Dr. Know

BY MARTY SMITH @martysmithxxx

Heading into this latest red flag alert, I’m wondering: Is there a reason you rarely hear of bigger cities burning, the way Phoenix/Talent did in 2020 and Lahaina did last week? Or, to be more specific, what are the odds of a major city fire happening here? —Uneasy

Weatherwatcher

The good news, Uneasy, is that official projections rate the likelihood of wildfire within Portland city limits as “low.” The bad news is that, until last week, the state of Hawaii was also using the word “low” to describe the risk from wildfire to its residents, and look where that got them.

Did Hawaii officials underestimate the likelihood of a catastrophic wildfire? Maybe. That said, genuinely unlikely events really do happen. (Only 17 people in human history have been killed by stingrays, but tell that to Steve Irwin.) The chances of urban wildfire in Portland may be low, but the prospect is scary enough for the city, county and state to take seriously.

Even if the worst does happen, though, we still won’t be talking about citywide immo- projects had been planned for years and were done by two separate departments that never bothered to see if their plans conflicted with another department’s.

“The more things change the more they stay the same.”

THESHEDM, VIA REDDIT: “Oh gee, if only there was some org that could have helped keep these trees alive. Like if there was some sort of beloved local nonprofit that could have partnered with the city to help nurture trees like this with the help of local friendly volunteers that love trees. Certainly the city wouldn’t turn down such an opportunity…”

LISA LOVING, VIA WWEEK. COM: “I got a tree from Friends of Trees this spring and they literally harass me over it. They dropped off a free tree bag (cool!); multiple FOT people have been to my door nagging me about weeding around it; one crew even came, mansplained about tying up the tree too much, but then sunk four wooden stakes around it to tie it up some more and keep it growing straight. FOT on the job and each of those trees would be green and happy, whether anybody liked it or not.”

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: PO Box 10770, Portland, OR 97296

Email: mzusman@wweek.com lation à la Lahaina or Phoenix, Ore. There’s a reason that big cities don’t burn completely off the map: Wildfire risk is pretty much confined to what we call the “wildland-urban interface,” the area where the fuel-rich wilderness comes into close proximity with structures, people and other stuff we’d rather didn’t catch on fire. Generally, the WUI is defined as any place where buildings are within 500 feet of hazardous vegetation (though in heavily forested areas, where more intense flames are possible, the figure can range up to 1.5 miles). In a small town, the WUI can easily include the entire city. Big cities like Portland, however, have large urban cores far from any wildlands—there’s just not enough fuel to turn the Rose City into Dresden, as much as Tucker Carlson might wish otherwise.

So what are we worried about? In a word (OK, two words), Forest Park. The park (and the adjoining Northwest hills) have plenty of fuel, steep slopes, difficult access for firefighting equipment, vulnerable infrastructure, and plenty of shitheads running around with lighters—all the ingredients for an urban wildfire nightmare.

Do we really need to worry? Projections from the Oregon Community Wildfire Protection plan suggest the likelihood of a 250-acre (or greater) wildfire in the Northwest hills over the next 20 years is something on the order of 1 in 500. I suppose those aren’t terrible odds. Still, if I knew my plane had a 1 in 500 chance of crashing, I probably wouldn’t get on it.

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

City Attorney Faces Accusations Of Unprofessional Behavior Toward

WOMEN: In response to a records request, the Portland City Attorney’s Office has given WW emails and text messages containing complaints of unequal pay in the office and unprofessional behavior by City Attorney Robert Taylor. The records are heavily redacted and do not include the names of what appear to be at least two separate complainants. One is identified as a BIPOC woman with nearly 20 years experience as an attorney. Based on the circumstances outlined in the emails, she apparently worked with Taylor on ongoing litigation with the U.S. Department of Justice regarding police use of force on people with mental illness. She says Taylor interrupted a mediation session to address “gossip” after a federal attorney conveyed concerns that Taylor was “condescending and patronizing.” “Not only was Robert’s behavior extremely unprofessional and detrimental to the case and the ultimate resolution of the Settlement Agreement, but also bullying,” she wrote, before filing an HR complaint on Jan. 24. In a separate incident, a woman claims Taylor behaved so unprofessionally in a meeting with Portland Police Bureau brass that “several command level PPB staff present at the meeting checked in with me after the meeting to make sure I was okay, as did a paralegal and attorney.” Taylor later apologized. In separate unofficial complaints, Taylor was accused of being “sexist” in a text message and of telling a staff member that she was years away from a promotion because she was “unstable.” Taylor praised “the excellent team of legal professionals in the City Attorney’s Office,” in a statement to WW, but declined to discuss personnel matters there.

