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Good Morning, Portland: The Weather app forecasts sort of nice weather this weekend followed by truly nice weather next week, so it appears Fake Spring is still thriving. Enjoy your weekend if you get one, and don’t forget to tip your bartenders and baristas—the rent is due.
There’s a ton of news this morning, so let’s get to it. 📰
IN LOCAL NEWS:
- Big news in local publishing this week, and the Mercury’s Suzette Smith and the Stranger’s Vivian McCall took a look into the details: Though it began locally, Portland Monthly is now a Michigan-owned magazine. PoMo, Seattle Met, and several other publications owned by SagaCity have been sold off in a receivership deal to pay the company’s debts. And, of course, the first move the new owners make is to cut staff. To be clear, the former staff are asking readers to continue supporting the current journalists who work there and continue reading their work, so don’t knee-jerk react and try to stick it to the man here. There are plenty of other ways to do that in 2026. Read up on the transaction by clicking this link.
- Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson announced April 2 that Nathaniel VerGow, who most recently served at Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, was tapped to lead the county’s Homeless Services Department. In a press release Vega Pederson said “Nathaniel understands that delivering on that vision will require the operational excellence, management experience, coordination, and front-line perspective he’s fostered throughout his career,” which is government speak for “we expect he’ll be good at it.” He’ll enter at a challenging time for the region, as homelessness continues to rise amid federal funding cuts. The Multnomah County Board of Commissioners is expected to confirm VerGow for the position later this month. The Multnomah County Board of Commissioners is expected to confirm VerGow for the position later this month. Read More here.
- It’s true, the beloved North Portland venue Turn! Turn! Turn! isn’t turning into a pumpkin at midnight, never to be seen again. A last minute glass slipper has come in the form of new owners Joel Christerson and Annie Ostrowski. Read Mercury music editor Nolan Parker’s update here and celebrate, because another one isn’t biting the dust!
- Speaking of music, there are a ton of good events this weekend! Seriously. There are 29 shows of note this week, 31 if you count Quasi’s (sold out) two-day, three-show Turn! Turn! Turn! residency as separate gigs. Check out Mercury Music Picks here for a bunch of other good recommendations, and lifehack: just bring a cot to Turn! and stay all weekend.
- This month’s repertory screening schedule is full of heavy hitters like Robert Altman’s Nashville, the Soviet sci-fi Dead Mountaineer’s Hotel, and twists on the documentary form by Iranian Palme d’Or winners. Microdose some cinema history (and get the deets on screening dates and times) in Mercury writer Lindsay Costello’s latest Second Run Portland. Dead Mountaineer’s Hotel begins tonight at Hollywood Theatre, and for other arts and culture event recommendations, check out Do This, Do That, here.
- And, lastly, isn’t Portland great? We love a doom loop!
IN NATIONAL / INTERNATIONAL NEWS:
- Iran this morning says it has shot down a US fighter jet, and a search is underway for the pilot. Iran’s state media published photos claiming to be of the wreckage, but US officials have not yet commented on their claims. The news comes as President Donald J. (Judgement-challenged) Trump’s illegal war on Iran is going poorly, despite his assertion that rising gas prices and his killing of thousands of innocents could end if he wanted it to and people were just more patient.
“With a little more time, we can easily OPEN THE HORMUZ STRAIT, TAKE THE OIL, & MAKE A FORTUNE. IT WOULD BE A “GUSHER” FOR THE WORLD???,” Trump wrote on his social media platform. One might say the gentleman doth protest too much. Still, he’s looking to boost defense spending to $1.5 trillion *with a T*, according to a federal budget office. You know what they always say: The best defense is a good offense. 🙄 For the latest, read more here. - Trump on Thursday fired US Attorney General Pam Bondi, whose tenure may be forever marred by her ceaseless campaign to obscure the release of the Epstein files. She also kneecapped the Justice Department by firing prosecutors and FBI officials who worked on the January 6, 2021 Capitol riots, and threatened sanctuary jurisdictions, including Portland and Oregon, if they did not comply with immigration law. The Democratic Women’s Caucus Chair Teresa Leger Fernández said Bondi won’t escape accountability just because she’s unemployed.
“Pam Bondi consistently failed women across the country during her time as Attorney General—including through her egregious cover-up of the Epstein files and disrespect for survivors,” Leger Fernández said. “Bondi continuously shielded perpetrators while she exposed, scrutinized and haunted survivors at every turn. We will never forget her inhumane treatment of survivors Read more here at NPR. - Today in, This 👏 Is 👏 Why 👏 You 👏 Pay 👏 To 👏 Pick 👏 Your 👏 Seat
- And, from the other direction, an Artemis II astronaut has captured a few incredible photos of Earth from space, while on the first trip to the moon since 1972. Just look at that!
- The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ordered Amazon to recognize the Amazon Teamsters union in Staten Island, in a first of its kind. Amazon dragged out recognition for four years for the 5,000 employees who organized in 2022.
Connor Spence, President of Amazon Labor Union-Teamsters Local 1, had something to say about it.
“We are making history at Amazon, and we are doing it through undiluted worker power,” Spence said. “This company has used every resource it has to try and break us over the past four years, and it continues to fail because vicious rapacity is no match for collective action.” - And here’s a live look at Staten Island Amazon workers at the bargaining table with Jeff Bezos himself.
