Portland Wrapped, 2022
A data-driven look back at the year's top news stories.
Portland Police News 2022
The Mercury's top police stories from the past year.
Portland Health News 2022
The Mercury's top health stories from the past year.
Top Stories of 2022
Mercury news stories published in 2022 that attracted the most views.
Portland Transportation News 2022
The Mercury's top transportation stories from the past year.
Portland Housing News 2022
The Mercury's top housing stories of the past year.
Portland Politics News 2022
The Mercury's top politics stories from the past year.
Looking Ahead 2022
Top stories to keep an eye on in 2023.
Portland Environment News 2022
The Mercury's top environment stories from the past year.
Portland Criminal Justice News 2022
The Mercury's top criminal justice stories from the past year.
We did it, Portland! We made it to the end of yet another year in this particular multiverse, and have a lot to show for it. From a monumental vote to overhaul our cityâs form of government, to Patriot Prayer rioters getting their day in court, to a controversial energy company pledging to stop transporting crude oil through Portland, 2022 really had it all.Â
The yearsâ headlines centered on the cityâs work to drag itself out of the crater left by the COVID-19 pandemicâwhether that was attending to the thousands of people made homeless by the economic meltdown, rushing to support businesses impacted by the pandemic, cutting transit lines to accommodate for a bus driver shortage, and investigating a questionable COVID testing company. The past year also brought closure for some Portlanders who had been victimized by police brutality during the racial justice protests of 2020, coming in the form of financial settlements or court judgments. The year ended with an election that set Portlandâs compass for the future, guided by new leadership at all levels of government and a game plan to seriously retool the cityâs government and voting systems.Â
As the Mercuryâs newsroom looked back at the past year, we were drawn to the numbers that defined it. To best illustrate those data points, we turned to the evil wizards at Spotify and their terrifyingly accurate ability to annually calculate listeners' top interestsâand pinpoint their entire identitiesâin their Spotify Wrapped presentations.Â
Itâs an easy comparison. While my personal Spotify Wrapped awkwardly bundled up my lasting commitment to Weezerâs Blue Album with both Beyonceâs RENAISSANCE and Townes Van Zandtâs 1969 self-titled album, 2022 Portland twinned its allegiance to erasing homeless people (an retro idea championed by 2010s Portland mayor-turned-mayoral-aide Sam Adams) with a modern plan to distribute millions of dollars to green energy projects that reduce the cityâs carbon emissions. I spent 14,000 minutes of 2022 listening to music, while Portlanders have spent over 15 months waiting for the city to release an internal investigation about a right-wing meme used in a police bureau presentation.Â
And, lastly, while Spotify defined my daytime music listening tastes as âEcstatic Confident Soothing,â Portland embodied what we define as âReactionary Chaotic Amusementâ in 2022. Before we leave this year in the dust, take a moment to explore your cityâs year in news, wrapped.