Willamette Week, June 14, 2023 - Volume 49, Issue 31 - "Super Pumped"

WHAT WE LEARNED FROM READING THIS WEEK’S PAPER

VOL. 49, ISSUE 31

An ambulance isn’t available in Portland 10% of the time. 6

AdoptOneBlock can’t easily adopt the Banfield Parkway 7

Shemia Fagan landed a new job—her old job. 8

A religious nonprofit connecting homeless people to shelter is backed by Echelon Protective Services 10

The Sultan of Sellwood is after spring chinook. 15

What’s a sure sign you’re one of Washington’s fastest-growing cities? A Costco comes to town. 19

William Clark worried that honking geese at what is now known as the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge would keep him up at night. 19

Tipping Point, which documents the Portland protests following George

Floyd’s murder, won gold at Seattle’s Social Justice Film Festival. 21

Oregon state Sen. Lew Frederick is the grand marshal of the Juneteenth Oregon parade. 21

London Gladney, a 16-year-old Black cowgirl from Compton, has a barrel racing time of less than 14 seconds 23

The secret to Chipped Nail Polish’s success is aggressive ukulele playing …and friendship. 26

If blue tile and white marble could sing, they would probably sound a lot like Eddie Chacon. 26

Midnight’s muse is “the slime and vile waste straight from your rectum.” 27

Crying at night and $450,000 fueled a documentary about the Buffalo Soldiers 28

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Last week’s story on the rapid descent of a $28 million low-income apartment complex into disrepair and crime (“Indoor Voices,” WW, June 7) became our second-most-read story of the year, trailing only a February profile of Portlanders who decided to leave town. The story resonated especially strongly with readers who are already convinced that a strategy of housing unsheltered Portlanders before treating their mental illnesses and addictions is doomed to failure. The particular missteps of the property manager, they argued, were irrelevant. Here’s what readers had to say:

DAYBELIS GONZALEZ, VIA WWEEK.COM: “I used to be a tenant in this building and am in a wheelchair. My partner and I spent three years trying to get management to fix issues ranging from constant fire alarms going off to random people knocking and trying to open our door. We were met with stonewalling or no response from the managers and from Cascade [Management]. I lived on the third floor and asked for an evacuation plan for the disabled tenants that I also never got a response about. The people that manage this building are only worried about their tax breaks and money. The nonprofits funding these buildings need to make better choices about who is running their affordable housing units. I hope that something gets done for the many disabled people that live in that building and that they are finally heard.”

STEVEN ROSSI, VIA TWITTER: “Disappointing but not surprising. Mixing single moms with children and recovering drug users in one location is another example of government doing what’s easy, not what’s best.”

PDX ROB, VIA TWITTER: “Housing first is not the solution Portland needs. Drug treatment is an absolute necessity and must be a prerequisite for permanent housing. This is simply a waste of resources.”

MT. HOOD, VIA WWEEK.COM:

“This is why ‘housing first’ is a tragically stupid and fatally flawed idea when dealing with addicts and the untreated mentally ill. It’s fine for those who have been displaced from homes due to financial hardship but are otherwise accountable, law abiding and desiring to get back on their feet. But putting that first cohort into low-income housing destroys it for that second cohort—literally and figuratively.

“Oh, and thanks, Anthony [Effinger]. We can always count on WW to cast aspersions on ‘wealthy white people’ no matter how unrelated to the story or the truth. Last month, it was a developer of low-income housing. Now it’s the property management company. Here’s a thought...you can’t unleash a tsunami of addicts on the city, roll out the red carpet for drug-related criminal enterprises, and expect everything else to function normally. Do you think that’s the property management’s fault? These addicts are animals, and you turned them loose on the city. Stop blaming others for the predictable consequences of your poor choices and doomed policies.”

NOT DECADENT, NOT DEPRAVED

WW has used photos of our circus company performing at CityFair in at least two articles in the last week. The photos accom-

Dr. Know

BY MARTY SMITH @martysmithxxx

I was recently telling a friend how, as a gay man, I was looking forward to finally donating blood—not just out of altruism, but also because it’s healthy to shed old, worn-out blood. Her expression of polite incredulity suggested I might be talking out of my ass. Was I? —Blood Simple

My favorite example of “burying the lede”— glossing over what should be the most attention-grabbing part of a story—comes from 2007, when headlines reported “Lady Bird Johnson, Widow of President Lyndon Johnson, Dies.” The real scoop, of course, was “Lady Bird Johnson Was Still Alive in 2007.”

I mention this, Blood, because I know you’re responding to last month’s announcement from the Food and Drug Administration that they will soon be abandoning the Reagan-era recommendation that gay men not be allowed to donate blood. There’s something about this news—I can’t quite put my finger on it—that seems to call that Lady Bird Johnson story to mind.

Of course, the FDA only pushed the most extreme version of the rule (a total lifetime

pany articles about drug use, and Portland’s history of alcohol, prostitution, and violence. These topics are NOT aligned with our values as a company, and we don’t appreciate you using our likeness to advertise these stories!

Our company and performers’ names are not mentioned along with our pictures in either article; in fact, none of the performers were credited for their pictures in the article titled “The Portland Rose Festival Is Decadent and Depraved” [WW, June 7]. It’s not fair, especially since we go the extra mile to create material that is appropriate for all ages.

This is poor journalism. The people who entertain at CityFair are professionals and need to be treated as such. We work really hard to make these shows and develop relationships with our clients so we can entertain the public in safe spaces. You made what is a wonderfully diverse and special event “depraved” and the articles deface our mission statement of offering safe and supportive opportunities to artists and audiences.

Petra Delarocha Owner and operator Prismagic Circus

Editor’s note: The circus performers pictured at CityFair were not involved in our journalist’s drug use. The performers are Petra Delarocha, Florence Buddenbaum, Gerrin Mitchell and Leapin’ Louie Lichtenstein. They have been properly identified in the online edition of the story.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR must include the author's street address and phone number for verification. Letters must be 250 or fewer words.

Submit to: P.O. Box 10770, Portland, OR 97296

Email: mzusman@wweek.com

ban for all gay men) during the very early phases of the AIDS panic. You know, from 1986 until—when was it? Oh, yeah; 2015. Then they relented: Gay men could donate as long as they’d been celibate for at least 12 months. That requirement was reduced to three months in 2020. Whoa, slow down there, FDA! (For the record, routine HIV testing for all donated blood began in 1985.)

In any case, is giving blood good for you?

Sure, as long as you discharge blood’s contrary humor, black bile, at the same time. At your next bloodletting, ask your barber to apply some leeches to your abdomen. (If that doesn’t purge the bile from your system, there’s always writing a letter to the editor.)

Just kidding! In fact, it turns out that there are real health benefits to giving blood. If you’re one of the roughly 1 million Americans with hemochromatosis (excessive iron uptake), giving blood will help a lot. Even if you’re not, the mini-health screening all donors receive occasionally catches previously undiagnosed conditions. Also, the warm, fuzzy glow of a good deed seems to measurably improve health outcomes in the same way that volunteering does.

Finally, there’s the fact that giving blood takes about 500 to 600 calories out of you. It’s probably not a long-term weight loss solution, but at least you don’t have to feel guilty about eating that Bloodmobile cookie.

Questions? Send them to dr.know@wweek.com.

CATALYTIC CONVERTER CRIME WAVE

RECEDES: Following several high-profile busts and declining prices for the precious metals they contain, Oregon thefts of catalytic converters appear to be on the downswing. The Portland Police Bureau does not break out statistics on catalytic converter theft, but Gresham does. That city saw 35 reported thefts between January and May this year—20% of the tally from the same period last year. Prosecutions have dropped, too. No one’s been charged with illegally transporting metal in Oregon since Jan. 2, following major arrests of suspected traffickers in Jackson and Washington counties late last year. Jarom Sweazey, a Gresham Police Department spokesman, highlighted last year’s arrest of 32-year-old Uber driver Brennan Doyle, who allegedly ran a trafficking ring from a lake house and shipped Portland’s catalytic converters to New Jersey refineries (“From Portland to Jersey,” WW, Nov. 30, 2022). Another possible cause: The price of rhodium, one of the precious metals in the emission control devices, has returned to 2019 levels after skyrocketing 500% during the pandemic.

FLAMMABLE TIRE PILE DECLARED

UNLAWFUL: Owners of the three-story pile of shredded tires that caught fire next to Moda Center last month violated Oregon law by storing too much “tire-derived product” at the site, inspectors from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality determined this month. They plan to refer the matter to DEQ’s enforcement division, which may assess a penalty for each day in violation. That could get expensive because the tire shreds have been piled up beside an old grain terminal on the river for months. The action is a reversal for DEQ, which inspected the site last summer and found no violations. Nor was the product considered waste at the time. “Once processed, DEQ considers the shredded tires to be product,” department spokeswoman Susan Mills wrote to WW in July. “Since product moves (is transported/sold), it does not require a waste permit, so one is not required at the grain elevator site.” Since Mills wrote that email, the tire pile has burst into flames at least three times, spewing acrid smoke and disrupting road and rail traffic. Chandos Mahon, who owns the grain terminal along with Oregon timber scion Beau Blixseth, says the company was found to be in compliance after previous DEQ inspections. “We believe we continue to be in compliance,” Mahon says. “We are currently working with the DEQ to quickly resolve any compliance concerns.”

HUD PROBES PORTLAND LOW-INCOME

BUILDING: The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is investigating the Buri Building, a troubled apartment complex on Northeast Glisan Street, for fair housing violations after a tenant who uses a wheelchair alleged that management ignored her request for an evacuation plan that complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Daybelis Gonzalez, 32, lived on the third floor with her partner, Jack Collier, and endured false fire alarms that sounded at least once a month for three years. She filed a complaint with HUD on March 27 and moved out in May. “Because we live on the third floor, and I

am in a wheelchair, we asked for an ADA evacuation plan in email that was never responded to,” Gonzalez wrote to HUD. Other tenants at the Buri say Cascade Management, which oversees the building, has been unresponsive to complaints about drug use in the hallways, chronically inoperative elevators, and violent threats from nonresidents who find their way past electronic door locks (“Indoor Voices,” WW, June 7). “We are aware of the complaint and have been fully cooperating with HUD,” Tiffany Bachman, chief business development officer at Cascade, says in an email. “We also have worked hard to ensure the building is ADA compliant and follows all fire safety guidelines.”

INFLATED RAT VISITS PAMPLIN

HEADQUARTERS: A 12-foot inflatable rat showed up last week at the Milwaukie headquarters of the R.B. Pamplin Corporation. That company, run by industrial and media investor Robert B. Pamplin Jr., owns 24 Oregon newspapers, including the Portland Tribune, and subsidiaries such as Ross Island Sand & Gravel Co. The rat came courtesy of International Union of Operating Engineers Local 701, whose members are working on the reclamation of Ross Island after 75 years of mining. James Anderson, business manager and financial secretary of Local 701, says his union wanted to express displeasure that Ross Island allegedly owes workers more than $450,000 in unpaid benefits. The union has regularly sued Ross Island in the past over late payments, a sign of the company’s financial struggles (“Trader Bob,” Feb. 23, 2022). “We exercised our First Amendment rights to notify the public that Pamplin is a bad player,” Anderson says. “They flipped out.” Anderson says Pamplin officials called police, but when officers determined the rat was on public land, they allowed the protest to continue. Anderson says the rat may visit other Pamplin properties if Ross Island doesn’t meet its obligations. Pamplin officials didn’t respond to a request for comment.

CITY BOWS TO SPUD SCIONS: Earlier this year, WW wrote about a local family irate that the city of Portland intended to sell a property in the West Hills (“Sunken Treasure,” WW, Jan. 25). George Spada, whose family made its fortune shipping potatoes and onions to Japan, had planned to build his dream home in the Healy Heights neighborhood in the 1990s until a 1996 landslide wrecked the site. What followed was 10 years of litigation between the Spada family and the city over who was to blame for the landslide; the case ended in a settlement in 2006 in which the city paid the Spadas $450,000 and acquired the property. When the city announced its intent to sell it this January, the Spada family and residents of properties neighboring the lot fought the sale. They sought to preserve a grand view of Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge and Mount St. Helens. Despite the rancor, the Portland Bureau of Environmental Services proceeded with the sale and wanted to list it at $60,000. In late May, it sold for just $10,000—to an adjacent homeowner, who plans to name a park after the Spadas.

Veggie royalty: 1. City of Portland: 0.

FREE SPEECH: Ross Island Sand & Gravel workers want their money.

CHASING GHOSTS

WHERE ARE THE AMBULANCES?

American Medical Response can’t keep pace with emergencies—and county officials can’t agree why.

BY LUCAS MANFIELD lmanfield@wweek.com

Almost Finished

A Woodlawn apartment building nears completion.

ADDRESS: 6640 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

YEAR BUILT: 2023

SQUARE FOOTAGE: 13,602

MARKET VALUE: $2.52 million

OWNER: Cornice Group LLC

HOW LONG IT’S BEEN EMPTY: At least 3 years WHY IT’S EMPTY: COVID and a death in the family

From the outside, a brick and metal-clad apartment building in the Woodlawn neighborhood looks nearly complete. There are new Pacific Power electricity meters on the front, and through the street-level windows, you can see walls and floors ready for a final finish.

But progress has been puzzlingly slow on a street that has witnessed rapid change. Neighbors wrote to WW perplexed why the apartment complex wasn’t finished six years after its owners applied for construction permits.

“At different times, there have been safety fences around the adjoining parking lot, and a RV/trailer was stationed there for a bit, but no one seems to be working on completing the project,” wrote one neighbor who asked not to be named.

That tracks with public records and what the city ’s permitting agency, the Bureau of Development Services, has seen.

