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Good morning, Northwest.
The city of Portland is trying to reduce one of the most visible signs of the housing crisis: recreational vehicles.
Mayor Keith Wilson wants the city to nearly triple the number of RVs it tows each month. And it will soon cost a person $300 to retrieve a towed RV, which was previously free.
OPB reporter Alex Zielinski leads off this morning’s newsletter with a story about why Portland is cracking down on RVs — and why people living in them are growing fearful.
Also this morning, two Southwest Washington school districts have deals to end worker strikes, while workers in another voted to authorize a walkout.
As we head into the weekend, Heather Arndt Anderson with OPB’s Superabundant has a delicious way to use up the late-summer deluge of figs.
Here’s your First Look at Friday’s news.
An RV parked on a street in Northeast Portland on Sept. 9, 2025. Mayor Keith Wilson is increasing the city's pace of towing "lived-in vehicles" — and making it harder for people to retrieve them.
Alex Zielinski, Alex Zielinski / OPB
Portland mayor makes it harder for houseless people to retrieve towed RVs
Mayor Keith Wilson took office this year, pledging to end homelessness by Dec. 1. Less than three months from his self-imposed deadline, Wilson is looking to the city’s towing policies to expedite moving people off the streets.
The city tows roughly 35 derelict RVs each month. Wilson hopes to nearly triple that number by next month. That move has been celebrated by residents who have long urged the city to address the public safety threat of neglected RVs, but it has introduced anxiety to others who feel they have no choice but to live in them.
Rachelle Lacy-Powell lives out of her RV and fears she could lose it, like she recently lost her van when she didn’t have the money to buy gas and move it.
“Living alone as a woman on the street, this isn’t the life I wanted,” Lacy-Powell said. “But I have one place where I feel safe, my RV. And the city wants to take that away?” (Alex Zielinski)
Samson Garner testifies in Deschutes County Circuit Court in Bend, Ore. on Sept. 8, 2025. Garner was found guilty of 26 felony counts including attempted murder in the first degree.
Kathryn Styer Martínez / OPB
4 things to know this morning
- Yesterday, a Deschutes County jury found 41-year-old Samson Garner guilty of 26 counts, including attempted murder, assault and attempted unlawful use of a weapon after a foiled mass shooting plot at Smith Rock. (Kathryn Styer Martínez)
- Three senior Democrats in the Oregon Senate received emailed threats yesterday morning, false claims that bombs were lodged in their home mailboxes. (Dirk VanderHart)
- The U.S. Department of Education is ending grants to programs across Oregon that support students with disabilities, citing practices related to diversity, equity and inclusion. (Bryce Dole and Kathryn Styer Martínez)
- Students in Evergreen schools of Southwest Washington will finally start the academic year today after the district reached a deal with striking classified workers. La Center schools also notched an agreement to potentially end a strike there. Meanwhile, workers in Vancouver Public Schools voted to authorize a strike. (Ryan Haas)
Why 2 Oregon lawmakers bucked their political parties
We look at what state Reps. Annessa Hartman and Cyrus Javadi’s votes on transportation taxes last week mean for the Democratic and Republican parties in Oregon. (Bryce Dole, Dirk VanderHart and Andrew Theen)
A message from OPB’s president and CEO
After the elimination of federal funds for public media, people from all across the region have stepped up for OPB. With your support, we are making up this gap in funding and also expanding our service to meet the needs of people throughout Oregon and Southwest Washington.
FILE - Mifepristone tablets are seen in a Planned Parenthood clinic, July 18, 2024, in Ames, Iowa.
Charlie Neibergall / AP
Headlines from around the Northwest
- As Washington plans to destroy expiring stockpile, Oregon’s abortion pills don’t expire until 2028 (Mia Maldonado)
- After dominant nonconference wins, No. 4 Oregon begins Big Ten title defense at Northwestern (Andrew Seligman)
- Trump administration wants to cancel Biden-era rule that made conservation a ‘use’ of public land (Matthew Brown)
Listen in on OPB’s daily conversation
“Think Out Loud” airs at noon and 8 p.m. weekdays on OPB Radio, opb.org and the OPB News app. Today’s planned topics (subject to change):
- Boosting pedestrian and biking safety for students in Salem and Keizer
Fudgy and rich but not too sweet, this dark chocolate and fig torte is a perfect autumn dessert
Heather Arndt Anderson / OPB
Superabundant recipe: Dark chocolate and fig torte
As anyone walking through the formerly Italian sections of Southeast Portland can attest, the figs are going bonkers right now, dispensing much of their crop onto the sidewalks.
Even small trees are in fruit production overdrive, and the relatively dry summer we’ve had means the fruit is all super sweet, even a day before it’s fully ripened.
The only problem is, you might still have a lot of last year’s crop in the coffers — tubs of roasted puree in the freezer, jar upon jar of dried figs, compotes and conserves — all taking up space that should be reserved for this year’s superabundance.
Whether you have a backlog of last year’s figs to use or have a bunch of this year’s crop, this rich and fudgy torte is here to help. (Heather Arndt Anderson)
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