Permitting War Between Rubio And Mapps Drags

ON: As WW has previously reported, City Commissioners Carmen Rubio and Mingus Mapps have been battling for weeks over how to best fix the city’s broken permitting system (“Fixer Upper,” Aug. 26). Mapps called the two commissioners’ plans “fundamentally incompatible.” Since then, allies have taken sides in the battle. Eleven business and industry groups backed Rubio’s plan in a letter sent earlier this month to the Portland City Council; four city bureau directors penned a letter supporting Mapps’ plan. On Aug. 3, Mapps co-wrote a letter with Commissioner Dan Ryan to Mayor Ted Wheeler, urging him to support an ongoing permitting project and to hold off on consolidating permits under one office until the city’s form of government changes in 2025. The day before, Rubio wrote to Mapps in an email that she was “completely caught off guard” by his alternative plan, and that she “would have greatly appreciated a courtesy reach out from you to convey your change of heart about working together, and that you had a plan in the works.” Mapps did not respond to a request for comment.

Hoyle Dined With La Mota Ceo Year

BEFORE GRANT: U.S. Rep. Val Hoyle (D-Ore.), formerly commissioner of the state Bureau of Labor and Industries, told WW in an interview this spring that she “didn’t recall” whether she had met with La Mota CEO Rosa Cazares about a $554,000 grant that BOLI issued to a nonprofit co-founded by Cazares. Records newly obtained by WW show that Hoyle, alongside BOLI’s apprenticeship and training director, dined with Cazares at Portland City Grill for two hours on March 24, 2021. The topic of the meeting, according to the records, was “La Mota re: Cannabis Apprenticeship.” WW pressed Hoyle on the matter after learning the grant was awarded, with the labor commissioner’s blessing, to an inexperienced nonprofit led by Cazares, who, alongside her partner Aaron Mitchell, contributed $20,000 to Hoyle’s BOLI campaign in 2021, and then $5,800 to her congressional campaign last summer. (Hoyle returned all BOLI campaign contributions, including Mitchell’s, when she decided to run for Congress.) Hoyle spokeswoman Marissa Sandgren says that “to the best of her recollection, Rosa paid for the meal. [Hoyle] recalls that the meal was less than $50.” Sandgren noted that the meeting occurred well before WW ’s reports about La Mota’s tax liens, and the revelation that Secretary of State Shemia Fagan was moonlighting for the cannabis chain. “If we knew then what we know now,” Sandgren says, “that dinner wouldn’t have happened.”

HOLVEY RECALL EFFORT RUNS HOT: As United Food and Commercial Workers International Union Local 555 continues its effort to recall state Rep. Paul Holvey (D-Eugene) over the failure of a union organizing bill for cannabis workers earlier this year, the rhetoric around the unusual campaign is heating up. (Holvey, a former union carpenter and the longest-serving Democrat in the House, is normally a darling of labor.) Last week, workers with the signature-gathering company United Petitioners of Oregon accused UFCW of “union busting” for asking them to work outside their union and refusing to bargain with them. UFCW spokesman Miles Eshaia denies the allegations and says his union supports the company and its desire to unionize signature gatherers. Meanwhile, UFCW president Dan Clay penned a letter to Holvey on Aug. 14 alleging a Holvey supporter “physically attacked” a recall signature gatherer on Aug. 10. “You have painted a picture of yourself as the victim of an undemocratic and sinister conspiracy,” Clay wrote. “And now that fantasy and its implications have finally been distilled into an assault upon a young person.” Clay says the signature gatherer recovered and is taking some time off. Rep. Holvey says he had no knowledge of or involvement in the alleged assault. “As the [Aug. 21] signature deadline draws near,” he adds, “the desperation of those pushing this reckless recall is showing.”