City Cast Portland

Today on City Cast Portland we’re talking about voter registration woes at the DMV, how poorly our state lawmakers are paid, and the ballot initiative that wants to change that. Plus, NYC is yet again salty about Portland. Joining host Claudia Meza on this week’s Friday news roundup are City Cast director of digital strategy Bryan M. Vance and our very own executive producer, John Notarianni. Disc...

Sandwiches are versatile — you can eat them anywhere at any time of day and it always feels right. There are so many places in our city that make top-notch sandwiches, but when you really want one, it’s easy for your mind to go blank. Today, we’re talking with Willamette Week and Portland Mercury food writer Andrea Damewood about where to get the best sandwiches in town. Plus we’re hearing from yo...

It’s just a few weeks until Halloween, which means it’s primetime for Oregon’s thriving horror fan community. Fans have even come up with a name for this cultural phenomenon: HorrOregon. So today on City Cast Portland, we’re talking about the best horror films that were shot here, underground local horror celebrities you’ve probably never heard of, some of the best Halloween-themed events happenin...

There’s less than a month until Election Day, and aside from the many, many candidates to consider, we also have a handful of ballot initiatives that could affect everything from how all of Oregon votes to whether we should automatically get $1,600 back every year from our state tax return. Today, KBOO news director Althea Billings is breaking down a few of these state and local measures to help u...

Now that we’re into October, it’s prime mushroom-hunting season in Oregon. But serious foragers are super-secretive about their best spots. So today on City Cast Portland we’re listening back to a conversation executive producer John Notarianni had with Rachel Zoller, a mushroom educator and founder of Yellow Elanor. We’ll see if she spills a few of her secrets. This episode first aired on October...

Today on City Cast Portland, we’re talking about the latest research into Oregon’s income disparities, the famous burger shop causing controversy in Beaverton, and the dark money political group that’s calling it quits. Joining host Claudia Meza on this week’s Friday news roundup are Oregonian business and technology reporter Mike Rogoway and our very own executive producer, John Notarianni.  Disc...

If you spend any time in East Portland, you might notice how the region lacks the parks and sidewalks common in the rest of our city. The lack of city infrastructure is mirrored by the fact that East Portland residents also feel perennially underrepresented by city government — but that’s about to change. Today we’re talking with one of the city’s East Portland experts: Randy Leonard. He’s a forme...

Christopher Marley is an Oregon-raised artist and naturalist who creates extraordinary art with rare organisms that he collects from across the world. City Cast Portland executive producer John Notarianni talked with him to discuss his new exhibition, Exquisite Creatures Revealed, which opens this weekend at OMSI — and the conservation message behind his work. Exquisite Creatures Revealed runs Oct...

Today on City Cast Portland, we’re talking about our City Hall being called out for its “poorly written” and “confusing” tree code. Plus, we dive into our listener mailbag to hear your thoughts on Portland’s “coolest” neighborhood and our complicated tipping culture. Joining executive producer John Notarianni on this midweek roundup is our very own producer, Giulia Fiaoni.  Discussed in Today’s Ep...

From floating inside a giant pumpkin during the West Coast Giant Pumpkin Regatta to trying dozens of imaginative and cheap wings for the Portland Mercury’s Wing Week, there’s no shortage of things to do this month in Portland. So the City Cast Portland team is here to narrow down your October bucket list to the must-dos, like picking fall produce on the beautiful Hood River Fruit Loop. One bonus s...

With the fall election just five weeks away, some Portlanders might be having uncomfortable memories of unrest from years past. But a lot has changed since the protests of 2020 — both for the right- and left-wing groups that clashed in our city’s streets, and for the Portland Police. Today, the Oregonian’s Zane Sparling joins us to discuss the possibility of election protests, how the police are p...

Today on City Cast Portland, we’re talking about all the twists and turns in the mayoral race, another plan to bring MLB to our city, and the Oregon Labor Bureau’s incendiary message to our state government. Joining host Claudia Meza on this week’s Friday news roundup are Willamette Week City Hall reporter, Sophie Peel, and our very own executive producer, John Notarianni. Discussed in Today’s Epi...

