Courtesy of Ji Yang / TBA The world of challenging art and performance is typically portrayed as highbrow, eccentric, and exclusive. But the 2018 TBA festival is taking a big step towards inclusivity with a noticeably affordable show program. This year, only a handful of attractions at PICA’s eleven-day contemporary art festival cost more than […]
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Posted inCannabis
Can the OregonSaves Program Help Cannabis Employees Save for Retirement?
OlyaSolodenko / Getty Images The cannabis industry already has plenty of concerns: the lack of access to banking, the bottomless suck-hole of profit for dispensaries that is Section 280E, and the way the adult beverage industry seems to be regulated and taxed differently from the adult botanical industry. But new concerns always emerge, and Oregon’s […]
Posted inCity Hall
With Dan Saltzman Absent, City Council Passes a Campaign Finance Tweak He Stopped Yesterday
Yesterday, Commissioner Dan Saltzman refused to approve a new arrangement that would put the city’s public campaign finance system directly in the hands of Commissioner Amanda Fritz. So now Fritz and the rest of council have gone around him. In an extremely rare maneuver, Fritz at this afternoon’s city council meeting called up an ordinance […]
Posted inHousing
Portland’s Renter Relocation Policy Is Now Permanent—And Stronger Than Ever
Outside City Hall on February 28. Dirk VanderHart The city’s controversial renter relocation law is here to stay. After kneading out disagreements over the policy, the Portland City Council this morning unanimously expanded and made permanent the requirement that landlords pay between $2,900 and $4,500 in tenant moving expenses in some instances. As expected the […]
Posted inNews
A Judge Has Ruled Multnomah County’s New Campaign Finance Rules Unconstitutional. That Was Sort of the Plan.
Vinnie Neuberg After taking seven months to decide, a Multnomah County judge today smacked down local campaign finance reforms enacted by voters in 2016. In an 11-page ruling [PDF] Multnomah County Circuit Judge Eric Bloch ruled that provisions limiting how much could be donated to candidates for county office, how much could be spent independently […]
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Get Your Shit Together: Fixing Your Financial Mess
Carolyn Main [Don’t be a hot mess in 2018! Get your shit together with this week’s special feature, the “Get Your Shit Together Issue!” We think this story will help….—eds.] Need to get your financial act together? The first thing to do is take stock of where you are. People who are financial messes generally […]
Posted inNews
Commissioner Amanda Fritz Is Hoping to Re-Take Control of Portland’s New Campaign Finance System
Katie Turner Portland Commissioner Amanda Fritz might have found a new home for a program that will finance city campaigns with public money: her own office. In a code change that’s been in the works for months, Fritz plans to bring a proposal before Portland City Council in the near future to take over the […]
Posted inNews
The Mayor Has a Second Home—But Has Been Reporting the Wrong Address to the State for Years
Sunset in beautiful Arch Cape, where Mayor Ted Wheeler owns a second home. iStock / Getty Images Plus Mayor Ted Wheeler is fortunate enough to own a second home—a 2,790-square-foot Arch Cape getaway with sweeping views of the Pacific Ocean. But if you’d like to send mail or pay a visit, maybe don’t rely on […]
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Portand Podcaster Lillian Karabaic Makes Personal Finance Delightful
LILLIAN KARABAIC With preachy, unrealistic directives about quitting avocado toast to magically solve all your money problems, the personal finance industry has a well-earned reputation for being dry and irrelevant to people living on all but the biggest budgets. Enter Portland’s Lillian Karabaic. You probably know her as the founder of Pedalpalooza’s now-departed Bowie vs. […]
Posted inNews
Booming Portland Might Now Be Facing a Budget Hole of Between $9 Million and $30 Million Next Year
cosmonaut / Getty Images At a time of record revenues, the city’s financial outlook is dimming a bit. The City Budget Office now believes Portland might see between $9 million and $30 million in increased costs for providing the same services next year, Budget Director Andrew Scott said Wednesday. That’s up from a potential $5 […]
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#GivingTuesday: Donate to these Mercury-Picked Charities!
Happy #GivingTuesday to all, and if you’re feeling generous today—and now’s a good time to think about how good you have it—consider giving to the following charities that were hand-picked by the Mercury staff. (NOTE: None of these charitable organizations paid to be in this guide—because as we know, that’s unethical and gross.) And after […]
Posted inNews
Bullseye Glass Fined More Than $15,000 For Contaminating Groundwater
Dominic Deventua Bullseye Glass was fined $15,600 as part of a settlement over its allowing toxic materials to seep into neighboring groundwater, the state’s Department of Environmental Quality announced today. According to a release from the agency, officials confirmed that chemicals that found their way from the company’s furnaces to its roof eventually made their […]