Portland Redevelopment LLC, then operated by West Linn developer Vladimir Ozeruga, acquired the property in 2012. It appears to have been a vacant or nearly vacant lot, according to property assessments at the time. In April 2017, Portland Redevelopment sold the property to Cornice Group LLC, a construction company Ozeruga owned with family members.

In November 2017, Cornice applied for city permits to build a four-story, mixed-use building with 18 apartment units over ground-floor tenant space.

Ken Ray, a spokesman for BDS, says the city has not halted construction and there are no pending complaints that would have slowed development.

“The main building permit on this property expired, and we received interest in reactivating the permit, but the fees have not yet been paid,” Ray says. “We’re not clear on the reasons why the permit languished.”

One reason: Vladmir Ozeruga died Oct. 21, 2021, according to public records. One of his sons, Eric Ozeruga, is now the managing owner of Cornice LLC.

“My father and I ran a construction company together,” Ozeruga says. “This was one of our first commercial projects and one of the biggest. We started pretty slow.”

Ozeruga says he still has a fence around the building to keep taggers away, but he plans to finish the project this summer. “We had some setbacks during COVID,” he says. “But I’m hoping to have a hard opening in the beginning of September.” NIGEL JAQUISS.

Every week, WW examines one mysteriously vacant property in the city of Portland, explains why it’s empty, and considers what might arrive there next. Send addresses to newstips@wweek.com.

For much of the year, Multnomah County contractor American Medical Response has been unable to staff enough paramedics to respond to a recent rise in call volumes. The result: slower ambulances. Since last March, AMR hasn’t been meeting response time standards outlined in its contract with the county.

Last week, after WW obtained data showing that no ambulance was available approximately 10% of the time dispatchers requested one, Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson ordered the county health department to address the problem, and potentially levy fines against AMR. Her political rival, Commissioner Sharon Meieran, says the blame belongs to county health officials for not relaxing staffing requirements for the ambulances.

Here are answers to some frequently asked questions about the crisis.

What’s behind the rise in calls and accompanying staffing crisis?

Austin DePaolo, the business representative for the paramedics’ union, listed the reasons in an interview with WW. The fentanyl deluge and the accompanying overdoses. A rise in mental health calls. Senior centers using 911 as a ride to the Veterans Affairs office. Meanwhile, long shifts, more assaults, and a rise in call volume has taken a toll on paramedic morale. AMR says applications for open positions have fallen by more than half. “They don’t want to be a glorified taxi service,” DePaolo says.

How many ambulances are arriving late?

In more than 5,000 instances since the county started keeping track Jan. 17, an ambulance has not been available when a dispatcher requested medical assistance. That resulted in late ambulances: In February, only 68% arrived within eight minutes in urban areas. The standard is 90%.

Has anyone died in Multnomah County because of a late ambulance?

In late April, ambulances took more

than 30 minutes to arrive at the scene of a hit-and-run in Northeast Portland. The victim died shortly thereafter, leading to widespread speculation that a faster ambulance response could have saved a life.

But not necessarily, says Dr. Jonathan Jui, the medical director of the county’s emergency medical services. The survival rate from that kind of blunt trauma is less than 5%, and the medical examiner still hasn’t released a cause of death. Jui says he’s unaware of any “adverse effects” from delayed ambulances. Still, he notes, “It’s obvious to everyone that this is not an optimal response.”

How does AMR say it can fix the problem?

AMR ramped up its recruiting efforts last year to no avail. Now it’s proposing Multnomah County abandon its long-standing policy of requiring that ambulances be staffed by two paramedics, and move to the “one plus one” model used in neighboring counties, in which one paramedic is swapped out for an emergency medical technician, or EMT. (Paramedics are more highly trained than EMTs and can perform more advanced medical procedures.)

Randy Lauer, AMR’s vice president of operations in the Northwest region, says he’s sent studies to the county showing it doesn’t affect patient care. “The county has the information,” he says. “It’s just they’re not willing to do it.” In recent weeks, Commissioner Meiran has become a vocal advocate for the shift.

What does the county say?

Jui discounts those studies, saying there’s “no data one way or the other.” Other cities, like Seattle, New York and Denver, all have the same two-paramedic policies as Portland—and deviating from it, he believes, would be a recipe for disaster.

“When you have a critical patient,

two paramedics or even more is optimal,” he tells WW. “It’s a patient safety issue.”

Instead, Jui wants to send ambulances with two EMTs to lower-acuity calls. But that’s proven difficult, the county says, because AMR has not hired them. Right now, there’s only a few such “basic life support” ambulances on the road in Multnomah County. “We really need to look at this alternative workforce,” acknowledges Aaron Monnig, the county’s EMS operations manager. But, that’s easier said than done. There’s a national shortage of EMTs, too.

What’s going to happen next?

AMR is pulling every string it can to free up more paramedics. In April, it walked back a new policy that spared paramedics being sent out on calls at the tail end of their shifts. That infuriated their union, which had won the concession in 2022 in exchange for lower wages, DePaolo says. The union filed a grievance in protest earlier this month.

And, on June 12, AMR told officials in Washington County, where it took over the ambulance contract and will begin providing service in August, that it would bring in paramedics from out of state if it had to in order to fulfill staffing requirements.

Multnomah County has so far declined to fine AMR, citing a nationwide shortage of paramedics. But that could soon change. In a statement released to WW last week, Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson said she’s “directed the health department and county legal to analyze and update their recommendations on the ambulance response time issue.” She mentioned fines as an option. Vega Pederson is particularly displeased that AMR has accepted a new contract in Washington County when its performance in Multnomah County is so dismal.

DISPATCH REQUESTS FOR UNAVAILABLE AMBULANCES BY WEEK

Source: Multnomah County

COMING SOON: More housing in Woodlawn.

Here Comes the Neighborhood

A Portland lawyer known for representing property owners sends Multnomah County a warning.

DATE: JUNE 12

FROM: PORTLAND LAWYER

JOHN DILORENZO

TO: MULTNOMAH COUNTY

CHAIR JESSICA

VEGA PEDERSON

SUBJECT: DiLorenzo asked Vega Pederson to audit the nonprofit contractor that manages the county’s downtown Behavioral Health Resource Center, which offers homeless Portlanders a respite from the weather and basic sanitary services.

The target of DiLorenzo’s letter: The Mental Health & Addiction Association of Oregon.

“Although my clients have voiced many concerns about the operation of the BHRC and its impact on their businesses and the safety of their employees and customers, one ongoing concern has related to the relative lack of transparency in the management of the BHRC,” DiLorenzo wrote. “I request that you undertake a full audit of the organization

so the public can be aware of the manner in which [it] is devoting the nearly $2.2 million of taxpayer funds which you are providing for their services.”

The county’s center shut down temporarily this spring after allegations that staff from the various contractors working there were having sex with each other and using and distributing drugs. The center reopened April 17.

DiLorenzo tells WW he’s representing downtown property owners in the letter but declined to name them. In it, he asked that the county audit the nonprofit after it did not immediately furnish him with copies of its most recent 990 tax returns after he requested them in May. (One of the conditions the Internal Revenue Service places on nonprofits is that they make their tax returns available to the public upon request.) On Monday afternoon, shortly after DiLorenzio sent his letter, the nonprofit posted its tax returns on its website.

DiLorenzo says his request to the county still stands: “These returns don’t tell us specifically how they are using the money

Shrugging Their Shoulders

The director of an adopt-a-block program says state officials won’t let him remove trash from the sides of freeways.

More than almost anything, Frank Moscow wants to pick up trash along Portland’s interstate highways.

Moscow, a retired executive recruiter turned venture investor, is the founder of AdoptOneBlock. Like SOLVE, a nonprofit that arms citizens with pickers and bags, AdoptOneBlock aims to clean up streets. Unlike SOLVE, AdoptOneBlack doesn’t do cleanup events. Instead, Moscow asks volunteers to become custodians for a single block and keep it clean all the time.

Moscow says his trash army is spoiling to deploy on Interstates 84, 205 and 405 because stretches of all those freeways still look like dumps, while neighborhood streets are improving. But anyone picking up garbage along the highway can be charged with trespassing, he says.

“As a nonprofit organization, I’m going to get my backside sued six ways from Sunday if I encourage people to trespass,” Moscow says in an interview.

Most of all, Moscow wants to clean up

the route from Portland International Airport to downtown, which looks particularly bad to both Portlanders and tourists.

Of course, Moscow would like the Oregon Department of Transportation and the Portland Bureau of Transportation to do the job themselves, but he doesn’t think that’s going to happen. Same with the Union Pacific Railroad, which owns the graffiti-covered Steel Bridge and lots of trash-filled right of way.

“The people that own the largest, most visible tracts of land are not cleaning it up,” Moscow says.

PBOT or ODOT should dedicate a truck and three employees to interstates within Portland. He understands they couldn’t displace homeless people in medians, but they could clean up around camps.

“Imagine the psychic value for the city of keeping the 405 loop clean,” Moscow says.

The agencies responsible for cleaning up Portland say Moscow is wrong because they are doing their part (see chart). And

to implement a policy.”

The nonprofit’s executive director, Janie Gullickson, tells WW that it’s “disappointing to me that the automatic reaction is that we must not have 990s or the implication that we must be mishandling public funding simply because an email or two was missed.”

WHAT IT MEANS: DiLorenzo might sue on behalf of his downtown clients.

Although DiLorenzo wouldn’t name them, he has in recent years represented some of the city’s largest property owners—and some of those past clients own buildings within the blocks surrounding the county’s day center. (He also represented the 10 Portlanders with disabilities who successfully sued City Hall last year to remove tent encampments from blocking sidewalks.)

The letter is not necessarily a precursor to litigation, but it is a warning that downtown property owners are unhappy with the center and may soon pursue legal action.

“I have a whole variety of downtown business interests that are very concerned about the management of the BHRC. There’s still a lot of property crime happening,” DiLorenzo tells WW. “I am very concerned about government delegation to nonprofit organizations that operate under the cloak of darkness with taxpayer funds.”

WHY IT MATTERS: It points to a larger problem of neighborhood frustrations and deep dysfunction within the center.

Emails obtained by WW in April show a flurry of sexual and criminal allegations flew in the days prior to the center’s March shutdown.

“It was just brought to my attention... that yesterday, an employee of [security] confronted a [janitor] that is dating the coordinator and suggested that the [janitor] should ‘check your girl’ accusing her of spreading rumors about the safety partner,” one employee wrote March 27. In other words, a security guard threatened a janitor because his paramour, the site coordinator, was alleging wrongdoing by guards.

The following day, staff traded emails about a different allegation: an exchange of narcotics between a guard and an employee who works with the homeless.

And then, on March 29, an outgoing employee at the center alleged sexual activity between employees of all three county contractors inside the building.

The center shut down for three weeks. The investigation into the allegations is ongoing.

But prior to the shutdown, as WW wrote in a March 1 story, surrounding businesses were aggrieved by the camping, crime and drug use that had collected around the perimeter of the center. They claimed vandalism, threats of violence to employees, and weapons wielded by people frequenting the day center threatened the viability of their businesses.

There were murmurs of potential litigation, but nothing happened in the two months since.

Until now. DiLorenzo is the chosen fighter for downtown real estate moguls, and has successfully sued the city in a number of high-profile cases in recent years. DiLorenzo’s Monday letter is the strongest indication yet that litigation over the county’s day center is brewing. SOPHIE PEEL.

TRASH BY THE NUMBERS

Sources: Metro, ODOT, City of Portland

Tons of trash Metro cleaned up in Sullivan’s Gulch in nine days in 2022:

Tons Metro’s RID Patrol has collected from the region’s highways since September:

28

154

Amount ODOT pays the city each fiscal year to clean highways: $2 million

Amount the city wants from the Legislature for next year: $4 million

Amount spent by Portland’s Homelessness and Urban Camping Impact Reduction Program on trash removal this fiscal year: $16 million

Percentage of Portland camp cleanups located on state property: 35-40

picking up trash is harder than it looks, particularly in a place like Sullivan’s Gulch, along I-84, where workers have to rappel down steep slopes into blackberry bushes filled with biohazards.

“It’s steep, it’s gross, and it sucks,” says Nick Christensen, a spokesman for Metro, the Portland area’s regional government.

“While trash can be found temporarily on the sides of the highway, we do not let trash pile up on our properties,” ODOT spokesman Don Hamilton says. “We work with organizations and local governments to keep our highways as clean as possible.”

(ODOT has asked AdoptOneBlock to seek a permit to clean safe stretches of highway, Hamilton says. However, some parts are just too dangerous, he adds.)

The city took over camp cleanups from ODOT in 2019. It gets $2 million a year from the state to do it, but Mayor Ted Wheeler wants ODOT to double that because some 40% of cleanups in Portland are on state property.

“We are contracted by the state, and our teams work directly with ODOT,” mayoral spokesman Cody Bowman says. “As the problem has increased, we are asking ODOT’s commitment to be at scale.”

The increase needs the approval of the Oregon Legislature, where business is at a standstill because Senate Republicans aren’t showing up for work.

Moscow says he’s tired of excuses: “They are better at making excuses than they are at cleaning up.” ANTHONY EFFINGER.

DINNER ON THE PATIO

Decline and Fall

As the feds close in, the founders of La Mota are hard to find.

BY SOPHIE PEEL speel@wweek.com

A mere eight months ago, Rosa Cazares and Aaron Mitchell were the toast of the Democratic Party of Oregon.

They could be found playing pickleball alongside then-gubernatorial candidate Tina Kotek—photos show the governor-to-be giggling at Mitchell’s jokes.

Two months later, in October, U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley smiled at Cazares as she spoke into a mic at a black-tie gala she co-hosted for Kotek on the cusp of her victory.

The young couple formed a particularly close friendship with Shemia Fagan, the Oregon secretary of state and a rising Democratic Party star. They held two champagne-fueled fundraisers for her at a West Hills mansion.

