief thank-you and said nothing else. Matthews is getting a $172K severance plus $50K to help her find a new job. Willamette Week

A Waymo Is Learning Your Neighborhood Right Now

As of Tuesday, Waymo drivers are manually piloting Google-parent Alphabet's robotaxis through Portland's streets — bridges, corridors, the whole deal — mapping the city ahead of an eventual driverless launch. Mayor Keith Wilson put out a statement welcoming the company. Several city councilors did not. Councilor Mitch Green opened with "Ew, like, who asked for this?" before pivoting to policy concerns about labor impacts and safety. Council President Jaime Dunphy noted Portland is "a long ways" from autonomous vehicles actually operating here — Waymo still needs a city permit, and PBOT is still updating the rules. For now, the only thing getting a free ride is the car's navigation system. OPB

The City Wants to Overhaul Portland's Arts Tax. Here's the Twist.

Portland's $35-per-adult annual arts tax may be getting a makeover. A new proposal would raise the flat fee to $50 while exempting more lower-income residents from paying it — shrinking the payer pool even as the per-person amount goes up. The tax, which funds arts education in public schools and support for local arts nonprofits, has been a source of grumbling since voters approved it in 2012. Critics have long complained it hits lower-income Portlanders disproportionately, since everyone below a certain income threshold already skips it, but the flat rate stings people in the middle. No vote has been scheduled yet. The proposal is in early stages, which in Portland city government means it could become law next month or disappear entirely OPB

ON THIS DAY

April 30, 1946: Portland-born animator Bill Plympton enters the world. He'd later hand-draw an entire feature film himself and animate eight Simpsons couch gags — the most of any guest.

OREGON HUMANE SOCIETY SPOTLIGHT

Meet Sassy — a 3-year-old, 37-pound yellow Lab mix currently in foster care. She's a country dog navigating city life, still learning the leash, and a little shy at first. Give her treats and patience and she'll repay you in unreasonable amounts of affection. Available at Oregon Humane for $400. Appointment required to meet her. MORE

PDX TONIGHT • APRIL 30, 2026

• Verselandia! Youth Poetry Slam Championship @ Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
• Unknown Mortal Orchestra @ Revolution Hall
• El Ten Eleven @ Holocene
• Fat Ham @ Portland Center Stage
• The SpongeBob Musical @ Portland Playhouse

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Nice Monday, mostly sunny, high around 62. A Multnomah County judge sentenced a Portland woman to 26 months after her two dogs killed a 6-year-old boy in 2023. Central Catholic students walk out against racism. And Urban Alchemy, which runs several Portland shelter sites, just hit a milestone worth knowing about.

Koko Miller sentenced to 26 months in death of 6-year-old Loyalty Scott

On Friday, a Multnomah County judge sentenced Koko Miller, 57, to just over two years in prison after her two Great Dane-Mastiff mixes mauled and killed 6-year-old Loyalty Scott in December 2023. The boy had been dropped off at Miller's Northeast Portland home before school when he followed her into the garage as she tended to the dogs. Miller was convicted in January of criminally negligent homicide, maintaining a dangerous dog, and two counts of first-degree criminal mistreatment. Judge Howes said Miller had shown no genuine personal accountability. She will also serve three years of probation upon release KGW

Central Catholic students walked out Friday. The school is still answering for it.

Hundreds of Central Catholic High School students left class Friday morning, organized by the school's Black Student Union, demanding accountability after a varsity baseball player used a racial slur during a pre-game cheer, a chant students say had been part of team tradition for years, allegedly enforced through hazing. The school forfeited two games, went digital for two days, and issued an apology. Students said it wasn't enough. Their demands include suspending the entire coaching staff pending training and barring some players from finishing the season. The Archdiocese has yet to weigh in publicly. KPTV

Urban Alchemy has placed 500 people into housing. Portland still has 18,000 without it.

Urban Alchemy, the California nonprofit the city contracted in 2023 to run several shelter sites and a day center, has moved just over 500 people into permanent housing over three years, about a 30% placement rate from its Portland operations. That's not nothing. Operations manager Jeffers Dickey said the key is staff with their own lived experience on the streets. The harder number: Multnomah County estimates over 18,000 people are currently experiencing homelessness in the county, roughly half unsheltered. Mayor Wilson's proposed budget would cut shelter funding by about 30% KPTV

NEW RESTAURANT SPOTLIGHT: Bar Nouveau : Chef Althea Grey Potter's Bar Nouveau, a pop-up turned brick-and-mortar French bistro in St. Johns, is Portland Monthly's hottest new table. Expect chicken liver mousse piped like frosting onto sablé cookies, roast duck with spaetzle, and Sauvie Island produce. Reservations by text only. Very Portland Website

On this date in 1981, Portland's KGW became the first local TV station in the country to broadcast an entire newscast using only computer-generated graphics. It looked exactly as chaotic as you'd expect.

TONIGHT'S EVENTS

• Queens of the Stone Age @ Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
• The Brook and The Bluff @ Wonder Ballroom
• The Wedding Present @ Mississippi Studios
• It's Gonna Be Okay (Comedy) @ The EastBurn
• Laugh Basement (Comedy) @ The Goodfoot

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