10.24.2023

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Today’s Forecast

49º | Showers | 84% chance of rain | Sunrise 7:50 a.m. | Sunset 4:40 p.m.

🔌 EV phone home

What you need to know about buying an electric vehicle in Portland

Angled parking spaces with EV chargers outside of a downtown high-rise building featuring a glass pavilion.

Need a charge? If PGE’s Electric Avenue charging station is full, there are more chargers in the garage at 56 SW Taylor St. | Photo via Google Maps

The electric vehicle market is expected to reap $457 billion in revenue this year, and experts expect that number to keep growing.

Given Portland’s recent adoption of the Electric Vehicle Ready Code Project and Oregon’s position as one of the top markets for EVs, we’re giving you a quick breakdown of the status of driving electric in the Rose City.

What’s the Portland EV scene like?

If you swear you’re seeing more Teslas on the streets, you’re not wrong. Battery-only EVs accounted for 18% of monthly new vehicle registrations across Multnomah, Washington, and Clackamas counties in February (the highest rate in the country), compared to just over 9% the previous year. Teslas made up nearly 41% of the combined local market.

Portland is considered the No. 7 city in the US for electric vehicles owned and available charging stations, with one charger for every 1,494 residents — that’s a total of 2,043 chargers, as of February. That puts PDX at No. 14 for charger infrastructure, with Oregon claiming the No. 9 spot overall in a lineup of the most EV-friendly states.

How to charge

It may seem odd, but you can charge your car with a regular old 120-volt outlet — it just might take all night.

To fill up in a few hours, many EV owners install a Level 2 charger — which is 240 volts — but the charger and installation could cost hundreds. That said, Portland General Electric offers up to a $1,000 income-qualified rebate for its purchase and installation.

The city — and nearby state parks — are also stocked with thousands of public charging stations. PGE’s “Electric Avenue” program costs $25 per month for unlimited access to Level 2 and DC fast chargers.

Rebates + resources

Asked

Do you own an electric vehicle?

A. Yes
B. No

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Events

Tuesday, Oct. 24

Around the World in 82 Dishes | Tuesday, Oct. 24-Sunday, Nov. 5 | Times vary | Locations vary, Portland | $5 | Grab a dining passport and collect stamps at 30 different eateries up and down 82nd Avenue to unlock some meaty prizes and discounts.

Wednesday, Oct. 25

Cocktails & Cookie Decorating | Wednesday, Oct. 25 | 6-8:30 p.m. | Whiskey Barrel Lounge, 12960 SE 162nd Ave., Ste. 100, Happy Valley | $70 | Decorate eight Halloween-themed sugar cookies with the experts from Too Smart Cookies while enjoying ghoulish cocktails and snacks in the hauntingly beautiful Cellar Room.

Thursday, Oct. 26

Track-or-Treat | Thursday, Oct. 26 | 6-8 p.m. | Trackers Earth at Lloyd Center, 1265 Lloyd Center, Portland | Free | Kids, get ready to embark on a pre-Halloween adventure full of playful mysteries, a candy quest involving businesses within the mall, ax throwing, and archery.

Friday, Oct. 27

A Dark Hallows | Friday, Oct. 27 | 7-9 p.m. | Dominio IV Wines, 11570 NE Intervale Rd., Carlton | $50 | Master storyteller Will Hornyak will weave together folktales from Irish, Scottish, and Mexican lore in honor of Día de Muertos and Samhain; proceeds benefit the Carlton Observatory at Evergreen.

Saturday, Oct. 28

Bauman’s Cider Festival | Saturday, Oct. 28-Sunday, Oct. 29 | 11 a.m.-4 p.m. | Bauman’s Farm & Garden, 12989 Howell Prairie Rd. NE, Gervais | $30-$45 | Sip on ciders from PNW makers and enjoy the farm’s harvest festival, complete with a corn maze, farm animals, kettle corn, apple rockets, and pumpkin picking.
Addams Family Halloween Costume & Bowling Party | Saturday, Oct. 28 | 4 p.m.-12 a.m. | Grand Central Bowl & Arcade, 808 SE Morrison St., Portland | Free | Bring your own family for an evening that’s creepy and kooky, mysterious and spooky; cover fees after 9 p.m. benefit DoveLewis Emergency Animal Hospital.

Events calendar here

Click here to have your event featured.

Wellness

Hear the crisp crunch of autumn leaves more clearly

A user holds the Horizon Go by hear.com. | Photo by hear.com

Imagine the crunch of leaves underfoot, the cries of geese flying south, the wind blowing through the trees, the crackle of a bonfire. What if you couldn’t hear the sounds of fall clearly?