Fast forward seven months later to the week of June 7, and the trio that joined forces three years ago had become the three names listed on subpoenas issued to five state agencies by the U.S. Attorney for Oregon. The feds are seeking correspondence between Fagan and the couple, the couple’s income tax returns, and details of Fagan’s spending while in office.

The subpoenas, released by the Oregon Department of Justice last week in response to inquiries by WW and other news organizations, are the latest signal of how far three people who were once among Oregon’s political elite have fallen—and how much further they might still fall.

Portland lawyer Vivek Khotari, a former federal prosecutor, says the subpoenas mark the beginning of a historic investigation that is likely to drag on for months, if not for more than a year.

“I wouldn’t expect this to get resolved anytime soon. There are probably thousands and thousands of pages of documents, and then they have to read them, analyze them, and figure out what the next step is,” says Khotari, a partner with the Markowitz Herbold firm. “This investigation could easily take a year and a half.”

The federal probe follows reporting by WW that revealed the couple’s failure to pay taxes and creditors while contributing to politicians, Fagan’s decision to

moonlight as a consultant for their troubled cannabis company La Mota, and how Fagan shaped a state audit of cannabis regulation to please Cazares, her patron. Those revelations forced Fagan to resign from office May 2.

Since WW’s first cover story on Michell and Cazares in March, the couple has kept a low profile. They made one public appearance, on KOIN TV. They said they never intended to do wrong and were unfairly targeted by the media.

For her part, Fagan has all but disappeared from public view since her May 2 resignation. She’s spoken through her attorney since.

But public records, court transcripts, and people close to Democratic Party politics sketch an outline of what the weed entrepreneurs and their former contractor have been up to for the past month.

SHEMIA FAGAN

Fagan’s life was upended April 27, when WW first reported on her lucrative contract with Mitchell and Cazares. She is now the subject of three separate investigations.

The Oregon Government Ethics Commission is expected to present the findings of its investigation focused on Fagan’s contract with La Mota, requested by Gov. Kotek after the scandal broke, at its meeting July 14. The Oregon Department of Justice recently hired a California firm to investigate the secretary of state’s audit of cannabis regulation.

The third investigation is federal. In subpoenas, the U.S. Attorney for Oregon requested wide-ranging records related to Fagan and her ties to Cazares and Mitchell, as well as her conduct during office separate

TINA TOURNEY: Gov. Tina Kotek plays pickleball with La Mota founder Aaron Mitchell at an August 2022 fundraiser.

“She is one of the most selfless, ethical, and honorable individuals I have ever met.”

from the couple. In the past month, FBI agents have contacted officials at the Secretary of State’s Office to arrange interviews, several people familiar with the calls tell WW

While it’s too early to say what charges the feds may be looking to bring against Fagan, Khotari says the Department of Justice “often prosecutes public corruption cases” under the Hobbs Act, a law enacted by Congrees in 1946.

“There’s almost no doubt when those stories came out that there was going to be an investigation,” Khotari says.

Fagan hired attorney David Elkanich to handle a tide of scrutiny. Much of his time has been spent defending her spending of public dollars and campaign funds. He won’t say if he intends to represent her in criminal matters, too.

Meanwhile, the $11,585 in campaign funds at Fagan’s political action committee that she pledged to donate to the Oregon Humane Society over a month ago remains there. Elkanich declined to comment why, nor would he say if Fagan intends to raise a legal defense fund through another PAC, whose paperwork Fagan would have to file with the office she once oversaw.

On April 12, the Democratic Lieutenant Governors Association contributed $25,000 to Fagan’s PAC. The DLGA has given to only two other candidates so far in 2023, amounting to $4,400. Fagan solicited the contribution in the spring, the DLGA says.

Six days later, Fagan reimbursed herself $20,000 from her campaign—an unusually large sum.

A spokesperson says the association is “unaware of any inappropriate use of the political donations by Fagan when the contribution was made.” Fagan’s attorney Elkanich says there was “nothing improper” about the DLGA contribution, which he asserts paid for a Fagan fundraiser, or her subsequent self-reimbursement.

Despite it all, Fagan has found gainful employment.

She’s once again an employee of Seattle-based HKM Employment Attorneys LLP, where she worked prior to becoming secretary of state in 2021.

“ We could not be more thrilled to have Shemia return to HKM. She is one of the most selfless, ethical, and honorable individuals that I have ever met,” says HKM managing partner Daniel Kalish. “I really feel it is HKM’s gain (and Oregon’s loss) that she has returned to our firm.”

Kalish says Fagan will not practice law for the firm until she’s reinstated by a state bar. He would not say which office Fagan would work from—Seattle or Portland. (A spokeswoman for the Oregon State Bar says Fagan’s reinstatement application is in a “holding pattern” until the Ethics Commission’s investigation is completed.)

ROSA CAZARES AND AARON MITCHELL

In the one interview Cazares and Mitchell granted to a television station in April, the two presented a united front. Cazares told KOIN News she and Mitchell now owe less than half a million dollars in taxes to the Oregon Department of Revenue; b-roll footage showed the two paying taxes in cash at department headquarters. But few of the couple’s problems have been meaningfully remedied, and other cracks have begun to show.

Cazares, Mitchell and companies they control still have outstanding liens from the Internal Revenue Service topping $4 million. Most of those liens were issued to a staffing company controlled by the couple called 503 Staffing. Those liens have not been paid off, according to public records. The liens stretch back to unpaid taxes from 2018 and primarily concern employment taxes.

Mitchell now faces a $15,000 lien in Daytona Beach, Fla., where the former skateboarder grew up and, in the mid-aughts, purchased a number of run-down homes and rented them to low-income families. The liens allege that the city of Daytona Beach has for

years paid yard maintenance companies to clear the vacant property, situated in a poor neighborhood, of debris and overgrown weeds. Mitchell, according to the liens, never reimbursed the city.

Cazares and Mitchell appear to be living in separate apartments a mile apart on the westside. It’s unclear whether the two, who share a young daughter, remain a couple. People close to them say their relationship’s been on the rocks for years now.

Cazares, in a recent deposition for an ongoing court case filed by the company she hired to complete their 2021 tax returns, said she and Mitchell were in a romantic relationship.

Other testimony she gave, however, suggested some distance. She said in the deposition that Mitchell was the sole owner of 57 of the couple’s 60 operating companies—including all of their cannabis farms and processing facilities, and most of their dispensaries—and that she had an ownership stake in none. That’s despite claims in a March letter to WW by prominent cannabis lawyer Amy Margolis, who represented the couple for a short time during the newspaper’s coverage, that Cazares was a co-owner of the chain.

The couple faces five open civil cases in Oregon circuit courts.

And in the months since WW first reported on them, Cazares and Mitchell have rotated through a series of legal and political consultants.

Margolis signed on to represent La Mota in three ongoing court battles after WW first wrote about the chain. Weeks later, Margolis was no longer representing the couple in any ongoing litigation. Margolis declined to comment why.

For less than a month, the couple worked with a political consultant named Chris Edmonds. He’s no longer working for them but declined to comment why.

Then John Audley, a well-known lobbyist, applied to work for the couple in Salem. He says he never lobbied on their behalf, but would not answer repeated questions about whether he had placed calls to state lawmakers to talk about La Mota.

“I never met with a legislator to talk about [them], and lobbying is talking about specific policies,” Audley said in a terse phone call. “I call legislators all the time and talk to them about lots of things.” He declined to say what the couple sought from him or who had severed their relationship.

Two of the couple’s Portland dispensaries have shuttered since the March 29 story. But two La Mota dispensaries have opened in New Mexico. A third application there is pending.

Three lawyers from the Portland firm Hart Wagner now represent La Mota in three ongoing cases. But in the couple’s most troublesome case, which laid bare the chain’s sprawling network of operating companies, tax troubles and alleged financial mismanagement, they have been unable to find legal counsel. That case is set for trial in July, and the plaintiff, Michael Larson Consulting, alleges the couple failed to pay more than $150,000 in bills for work done on their 2021 tax returns.

In a recent filing, an attorney briefly appointed to the case through the state bar’s Client Security Fund asked the judge to push back the trial so the couple could find counsel.

“Defendants should not be put in a position where they cannot fully and fairly defend themselves,” the attorney wrote.

In response, the attorney for the plaintiff argued the couple was playing victim.

“Defendants are not the helpless victims they portray themselves to be. They are sophisticated manipulators who should not be allowed to manipulate the court,” Bear Wilner-Nugent wrote. “As Oregon and the world have learned due to a drumbeat of recent news reports, these defendants will misuse any extra affordance given to them in the service of their own goals.”

Portland's Best Boiled Bagel

Blessed Are the Poor

A religious nonprofit connects homeless people to shelter. It’s backed by a private security company.

BY LUCAS MANFIELD lmanfield@wweek.com

A new religious organization has hit the streets of Northwest Portland, offering the homeless food and access to shelter. Barely a year old, it’s already winning public grants, philanthropic checks, and nods from city leaders.

Loving One Another, while registered as a 501(c)(3), is not your typical nonprofit. It was created by Alex Stone, the founder of a private security company, Echelon Protective Services, that supplies armed guards to downtown businesses fed up with sidewalk camping and the crime associated with drug use.

And the nonprofit is helping to win the security company new business, including what might be its biggest contract yet, a $1.5 million deal with Pearl District neighborhood leaders to use both Stone’s armed patrols and his philanthropic outreach workers to address vandalism, theft and drug dealing outside their doors.

Those who support Stone’s efforts say he’s filling a role vacated by the city and county, as an understaffed police force recedes and the county’s emergency aid programs fail to address the growing ranks of unhoused people.

“His team are just great people, and they really care about people on the streets,” says Ken Thrasher, a former Fred Meyer executive and chair of a new Pearl District initiative that hired Stone.

City leaders are impressed too. In an Instagram post, City Commissioner Dan Ryan praised its “exceptional work,” citing its claim that it moves 45 people off the street into homeless shelters every month. “We can use every tool in

the toolbox right now,” Ryan tells WW

But not everyone is so pleased to see a private security company moving into humanitarian aid.

“This reminds me of those days in the Iraq War when it became clear that Blackwater was doing most of the United States government’s dirty work,” says Juan C. Chavez of the Oregon Justice Resource Center. “The privatization of public services inevitably leads to unaccountable waste.”

Stone has discovered that in the case of downtown camping, the interests of private businesses and public agencies converge: Both want campers to move to shelter, and both are willing to pay through the nose to make it happen. His web of nonprofit and commercial entities allows him to tap both. “When you follow the money,” says Kat Mahoney, head of the Old Town social services nonprofit Sisters of the Road, “it all goes back to Stone.”

Stone says his nonprofit can be more effective than the status quo—and he’s plugging his services to local officials.

“Most people that are in office, they want to make a difference in the lives of people on the street,” he says. “But there’s a lot of things getting lost in translation.”

Both of Stone’s operations are poised to have greater leverage this summer. Starting in July, people camping on Portland sidewalks who refuse shelter will face fines or jail time. That means Stone’s pitch to unhoused people is about to carry greater weight.

To understand what Stone is up to in the Pearl, WW asked Stone to let us ride along. He agreed.

When the WW reporter arrived last week at Loving One Another’s office in the Maddox Building on Northwest 13th Avenue, he was greeted by a production crew. It was the set for Stone’s forthcoming docuseries, Ride Along

As a showrunner tried to mic this

reporter up, Stone explained the premise. “It’s kind of like Cops,” he said, referring to the unscripted TV show. This reporter declined to participate but was allowed to tag along anyway.

Inside the sparsely furnished loft was a production studio. Boom lights, cameras and microphones were aimed at a large Echelon Protective Services logo, which was flanked by military memorabilia backlit in red, white and blue.

Stone’s personal story is central to his appeal among clients—he grew up homeless in Houston, he says, before becoming a cabinet maker and eventually serving as a chaplain at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington, according to a résumé submitted to state regulators. Meanwhile, he was working as a small-town cop across the Columbia River in Oregon.

But his tenure with the Clatskanie Police Department was upended in 2015 when he accused the chief of making racist comments, attracting national headlines. The chief resigned—and then, so did Stone. Investigators accused him of repeatedly lying, not about the chief’s bigotry but fabricating other damaging claims about co-workers and the city’s top brass.

In a letter to state regulators relinquishing his law enforcement certification, Stone said he was a whistleblower and had become “disillusioned” with law enforcement. Shortly thereafter, he applied to become a private security guard and started the company that would become Echelon Protective Services.

In 2021, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported that Stone’s client list was a “roster of civic heavy-hitters” paying as much as $16,000 a month for private patrols.

Some have heaped praise on Stone’s services. “We receive regular feedback from folks living on the street saying ‘Thank god for Echelon,’” wrote Jessie Burke, CEO of The Society Hotel, in a 2021 letter recommending Stone’s

RIDE ALONG: Alex Stone hands out snacks while his camera crew looks on.

LUCAS MANFIELD

L-R: Lauren Bloom Hanover, Andy Perkins, and Andrés Alcalá in A Midsummer Night’s Dream Photo by Shawnte Sims.

appointment to a state committee overseeing private security firms. He was appointed last year.

But some have criticized Stone’s business model, citing a lack of oversight. An OPB story published later that year found that the company had been scrutinized by police and prosecutors for brutality and illegal sweeps, and quoted Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt saying he was “disturbed by allegations of misconduct by employees of Echelon.” No charges were filed. Schmidt’s office declined to comment to WW

A year later, Stone incorporated Loving One Another as a religious nonprofit in Oregon. Stone, who has three academic degrees from Baptist institutions, filed papers in Washington in March of last year registering Loving One Another as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit providing “religious support.” He received tax exempt status from the Internal Revenue Service as a church in December.

