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| What Portland's Talking About |
| $550K for Teens Stuck on Oaks Park Ride | A Portland jury awarded $275,000 each to two teenage girls for the 25 minutes they spent stuck upside-down on Oaks Amusement Park’s AtmosFEAR ride in 2024 — and for subsequent emotional and physical trauma. In all, 28 people were stuck upside down during the incident; nine sued, but seven settled their cases for undisclosed amounts. [Oregonian] | | Backyard Replicas of Portland Bridges — Just for Cats | Dedicated cat owners have built a “Pawthorne Bridge” in their backyard — a replica of the Hawthorne Bridge. It’s part of a catio — an outdoor patio system just for their four feline companions. The catio concept is promoted by nature lovers (including Bird Alliance of Oregon) with the idea of letting cats outdoors in screened-in areas that keep them away from hunting — particularly birds. The Pawthorne Bridge will be part of the annual catio tour. (A “Taillikum” Bridge is also under construction.) [Oregonian] | | | PODCAST | Thursday, August 20 |
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| 1M Gallons of Water a Year for These Households | Willamette Week examined the households that use the most water in the city. It’s a bit of public exposure for private citizens, but past editions of the series “Hydro Hogs” have convinced people to change their ways. Reporter Sophie Peel talked about the reporting on the pod today. [City Cast Portland 🎧] | |
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| | | D’Amore Law Group believes personal injury law is about more than settlement checks — it's about advancing public safety. When powerful companies and institutions fail to keep people safe, the harm doesn't stop with those directly affected; it reverberates through the entire community. Led by veteran trial attorney Tom D'Amore, the firm holds negligent parties and corporations accountable, driving real change to make Portland safer for all. |
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| |  | A friendly-looking cat. (Sandra W. / reader submission) |
| This little kitty stumped our readers. The mural is located 2942 SE Hawthorne Boulevard if you want to stop by and see it in real life. | | I expect a few more of you will know this week’s scavenger hunt, even though it’s in a newly reopened spot — that’s your hint. | | It’s from City Cast Portland audience development manager Grace Cohen-Chen: |  | A wall of flowers, butterflies, and more. (Grace Cohen-Chen / City Cast Portland) |
| Do you know where his decorative wall is? | | Please click here to submit the location — and, for unofficial bonus points, anything you know about it. | | If you’re new to the newsletter, there’s a scavenger hunt every Friday. In next week’s newsletter, I’ll reveal the answer and shout out the first 10 readers who respond correctly. | | |
| | 📸 Want to submit a photo? Please email me a snapshot of somewhere in the Portland metro area, and we’ll consider it for an upcoming “Where Is It?” segment! |
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🔥 Making a good thing terrible: Portland Fire has won a loyal following in its first season — that’s the city’s pro women’s basketball team if you’re not on the bandwagon yet. | | But the team chose a terrible name — yes, it’s the same name as Portland’s last WNBA team, but also we have much more destructive and lethal wildfires than 20 years ago. | | And now the Portland Fire are doubling down on that name: In the middle of Oregon’s record wildfire season, they’re leaving “scorch marks” around Portland — apparently as a way to maybe call attention to the team 👎 |
| — Rachel Monahan | Thanks to John Notarianni and Giulia Fiaoni for editing this week. |
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