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A Budget Fix, a Mayor’s Influence, and the Subtext of That Unsavory Banter Among Councilors

Here’s what was gained and lost in the last-minute maneuver from Portland City Council to save dozens of jobs
Avatar photo by Courtney Vaughn

A $12.2 million supplemental budget passed by Portland City Council will preserve 30 jobs that were slated to be cut in the city’s 2026-27 general fund budget. It was one of two competing legislative packages voted on Wednesday, July 22, both of which sought to save positions for city workers using different funding sources. The […]

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Portland City Council Determines the Lloyd Center Can’t Be Saved

Lloyd Center defenders couldn’t get the Council to intervene in the mall’s imminent closure, but they did spark constructive civic discourse.
Avatar photo by Taylor Griggs

The plan to redevelop the Lloyd Center Mall and the surrounding land will go forward, despite two appeals aimed at saving the mall and its ice rink. On Wednesday, Portland City Council cast an initial 10-0 vote to uphold the Lloyd Center Central City Master Plan for the area’s redevelopment. (Two councilors were absent, one […]

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‘Safer Portland’ Campaign Faces New Complaints As Elections Officials Work to Certify Measure For November Ballot

The city and state are awash in complaints over an initiative to use climate funds to hire more police. What happens next?
Avatar photoAvatar photoAvatar photo by Jeremiah Hayden, Courtney Vaughn and Taylor Griggs

Updated: 5:15 pm July 9 The campaign for a ballot initiative seeking to redirect clean energy funds to the Portland Police Bureau announced Monday it had submitted enough signatures to the city to qualify for the November ballot. The next day, the Portland Auditor’s Office and Oregon Secretary of State received lengthy new complaints alleging […]

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Could Oregon Get Swept Up In Redistricting Wars?

As national Democrats scramble to make up for GOP’s gerrymandering gains, some have their sights set on Oregon. 
Avatar photo by Abe Asher

As an all-out war over redistricting upends voting rights law and a battle over congressional maps plays out across the country, Democrats are looking for opportunities to cancel out Republican gains—and they have their sights set on Oregon.  Oregon, like all states, redraws its state legislative and congressional maps regularly following the release of each […]

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Tax the Rich? Oregon Voters Could Weigh In on First-of-its-Kind Wealth Tax

The Oregon effort, which focuses on those with $30 million or more in assets, comes amid a growing interest nationwide in taxing those in the highest income brackets.
Avatar photo Taylor Griggs

What could Oregon do with an additional $2.7 billion in revenue each year? That’s about how much Portlander Jonathan Tasini says would be generated with a 2 percent wealth tax imposed on Oregon taxpayers with assets at or above $30 million. Now, as the state faces a fiscal crisis affecting everything from public schools to […]

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Inside the Race for County Chair: Financial Woes, Homeless Services, and Capitulating to Trump

Two current commissioners are vying to lead Multnomah County in 2027, each promising a new governing style.
Avatar photo Abe Asher

The race for chair of the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners has begun in earnest. Last month, Commissioner Shannon Singleton became the first major contender to declare her candidacy for the position being vacated by Jessica Vega Pederson. She was quickly joined by her fellow commissioner, Julia Brim-Edwards. Voters will decide in a ranked choice […]

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Oregon Democrats Want to Nix Trump’s Tax Cuts From State Code

A bill gaining traction in the Legislature would disconnect the state from key provisions of the federal tax code, netting more than $300 million in additional revenue.
Avatar photo Abe Asher

When Donald Trump signed H.R. 1, coined “The One Big Beautiful Bill Act” on July 4 of last year, Oregon’s revenue forecast took a substantial hit.  That’s because Oregon is one of the few states in the country that has a rolling reconnection to the federal tax code, meaning the state automatically replicates any changes […]

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What Can the Multnomah County District Attorney Do to Stand Up to Trump?

Prosecutors across the country are vowing to hold federal officials responsible for breaking the law. Portlanders are asking the Multnomah County DA to do the same. 
Avatar photo Taylor Griggs

What can local government leaders do to protect their residents in a time of federal authoritarianism? Many Portlanders have asked that question since federal officials and agents have become increasingly hostile to immigrants or those they perceive to be immigrants, as well as people protesting President Trump’s draconian immigration crackdown.  Recent actions by federal officers […]

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Portland Officials Condemn ICE After Federal Agents Tear Gas Peaceful Protesters and Children

Saturday’s rally and march led by local labor unions against ICE drew thousands of participants. The disproportionate federal response to a peaceful protest has rattled the city.
Avatar photo Taylor Griggs

Thousands of local union members and supporters gathered in Portland’s South Waterfront Saturday afternoon for an anti-ICE demonstration hosted by Oregon labor leaders. The family-friendly event turned chaotic after federal agents met the peaceful crowd with repeated rounds of tear gas as they marched outside Portland’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility. The disproportionate federal […]

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Update: Still No Council President After Full Day of Deliberation and Votes

Public awaits zephyr of white smoke from council chambers announcing who holds the gavel in 2026
Avatar photoAvatar photo Jeremiah Hayden and Courtney Vaughn

Update: 9:10 pm January 8 After the second day of a scheduled two-hour vote for a new council president, the City Council still has not made a decision. That’s because the election abruptly recessed, then adjourned without a vote Thursday as some city councilors learned that federal agents had shot two people in East Portland. The […]

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Federal Judge Grants Restraining Order Blocking Trump From Deploying Troops to Portland

Judge says Trump administration violated Constitution and failed to provide proof that National Guard activation was necessary.
Avatar photo Taylor Griggs

A federal judge has granted the state of Oregon a temporary restraining order, legally prohibiting the Trump administration from deploying National Guard troops to Portland through at least October 18. The decision comes a week after Trump announced in a Truth Social post he would be sending troops to the “war torn” city of Portland, […]

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