As a church, Stone doesn’t have to file financial records with the feds, shielding the financial interrelationships between his various endeavors from scrutiny.

Earlier this year, he added a new customer: the city of Portland, which handed Loving One Another a $5,000 contract—a pittance, by nonprofit contracting standards—to hand out “food, clothes, hygiene supplies” and bus fare along the South Waterfront.

He expanded to the Pearl District, where local leaders created a nonprofit, the Northwest Community Conservancy, to hire Stone to patrol the streets. So far, the NWCC has raised around $500,000 from local businesses and residents. (Condo owners donate $20 a month.)

Right now, the NWCC pays Echelon to patrol around the clock with up to three security guards. It plans to eventually spend $1.5 million a year, Thrasher says.

Pearl District leaders considered 10 security companies before going with Echelon. What sealed the deal, Thrasher says, was Stone’s decision to form a nonprofit, which allows his employees to interact with campers in public spaces—addressing prior concerns that its private security guards were overstepping. “Forming [Loving One Another] was a really important thing,” Thrasher tells WW. “It allows them to access places that they couldn’t before.”

The result: Stone has turned street outreach, once the purview of ragtag nonprofits and community organizers, into a thriving business. State records show he now employs nearly 200 security guards. And, based on incorporation documents filed

in Oregon, Washington and Texas, he’s using his cash to expand into media production, home security, and an “artificial intelligence-driven video surveillance system.” (Thrasher says cameras to “monitor high-risk corridors” are part of the Pearl District’s long-term safety plan.)

“You pay a high premium,” says Tiffany Hammer, a member of the Old Town Community Association who helped Echelon win a contract there in 2020. “Pacific Echelon is thriving because they have the respect of the street.”

Outside the Maddox Building, Stone and his team pile into a van and drive down to a section of Northwest Portland at the base of the Steel Bridge known colloquially as “the pit.” It’s where an unhoused man nearly burned to death in a cinder block enclosure underneath an on-ramp. This sunny afternoon, dozens of tents dot the grassy field.

Stone, his former security guard-turned-head of outreach Leif Spencer, and a childhood friend, JJ Arevalo, stroll from tent to tent.

“Alex has a heart for people,” Arevalo explains. A camera crew tails the three giant men as they hand out water bottles and offer rides to a homeless shelter or, in one case, a bus ticket home to family in Florida.

It’s not an easy sell. Nine times out of 10, Stone is rebuffed, but persistence works wonders, he says. “We’re waiting to find people who say, ‘I’m ready.’ If you’re doing this every day, you get 100%.”

A man pulls up on a bike and shakes Spencer’s hand. He goes by the name “Red Dog” and is happy to share his story for the cameras.

Red Dog says he’d never been approached about getting into shelter until meeting Spencer. Now, he has a bed, but he’s been waiting for housing for nearly a year. He’s frustrated. In the meantime, he hangs out at the pit.

Stone jumps in to plug his brand of street outreach. “If the county and the city are going to spend millions of dollars,” he says, “it should probably go to the actual tents where the people live.” (On June 13, the county announced a new outreach effort in the pit. Its nonprofit contractor “screened 75 people over four days.”)

The men pause on a street corner by the Lan Su Chinese Garden, an Echelon client. Stone reminisces about a time when the garden drew far more visitors. The solution to downtown blight, Stone explains, is to convince them to come back.

“It’s like the civil rights movement, bro,” he muses. “You get people in the streets, you own the streets.”

SUPER PUMPED

As summer arrives, mariners head to Fred’s.

A PHOTO ESSAY BY MICHAEL RAINES @m_h_raines

It’s 9 am on the Willamette Channel and Russ Burns is busy opening Fred’s Marina. Burns, who lives in Scappoose, says he’s been working the docks since 2007. He’s seen fishermen, pleasure boaters and jet skis float by his fuel pump every weekend for more than 16 years.

This weekend is no different—except the traffic already on the water hints that summer is near.

Across from the southern tip of Sauvie Island, where the Willamette River splits between the channel and the main current, Fred’s has been open since 1946. It gases up boats and other watercraft, serves a selection of refreshments for parched and hungry riverfarers, and offers a place for boats to call home at night.

“Four generations of Fred’s family have worked and lived here,” Burns says.

Much of Portland’s future seems uncertain. But if there’s one thing that brings people together when the weather turns warm, it’s the river.

The Willamette, which divides Portland’s east and west, remains a common experience for residents of a city seemingly split in every other way. Its enthusiasts range from fishermen who have been harvesting salmon for generations to flashy speedboat fanatics, sunburnt Sea-Doo riders, influencer wakeboarders, birthday boaters, and everyone in between.

And one dock serves them all: Fred’s.

In 2021, Alexander “Fred” Fredrick’s daughter Cherie Sprando and her husband, Greg, decided it was time to retire and sell the marina. After all, the Sprandos’ daughter had a “real job,” Burns says, and had no time to take on the responsibilities of owning a marina. In 2021, they sold to a Lake Oswego company, Miller Creek Holdings LLC. Today, Fred’s is branded with a logo emblazoned on hats, shirts and a sleek website.

On one of the first hot and sunny weekends of the season, this photographer went to Fred’s to document its visitors: everyone who stopped in to fill up, grab a snack, or simply say hi. What follows are the rhythms of life as seen from shoreline—and a reminder that even a tense city still manages to relax now and then.

THE SULTAN

By 9:30 am, fishermen are already floating by with the early morning catches. They’re pros like John Shmilenko, known on the river as the Sultan of Sellwood, and already back from a morning on the water with his family. His 15-year-old grandson, Mason Waddle, has wrangled a 12-pound chinook.

“One of the first fish he’s caught [this season]. Certainly the biggest,” the Sultan says.

They’re joined at the dock later by Casey Brewer, who’s also landed a chinook. Pumped full of gas from the marina, adrenaline from his catch, and a little beer from the cooler, he’s amped to return to the river for another round.

“ Today’s a good day. First good day of the season,” Brewer says as he hoists his salmon overhead.

The Sultan is equally as enthusiastic about this weekend and ready to head back out to the water. “Salmon season is really just starting, and the spring chinook is what we’re after. It’s a much oilier, richer fish,” he says.

Willamette Week JUNE 14, 2023 wweek.com

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POPSICLES AND SIX-PACKS

Later in the day, families and groups of friends stop in to fuel up, preparing for an afternoon on the water. The weather, forecast at a perfect 80 degrees Fahrenheit, brings out a crowd, including a man who gives his name as Chris. He’s stopped by to fuel up his Chaparral sport boat. He and his boating partner have no plans but to “have fun and enjoy the weather,” Chris says. Everyone has a refreshment of choice. If it’s up to Maureen Routt, it’s a lime-flavored popsicle. Ask self-proclaimed social media influencer MacLayne Westberg and it’s a healthy shot of liquor in a pint glass. Other families choose to see what Fred’s has to offer inside its snack shack.

CLOSING TIME

At 5 pm, Burns is ready to close up shop and head home to Scappoose. He flips the “OPEN” sign to “CLOSED,” locks the doors, and turns off the lights. He checks the restroom and ice machine to make sure not too many bugs have snuck in again. At that, he heads out until next weekend when he’ll take the helm at Fred’s Marina again.

But in its off hours, Fred’s is hardly deserted. “We have otters, mink, turtles, deer, coyotes and raccoons on the property at times,” Burns says, pointing toward the shore. “And an osprey nest this year on a power pole!”

HEAD DOWNSTREAM

Turn the page for a summer adventure 20 miles down the Willamette and Columbia rivers in Ridgefield, Wash.

Welcome to Oregon Summer, Budget Edition

Willamette Week’s second edition of Oregon Summer magazine—our guide to getting the most out of the sunsoaked season—hits stands across the metro area this week. Inside, you’ll find a series of trips to widely varying destinations throughout the state and across the Columbia River in Southern Washington.

This year, given stubborn inflation and concerns about the economy, we’ve designed our getaways with your budget top of mind. We want you to enjoy a carefree season without breaking the bank while you’re at it. That’s why you’ll find more day trips in this issue—places that take less than an hour to get to, but feel a world away once you’re there—like a sprawling bird sanctuary in Ridgefield, Wash.

Here is a sneak peek of just a portion of that excursion’s detailed itinerary. To read the rest of the guide, which includes six other trips, a roundup of top tours for lo cals, and an assessment of the city’s ice cream sand wich scene, look for Oregon Summer at more than 650 locations—newsstands, bars, restaurants, hotels, grocers and convenience stores. The special publication will also be added to our website in the coming weeks.

—Andi Prewitt, Week

DAYTRIP: Ridgefield

This quickly growing northern Clark County town is rich with history, a hub for outdoor recreation, and a birders’ paradise.

BY MEIRA GEBEL PHOTOGRAPHS BY CAMERON MUNN

Nearly every summer during the 1960s, my mom and her six siblings would pile into the family station wagon and make the 1,100-mile trek from San Diego to Ridgefield, Wash. My great aunt Alice owned a 100-acre farm on the outskirts of the city, where my mom remembers catching white fish from the property’s many streams and doing somersaults through the tall grass. Her memories of Ridgefield are filled with images of swooping starlings, pink creamsicle sunsets, and wide-open space. Those summers were a big reason why she decided to make a home here in the Pacific Northwest as an adult.

That charm of Ridgefield remains, but to say it hasn’t changed since then would be an understatement. Its population has increased expeditiously since the early aughts: Ridgefield is one of Washington’s fastest-growing cities, according to the 2020 census, and several commercial and residential developments are under construction trying to keep up. The ultimate sign of rapid expansion? A Costco is coming to town.

But for Portlanders willing to cross the Columbia River, a quaint and quiet community brimming with life awaits. Here, trees hold more history than most buildings, and the proximity to a sprawling nature reserve of the same name beckons visitors to slow down. There are breweries and bookstores as well as the best fish and chips you can find some 80 miles inland from the coast. Be sure to set aside enough time to discover all that Ridgefield has to offer, which is probably more than you ever realized in its roughly 7.5-mile footprint.

AFTERNOON: Stroll Through Time

A trip to Ridgefield would be incomplete without visiting Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge (28908 NW Main Ave., 360-887-4106, fws.gov/refuge/ridgefield),

5,300 acres of now-protected habitat that, in 1805, William Clark deemed too noisy. According to a journal entry, he worried all of the honking geese would keep him up at night. But wildlife is part of the spectacle here. There is also a newly opened visitors center and pedestrian walking bridge that leads to the Cathlapotle Plankhouse, a reconstruction of the large, wooden tribal gathering places that used to occupy this land. While the inside of the plankhouse remains closed to the public, it acts as the centerpiece for the refuge’s many trails.

A mile north, look for the 400-year-old “great, great, great grandmother” oak tree. Also keep an eye out for any of the more than 200 feathered species that have been observed here. An advanced birder could spend hours spotting dozens at dusk along the nearly 1.4-mile Oaks to Wetland Trail. But most visitors will simply marvel at the scenery and soundtrack, seemingly untouched and unbothered by modern-day society.

Don’t feel like walking?

Take your car! No, seriously. Encompassing the south side of Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge is the auto tour route—a 4.2-mile stretch where visitors can spot redwinged blackbirds, red-tailed hawks and nutria from their Subaru windows. However, it’s imperative to bring a pair of binoculars!

GET BUSY

JUNE 14-20

WATCH: A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Portland Center Stage artistic director

Marissa Wolf has created a vibrant and inclusive version of this Shakespeare classic to end the company’s 2022-23 season. A Midsummer Night’s Dream features a cast of all Portland artists who’ve starred in past productions like Tick, Tick… Boom!

Macbeth and Mojada: A Medea in Los Angeles. It’s the perfect play to send patrons off into summer since the plot focuses on escaping the oppressions of the city by romping freely through an enchanted forest. Portland Center Stage at the Armory, 128 NW 11th Ave., 503-445-3700, pcs.org. 7:30 pm Wednesday-Friday, 2 and 7:30 pm Saturday-Sunday, 2 pm select Thursdays, through July 2. $24-$93.

WATCH: California

Buckle up for this wild ride brought to you by The Theatre Company and playwright Trish Harnetiaux. California will take you on a journey across parallel worlds as a family road trip becomes a portal to different dimensions. What if every choice you made created a new reality? What if a radio signal in Eastern Oregon revealed the secrets of the universe along with coexisting realities in Spokane, Wash., and Huntington Beach, Calif.? Be prepared for multiple detours. Art Design Xchange, 417 SE 11th Ave., 503-847-1555, thetheatreco. org/california. 8 pm Wednesday-Saturday, June 14-17. $25.

WATCH: Tipping Point

Following the public murder of George Floyd in 2020, the country’s eyes turned to Portland, where protests took place for months. Tipping Point captured much of that action thanks to the tireless efforts of director Jon Meyer, who personally witnessed the demonstrations night after night. His documentary, which won gold at Seattle’s Social Justice Film Festival, examines that fraught period through interviews with protesters, police officers, livestreamers, civil rights activists and

more, going behind the headlines for a richer story. Meyer will attend for a Q&A following the screening. Alberta Abbey, 126 NE Alberta St., albertaabbey.org. 8-11 pm Thursday, June 15. $15-$30.

EAT: Juneteenth Cookout

There’s nothing like a good ol’ fashioned cookout to bring people together for a day dedicated to fun, freedom and unity. This Juneteenth event, which is open to people of all ages, celebrates the diversity and resilience of Portland’s BIPOC community. You can expect booths featuring BIPOC-owned businesses and nonprofit organizations, a live DJ and food vendors. A 21-and-over bar should help keep the adults entertained, while water games and a photo booth will occupy the kids. Redd East Event Space, 831 SE Salmon St., 503227-6225, eventbrite.com. 5-11 pm Friday, June 16.

