Behold, the mighty and beloved e-scooter! After these high-tech “electric personal transportation devices” took Silicon Valley by storm, they raced across the country… at which point a whole bunch of cities either kicked them out or served them with cease-and-desist orders, so then they ended up in Portland? Cool! E-scooters are now the hottest craze […]
Feature
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Welcome to the Mercury’s Portland Handbook
Question: You live in Portland, but do you know HOW to live here? It’s a fact that no matter how long you’ve been around—whether you’re an ex-Silicon Valley newbie, or an old-timey Goose Hollow crusty—we can all learn more about how to navigate this ever-changing city. And that’s where the Mercury’s PORTLAND HANDBOOK comes in! […]
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A Field Guide to Old Portland
Some of you noobs may hear us old-timers wax nostalgic about how great this town was before you came and sanitized it with your energy-efficient scooters and pristine terrarium shops. It’s hard to clearly define Old Portland, but we do know that its death coincided with the new millennium, and was very different 20 years […]
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How to Tip (in Unusual Portland Situations)
In Portland, we tip. We tip a dollar on a coffee. We tip a dollar on drinks (more if it’s a cocktail!). I tip a dollar when a barista hands me an untoasted bagel, no joke. Every Portlander holds a healthy, respectful fear of service staff—after all, most of us have been there. A good […]
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Public Transit Just Got a Huge Expansion. Here’s What You Need to Know.
“Night Bus” sounds like it should be a raunchy ’80s comedy starring both of the Coreys, or maybe a horror flick with the tagline “Next stop: DEATH.” But what Trimet’s new Night Bus and other expanded features lack in risqué hijinks or chilling scares, they make up for with something this city has been lacking […]
Posted inMusic
The Dream Really Was Alive
How Portland Music in the ’90s Set the Table for Decades to Come
How Portland music in the ’90s set the table for decades to come.
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Thank You for Not Breeding
Sure, the Voluntary Extinction Movement Doesn’t Want You to Have Babies—But There’s Much More to the Story
When I arrived at Cathedral Park to meet Les Knight, I figured I’d be able to pick his face out of the crowd. I had, after all, watched an interview Knight did with Tucker Carlson in 2005, during which he was dressed in a shade of khaki that only a soft-spoken environmentalist would wear on-camera. […]
Posted inMusic
So You Are a Star? Okay.
Why Hasn’t the Portland Music Scene Embraced Its Original Hitmakers?
Why hasn’t the Portland music scene embraced its original hitmakers?
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In the Arms of the Cuddler
Marlow Dobbe [Portland author (and Mercury columnist) Courtenay Hameister’s new book, Okay Fine Whatever, documents a year in which she attempted to squash her crippling anxiety by putting herself in the most anxiety-inducing situations imaginable. In this excerpt, Courtenay—who has issues with being touched—schedules a session with a professional cuddler.—Eds.] On the day of my […]
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In the Arms of the Cuddler
An Excerpt from Courtenay Hameister’s Hilarious and Bittersweet New Book, Okay Fine Whatever
An Excerpt from Courtenay Hameister’s hilarious and bittersweet new book, Okay Fine Whatever.
Posted inNews
The Asylum Seeker
He Could Be Killed If He’s Sent Back to Russia. So Why Won’t a Portland Judge Let Him Stay?
He could be killed if he is sent back to Russia. So why won’t the judge let him stay?
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Early Map Makers Didn’t Know What Was Going on in Oregon—So They Made Stuff Up
You’re no geography expert, but you probably have a basic idea of where nations and continents are positioned on a globe, right? But it wasn’t that long ago when people who drew maps only had the vaguest idea of what our planet actually looks like. European and American maps from before the 1800s only sort […]