Portland

After Portland-area schools canceled classes last week for thousands of students because the buildings were too hot, six of those districts are asking for up to $100 million in clean-energy funding for HVAC projects.

The Portland City Council voted to expand a police drone program, enabling its use for all precincts and divisions despite pushback from some community members over surveillance concerns.

The devices came online Monday in the city’s Central Precinct. Plans are for all patrol officers to be wearing them by the end of July. They will turn on automatically when cars’ emergency lights come on, or when guns or stun guns are drawn.

The Pacific Northwest city will launch a small zero-emission delivery zone later this year, to gather data and collaborate with service operators on effectively removing delivery-related vehicles with emissions from a section of downtown.

At least 2,000 customers in Portland, Ore., have been without Internet or cable TV service since snow, ice and windstorms hit the region Jan. 13. Internet service providers say they expect to restore all service within the next few days.

Despite having resorted to "Zoom school" throughout the pandemic, only a tiny fraction of Portland, Ore., schools are using it now to hold classes during snow days, due to power outages and other logistical issues.

The Portland City Council voted unanimously this week to spend up to $2.6 million to outfit more than 800 police officers with body-worn cameras next year, making permanent a pilot program that launched this summer.

The newly procured Peterbilt 520 EV began making test runs this week on the streets of Northeast Portland. Proponents have hailed the truck’s arrival as a milestone in Oregon’s clean energy transition.

Nearly all of the 100 largest metros across the United States charted a growth in biking activity from 2019 to 2022, a new analysis of the transportation sector shows. Walking, meanwhile, has declined.

Cash incentives to be used toward the purchase of an electric bike in Denver are helping to reduce annual car trips and improve regional mobility options. Those watching the space hope the momentum will build even further.

After nearly a decade of contentious debate surrounding the use of police body cameras, the Portland, Ore., City Council has approved a policy. Until now, Portland was the nation’s largest municipal police agency without the technology.

Portland police plan to start using drones in a yearlong pilot to document crash scenes, watch traffic, respond to bomb threats, help in searches and respond to disasters like building collapses.

With enrollment plummeting since the onset of the pandemic, Portland Public Schools is closing its Online Learning Academy in June as a cost-cutting measure. Its enrollment has dwindled to 225 students across 13 grades.

The move would gradually increase the amount of renewable fuels added to diesel fuel sold in the city beginning in 2024. During the phase-out period, fuel suppliers and distributors can use any mix of traditional fuel and biofuels.

Cities around the world are exploring ways to mitigate the effects of extreme heat and make urban areas cooler. Officials sometimes look to new technology to this end, but are also using low-tech devices, like trees.

Portland leaders should approve more than a dozen conditions before the city starts using ShotSpotter gunfire detection technology to address privacy, surveillance and other concerns, a community oversight group says.