EAT & DRINK: Oregon Brews & BBQs Father’s Day Bash

Bert’s Chuckwagon knows what Dad wants for Father’s Day: delicious barbecue, quality craft beer, and awesome live music. All of that is packed into this three-day event at the Yamhill County fairgrounds as well as a cornhole tournament for papas who’ve perfected their bean bag pitching. Sample beers from more than 20 local breweries as well as smoked meats from Bert’s, a beloved McMinnville food truck specializing in pulled pork, brisket, tri-tip and hot links. And because you’ve got the world’s greatest Dad, say thanks by buying him a VIP ticket, which includes an upgrade from public porta potties to a private restroom. Yamhill County Fair & Rodeo, 2070 NE Lafayette Ave., McMinnville, 971-261-9800, bertschuckwagon. com/tickets. Noon-11 pm Friday-Saturday, noon-10 pm Sunday, June 16-18. $10 general admission, $25 beer enthusiast, kids under 12 free. Email orbrewsandbbqs@gmail.com for information about VIP tickets.

GO: Parallax Art Center Summer Solstice Festival

Celebrate the longest day of the year at Pearl District exhibition space Parallax, which promises that its 2023 Summer Solstice Festival is bigger than ever. Kick off the morning with a fundraiser drag brunch with food from Waffle Window and bottomless mimosas as well as entertainment provided by Nashville Hot and her fab playbill of queens. At noon, the event is free for all to enjoy, and includes a pop-up tattoo artist if you’re feeling bold and impulsive, along with face painters for those who’d prefer less permanent markings. In addition, you can expect craft vendors, food trucks, a raffle and a flower crown-making station for those who enjoy Midsommar vibes. Parallax Art Center, 516 NW 14th Ave., 503-286-4959, parallaxartcenter.org. 10 am-5 pm Saturday, June 17. $100 for the drag brunch, festival free.

LISTEN: Brewers & Their Bands

In Portland, we’ve got a number of brewers who aren’t just skilled with a mash paddle—they can play guitar, drums and even the washboard. Watch their talents while drinking beer served festival style at booths throughout Ecliptic’s property. The lineup includes musicians from Breakside, McMenamins, Ruse, StormBreaker and Unicorn. And don’t miss headliner Buds of May Revival—that’s when you’ll see Ecliptic owner and brewmaster John Harris rocking out on the corrugated scrub board like he’s trying to remove a stubborn stain. Ecliptic Brewing, 825 N Cook St., 503-265-8002, eclipticbrewing.com.

3-10 pm Saturday, June 17. Free entry, $20 for a glass and six tasting tickets.

GO: Juneteenth Oregon

Juneteenth Oregon is a tradition that dates back to 1945, when Oklahoma transplant Clara Peoples introduced the celebration to her co-workers at the Kaiser Shipyards. She then helped it become an annual citywide festival in 1972. This year, things kick off with a parade led by grand

marshal Oregon state Sen. Lew Frederick on Saturday morning. The procession will be followed by the opening of a twoday party at Lillis-Albina Park featuring food, live music, games and the chance to meet ambassadors from the Mr./ Miss Juneteenth Oregon program, who are making a positive difference in their communities. Lillis-Albina Park, North Flint Avenue and Russell Street, 503-267-4686, juneteenthor.com/contact-us. 11 am-7 pm Saturday and noon-6 pm Sunday, June 17-18. Free.

EAT: Daddy Brunch

Some dads want beer and barbecue, but others prefer a country chic brunch. If yours is the latter, take him to The Side Yard Farm & Kitchen, which is still in Portland proper but feels like it’s miles away from any urban development. The buffet spread includes a buttermilk fried chicken sando, smashed-and-fried potatoes dressed in sage and sea salt, cornmeal cakes and a salad of summer lettuces. There will also be mimosas, bloody marys and Extracto coffee. Both daddies and zaddies are welcome. The Side Yard Farm & Kitchen, 4800 NE Simpson St., thesideyardpdx.com. 10 am Sunday, June 18. $60.

WHAT FOOLS THESE MORTALS BE: Portland Center Stage’s season-ending production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a hilarious romp through a magical forest.

FOOD & DRINK

Top 5

Hot Plates

WHERE TO EAT THIS WEEK.

1. STACKED SANDWICH SHOP

Editor: Andi Prewitt

Contact: aprewitt@wweek.com

Top 5

Buzz List

WHERE TO DRINK THIS WEEK.

1. TORO MEXICAN KITCHEN

2175 NW Raleigh St., 971-279-2731, stackedsandwichshop.com. 11 am-7 pm

Tuesday-Saturday. Among the many pandemic-related closures, the loss of Stacked was painful. Now, like a phoenix rising from the ashes, chef Gabriel Pascuzzi has revived the shop with a slimmed-down menu of old favorites and new creations that feels faithful to the original. Your go-to order should be the famous oxtail French dip, once considered one of Portland’s iconic dishes. At the moment, Stacked makes only about 25 a day, so we recommend placing an order online in advance.

2. RINGSIDE STEAKHOUSE

1355 NW Everett St., Suite 120, 503-673-2724, toropdx.com. 4-10 pm Sunday-Thursday, 4-11 pm Friday-Saturday.

The former Pearl District Tilt space is empty no more. Toro, a Mexican eatery operated by the ever-expanding Urban Restaurant Group (Bartini, Brix, Swine), has transformed the dark, industrial-themed space into an airy cantina. The initial food offerings we’ve sampled have all been satisfying—but the delightful surprise was the lengthy cocktail list. Early favorites were the sunny Passionfruit (vodka, passion fruit puree, pineapple juice and a Tajín rim) and Ocean (vodka, lemongrass and basil syrup, cucumber), which is a shade of turquoise so alluring you’ll wish you could swim in it.

2165 W Burnside St., 503-223-1513, ringsidesteakhouse.com. 4:30-9 pm

Monday-Thursday, 4-9:30 pm Friday-Saturday, 4-9 pm Sunday.

A few good things emerged during the pandemic. One of the greatest was the addition of a patio at Portland’s premier steakhouse, which is making its return now that temperatures are climbing. It’s not easy to imagine carving into one of RingSide’s dry-aged rib-eyes while sitting in the parking lot, but the meat palace’s grand canopy is dressed to the nines with faux-wood flooring and vibrant emerald plants. A handful of new seasonal sides complement all of that greenery: English peas with ricotta dumplings, grilled Washington asparagus with black truffle egg sauce, and roasted heirloom carrots in a zhoug salsa verde.

2. GRAPE APE

77 SE Yamhill St., 503-261-3467, grapeape.wine. 11 am-bedtime Tuesday-Sunday.

Sorry to break it to fans of the ’70s Hanna-Barbera cartoon of the same name, but you won’t find a 40-foot purple primate at this new Central Eastside bar. However, much of the décor is from that era, and the lineup of fine natural wines should soften the blow. The curated list highlights selections from low-intervention labels, including Oregon’s Hooray for You chardonnay, California producer Populis’ sauvignon blanc and a Pierre-Olivier Bonhomme gamay from France. Pair one with marinated white beans and mayo on toast or a jamon baguette and pretend you’ve made an escape to Paris for the afternoon.

3. ZULA

1514 NW 23rd Ave., 503-477-4235, zulapdx.com. 11:30 am-9 pm Wednesday-Sunday.

We now know what Rotigo’s reimagining looks like: Roasted chicken is out and Mediterranean cuisine is the focus. Although we haven’t had a chance to sample the food just yet, the brightly colored collection of cocktails should transport you to the coast of Israel. Not only are they named after neighborhoods in Tel Aviv, where Zula owner Tal Tubitski once lived; the concoctions are made with ingredients from the region. The tequila-pomegranate blend of the Levontin, or the Montefiore, made with date-infused rye whiskey, would be our first picks.

4. LITTLE HOP BREWING

250 NW 13th Ave., 503-841-6406, jankenrestaurant.com. 5-11 pm

Tuesday-Thursday, 5 pm-midnight Friday, 4 pm-midnight Saturday, 4-10 pm Sunday.

At this stage of Portland’s evolution as a food-loving city, Janken may be just the right tonic. Whether intended or not, the symbolism of the dining room’s striking faux cherry tree in full bloom suggests renewal and an emergence from our extended COVID winter. That opulence extends to the menu, where you’ll find prices ranging from high to silly, but portions tend to be generous. Begin with one or more of the nontraditional maki, like a soft-shell crab roll, then move on to top-grade A5 wagyu you cook yourself on a hot stone. For those truly splurging, there is $229 Imperial Gold osetra roe.

ENOTECA NOSTRANA

1401 SE Morrison St., #105, 503-236-7006, enotecanostrana.com. 5-9 pm

Monday-Thursday, 5-10 pm Friday-Saturday.

Most patrons go to Nostrana’s neighboring wine bar to sample from its extensive bottle collection. But the next time you’re in search of sustenance, don’t overlook this place and head directly next door. Enoteca Nostrana just rolled out a new happy hour menu that includes three of chef Cathy Whims’ classics for a steal: the Insalata Nostrana ($6), capellini in Marcella’s tomato butter sauce ($10), and a Margherita pizza ($10). You can then finish your discounted meal with a delightfully fun adult take on a childhood classic: a boozy popsicle ($4).

5. MAKULÍT

1015 SE Stark St., @makulitpdx. Noon-7 pm

Wednesday-Thursday, 4-9 pm

Friday-Saturday.

Makulít, one of the new food carts in the Lil’ America pod, is a master at melding the familiar with the unfamiliar—in this case, Filipino ingredients and flavors with American fast food classics. Best of all: Everything on the menu is fun. The most playful dish is the Big Bunso, a cheeseburger with a spicy longanisa sausage patty and atsara, a mix of pickled papaya, carrot, daikon and bell pepper. The resulting flavor combo lands somewhere between burger, meatloaf sandwich, and banh mi.

4400 SW Garden Home Road, littlehopbrewing.com. Noon-8 pm Saturday.

Most homebrewers dream of going big, and Zak Cate achieved that goal working as a pub brewer for McMenamins Kalama Harbor Lodge before deciding to scale back and launch this nano operation with his wife, Lisa. In April, they started a teeny-tiny taproom inside a trailer, which is open just one day a week while the couple prepares to move into a larger space nearby. For now, come drink at the state’s smallest tap house, which thankfully can squeeze in more people than you’d expect due to a decent-sized beer garden.

5. THE SHAKU BAR

3448 NE Sandy Blvd., 971-346-2063, theshakubar.com. 4 pm-midnight Tuesday-Thursday, 4 pm-1 am Friday-Saturday, 3-10 pm every other Sunday.

This year-old spot proves that good things come in small packages. The closet-sized bar serves cocktails with big flavors, like the Princess Peach, which is a refreshing mix of local Aria gin, Aperol, St-Germain and lemon juice topped with a half-centimeter of creamy-white Fee Foam (Google it!). We’re definitely coming back for a Kvothe the Bloodless—pickle juice, hot sauce, lime and a secret sauce. Shaku calls it a bloody mary “without the blood.”

3. JANKEN

4.

AARON LEE

HOTSEAT

Ride ’til I Can’t No More

Sixteen-year-old Black cowgirl London

Gladney is coming to Portland—and fast.

BY JAKE MOORE jake@wweek.com

London Gladney’s mom says her daughter has a need for speed. At age 16, Gladney is a prodigy on the junior rodeo circuit. She started competing at age 7 and, earlier this year, won first prize in pole bending at the Colorado Junior Rodeo.

When Gladney arrives in Portland this weekend, she may defy some Oregonians’ stereotypes about rodeo riders. A self-described Black cowgirl from Compton, Calif., she’s grown used to brushing off incredulous remarks. “A lot of people, they’re like, ‘Oh, she’s from Compton? They have horses in Compton?’ And I’m like, yeah, they do have horses in Compton. You’ll be surprised.”

Gladney is traveling to Portland for the Eight Seconds Juneteenth Rodeo on Saturday, June 17—the first Black rodeo held in Oregon. The event at the Portland Expo Center is the brainchild of Portland photojournalist Ivan McClellan, who has spent much of his time documenting Black rodeos across the country and decided to host one of his own. Events will include bareback horse riding, breakaway roping, bull riding and barrel racing.

Gladney is bringing her horse Chrome with her to compete in the barrel race. In that race, the horse and rider sprint out to a set of three barrels spaced roughly 30 feet apart. The horse races to the first barrel, circles it, and then does the same with the other two before sprinting back to the start line. Gladney can do it in less than 14 seconds.

For Gladney, it’s about going fast—and a little more than that. This will be her first Juneteenth rodeo and she says she can’t wait. WW spoke to her by phone last week about how she got her start in rodeos and what it means to be a Black cowgirl.

WW: You began riding as early as 4. What was it like, essentially growing up riding a horse?

London Gladney: When I was little, I used to cry when my dad or anybody used to try to take me off the horse. I looked up to my dad, and everybody around him. I’m like, “That’s what I want to be like, I want to ride horses.”

Your dad, Dihigi Gladney, was a bull rider. What is it like having someone with that kind of experience so close to you as you’re growing up and competing?

Being a Black cowgirl, you show up and people are like, “Oh, she’s black, She don’t know what she’s doing.” Well, I show up, and they’re like, “Oh, she do know what she’s doing.” And I do know what I’m doing. Because I have my dad, who knows a lot.

When did you first begin competing in rodeo?

I was 7. It was scary at first. I was a little girl and I didn’t have enough friends. I had this little pony, Asia, we would be starting to run in and, before you know it, she’s bucking me off. And then everybody just used to laugh. Then as I got older, I had a lot of friends and then I started winning a lot and I just love it.

How often do you switch horses?

As of right now, I personally own 10 or 11 horses to myself. Right now, I have two solid horses that I use, Chrome and Cruiser. Chrome is my pole and barrel horse and Cruiser is just my barrel racing horse. Chrome is like a little puppy. Sometimes, I could just be standing next to him and he’ll just lick my face like a dog, or sometimes he’ll just rest his head on my shoulder.

