Your Daily Guide

25% of Oregon is Officially in a Drought. Will Portland Be Next?

As of this week, nine of Oregon's 36 counties have declared an official drought emergency after a historically warm winter. More than half of the state is already experiencing drought conditions, and May is projected to bring warmer and drier-than-normal weather to our city. [OPB / Oregonian / KOIN]

• A very warm winter: Oregon just had its warmest winter in nearly a century. Our snowpack levels are dropping and "haven't been this low heading into summer since 2015," according to Oregon Water Resources Department Hydrologist Cameron Greenwood. [OPB]
• Prevention: Forestry crews are rushing to clear wildfire fuels like vegetation and small-diameter trees in fire-prone areas. Crews are reporting tree moisture to be nearly three times less saturated than average for this time of year. If it weren't for April's rainy conditions, the fire season could have already started last month, according to Grayback Forestry base manager Sean Hendrix. [OPB]
• Predictions: Last time the snowpack was this low in May, nearly 70% of Oregon counties had official drought declarations before the year's end. According to Greenwood, Oregon is "in for a pretty tough summer" with earlier water regulation a possibility. [OPB]

MAC Club Attacked

Early Saturday morning, a former employee allegedly drove a car full of explosives into the Multnomah Athletic Club, an elite private club in Northwest Portland. The suspect, Bruce Whitman, 48, had attracted the concern of his neighbors, who had written his family asking them to address his mental health problems. According to court records, police, who haven’t publicly identified the suspect, were also aware that Whitman had violent delusions about the MAC and had successfully filed for two extreme risk protection orders (“red flag” orders) to take away his weapons, including earlier this year. [Oregonian]

ICE Detained Beloved PSU Food Cart Owner

The owner of Khao Niew food cart, Thavatsay Phimmoungkoun (aka "Nong"), was on his way to work when he was detained outside his house by Immigration and Customs Enforcement last week. Phimmoungkoun immigrated to the United States when he was a child and has been a lawful permanent resident since 1987, according to the Department of Homeland Security and Phimmoungkoun's family. His food cart is a staple for Portland State University students — the community has come together to support the family while Phimmoungkoun is being held at a detention center in Tacoma, Wash. [KGW]

A City Battle Against an Overgrown Hedge?

Today on the podcast, we’re talking about the interesting way the city responded to a Portlander asking for help with a homeless encampment outside his home, some new details on the budget cuts the mayor is proposing, and some outdoor bar patios for celebrating peak patio weather. Joining City Cast Portland host Claudia Meza are food and drink reporter Alex Frane and our very own executive producer, John Notarianni. [City Cast Portland 🎧]