🌱 Lloyd Center Mall Saved + Fred Meyer Strike Is Over

Portland OR

20 December, 2021

3:47 PM

Description

Hey, there, Portland, and Happy Winter Solstice! Not sure if you consider the shortest day of the year to be a cause for joy, but look at it this way, the days will only get longer from here on out. Here's what's going on today. First, today's weather: Partly cloudy today, with rain developing in the evening and a high of 45. We may even see the sun peak out for a little bit. Here are the top five stories in Portland today: Has the Lloyd Center been saved? News of the ailing mall in November suggested that the 61-year-old complex might torn down and redeveloped, but a new owner has announced different plans. Urban Renaissance Group, a real estate company with offices in Portland announced a partnership Monday with lending company KKR Real Estate Finance Trust to take ownership of Lloyd Center Mall with the intention of maintaining retail and workspaces as well as ice skating. (KPTV.com)In case you blinked over the weekend and missed it, the holiday strike at Fred Meyer and QFC stores has ended. The strike began at 6 AM, Dec. 17th, and the announcement of a deal arrived shortly before midnight. The union has reached a tentative agreement with Kroger, which owns both Fred Meyer and QFC, but the date of an official vote has not been released, nor have details of the tentative agreement. (Willamette Week)The omicron variant continues to take its toll on an already strained healthcare system. Governor Brown and public health officials said Friday that we have about three weeks until they expect a surge of COVID-19 patients in hospitals in Oregon due to the omicron variant. The Oregon Health Authority reported data Friday that showed limited hospital bed space in Region 1, which includes Multnomah, Clackamas, Clatsop, Columbia, Tillamook and Washington counties. Out of 369 staffed adult ICU beds, 345 were full — leaving 24 available ICU beds. If that wasn't concerning enough, the American Red Cross says blood supplies going into the holidays are "dangerously low." (KOIN) Gun violence in Portland continued over the weekend as a shooting at a southeast Portland strip club left one man dead early on Sunday morning, according to the Portland Police Bureau. Police said just after 2 a.m. Sunday, officers responded to Shimmers Gentlemen's Club on Southeast Foster Road where they found a dead man. Later, on Sunday, PPB said it arrested 26-year-old Borissean T. Washington of Portland as the suspect. He was taken to the Multnomah County Jail on multiple charges. (KPTV.com) Is Portland's air being polluted with thousands of pounds of toxic chemicals every year? Oddly enough, that's what company-reported data was telling the Environmental Protection Agency in 2016. What did the EPA do? Not much. This caused quite a bit of alarm for one reporter who was determined to get to the bottom of why such egregious pollution would not set off alarm bells. What they found was a history of questionable data that is guiding the environmental watch dog. (Pro Publica) Today's Portland Daily is brought to you in part by our friends at Ring, the home security company. Ring does a lot more than doorbells: check out their full suite of smart home products at Ring.com. And thank you Ring for helping to make local news happen in Portland! Today in Portland: If you want to feed your soul for the Winter Solstice, join EARTH Space PDX in SE Portland for a night of ceremony. This potent 2-hour group healing and ceremony will begin with a group talk on the energies of Winter Solstice / Yule, rebirth, and honoring the light and the dark. We will then move into some very gentle somatics, followed by an extended guided meditation & live ambient sound journey for rebirth. Get your tickets online. 7:00 - 9:00 PM.For a homier, but no less sacred, solstice celebration, check out the gathering at The Hive PDX in NE Portland. After a meet and greet, there will be a 30-minute silent meditation reflection on darkness followed by warm drinks, arts and crafts and embracing the light. This will be an indoor event. Everyone in the house is vaccinated. If you are not vaccinated or want to bring someone not vaccinated, please let them know so they can figure out how to do so safely. 6:30 - 10:00 PM.For a different type of celebration of the season, go to The 4th Wall PDX in SE Portland for Holiday Movie Trivia. Test your knowledge on holiday movie themed trivia to see if you make the naughty or nice list. Make sure you dress to impress with an ugly sweater. 4th Wall PDX will be keeping you warm and toasty all night with hot drinks and cookies, PLUS the top team will win prizes and your choice of holiday film to watch on the big screen. 6:00 - 8:00 PM. Want a more Middle Earth flair to your solstice celebration? Come out to Wyrd Leather and Mead in SE Portland this Winter Solstice for a night of fireside tales, board games, mead, and more! This event is on a first come, first served basis. Meaning when it is full, it start a waitlist. Proof of vaccination will be required for entry. 6:00 - 10:00 PM.If you just want to hear some darn fine country music this evening, then you want to make a stop at the Alberta Street Pub in NE Portland as it features Left Coast Country and Friends. Left Coast Country is a country music collective founded by Drew Tucker in 2010. Based in Portland, the group has seen a rotating cast of players through the years and has toured extensively throughout the US. Tickets available online. 6:00 - 8:00 PM. From my notebook: Travel Portland: "The powder is here and the slopes are open! Time to ride. Hit the link in our bio for our full guide on how to make the most of Mt. Hood, which is just a 90-minute drive from Portland. #ThisIsPortland 📷: @richardhallman_photo / @mthood..." (Instagram) Portland Art Museum: "As we officially welcome winter with the solstice this week, we invite you to spend some time with "Bonne" by Anne Truitt. This sculpture carries the energy and colors of this season—the smooth blue of an ice-covered pond, the deep blues..." (Instagram) Portland Audubon: "Over the last few days our Wildlife Care Center has seen multiple sick Pine Siskins who we suspect have salmonella. Which means right now, it's a great time to remind everyone who has a bird feeder what they can do to prevent illness in ..." (Facebook)Do you know someone who is into cheese? No, I mean REALLY into cheese. Because The Wedge, a Farmers Market-style event, featuring cheese and foods and beverages that go well with them, is now offering their Oregon Cheese Tasting Kits for the holidays. And, oh, boy, is there a lot of cheese in these kits. From Don Froylan Queso Oaxaca to Willamette Valley Cheese Co. Aged White Cheddar, these kits are a veritable cornucopia of Oregon dairy goodness. If you have some cheese super fans on your gift list, this may be the gift they've been dreaming of. (PDX Food Press) Portland artist Mike Bennett has done it again and created a secret site for his art. From the man who brought us the A-to-Z Zoo of wooden cut-out animals and followed it up with his A-to-Z Cryptozoo that was a hit in St. John's, he's now set up Bennett Acres, a wooden cut-out Farm and Flower Stand. The location is a secret, so message him if you need clues on how to find it! (Instagram)Hidden on the banks of the Oregon's Willamette River is a state park forgotten to time. This video attempts to solve the mystery of this obscure place by exploring its history and piecing together the reasons for its closure. Join Peter Dibble as he explores the Mystery of Coalca Landing. (YouTube) More from our sponsors — thanks for supporting local news! Events: Brighten The First Day Of Winter With 15 Percent Off FTD's Sunniest Blooms (December 21) Add your event Loving the Portland Daily? Here are all the ways you can get more involved: Send a friend or neighbor this link so they can subscribe Get your local business listed in front of readers Send me a news tip or suggestion at [email protected] As I said before, Happy Winter Solstice. No matter how you celebrate it, or even if you choose not to, I hope your day is a great one. Stay kind to each other, Portland, and I'll meet you back here tomorrow with more news from Puddle Town. — Dominic Anaya About me: Doctor, educator and now a writer/artist, I'm just chillin' in Portland, OR with my wife, our ferrets, our chickens and our goats.