Every now and then I’ll sneak off and go ride my auntie’s horse Pumpkin. She’s a really good barrel horse. I’ve got wins back to back on her before. I always rode different horses growing up. I could just jump on somebody’s horse and I’m like, “Oh, I’ve rode this horse’s style before. I should be good to go.”

Between barrel races and poles and any other events, which one is your favorite? Why?

I really like barrels. Barrels is my favorite. Gladney’s mother, Shavon, interjects: The need for speed.

Gladney: Yeah, you get to go really, really fast, and I like that.

Barrels can be kind of a scary thing to watch. What are you thinking when you do barrels?

I’m going to be honest with you: I black out half of the time. I don’t remember anything, like half the time. I remember some things but like, once I’m going, I’m going. I’m just like, “Oh my gosh, I need to go faster.”

How do you get yourself mentally prepared? When you’re riding up to the barrels to get started, what is going through your head?

I isolate myself away from everybody. Like some people are like, “Oh, I saw London during the barrels. She didn’t say hi to me.” I’m like, I promise I saw you, but right now I’m getting ready to go. I try to stay away—that way, the nerves don’t kick in.

What drew you to the Eight Seconds Juneteenth Rodeo here in Portland?

I’ve always wanted to attend a Juneteenth rodeo. But they’re always in Oklahoma and Texas, far away. Then I saw that it was coming and I got the text message. And I begged my dad, “Please, let me go.”

Is there anything specific that you’re really looking forward to?

I hope it’s really a big audience. I love the big audience. My horses love the big audience. And it’s good to see a show sold out because that means a lot of people that drew their attention, like, “Hey, Black cowgirls, let’s go watch. This should be fun.” I try to show out to represent us Black people. It surprises a lot of people. Sometimes a lot of people are like, “They have Black rodeos?” I’m like, “Yeah, they’re really fun to go to, trust me. You don’t want to miss out, you better be there.”

GO: Eight Seconds Juneteenth Rodeo is at the Portland Expo Center, 2060 N Marine Drive, 8secondsrodeo.com. Doors at 3 pm, show at 7 pm Saturday, June 17. $42.

Willamette Week JUNE 14, 2023 wweek.com

Dope Dads

BY BRIANNA WHEELER

How serendipitous that both Juneteenth and Pride Month so neatly fit alongside Father’s Day.

One holiday celebrates emancipation finally being enforced throughout the U.S. more than two years after slavery was abolished. The other is a monthlong celebration of LGBTQ+ equity and inclusion. And then we have a Spokane, Wash., woman’s response to the already established Mother’s Day in honor of her father, a Civil War vet, who raised her and her siblings. I’d argue that two of these celebrations hold a bit more weight, but I’d also assert that all three are intrinsically intertwined.

Black fatherhood has been systematically disrupted, and we are at the very outset of a recovery process. Father’s Day could be a powerful part of that recovery. Furthermore, parenthood is something that is still largely denied to same-sex couples, and with a whole new generation of LGBTQ+ youth facing a criminalized existence, LGBTQ+ patriarchs are a vital resource now more than ever.

The bottom line is, Father’s Day can and should be much more than a celebration of traditional Christian fatherhood. Let’s honor not only patriarchs—whatever they may look like. If you’re lucky enough to have a special stoner-day-type someone to in your life, here are a few gift ideas to get the party started:

Straindaddy 510 Cartridge Caddy

If the dad your shopping for always has multiple vape cartridges rattling around in junk drawers, stash boxes, or messenger bags (wait, am I a dad?), the very appropriately named Straindaddy 510 Cartridge Caddy is a stone zone must-have. The 8.15-inch-long, 2-inch-tall desktop container holds multiple vapes and cartridges of varying sizes. Mine currently holds no fewer than five 510 carts, three disposable vapes, two pen vaporizers, my beloved custom Pax and three paint markers whose caps went missing.

BUY: Straindaddycaddy.com, $12.99.

Puffco Proxy

For dads who prefers to dab, consider a sleek new rig that will make them the envy of all the other pothead fathers. Puffco’s flagship vaporizer has long been the gold standard for e-rigs, and its newer, smaller, Sherlock pipe-shaped version, Proxy, has all of the same features that made the original such a hit: It’s easy to use, produces velvety smooth hits, and is stylish enough to sit on a shelf among decorative tchotchkes.

BUY: Puffco.com, $299.

Czech Pipe Tool

No stash box, party table or smoke area is complete without some sort of tool that can poke, scrape or tamp. For pothead

pops who use bent bobby pins or paper clips to clean their bowls, help them level up with the Czech Pipe Tool, which has three distinct prongs: a pick, a tamper and a scraper that doubles as a dab device/crumb spoon. It’s a small but powerful gift.

BUY: Smokingpipes.com, $2.50.

Cloudius9 Tectonic9 Auto Dispensing Grinder

Every cannathusiast patriarch in my orbit is flush with grinders. However, they are mostly branded plastic promo devices that were free with a 4/20 purchase and seized up after their first good twist. The remedy to Dad’s stash of crummy grinders is simple: This automatic machine that mills weed into fluffy shreds with the flick of a switch. Bonus: The lack of wrist action required to operate will be a welcome change for fathers with tendonitis. Double bonus: It comes in pink! BUY: Cloudious9.com, $59.99.

Live Rosin Selects at Oregrown

Making sure the pappies of the hour are properly medicated is crucial on Father’s Day, so before springing for new electric rigs or imported pipe tools, stock their stash with some selections from Oregrown’s fantastic lineup of live rosin extracts, which are made without harsh chemicals. They’re a surefire way to get your paterfamilias in a mellow mood.

BUY: Oregrown, 111 NE 12th Ave., 503-477-6898.

If you’ve got a pothead papa in your life, here are some Father’s Day gift ideas he’ll actually enjoy.

SHOWS OF THE WEEK

WHAT TO SEE AND WHAT TO HEAR

BY DANIEL BROMFIELD @bromf3

Aggressive Ukulele Playing …and Friendship

Singer-songwriter Jill Sullivan refers to Chipped Nail Polish’s sound as “crying in a mosh pit.”

BY SHANNON DAEHNKE

The first time I interviewed Jill Sullivan, we were students at the University of Oregon. I was a junior, working on a story for a student publication about women in the house show scene in Eugene.

A house show, btw, is exactly what it sounds like: a concert in a living room, backyard, a dusty attic with a very precarious floor situation… pretty much anywhere that a college student can manage to set up some iteration of a stage and, more importantly, has room for people to mosh.

At the time, it was very freshly 2020, aka pre-pandemic, and Sullivan was a senior. She’d been playing the ukulele since freshman year—“I tried guitar and was like…that’s too fuckin’ hard”—and began writing music her junior year after going through her first big breakup. “Sooo cliché,” she says.

During her time at UO, Sullivan became very involved with the music scene. She set a goal for herself to play one house show before she graduated…and that’s exactly what she did. Sullivan recruited a few friends to play alongside her and, in February 2020, she played her first house show under the moniker “Chipped Nail Polish.”

“None of us were the greatest musicians,” Sullivan says. “My friend learned bass in like two weeks in order to play the house show.”

Since then, the now Portland-based Chipped Nail Polish has surpassed 11,000 streams on Spotify, has two EPs—the most recent being Bottom Feeder—and has played several venues across Portland, including the Holocene, Kelly’s Olympian, and Revolution Hall.

Still, Chipped Nail Polish’s roots remain the same. One of the very same friends who was by Sullivan’s side three-plus years ago as she pursued her senior year dream of playing a house show was rocking out front row at Sullivan’s latest gig at Honey Latte Cafe this past Wednesday, where Chipped Nail Polish played with Novacane and Winona Forever.

The indie rock band’s current makeup—a somewhat revolving, although more so in the past than now, cast of Sullivan’s friends in the Portland music scene—consists of Sullivan on lead vocals and ukulele, Keelan Paroissien on lead guitar, Jeff Wiseman on drums, Amélie Diaz on rhythm guitar, and Aidan Case on bass.

A lot of Sullivan’s bandmates are involved in other projects as well, so they’ll book shows on a “no hard feelings if you can’t make it” kind of basis, subbing in other musician friends as needed. On Wednesday night, for example, Katy Oshiek subbed in on bass, because Case was on tour.

On Wednesday night, Chipped Nail Polish opened with one of their most popular songs, and definitely my favorite: “Rut.” With a vibe

that is simultaneously vulnerable and upbeat, “Rut” is the perfect example of Sullivan’s songwriting style. She refers to Chipped Nail Polish’s sound as “crying in a mosh pit”—i.e., happy-sounding music that is secretly sad.

“ You’ll be bopping along to the song and then listen to the lyrics and be like, oh…this is not a happy song,” Sullivan say, “but at least I’m dancing!”

I don’t know if it was the fact that there were several UO alumni I recognized in the audience (or that, like some house show venues, the cafe-during-the-day, indie-music-venue-at-night Honey Latte Cafe doesn’t actually have a stage), but Wednesday night’s performance transported me right back to the DIY music scene in Eugene.

Because of the lack of a stage, and also because she stands at about 5 feet 4 inches tall, I mainly caught glimpses of the ukulele-wielding, pink-jumpsuit-wearing Sullivan as she was jumping around during “Shakin’ in Yer Boots” and “Busy.” The instrumentals, although amazing, did overpower Sullivan’s vocals at times, which I’m guessing was an issue with the venue’s audio setup.

Just when you started to get a bit bummed that you couldn’t quite hear your favorite verse, the audience was once again reminded of Sullivan’s bubbly, adorable, slightly-awkward-but-like-in-a-relatableway personality between songs.

“Anyone have any jokes?” she asked as an audio issue was dealt with. “I need to get good at that…”

The band’s cover of “Linger” by The Cranberries, may have been my favorite part of the show. That, or the audience call and response to the “Sorry to bother you” lyric during “B.” Or the guitar riffs during “Say Something.” Or when the couple in front of me started doing a cute little dance during “Shakin’ in Yer Boots.” Or the incredible merch I got. Or perhaps just the love and support you could feel from the audience. I don’t know…I can’t pick.

“ Whenever I talk about Chipped Nail Polish and why I keep making music, it’s so tied to friendship and community, and being able to make art with my friends,” Sullivan says. “Being able to express myself on an individual level and being able to perform and be in community is the coolest thing ever, and that’s why I’m gonna keep doing it.”

So if you’re into fem bedroom pop punk with sad lyrics (think Phoebe Bridgers) and moshing to aggressive ukulele playing…you should definitely check out Chipped Nail Polish.

SEE IT: Chipped Nail Polish, Golden Boy, and Desolation Horse play Doug Fir Lounge, 830 E Burnside St., 503231-9663, dougfirlounge.com. 9 pm Thursday, July 20. $15. 21+.

SATURDAY, JUNE 17:

Booker T. Jones has enjoyed one of the most illustrious careers of the 20th century as an organist, composer and polymath. His collaboration with Willie Nelson on Stardust is producer-arranger genius to rival Brian Wilson’s best work, and he’s the reason Bill Withers’ “Ain’t No Sunshine” sounds so sad and sumptuous. Still, Jones is best known for a hit he recorded as a high schooler as part of Stax Records house band Booker T. & the M.G.’s: “Green Onions,” which is belatedly celebrating its 60th anniversary this year. Alberta Rose Theatre, 3000 NE Alberta St., 503-7196055, albertarosetheatre.com. 8 pm. $48.50. All ages.

TUESDAY, JUNE 20:

If blue tile and white marble could sing, they would probably sound a lot like Eddie Chacon . Three decades after scoring a global hit with “Would I Lie to You?” as one-half of Charles & Eddie, the 59-yearold soul lifer teamed up with producer and keyboardist John Carroll Kirby—who helped craft one of the 21st century’s great progressive soul epics in Solange’s When I Get Home —for two albums of stately New Age R&B that sound like they were made in an abandoned swimming pool. Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison St., 503239-7639, holocene.org. 8 pm. $25. 21+.

TUESDAY, JUNE 20:

It’s been eight years since Janet Jackson released her last album, Unbreakable, but it’s one of the best in her catalog (also, her work casts a long shadow over the present-day pop landscape, from stars like Beyoncé to experimentalists like Kelela). She’s one of the most challenging artists ever to pack an arena—be warned, her “What About” choreography can be triggering—and she remains a beacon to singers who bend the rules of the charts to shock and provoke their audiences on a massive stage. Moda Center, 1 N Center Court St., 503-235-8771, rosequarter.com. 7:45 pm. $55. All ages.

SHOW REVIEW

MIDNIGHT AT DANTE’S

BY ROBERT HAM

Despite how seriously fans take it, heavy metal is, at its core, one of the most sublimely stupid genres around. And few artists embrace its inherent ridiculousness as fervently as Midnight.

The solo recording project of the Cleveland musician known as Athenar hits on all the lyrical themes a headbanger could ask for (according to the essential resource Encyclopaedia Metallum: blasphemy, hell, Satan, sex). On the five albums and countless singles he’s released as Midnight, Athenar hits those bullet points with a playful speed metal thwack whose force is exponentially magnified when played live.

Taking the stage at Dante’s last Monday to the sounds of Cheap Trick’s “Hello There” followed by the tolling of a bell, Athenar and his touring rhythm section bounded to their instruments with springy steps. All three wore traditional metal garb—leather, denim, bullet belts—but capped off their outfits with dark head coverings that obscured their faces entirely.

The anonymity created by their sartorial choice afforded the trio a sense of invincibility. Athenar taunted the already frothy crowd, nudging its moshing and stage diving to a more manic lather. And the head coverings likely hid the wry smiles I imagined were on the trio’s faces as they leaned into their riotously over-the-top material (sample lyric: “Crawling in the slime and vile waste straight from your rectum”).

