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POP QUIZ PDX: Fire!! (And Other Questions Tangentially Related to Fire)

See how well YOU score on this week’s burning hot trivia quiz!
Avatar photo by Wm. Steven Humphrey

SOUND THE BRAIN ALARM! It’s time to put that brainy-brain to the test with this edition of POP QUIZ PDX—our local, sassy-ass trivia quiz. And this week we’ll see how much YOU know about all sorts of fire, including the Portland Fire, City Council fires, smoky air (from fires), and the “Ring of Fire” (which could be […]

Posted inThe Trash Report

THE TRASH REPORT: The Weather Can Be Gossip, in That Gossip Is Both Hot and Cool

Line up, trash pandas (and Jimothy)! It’s time for a dumpster load of the week’s hottest gossip.
Avatar photo by Elinor Jones

Hello, and welcome back to the Trash Report! I am, as you know, Elinor Jones. I am so glad that you are here and I have some things to discuss! So gather round, my sweet idiots, and let’s talk trash.  White House American Summer Sunlight is the greatest disinfectant, but it can also make some […]

Posted inNews

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 […]

Posted inGood Morning, News!

Good Morning, News! Trump’s H-E-Double-Hockey-Stick Tariffs, Climate Change: So Hot Right Now, and Local Landlord May Need Real Job

Avatar photo by Jeremiah Hayden

If you believe Portland benefits from smart, local journalism and arts coverage, please consider making a small monthly contribution to the Mercury, because without you, there is no us. Thanks for your support! Good morning, Portland! It’s looking to be a hot one today with highs of 96 and a 35 percent chance of rain if these weather […]

Posted inNews

City Sends First Draft Moda Lease Terms To Blazers, To Surprise of Council

Some councilors are frustrated over a process they say has excluded them and backed the city into a financial corner that weakens negotiating power.
Avatar photo by Courtney Vaughn

Updated: 4:48 pm July 17 The city of Portland delivered the first draft of a term sheet to the Trail Blazers management on Thursday, July 16, setting the city one step closer to a long-term lease agreement with the team for the Moda Center. No terms have been finalized, and the Council is in disagreement […]

Posted inNews

‘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 […]

Posted inNews

Moneyball: The Moda Center Controversy Explained

The city of Portland now owns the Moda Center, making us the Blazers’ landlord. With renovations needed and a cheapskate team owner, city officials must calculate the cost of civic pride.
Avatar photo by Courtney Vaughn

The Portland Trail Blazers fought their way to the 2026 NBA playoffs, but now, their toughest opponents may be in City Hall.  The team’s majority owner, Tom Dundon, is trying to iron out a deal with the city for a major, state-of-the-art renovation of the Moda Center that could cost more than $600 million. Recently […]

Posted inNews

Police Oversight Board Members Say Budget Ordinance Could Erode Public’s Trust in New System

Six members of Portland’s Community Board for Police Accountability caution that a new attempt to raid funds could invite legal trouble.
Avatar photoAvatar photo by Jeremiah Hayden and Courtney Vaughn

Members of Portland’s new police accountability system are speaking out amid a proposed supplemental budget ordinance that could draw money from the Office of Community-based Police Accountability to repay contingency funds borrowed from the city’s general fund. An ordinance from Council Vice President Olivia Clark, along with Councilors Steve Novick, Loretta Smith, and Elana Pirtle-Guiney, […]

Posted inNews

In Latest Newsletter, Mayor Wilson Ridicules Blazers Fan and Influential Critic as a “Techbro”

Portland’s mayor mischaracterized an email exchange he had with a constituent. Luckily, we asked for the receipts.
Avatar photo by Courtney Vaughn

Updated: 10:27 pm June 25 Portland Mayor Keith Wilson had critiques and a sharp tongue in a Tuesday newsletter that took jabs at city councilors as well as a data analyst who’s become one of the most influential sources of information about the city’s upcoming Moda Center lease contract. What the mayor didn’t have? Accuracy. […]

Posted inNews

High Turnover, Low Pay: Staff at Prominent Legal Aid and Advocacy Group Call For Ouster of CEO

Disability Rights Oregon workers fight for livable wages despite sizable annual raises for the organization’s top executive.
Avatar photo by Anna Del Savio

Workers at Disability Rights Oregon (DRO) are urging the nonprofit law firm’s board to fire executive director Jake Cornett. Low pay is the main frustration for employees—a resentment aggravated by their boss receiving big raises in recent years. The nonprofit advocacy organization “cannot move forward in its current state, and [Cornett] seems to be uniquely […]

Posted inNews

Parks and Recreation Interim Director Will Exit at End of June

The bureau has seen two director exits in a year as the city weathers high turnover among its leadership ranks.
Avatar photoAvatar photo by Jeremiah Hayden and Courtney Vaughn

Another bureau director is resigning from the city of Portland. Sonia Schmanski, the interim director of Portland Parks and Recreation, submitted her resignation Wednesday, effective at the end of June, according to an email to staff from Public Works Deputy City Administrator Priya Dhanapal.  Art Pearce, deputy director of planning at the Portland Bureau of […]

Posted inI, Anonymous

Dear 22-Year-Old Me (Or You)

Avatar photo by Anonymous

[Got an anonymous confession or rant you just have to share with the world? Submit it to I, Anonymous HERE!—eds] It’s a goddamned privilege to live in Portland Oregon. If 55 yos are complaining about dumbfuck 22 yos voting yes for the goddamned Oregon Historical Society (read society, shudder) just know that you’re wrong, and cut […]

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