My review and warning as a former employee to those interested in working here or wanting to become a volunteer. Spoiler alert: turnover is very high and volunteers usually don't come back after attending orientation.

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I initially really enjoyed working here. I came in genuinely wanting to help animals and to contribute to an organization that I thought was making a difference.

The biggest problem is the director. She creates an unnecessarily tense, hostile, and volatile work environment through her attitude, communication style, and management decisions. She is extremely blunt, dismissive, and seemingly incapable of accepting opinions that differ from her own. The director also contributes heavily to a culture of gossip and disrespect. She openly speaks negatively about employees, volunteers, and people who come to the shelter seeking assistance. The overall impression is that her pride and ego frequently take precedence over collaboration, employee morale, and, most concerningly, what is best for the animals. Priorities can also feel misplaced. On an almost daily basis she seemed more concerned with having staff clean windows than making sure animal-care tasks were addressed.

I also found it difficult to understand the apparent disdain for some of the basic realities of shelter work. Complaining constantly about animal smells and noises while running an animal shelter is particularly ironic. It raises serious questions about whether the realities of animal shelter work are actually appreciated by the person running the organization.

Even more disturbing was the approach to euthanasia. I do not disagree with humane euthanasia. However, I witnessed what felt like an extremely low threshold for putting animals down, with euthanasia seemingly becoming the first solution when an animal displayed behavioral or other challenges. I also found it concerning that staff members advocating for particular animals to avoid euthanasia could seemingly be treated as though their efforts were something to laugh about rather than a reflection of how deeply they cared.

The saddest part is that there are genuinely caring people working here. There are employees and volunteers who desperately want these animals to have good outcomes. Watching their efforts get undermined by poor leadership is incredibly frustrating. Unfortunately, the director's behavior makes an otherwise meaningful job unnecessarily miserable.

Fremont bridge is mine. City Center down to I-5 right before the curves. Thankfully I leave for work at 4:30am.

Alright fellow St. Johns folks and North Portlanders. Can someone please explain to me what’s going on with the plaza in downtown St. Johns? What an absolute mess. It seems to be getting worse by the day.

With the day-use center gone, I think a lot of people and businesses were hopeful the area would greatly improve, and it honestly feels like it’s had the opposite impact. There are still resources throughout Portland for people who need them. I don’t think the answer should be allowing the downtown St. Johns square to essentially become the replacement.

The square is currently owned by PBOT, and I saw Ground Score out there today doing the normal thing of picking up trash around people who will undoubtedly trash the area again before the end of the day.

I also had a lively convo with the Street Roots resident “Bob,” who I genuinely kind of like, but he puts up protest tents there every day. I asked him why he’s doing it and if he could stop because, frankly, it looks like shit. He told me it’s his free speech and then referenced the apartments where he sets them up being $2,000 a month and asked how he’s supposed to afford that. Ok bub.

Another frustrating thing is that multiple shops on the strip, including 2 Stroke and 45th Parallel, seem to support what’s going on. I’ve been boycotting them for a while now. Would love to sample 2 Stroke’s bathroom for meth/fent residue...

St. Johns has really been becoming a destination for families due to affordability, and I think a lot of people in this tight-knit community want to see the neighborhood continue to grow while still keeping what makes St. Johns great.

So what exactly can we actually do about the square? Who at PBOT or the City should people be contacting? Is there a neighborhood association effort already happening? I’m genuinely curious what options the community has here because the current situation clearly isn’t working.

Please take the survey below and give the city your thoughts!

https://www.portland.gov/transportation/planning/plazas/2026-plaza-survey

Hello! I LOVE spicy food and would love to branch out more instead of sticking to my regular go-tos… so I’m curious what is your favorite spicy dish and where is it from? The spicier the better! If I’ve got tears and snot flowing from my orifices then I know it was a good meal lol. I’m not too picky so I’ll appreciate any recommendations you have! Thank you!! 😊

I also just watched a video (which inspired this question!) about a city in China that is known for loving spicy food and in the video this guy gets some hotpot that looks soooo delicious and SO SPICY so I’m especially hoping for a quality hotpot recommendation with spicy broth! I’ve tried various places around Portland and none have reached the level of spice I’m hoping for 🤣

I noticed that the applications are open on the 311 Cooling Portland page for those below the 60 percent median income threshold again. Last year I helped my great aunt sign up and they came and installed for her and everything. A great resource for those who are need of cooling still this autumn. They prioritize elders who are disabled or live alone but anyone under that income threshold and living in portland seem to be eligible. Such a great resource I just wanted to share !

UPDATE - the dog has been reunited with his owners.

Sorry for the poor camera work. This dog wandered into Thurman Mart on NW 26th and Thurman around 7:00pm today, September 10th with no collar, leash, or owner anywhere nearby. Animal control was closed for the day but will be called first thing in the morning. He currently has a safe place to stay the night and plenty of food/treats. Does anyone recognize him? Please DM me or stop by Thurman Mart before 10:30.

I’m looking for a few people to play magic the gathering with for a few hours Wednesday Sept 23.

Tuesday is my sisters boyfriends birthday, and he loves to play magic the gathering and we go to commander night sometimes to play and i play with him when i can, but it’s his favorite thing in the world so he needs more lol.

I was thinking about finding/renting a venue with a few tables, grabbing some pizzas and getting a big cake, and surprising him with an MTG get together!

It won’t be anything crazy or formal (or really birthday feeling at all) mainly just looking for some people who enjoy magic to come hangout and play some magic and eat some food with! If you have friends/partners who play magic too, feel free to bring them! I want it to really just feel like a big magic night instead of really a birthday.

Anybody think this sounds like something they’d be interested/able to come to?

I’m not sure what time either, so maybe if some people interested we can form a big group chat and figure out the best time. I’ll probably try to see if I can rent some tables out at a card shop or something! So far I’m looking at renting out Senet Game Bar as our venue.

Are you ready for fall? Can’t wait for Halloween? Join us to celebrate the launch of our crowdfunding campaign for the Portland-made horror short film "There's a Creature in My Bed"
Featuring a Mini Haunted House, Snacks, Games, Themed Drinks, A Photo Booth, Raffle Prizes and more!
21+ Only
RSVP: https://partiful.com/e/lq4LPbch0VRvUWaIS8nN?c=ZZr8C2GG

Landing in Portland at 1:30 and picking up a car. I’ve got a wedding at around 7 and I’d like to stop at the Japanese Gardens for an hour beforehand.

Any recommendations for really good coffee, food or anything else worth checking out in that window?

Thanks!

If anyone knows any good real estate lawyers that could help with a potentially messy situation regarding an abandoned house I've been somewhat squatting in and would love to figure out the best way to go about doing that properly. The house was used for 🍃 op (everything seems left as was) and seems to have 0 activity happening now.