Good news: A 45-day, no-risk trial with Horizon hearing aids means you get to experience all of this, plus:

The world’s first hearing aids with dual processing
Crystal-clear speech understanding
A design so small + comfortable, you’ll forget you’re wearing it

Try Horizon with a 45-day trial

News Notes

Health

More than 1,300 healthcare workers in Southwest Washington went on strike yesterday morning and plan to remain on the picket lines through Friday, Oct. 27. The PeaceHealth Southwest and St. John workers say they’ve been in union contact negotiations for months over pay and staffing issues. (KGW)

Outdoors

Portland Parks & Recreation and Portland Public Schools have reached a tentative agreement on the future of an athletic field used by Grant High School. Under the draft plan, PPS would lease the artificial turf field — located inside Grant Park — from the city for 20 years and pay for its improvements. (Willamette Week)

Plan Ahead

Experience the sights, sounds, tastes, and traditions of a Nordic Christmas market at Nordic Northwest’s 39th annual ScanFair, Saturday, Dec. 9 + Sunday, Dec. 10, at the Oregon Convention Center. Shop for food, arts, and crafts, enjoy Viking fashion shows and pickled herring/meatball eating competitions, and meet Joulupukki (Finnish Santa).

Traffic

Drivers crossing the Interstate 5 Bridge between Portland and Vancouver may only have two years left of toll-free travel. Planners hope to start construction on the Interstate Bridge Replacement project in late 2025 or early 2026 — and implement overhead tolling cameras around the same time. (KGW)

Development

Construction of a youth behavioral health treatment facility is underway in Oregon City. The work at the Parrott Creek Child & Family Services campus will add 22,410 sqft of space for living quarters, education, treatment, and administrative functions. Forty inpatient beds will be available when Phase 1 is completed next fall. (Portland Business Journal)

Watch

A movie created by a Portland filmmaker is now available to stream on Amazon Prime. “Mother of Color” tells the story of a single mother who receives cryptic messages from her ancestors as she prepares for a job interview with a local lawmaker (played by former Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty). (Portland Tribune)

Open

A new store in downtown Portland encourages people “to incorporate Japanese culture and craftsmanship into their daily lives.” Kokoro offers kitchenware and ingredients inspired by and imported from Japan, from pottery and knives to rice cookers and matcha. It’s located kitty-corner from sister-store Kiriko Made at 986 SW Morrison St. (Portland Tribune)

Feel Good

Maria Burkhart Briley was 2 years old when a plane she was traveling on with her parents crashed in Malaysia in 1977, killing her father. Briley, who now lives in Portland, recently returned to reunite with the journalist who carried her to safety — Rajah Nadeswaran — 46 years later. (KGW)

Seasonal

Oh my gourd — check out the finalists for our PDXtoday Pumpkin Carving Contest. Vote for your favorite jack-o’-lantern by Wednesday, Oct. 25 + be sure to read our newsletter on Friday, Oct. 27 to see which pumpkin wins.

Real Estate

$149,023. That’s the annual income needed to purchase the average home in the Portland area, according to Redfin. How do we compare to other cities? San Jose residents need to make $402,287 annually to afford the average home. Here are some Portland homes below the median sale price. (Redfin)

Transit

🚉 Next stop: PDX station

TriMet MAX Red Line service resumes to Portland International Airport after 4 months

The MAX Red Line platform at Portland International Airport was formerly triangular; it’s now rectangular in shape. | Photo by @trimet

TriMet’s A Better Red project reached a major milestone over the weekend as MAX Red Line services resumed between the Gateway Transit Center and Portland International Airport.

For four months, riders had to take shuttles between the two stations as crews worked to add a second, mile-long track running to and from the airport allowing inbound and outbound trains to pass each other without delay. TriMet also replaced the airport MAX station to accommodate the two parallel tracks.

The transit agency said this phase of the Better Red project took about 700,000 labor hours to finish. Additional phases will see the MAX Red Line extended west to serve 10 more stations in the Beaverton and Hillsboro areas. Work is expected to be completed in the summer of 2024.

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The Wrap

Today’s edition by:
Cambrie

From the editor

Hundreds of community members gathered over the weekend to celebrate the return of salmon to their spawning grounds along the Sandy River. The annual Salmon Homecoming event at Oxbow Regional Park is centered on Indigenous peoples and traditions rooted in the belief that salmon were the first creatures to give their bodies for humans to eat. Salmon are truly incredible animals and I can’t wait to see the coho return to the creek behind my house.

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