By Emily Scarvie
(PORTLAND, Ore.) Hello Portlanders! It's Wednesday, Sept. 21 - Here's your daily round up of all the news happening in the City of Roses.
1. OHA gives update on rollout of Measure 110 funding
The Oregon Health Authority gave an update on the rollout of Measure 110 funding on Tuesday amid efforts to get resources to those struggling with addiction and mental health issues across Oregon. Measure 110 was approved by voters in 2020 and decriminalized small amounts of hard drugs. It also funds addiction and mental health programs. However, the rollout of those programs has been slow.
“There was a lot of learning on the fly. During the time, the COVID-19 pandemic was depleting Oregon’s health care workforce, diverting critical resources and driving a spike in demand for these services,” OHA Behavioral Health Director Steve Allen said.
Sabrina Garcia, a member of the Measure 110 Oversight and Accountability Council, added, “We know that there was a lot of disappointment about the early pace of our work and I share in that disappointment, but the reality is you can’t fix a system that is broken in just 18 months.”
The funds are now being directed to treatment and recovery programs. OHA said it will have spent or obligated $845 million of the more than $1 billion lawmakers earmarked through the end of the year by the end of this month.
2. Portland Trail Blazers add Hall of Famer Tina Thompson, others to staff roster
Earlier this week, Portland Trail Blazers general manager Joe Cronin announced some of the new hires joining the basketball operations team, following through with his commitment to reshape the team’s entire workplace culture.
Tina Thompson, a Hall of Famer and former Women’s National Basketball Association professional player, will start her first season as a scout for the Blazers. Jonah Herscu will be a new addition to the team as an assistant coach. He previously worked as an advanced scout and then assistant coach for the Sacramento Kings.
Other new additions to the team include:
- Taylor Walden, Manager of Performance Science
- Trevor Smith, Software Engineer
- Micah Smith, Assistant Athletic Trainer
- Ikeena Smart, Assistant Video Coordinator
- Jason Luhnow, Assistant Video Coordinator
- Juanita Samborski, Software Developer
- Katherine Overman, Sr. Data Scientist
- Jacob Mooallem, Analytics Coach
- Nico Mathieu and Swenge Lomani, International Scout(s)
- Dale Boyd, Assistant Strength Coach
- David Adkins, Director of Player Development
3. Try fresh hops at these Portland breweries before the season is over
Oregon farmers start picking hops in the middle of August through the end of September, meaning right now is the perfect time to try fresh beers on tap at several Portland breweries.
“Breweries will partner with growers here in Oregon to pick up hops that are freshly picked, and then they pick up the hop, and then they drive them back to their brewery and brew with them fresh as compared to dried or processed,” Michelle Palacios, administrator of the Oregon Hops Commission, told KOIN.
There’s still time to try the fresh hops before the season ends. Local breweries with fresh beer on the menu include Baerlic Brewing, Ex Novo, Roscoe’s, Stormbreaker Brewing and Zoiglhaus Brewing Company.
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