Murmurs: Maybe Airbnb Can Rent Out All Those Streetcars.

1. Portland city officials say they will finally crack down on Airbnb hosts who don’t get safety inspections. WW reported last month that only 4 percent of Airbnb hosts in Portland had bothered to seek a city permit to operate (“Safety Last,” WW, Nov. 5, 2014). Getting a permit requires paying a $180 fee, agreeing to operate under new city rules and passing a safety inspection. Portland Revenue Bureau director Thomas Lannom has drafted an ordinance that would penalize Airbnb and other online rental marketplaces $500 each time they don’t display a host’s city permit number on their website. Mayor Charlie Hales said last month he was content to let Airbnb hosts seek permits at their own pace. Since WW’s story, however, Hales asked for the enforcement ordinance. The City Council will consider it Dec. 18. With the new rule, says City Commissioner Nick Fish, who pushed for the change, “We’re insisting that the booking agents not advertise rogue hosts.”

1. The fallout from Cover Oregon continues. Patty Wentz, spokeswoman for the Oregon Health Authority, which gave birth to the troubled health insurance exchange, is stepping down from her $123,672-a-year job next week. Wentz, a former WW reporter, previously served as spokeswoman for then-Gov. Ted Kulongoski and the Oregon Department of Human Services. She and former OHA director Dr. Bruce Goldberg, whom Gov. John Kitzhaber forced out in March over Cover Oregon, have been central to a massive expansion in the number of Medicaid patients covered by the Oregon Health Plan. “There are nearly 1 million Oregonians in OHP, and now 95 percent of Oregonians have coverage,” Wentz says. “It’s been an honor to be part of the team that made that happen.”

1. This could be a federal bailout on rails. The Washington Post reported Nov. 29 that Clackamas-based United Streetcar has “become an example of dashed Washington ambition” to build mass transit. Five years ago, then-U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood celebrated the first American-made streetcar and launched $500 million in federal funding for streetcar systems. The Post reports United Streetcar has no new orders and has laid off employees. U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) tells the newspaper he wants the feds to order 500 to 1,000 streetcars directly from a handful of companies—including United Streetcar—and sell them at a discount to cities. “You don’t build world-class infrastructure six months at a time,” Blumenauer tells The Post. “It drives me crazy.”

1. We’ve reached the halfway mark—chronologically—in our 2014 Give!Guide campaign. We’re hoping to raise $2.6 million for 136 local nonprofits. So far, G!G has received more than $600,000 in donations—that’s on pace to meet our goal. Learn more and make your gift at giveguide.org.

WWeek 2015