Midnight’s unhinged stage presence also proved a stark contrast to opener Necrofier’s set. Theirs was a far more rigid sound, relying heavily on the technical perfection of their playing. What they lacked in frenzied joy, the Texas quartet made up for with sinus-clearing blasts of volume and the Dave Lombardo-like combination of precision and power delivered by drummer Dobber Beverly.

This American Life

A Honduran father and son’s dreams clash in Profile Theatre’s production of How to Make an American Son.

BY ROSE WONG

Through searing humor and a stylish directorial concept, Profile Theatre’s production of Christopher Oscar Peña’s How to Make an American Son manages to punch the audience in the gut scene after scene and still leave us begging for more.

The play follows the relationship between Mando (Jimmy Garcia), a Honduran immigrant who seemingly achieves the American Dream as the founder of a successful janitorial company, and his queer teenage son, Orlando (Matthew Sepeda), who has known only the fruits of his father’s labor.

Generational divide slashes a profoundly loving relationship; Mando’s failures to assimilate embarrass his son, whose reckless spending enrages his father. After Mando forces his son to work as a weekend janitor in hopes he’ll learn a lesson, friction quickly builds between Orlando and Raphael (Jonathan Hernandez), an undocumented Mexican immigrant who sees right through his co-worker.

Greater conflict erupts from fissures of race and class and compels the young man’s coming of age. The audience collectively holds its breath watching Orlando lash out against his father’s biggest client, whose condescension toward Mando—“don’t beg, it’s embarrassing”—shows professional success does not equate with acceptance. In a blistering monologue, Mercedes (Crystal Ann Muñoz), Mando’s secretary and the only female character, lets reality strike Orlando. “I

watched you go from being one of us to one of them.”

Peña’s play poses a damning question: At what point has a person of color finally made it in America?

How to Make an American Son may partly be based on the playwright’s own journey as the son of a Latino janitor who’s now a corporate CEO. “My family is the picture of the American Dream,” Peña said in a May interview with WW. “That doesn’t mean we’re not struggling in other ways.” Peña’s comedic talent—and let me tell you, the play is funny—enables him to feed the audience spoonfuls of bitter truths and make them sweet.

The production’s design team deserves high praise for the play’s fashionably seamless transitions between scenes. As cast and crew move pieces of a monochrome set, the name of the upcoming scene is typed in Menlo, an early Apple computer font, onto a large wall on the side of the stage. Electro-pop and flashes of dreamy neon, in pink, blue and green hues, flood the set, evoking the bombastic air of pre-9/11 America.

“It’s supposed to make you feel like you’re in a bubble,” director Ben Villegas Randle said following Saturday’s opening night production.

Peña is one of three artists, alongside Kristoffer Diaz and Lauren Yee, featured in Profile’s current season, themed “The American Generation.” The first of three plays by Peña being produced by the Portland theater com-

pany, How to Make an American Son comes to Profile following its premiere at the Arizona Theatre Company last summer. Few plays get a second production, a critical next step in a script’s development. With a different director and cast, a playwright refines and breathes new life into a piece of work. Peña’s awe/struck. and Our Orange Sky make their world premieres at Profile in fall 2023 and spring 2024, respectively.

A progressive Portland theatergoer might think How to Make an American Son has nothing new to offer a city that seems constantly embroiled in some version of similar conversations about race and class, and they would be wrong. Peña’s and Villegas Randle’s deliciously original storytelling will leave you stunned, and make you rethink what you know.

After about 90 minutes of charming bits and banter that sends the house cackling, Peña and Villegas Randle choose restraint for the story’s heftiest punch. Orlando, older than when we first meet him, pushes his body against the large wall right of the stage, breaking open his world, and leaves us. Alone with Mando, we see a father realize a dream is just that, a dream.

SEE IT: How to Make an American Son plays at Imago Theatre, 17 SE 8th Ave., 503- 242-0080, profiletheatre.com. 7:30 pm ThursdaySunday and 2 pm Sunday, through June 25. $45.

LEAN ON ME: Jimmy Garcia and Matthew Sepeda.

Editor: Bennett Campbell Ferguson | Contact: bennett@wweek.com

Police Story 3: Supercop (1992)

Like its two beloved predecessors, Police Story 3: Supercop is a showcase for near-impossible feats. Like Jackie Chan leaping into an open convertible’s driver’s seat from behind the car or Michelle Yeoh split-kicking two combatants in the face faster than most humans could give a thumbs-up.

In this third go-around in the role of Hong Kong police inspector Chan Ka-Kui, Chan travels to mainland China, teaming with an Interpol officer (Yeoh) to ensnare a drug lord. Director Stanley Tong turns Hong Kong’s rich lineage of undercover-cop stories into farce at every turn, capitalizing on Chan’s comedic ability to include the audience in the high-wire act of it all.

Police Story 3 plays at Cinemagic on June 15. It’s both a bonus offering of the theater’s just-wrapped Cornetto trilogy marathon (Supercop gets a hat tip in Hot Fuzz) and part of the theater’s ongoing Cinema City series on Hong Kong’s golden age of movies.

ALSO PLAYING:

Cinema 21: Blue Velvet (1986), June 16 and 19. Midnight (1939), June 17. The Elephant Man (1980), June 17 and 18. Mulholland Drive (2001), June 17 and 21. Cinemagic: Mandy (2018), June 16, 18 and 22. Of Unknown Origin (1983), June 16. Tombstone (1993), June 17, 18 and 20. Beyond the Black Rainbow (2010), June 17 and 19. Cobra (1986), June 18 and 21. Clinton: Desert Hearts (1985), June 15. The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994), June 16. To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (1995), June 17. Beau Travail (1999), June 19. Sholay (1975), June 20. Hollywood: Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985), June 15. Mystery Men (1999), June 16. Babe (1995), June 17-18. Desperate Living (1977), June 17. Boyz N the Hood (1991), June 18.

MOVIES

HOTSEAT

Dru Holley

The Vancouver filmmaker reveals the history of the all-Black regiments collectively known as the Buffalo Soldiers.

BY CHANCE SOLEM-PFEIFER @chance_s_p

When snapshotted, the stories in Buffalo Soldiers: Fighting on Two Fronts resemble American mythmaking at its finest. There’s a 500-mile horseback protest ride to Washington, D.C., a woman warrior disguising herself as a man to escape enslavement, and a courageous open-field firefight.

The anecdotes here, however, are the real thing. And for those unfamiliar with the lives and legacies of the figures responsible for these stories—Charles Young, Cathay Williams and Moses Williams—Buffalo Soldiers aims to shed light.

The new documentary by Vancouver, Wash., filmmaker Dru Holley premiered on PBS on June 12 (and audiences can catch it on World Channel on June 19). Buffalo Soldiers embraces the tall task of chronicling a century of overlooked military history, exploring the personal and political conflicts that arose when Black Americans found then-unparalleled opportunities within the armed forces while forced to fight in imperialist wars.

We caught up with Holley to discuss the documentary’s origins, highlighted heroes and educational aspirations.

WW: Did you grow up with any image of the Buffalo Soldiers in your mind?

Dru Holley: I was a college guy and definitely Bob Marley was playing and incense was burning. And I remember a movie called Posse, directed by Mario Van Peebles, one of my film inspirations, that had a Buffalo Soldier in it.

Where does this documentary start?

I was volunteering for the Langston Hughes [Institute] at their 2018 Juneteenth celebration [in Seattle] and brought my 6-yearold daughter with me while I captured footage. And I hear her say, “Ooo, horsies!” And from the camera, I see these gentlemen from straight out of the Old West, dressed in 19th century Black regiment uniforms [the Buffalo Soldiers of Seattle, who are featured in the film].

She was like, “Who are they, Dad?” It was probably my deep ancestral roots slapping me and saying, “Yo, these are the Buffalo Soldiers,” but I was stumped and a little sad that I didn’t know this history and that she probably wouldn’t be taught it. So I thought it was my job to pass this story on to others.

How did you think about fitting this vast history into one hour?

That was really hard. We started a project called Buffalo Soldiers of the Pacific Northwest, but we were leaving out a whole history, so we couldn’t have it be only Pacific Northwest stories. Moses Williams’ story was always a part of it. He’s buried right down the street from me in the Post Cemetery [in Vancouver]. I pass his grave almost every day. He was always going to be the protagonist. Charles Young was also a very significant Buffalo Soldier. Moses Williams’ story was that connective tissue to the West, and Young’s was that connective tissue to the turn of the century and when America tried to establish an empire across seas. Then, Cathay Williams’ story didn’t necessarily fit with that, but her story needed to be told, especially in this day and age.

Researchwise, was Williams’ story tougher to unearth than Young’s?

Definitely buried deeper. There are a lot of myths about her—and no images that we could find whatsoever. Our depiction of her was made from our creative producer Iana [Amauba’s] head. She’s also a Portland native and a great animator.

What are your educational hopes for the film at a time when some states don’t want racism acknowledged in their schools’ history curriculum?

I feel very honored for this project to combat that erasing of history, and I’m happy I get to be in the fight. Our history is more than what is presented to us. Look deeper into it. In my community specifically, we’re taught we only have this slavery background. And there is that, but we were also badass cowboys and warriors.

What’s it like to have the film on PBS?

When I set out to make this project, I was like, “Man, if I could just get it on PBS”; $450,000 later, fundraising, crying at night, feeling like I’m playing myself most of the time…it’s like having a baby and now it’s going to go be an adult and live their life.

SEE IT: Buffalo Soldiers: Fighting on Two Fronts arrives on World Channel on June 19. More information at buffalosoldiersmovie.com.

Editor: Bennett Campbell Ferguson Contact: bennett@wweek.com

IT AIN’T OVER

Sports documentaries are typically fueled by controversy, but It Ain’t Over is about Yogi Berra, a man who was anything but typical. A cinematic love letter from his granddaughter Lindsay Berra, who narrates, the film sets out to reframe a man mocked for being seemingly molded out of Silly Putty, rather than chiseled from bronze and marble, though the 5-foot-8 “everyman” with a Forrest Gump-like charm and Chauncey Gardner-like wisdom consistently found levels of success far exceeding most Hall of Famers. Yogi’s story had humble beginnings: The son of immigrants in an Italian working-class neighborhood, he joined the U.S. Navy and was wounded during the D-Day landings, an experience that defined him before the Yankee pinstripes did. The film admirably conveys the spirit of a man who never punched down, choosing instead to see individuals for whom they were (exemplified by his embrace of Jackie Robinson and his feud with sports villain George Steinbrenner). The disarming honesty of his simple “Yogi-isms” impacted people in messianic ways, most poignantly displayed here when confronting his son caught in the death grips of drug addiction. All in all, It Ain’t Over successfully recontextualizes Berra’s legacy beyond that of his Hanna-Barbera pantless cartoon bear counterpart, leaving us with the story of a loving husband, a devoted family man, and a worldclass winner. NR. RAY GILL JR. Bridgeport, Fox Tower.

ELEMENTAL

Though AI tech is still a bit too raw for Pixar productions to be wholly computer-generated, the studio that launched the age of CGI animation with films largely ignoring humanity keeps churning out iterations of the same master code, Elemental included. Adorably anthropomorphized animal-vegetable-mineral thing? Climactic epiphany plucked straight from college admission essay? Aggressive punnery so relentless it begins to feel like a tic? So far, so Pixar. As newly humanized dramatic personae, the classical cornerstones of our universe are easily enough rendered recognizable tropes yet nimbly evade the worst ethnic stereotypes. Within the bustling metropolis of Element City, cloud-hoppers huff and puff like aggro Scandinavians, while society largely dismisses the earthen denizens as stolid civil servants transplanted from the Low Countries. Still, the spotlight remains fixed on the unlikely pairing of Firetown lass Ember Lumen (voiced by Leah Lewis) and Old Water scion Wade Ripple (Mamoudou Athie). You can guess the rest; he carries a torch, she’s wet, things get steamy. Lush visuals and trenchant wordplay be damned, the studio’s target audience remains young children, and a whiff of regressive unease curdles all supposed love story trappings. Whereas early Pixar’s best echoed the far-flung imaginings of an especially gifted, somewhat creepy preteen, the neutered rom-com narrative reveals a blinkered worldview and a stunted emotional maturity all too, sigh, elementary. PG. JAY HORTON. Bridgeport, Cedar Hills, Clackamas, Eastport, Evergreen Parkway, Fox Tower, Lloyd Center, Pioneer Place, Progress Ridge, St. Johns, St. Johns Twin, Studio One, Wunderland Milwaukie.

SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE

Early in this kaleidoscopic sequel to the Oscar-winning Into the Spider-Verse, two teen superheroes, Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) and Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld), enjoy a reunion that sends both your heart and your

eyes topsy-turvy. Using their spider-powers to stick to a skyscraper, they dangle upside down so gracefully that the only sign of gravity’s pull is the movement of Gwen’s ponytail. Such beauty is de rigueur for the Spider-Verse franchise, which has brought rare fluidity and texture to computer animation. Gone is the plasticine sheen popularized by Pixar and Shrek ; here, images flow and bleed like watercolors (or flash violently like strobe lights). It’s the story that could use more dimension, though not when the vampiric Spider-Man 2099/Miguel O’Hara (Oscar Isaac) is onscreen. A defender of countless arachnid-themed alternate realities, Miguel is less a Spider-Man than an aggrieved Spider-Man fan. Raving about the sanctity of “the canon,” he insists that to be a superhero is to endure tragedy—a belief that Miles, who has two loving parents to protect, cannot accept. Across the Spider-Verse plays like the first salvo of a philosophical attack on trauma as motivation in superhero fiction, but it ends with an irritating cliffhanger before it can finish its thoughts. Until the release of the upcoming Beyond the Spider-Verse, there’s no telling whether this chapter of Miles’ story is playing at profundity or actually profound. Still, it’s hard to resist the swirling fight scenes and the moments of serenity shared by Miles and Gwen. Pixels put the Spider-Verse in peril, but they also beautifully bridge the vast distance between a girl and a boy. PG. BENNETT CAMPBELL FERGUSON. Bagdad, Bridgeport, Cedar Hills, Cinema 21, Fox Tower, Laurelhurst, Living Room, Lloyd Center, Oak Grove, OMSI, Pioneer Place, Progress Ridge, Studio One, Wunderland Milwaukie.

