The Mercury provides news and fun every single day—but your help is essential. If you believe Portland benefits from smart, local journalism and arts coverage, please consider making a small monthly contribution, because without you, there is no us. Thanks for your support! Good afternoon, Portland! I hope you’re staying warm this week. We’re happy to […]
Abe Asher
Abe Asher covers city news, politics, and soccer for the Portland Mercury. His reporting has appeared in The Nation, VICE News, Sahan Journal, and other outlets.
Posted inHomeless
At Least 193 Homeless People Died in Multnomah County in 2021
It’s the highest number of houseless deaths ever recorded in a single year in Multnomah County since data collection began in 2011.
At least 193 people who died in Multnomah County in 2021 were homeless at the time of their death, the highest number of houseless deaths ever recorded in a single year in Multnomah County. The county’s annual Domicile Unknown report, released Wednesday, found that nearly 80 percent of those deaths were not due to natural […]
Posted inGood Afternoon, News!
Good Afternoon, News: Emergency Weather Shelters Opening, Bill to Let People Vote in Prison, and Environmental Catastrophe in Ohio
The Mercury provides news and fun every single day—but your help is essential. If you believe Portland benefits from smart, local journalism and arts coverage, please consider making a small monthly contribution, because without you, there is no us. Thanks for your support! Good afternoon, Portland! It’s time to brace yourself—not just for this possible […]
Posted inNews
Oregon Lawmakers Aim to Expand Voting Rights to Incarcerated Oregonians—For The Third Time
State legislators believe their chances of success are better than ever.
In late 2019, State Senator Michael Dembrow and his colleagues on the Senate Judiciary Committee met with a group of incarcerated Oregonians presenting research on issues affecting the state’s incarcerated population. One of the proposals the group presented to legislators was potentially groundbreaking: restoring the right to vote to people imprisoned for felonies. “I have […]
Posted inGood Afternoon, News!
Good Afternoon, News: State Health Officials Optimistic, Measure 114 Still Blocked, and Death Toll Continues to Rise in Turkey & Syria
The Mercury provides news and fun every single day—but your help is essential. If you believe Portland benefits from smart, local journalism and arts coverage, please consider making a small monthly contribution, because without you, there is no us. Thanks for your support! Good afternoon, Portland! Hope you’re enjoying this lovely sunny weather. Spring is right […]
Posted inCoronavirus
Oregon Health Officials Optimistic about the Decline of COVID, Flu, and RSV
Despite the decline in respiratory illnesses, hospitals remain at or near capacity.
State health officials are optimistic that a recent decrease in respiratory cases and hospitalizations will continue throughout the spring and could allow the state to remove its masking requirement in healthcare settings. Dean Sidelinger, state epidemiologist for the Oregon Health Authority (OHA), said at a press briefing Thursday that the state is seeing “incredibly good” […]
Posted inGood Afternoon, News!
Good Afternoon, News: City Strike Ends, Central Library to Close for Renovation, and Earthquake Devastates Turkey and Syria
The Mercury provides news and fun every single day—but your help is essential. If you believe Portland benefits from smart, local journalism and arts coverage, please consider making a small monthly contribution, because without you, there is no us. Thanks for your support! Good afternoon, Portland! Hope you’re enjoying the start of the week and thanks […]
Posted inGood Afternoon, News!
Good Afternoon, News: Cop Hunzeker Off the Hook, City Workers on Strike, and Omar Voted Off Foreign Affairs Committee
The Mercury provides news and fun every single day—but your help is essential. If you believe Portland benefits from smart, local journalism and arts coverage, please consider making a small monthly contribution, because without you, there is no us. Thanks for your support! Good afternoon, Portland! I don’t know how you make the time between […]
Posted inNews
Tobacco Retailers Sue Multnomah County Over Ban on Flavored Products
While the future of Multnomah County’s ban is unclear, the lawsuit could be moot if the Oregon legislature passes a statewide flavored tobacco ban.
Tobacco and vape retailers have filed a lawsuit designed to stop Multnomah County from enacting its ban on flavored tobacco and nicotine products next year, marking the latest in a series of battles between the local tobacco industry and government regulators over the future of flavored tobacco sales in the state. The store Division Vapor […]
Posted inlabor
City of Portland Office Workers Move to Form an Independent Union
“When push comes to shove at budget time, we always take the hit first,” union organizers say.
A group of city of Portland office workers have launched an independent union drive and are planning to file for a union election within the next two weeks as they seek improved job security, wages, and working conditions. The majority of the nearly 6,000 non-management city employees are already represented by a variety of unions. […]
Posted inGood Afternoon, News!
Good Afternoon, News: City Set On Zenith Deal, Warming Shelters Close, and Sixth Memphis Cop Placed on Leave
Good afternoon, Portland! Hope you’re enjoying the sun, since it appears to be the last we’ll be seeing of it for another week or so. Now: THE NEWS. IN LOCAL NEWS: Dan Ryan is no longer in charge of the Bureau of Development Services, but Ryan’s replacement Carmen Rubio says she’s unwilling to reconsider the city’s […]
Posted inNews
Despite New Leadership, Portland Officials Decline to Reconsider Zenith Energy Deal
Climate activists will now turn their attention to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.
When Mayor Ted Wheeler reassigned the Bureau of Development Services (BDS) to Commissioner Carmen Rubio at the beginning of the month, climate activists in Portland had cause for hope. The city commissioner in charge of BDS is responsible for the city’s decision about whether to grant a land use permit to the oil transport company […]