OREGON'S LEGAL POT fields are set to be as sprawling and verdant as their home state.
After months of dickering, the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) unveiled new draft rules retail pot farmers may have to abide by starting next year. The OLCC's rules impose different grow limits for indoor and outdoor farms.
Indoor growers would be able to grow up to 10,000 square feet of pot canopy, under the draft rules. Outdoor farmers, meanwhile, would be able to cultivate a whopping 40,000 square feet. That's 10,000 square feet larger than Washington's largest grows (though our neighbors to the north permit larger indoor facilities).
Getting permission to start a pot farm, meanwhile, won't come cheap—particularly in Portland. Large-scale growers hoping to operate within city limits would pay $8,550 to apply for and receive licenses from the city and state. Wannabe Portland retailers would pay a whopping $10,200. Many of those costs would recur on a yearly basis. DIRK VANDERHART
YOU MIGHT BE on the fence about who should be Portland's next mayor. Portland's former mayors are not.
State Treasurer Ted Wheeler on October 14 unveiled a surprising triptych of support in his mayoral bid against Mayor Charlie Hales: Sam Adams, Tom Potter, and Vera Katz.
All three of the former mayors (only one of whom ever tried actually running for re-election), found consensus behind Wheeler as a person who can address inequality, foster partnerships, and embody progressive values, if the prepared quotes released by the Wheeler campaign can be believed. We've not been able to reach any of the three in person.
Hales took the announcement in stride, saying, "When you take office and have to make some big changes, it can certainly ruffle some feathers—especially with the people you have followed." DVH
THE PORTLAND Development Commission (PDC)wants more time and more options when considering how to create dedicated city funds for affordable housing.
The commission on Thursday, October 15, heard testimony on a proposal to increase the amount of tax increment financing (TIF) set aside for cheap housing within the city's urban renewal districts—from 30 to 50 percent.
PDC Director Patrick Quinton during the hearing said that commissioners are concerned that spending more money on housing will reduce the amount of funds the PDC can spend on commercial projects that bring in more revenue.
Portland City Council held a work session on October 13 to discuss the proposal and is scheduled to vote at an October 28 hearing. SHELBY R. KING
THAT DIDN'T take long. Uber and Lyft began operating in Portland in late April of this year. By July, they'd capture more than half of all "for-hire" transportation trips in the city.
That news emerged in a report issued by the Portland Bureau of Transportation on October 19. The bureau analyzed data provided by the two Transportation Network Companies (TNCs) and seven local cab companies from May 1 through August.
PBOT found demand for TNCs shot up 125 percent in that time, while cab companies' trips went down 16 percent. PBOT also found that Uber and Lyft, on average, provided faster service than cabs. DVH