MENDING THE LINE

The latest entry in the sentimental-veteran genre, Mending the Line stars Sinqua Walls as John, a guilt-ridden Marine who served in the war in Afghanistan. Shuffled between various Veteran Affairs offices, John lands in Montana and eventually starts fly-fishing therapy with Ike (Brian Cox of Succession fame), a crabby Vietnam

veteran. There’s not really much in the way of surprises, but Mending the Line is strengthened by its sincerity and the excellent chemistry between Walls and Cox. At two hours, the premise does feel a little stretched, mostly because John’s love interest, Lucy (Perry Mattfeld), could have easily been edited out (personally, I was more worried about John’s paraplegic war buddy, who disappears from the film and is implied to be descending into alcoholism). Yet despite its detours, Mending the Line brings us close to its broken-down veterans, delivering a sympathetic depiction that transcends politics. R. WILLIAM SCHWARTZ. City Center, Division, Movies on TV.

YOU HURT MY FEELINGS

Is Nicole Holofcener’s cup half full or half empty?

Both, judging by You Hurt My Feelings, which she wrote and directed. This witty, perceptive film explores everyday dichotomies between truth and lies, encouragement and abuse, haves and have-nots. Beth (played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who proves again she’s adept at serious comedy) and Don (Tobias Menzies) are a long-married couple so cozy with each other they don’t mind licking the same ice cream cone. But when Beth, a writer, overhears Don say he doesn’t like her newest manuscript (even though he’s repeatedly told her he loves it), she loses her trust in him and her own abilities. The film asks how much harm we cause by telling well-meant white lies; has Beth, for example, put too much pressure on their pot-selling son by cheerfully insisting he’s destined to do great things? As the daughter of a man who called her “stupid” and “shit for brains,” though, she’s still lacerated by the memory of her late father’s slurs. All the characters in the film get tangled in webs of self-doubt, while also recognizing their privilege in a melting world, as Beth’s sister, Sarah (played by a splendid Michaela Watkins), says. Still, private dramas matter, and when Beth cries over her husband’s betrayal, the psychic pain on her face is as real as any physical wound. R. LINDA FERGUSON. Bridgeport, Cinema 21, Fox Tower, Laurelhurst, Living Room.

THE BOOGEYMAN

Based on a 1973 short story, The Boogeyman is the latest in an endless run of Stephen King adaptations. The simple narrative follows high school student Sadie Harper (Sophie Thatcher) and her little sister Sawyer (Vivien Lyra Blair) as they struggle to deal with the sudden death of their mother. The girls and their therapist father, Will (Chris Messina), must face a dark supernatural force that enters their home not long after he takes on a new patient. Director Rob Savage, who made the excellent pandemic-era film Host, does a fine job at transitioning into a larger studio project, grabbing from a familiar bag of tricks (dark corners, creaking doors, jump scares), but creating terror with confidence (one scene involving a tooth is particularly effective). The Boogeyman also gets a boost from character actors Marin Ireland and David Dastmalchian in small but important supporting roles, but the film mostly plays like a lesser version of Lights Out (2016). In the pantheon of King adaptations, it earns the blandest distinction: not one of the worst, not one of the best. PG-13. DANIEL RESTER. Bridgeport, Cedar Hills, City Center, Clackamas, Evergreen Parkway, Hilltop, Laurelhurst, Lloyd Center, Movies On TV, Oak Grove, Pioneer Place, Progress Ridge, Studio One, Wilsonville.

BROOKLYN 45

It’s probably “hokum,” admits the drunken colonel (played by horror luminary Larry Fessenden), but he’s just lost his wife and might like to turn his Christmas party into a séance. That’s where five old service friends find themselves in Brooklyn 45, just months after World War II’s conclusion, joining hands in a Park Slope parlor to test whether the soul of the colonel’s wife is nearby. The séance circle— Marla the former wartime interrogator (Anne Ramsay), her Pentagon clerk husband Bob (Ron E. Rains), and two majors (Jeremy Holm, Ezra Buzzington)—is skeptical, but they respect their ranking officer’s wishes. What follows is light horror hovering around a polemic chamber piece. In the American film lexicon, there’s still a compelling edge to depicting the U.S. victory in WWII as ridden with xenophobia, bloodlust and spiritual compromise, and Brooklyn 45 ’s script often forces the sometimes outgunned actors to say exactly that. Spoken once by a potential war criminal, the line “I’m not a bad man” is an eye roll, let alone twice. For all its twists, torture and worrying that Nazis walk among these paranoid vets, Brooklyn 45 struggles to live in the haunted, expository past and still uphold the immediacy of a confined, genre-shifting present. NR. CHANCE SOLEM-PFEIFER. Shudder.

ACROSS

1. Shoe store stats

7. Mess up

11. Adds to an email

14. Implant firmly

15. "___ Kleine Nachtmusik"

16. Stadium cheer

17. Really, really cold Newton fruit?

19. Root beer brand

20. "Wheel of Fortune" option

21. "Star Wars" actor Guinness

22. "Dancing Queen" band

23. Be noisy upstairs

25. Relaxation partner

27. Upscale hotel amenity

29. Tapioca pearls

31. Ludicrous comedies

35. Swiss Roll alternative

37. New York team

39. String quartet member

40. Getting the most out of the Russian fighter plane?

43. Slowly, musically

44. Unexciting

45. 2000 Radiohead album

46. Stella ___ (Belgian beer)

48. Maple syrup sources

50. Animation frame

51. Les Etats-___

53. "The White ___" (show with Jennifer Coolidge)

55. Bit of heckling

58. Skirt style

60. Terrier seen in "The Thin Man"

62. WWW address

63. One response to

"Doctor, I think I'm an 18-wheeler"?

66. Appropriate start?

67. Vampire chronicler Rice

68. New York city where Mark Twain lived

69. Shepherd's pie bit

70. Ornery

71. Flowed slowly DOWN

1. "Asteroid City" director Anderson

2. Road stops

3. Gives subtle help

4. Namely

5. Mix

6. "Come ___?" ("How are you?" in Italy)

7. Plummeted

8. Long-term inmate

9. Charitable acronym

10. Request fervently

11. Rooster's crest

12. Symbol on a card

13. "Virtua Fighter" game company

18. Safety restraint

22. In danger

24. ___ Lisa Vito ("My Cousin Vinny" role)

26. File menu option

27. Legendary Dolphins coach Don

28. Baffling question

30. Geographical reference

32. "Get Fuzzy," e.g.

33. Skip over, as a vowel

34. "Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!" host Peter

36. Gigging

38. Mogadishu's country

©2023 Jonesin’ Crosswords (editor@jonesincrosswords.com) For answers to this puzzle, call: 1-900-226-2800, 99 cents per minute. Must be 18+. Or to bill to your credit card, call: 1-800-655-6548. Reference puzzle #JNZ990.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Aries-born Vincent van Gogh’s painting Potato Eaters shows five people in a dark room barely illuminated by lamplight. Seated around a small table, they use their hands to eat food they have grown themselves. Vincent wanted to convey the idea that they “dug the earth with the very hands they put into their bowls." I don’t expect you to do anything quite so spectacularly earthy in the coming weeks, Aries, but I would love to see you get very up close and personal with nature. I’d also love to see you learn more about where the fundamental things in your life originate. Bonus points if you seek adventures to bolster your foundations and commune with your roots.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Renowned Mexican artist Diego Rivera emerged from his mother's womb in 1886. But some observers suggest that Rivera's soul was born in 1920: a pivotal time when he found his true calling as an artist. During a visit to Italy, as he gazed at the murals of 15th-century mural painters, “he found the inspiration for a new and revolutionary public art capable of furthering the ideals of the ongoing revolution in his native land." (In the words of art historian Linda Downs.) I will be extra dramatic and speculate that you may have a comparable experience in the coming months, dear Taurus: a rebirth of your soul that awakens vigorous visions of what your future life can be.

Want to Find. This would be an excellent title for your life story during the next ten months. I hope you will soon ruminate on how to carry out such a quest. Here are two suggestions. 1. Make a list of qualities you yearn to experience in a dear ally and brainstorm about how to cultivate those qualities in yourself. 2. Name three high-integrity people you admire. Meditate on how you could be more like them in ways that are aligned with your life goals.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Now is a good time to take stock of how you have fared in the Dating and Mating Games through the years. Why? Because you are entering a new chapter of your personal Love Story. The next two years will bring rich opportunities to outgrow stale relationship patterns and derive rich benefits from novel lessons in intimacy. An excellent way to prepare is to meditate on the history of your togetherness. PS: The term "fate bait" refers to an influence that draws you toward the next turning point of your necessary destiny. Be alert for fate bait.

41. "Whole Lotta Shakin' ___ On"

42. ___ baby (one who gets famous through family ties)

47. Gymnast Biles

49. Palomino's pad

52. Steam room

54. 1972 Bill Withers single

55. Revive, as a battery

56. Part of HOMES

57. "Frozen" heroine

59. Marvel superhero group

61. Suffix after billion

63. Orange tuber

64. "All right"

65. "Frozen" actor Josh

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Among her many jobs, my triple Gemini friend Alicia has worked as a deep-sea rescue diver, an environmental activist, a singer in a band, a dog food taster, an art teacher for kids, and a volunteer at a sleep lab researching the nature of dreams. Do I wonder if she would be wise to commit herself to one occupation? Not really. I respect her decision to honor her evershifting passions. But if there will ever come a time when she will experiment with a bit more stability and constancy, it may come during the next 11 months. You Geminis are scheduled to engage in deep ruminations about the undiscovered potentials of regularity, perseverance, and commitment.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): As religious sects go, the Shakers are the most benign. Since their origin in the 18th century, they have had as many women as men in leadership roles. They practice pacifism, disavow consumerism, and don’t try to impose their principles on others. Their worship services feature dancing as well as singing. I’m not suggesting you become a Shaker, Cancerian, but I do hope that in the coming months, you will place a premium on associating with noble groups whose high ideals are closely aligned with your own. It’s time to build and nurture your best possible network.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): For years, Mario A. Zacchini worked at a circus as a “human cannonball.” On thousands of occasions, he was shot out of a cannon at 90 miles per hour. “Flying isn’t the hard part,” he testified. “Landing in the net is.” His work might sound dangerous, but he lived to age 87. Let’s make Mario your role model for a while, Leo. I hope he will inspire you to be both adventurous and safe, daring but prudent. I trust you will seek exhilarating fun even as you insist on getting soft landings.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): One of my favorite astrology teachers, Stephen Arroyo, notes, "Most people have a strong opinion about astrology, usually quite extreme, even though 95 percent have never studied it whatsoever." Of course, astrology is not the only subject about which people spout superficial ideas based on scant research. Viral epidemiology is another example. Anyway, Virgo, I am asking you to work hard to avoid this behavior during the rest of 2023. Of all the zodiac signs, you have the greatest potential to express thoughtful ideas based on actual evidence. Be a role model for the rest of us! Show us what it means to have articulate, well-informed opinions.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Meditation teacher Cheri Huber wrote a book called Be the Person You

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Sagittarian actor Samuel Jackson loves the color purple. He insists on it being featured in his films, and he often wears purple outfits. In Black Snake Moan, he plays a purple Gibson guitar. In the animated movie, Turbo, he voices the role of a purple racing snail. In his Star Wars appearances, he wields a purple light saber. Now I am endorsing his obsession for your use. Why? First, it’s an excellent time to home in on exactly what you want and ask for exactly what you want. Second, now is a favorable phase to emphasize purple in your own adventures. Astrologers say purple is your ruling color. It stimulates your natural affinity for abundance, expansiveness, and openness.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): People who understand the creative process say it’s often wise to stay mum about your in-progress work. You may diminish the potency of your projects if you blab about them while they’re still underway. I don’t think that’s true for all creative efforts. For example, if we collaborate with partners on an artistic project or business venture, we must communicate well with them. However, I do suspect the transformative efforts you are currently involved in will benefit from at least some secrecy for now. Cultivate the privacy necessary to usher your masterpiece to further ripeness.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Musician Frank Zappa (1940–1993) was a freaky rebel, iconoclastic weirdo, and virtuoso experimenter. Everything normal and ordinary was boring to him. He aspired to transcend all categories. And yet he refrained from taking psychedelic drugs and urged his fans to do the same. He said, “We repudiate any substances, vehicles, or procedures which might reduce the body, mind, or spirit of an individual to a state of sub-awareness or insensitivity.” Zappa might have added that some substances temporarily have a pleasing effect but ultimately diminish the life force. In my estimation, Aquarius, the coming weeks will be an excellent time to re-evaluate your relationship with influences that weaken the vitality of your body, mind, or spirit. It will also be a favorable period to seek new modes of lasting liberation.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): If you are at a festival or fair where you could win a lot of money by smashing watermelons with your head, I hope you won't do it. Same if you imagine you could impress a potential lover by eating 25 eggs in three minutes: Please don't. Likewise, I beg you not to let yourself be manipulated or abused by anyone for any reason. These days, it's crucial not to believe you can succeed by doing things that would hurt or demean or diminish you. For the foreseeable future, you will be wise to show what you do best and express your highest values. That's the most effective way to get what you want.

Homework: What do you wish you could get help to change about yourself? Newsletter. FreeWillAstrology.com