Vancouver is courting small businesses with incentives and support as its recent population boom and multimillion-dollar redevelopment projects reshape the city.

Why it matters: Clark County has led the region in job growth every year since the pandemic, outpacing much larger counties like Multnomah and Washington.

• It's seen a 38% increase in new business starts since 2021 and today small businesses account for 96% of all establishments.

Driving the news: Those figures are likely higher in Vancouver, economic development leaders told Axios. That's thanks to the city's new, robust ecosystem of technical support, startup resources and public-private partnerships.

State of play: Vancouver adopted its first five-year economic development strategy last year, prioritizing small businesses, entrepreneurship and neighborhood commercial districts.

• A product-to-market program launching this summer is designed to help consumer startups get their products onto store shelves.
• Its revolving loan fund, which uses federal grant dollars, is for businesses that may not qualify for traditional financing.
• City staff can help businesses find space, too. They'll walk prospective tenants through available locations and outline all of the permitting and development requirements before signing a commercial lease.

Meanwhile, Vancouver's partnerships with nonprofits like Columbia River Economic Development Council (CREDC) and the Hispanic Metropolitan Chamber can take an idea and turn it into a full-scale operation.

• Those organizations help businesses by navigating permits and regulations, lining up grants and government contracts and tapping into the local workforce so they can grow in place rather than relocate.

"At the end of the day, our job is really about employment," Jordan Boldt, CREDC's president, told Axios. "How can we encourage good jobs to stay in our community?"

• Boldt pointed to Portland-based Panthalassa, a wave energy startup, which established a new manufacturing hub in Vancouver. CREDC is now working on a grant for them to add 50 more research and development employees.

Stunning stat: Smaller minority-run businesses in Vancouver are also seeing rapid growth.

• Out of the roughly 600 businesses the Hispanic Metro Chamber supports across the region, nearly half are now based in Vancouver, executive director Nicole Leon told Axios — prompting them to add three new employees to focus solely on the city.

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Break out the sunscreen, swimsuits and portable fans: The Pacific Northwest is about to crank up the thermostat.

The latest: Portland could push toward triple digits, with an extreme heat watch in effect from Sunday morning to Tuesday evening, according the National Weather Service.

Why it matters: It's our first real taste of summer.

Yes, but: This kind of heat can be dangerous. Stay hydrated, seek out air conditioning and check on your neighbors.

A Portland-area low-income housing provider says crime and rising security costs could force it to sell some of its more than 1,000 housing units.

Why it matters: The potential loss of affordable units could further strain access amid an ongoing housing crisis.

Driving the news: Innovative Housing Inc. told city leaders in a letter last month that, in addition to crime concerns, fewer tenants are paying rent as they struggle with mental health issues and addiction, the Oregonian reported.

• The company asked the city to provide funding from the $56 million in housing funds allocated by the City Council earlier this year.

What they're saying: Operating costs have skyrocketed, executive director Sarah Stevenson wrote in the May 27 letter, obtained by the Oregonian, and the nonprofit needs "these funds now to keep our doors open."

Between the lines: Mayor Wilson sent a memo to councilors earlier this week asking them to tweak tenant protections to allow landlords to vet potential renters for criminal histories and streamline evictions of problematic residents.

Yes, but: Councilor Candace Avalos was skeptical of rule changes, noting that a criminal past doesn't necessarily predict criminality in the future.

• Instead, Avalos told the Oregonian she would advocate for "strengthening our behavioral health system, building our wraparound services and reforming property management services."

The bottom line: "We're housing people, which is great, but we're not collecting enough rent to pay the bills," Stevenson said.

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😬 Tick activity is on the rise across the metro area, prompting health officials to urge residents to wear long pants — tucked into socks — and closed-toe shoes before heading outdoors in grassy recreational areas. (KGW)

🚦 Portland has issued more than 69,000 traffic tickets since November after expanding its network of automated speed and intersection cameras across high-crash corridors. (KPTV)

🌳 The Vanport Cottonwoods, a grove near the eastern end of the slough at the Portland International Raceway, recently received heritage designation for their connection to a massive flood in 1948. (Street Roots)

💰 Backers of two proposed measures — one to give Portlanders a say in city spending and another to shift clean energy funds to police staffing — have each raised more than $700,000 in an attempt to qualify for the November ballot. (The Oregonian)

Nearly three years after the much-buzzed-about Kann opened in Southeast Portland, chef Gregory Gourdet's ode to his Haitian lineage continues to impress.

Best bites: It's hard to go wrong anywhere on the menu — the whole kitchen is gluten- and dairy-free — and I've yet to be disappointed by a dish there.

• The standout on each of my visits has been the griyo — roasted and fried marinated pork, fried plantain fritters, avocado and pikliz, a spicy pickled cabbage slaw.

• But don't sleep on the epis-brined chicken, which can seem pedestrian compared to the rest of the menu, but was one of the most memorable bites I've had in a long time.

🍹 Plus: Kann serves my favorite drink in Portland: the kowosól, a luxurious creamy beverage made with the soursop fruit, coconut milk, lemon and maple.

The vibe