Today we’re continuing our neighborhood series where we talk with Portlanders about the good, bad, and ugly of where they live with Woodlawn resident (and Multnomah County’s ranked choice voting project manager) Leah Benson. She’s sharing why the northeast neighborhood is like a small town within the city, with its own historian and unofficial mayor.  Mentioned in this episode: Mutantis Cult Brewe...

Tipping used to be confined to a few select service industries, but now it seems like every transaction wraps up with a tip screen. But is the trend actually working for workers? Have we reached a tipping point with tipping? Today, we’re asking: what are the new rules of tipping? Helping host Claudia Meza find the answer are City Cast director of digital strategy Bryan Vance, our very own producer...

Until recently, Portland was home to two of the country’s most prestigious alternative medical schools. But they’ve been on the radar of consumer-protection watchdogs, because students routinely take on hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt, but then earn a sliver of what they’d need to pay back those loans upon graduation. OPB higher education reporter Tiffany Camhi talks about the financial c...

As the weather turns wetter and colder, many of us are going to be looking for new clothes for the season. But whether you’re trying to limit your impact on the environment or are just into scoring deals, our city has an overwhelming amount of good thrift and vintage stores for you. So many in fact, it can feel overwhelming just knowing where to start. Today we’re listening back to a conversation...

Today on City Cast Portland, we’re talking about Portland scoring a WNBA team and mayoral candidate Carmen Rubio’s latest car-related infraction. Plus, updates to this week’s big stories, including Mayor Ted Wheeler’s chief of staff Bobby Lee resigning after reports that he directed $60,000 in taxpayer money to a city art project. Joining host Claudia Meza on this Friday news roundup are KBOO news...

Over the past decade, scientists and activists have been sounding the alarm about a looming environmental disaster right in the heart of our city. The Critical Energy Infrastructure Hub or CEI Hub is where 90% of Oregon’s liquid fuel is stored – and it just so happens to reside on wildly unstable land, right by the Willamette River. So what happens not if, but when an earthquake hits? And what can...

Today on City Cast Portland, we’re talking about a string of seemingly organized restaurant break-ins and what the city is finally doing about it. Plus, we dive into our listener mailbag to hear your thoughts on MAX train fare evasions, neighborhood recommendations, and more! Joining host Claudia Meza on this midweek roundup is our very own producer, Giulia Fiaoni.  Discussed in Today’s Episode: '...

Today on City Cast Portland, we’re talking with Maxine Bernstein, staff writer at the Oregonian. She’s been following dozens of suspicious lawsuits against small businesses for violating the Americans with Disabilities Act. Many of these small, immigrant-owned businesses spent thousands of dollars to make repairs and avoid court. But some lawyers say they were basically extortion and local judges...

Every September, thousands of people gather at Chapman Elementary School in Northwest Portland to see one of our city’s most iconic annual events: The school’s chimney houses the largest known roost of migrating Vaux’s swifts in the world. But where do they come from? Why this school? And how do they all fit? Joe Liebezeit of the Bird Alliance of Oregon joins executive producer John Notarianni to...

Today on City Cast Portland, we’re talking about the bonanza of traffic violations that two leading mayoral candidates have on their records, the campaign contribution swapping that most of our city candidates are engaged in, and the spike in fare evasion on TriMet’s MAX trains. Joining executive producer John Notarianni on this week’s Friday news roundup are Jake Weigler, a Portland political str...

We’re wrapping up our series on the biggest issues in the fall election, focusing on the thing behind all the campaign slogans and policy proposals: we’re talking about the vibes of this election. How does Portland feel right now? How are these candidates embodying their idea of what Portland’s about? And how can we expect them to carry themselves in office? Host Claudia Meza is talking with Willa...

Oregonians have a lot in common with the rest of the country in one major way – we’re pretty pessimistic about the local economy. But if you look at the numbers, things are on the mend: inflation is falling, wages are up, and unemployment is near historic lows. So why is there such a big contrast between how we feel, and what economists say is actually going on? Oregonian technology and economy re...

Earlier this year, New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof argued that Portland’s tradition of progressive politics isn’t getting us the results we need, as the city struggles with a number of social problems. And it’s not just Portland: He says all liberal West Coast cities are facing more social ills than their more pragmatic East Coast counterparts. Today, we’re asking Kristof to explain his...