Gentrification

We talk with the Ombudsman for the city of Portland about property maintenance rules that disproportionately affect homeowners of color.

The office first warned Portland leaders of this issue in 2021, triggering promises from elected officials and department leaders to make swift reforms. Yet little has changed in the years since, according to Ombudsman Jennifer Croft.

A withering report out Wednesday from the city Ombudsman’s Office keyed in on how Portland enforces its lengthy list of property maintenance rules. The report found the city’s system regularly allows minor eyesores to snowball into financial ruin for homeowners. Those living in gentrifying areas of the city are hit the hardest.

Portland Community Reinvestment Initiative Inc. has come up with a plan to repopulate North and Northeast Portland with the African-American community that was displaced from there.

Helen’s Pacific Costumers was still whipping up homemade costumes and custom-built mascots until last week when after 127 years, they closed their doors, permanently.

An OHSU cognitive health study considers whether reminiscence can slow memory loss in African-American seniors. "Think Out Loud" spoke with study leader Raina Croff and study participant Edna White.

An unlikely victim of rising property values? Bowling. One of the last bowling centers to offer leagues in Portland is on its way out.

This arts district is now a tourist magnet, a place where people with money come to buy designer ice cream and fancy coffee. But the other day, Alberta Street held a parade for a panhandler.

A researcher says African-Americans are leaving Portland at high rates, and that 11.5 percent of the black community has left in the last four years. But a local expert disagrees.

Portland mayoral candidate Ted Wheeler discussed his plans to fix Portland's gentrification of minority communities on Think Out Loud.