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 morning, Portland. The weather forecast? Rain. It's November, so get used to it! Enough chitchat, though—it's quite the morning for news. 

IN LOCAL NEWS:

• Portland's new parks levy is on the path to victory. That means, starting in 2026, the city will likely implement a five-year property tax to fund the city's parks and recreation services—like the one voters approved in 2020, but more expensive. The new levy would set a 75 percent higher tax rate than the current one charges, running the average Portland homeowner a little more than $300 annually. If voters were to reject the levy, Portland's parks bureau predicted it would face a $90 million budget deficit, leading to a lot of layoffs and reduced services. I think Portland's parks are among the best things this city has to offer (they're in a close race with food carts and all our amazing people, awww). It seems like most voters agree. (Or, at least, those who bothered to submit their ballots, which was only about 30 percent of eligible voters. Special elections never get the attention they deserve!) 

• Today, "local news" includes Seattle. (I don't want news from our neighbor to the north to get lost in all the other election results below!) There was a big election in Seattle yesterday, meaning PEOPLE (not just measures and initiatives) were on the ballot. The most up-to-date results indicate mostly good things for Seattle progressives. Sara Nelson, Seattle's stodgy City Council president, looks to be on her way out after getting trounced by Dionne Foster. Current cool councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck defeated her opponent extremely handily, and incumbent Adonis Ducksworth is on his way out, too, having been defeated by Eddie Lin. Seattle's questionable City Attorney Ann Davison was also defeated by Erika Evans. (All of my intel on these politicians comes from our sister paper, The Stranger, which runs Seattle.) Unfortunately, the news is a bit more tepid for Katie Wilson, who was running to defeat Mayor Bruce Harrell. Harrell is currently coming in several points ahead, but ballots are still being counted! If you're in line, stay in line! Well, not really, but don't give up hope. And find out more in The Stranger. 

• Back to Portland. Our City Council looks to have made the "highly unusual" move to reject a legal settlement agreement in its final stages, after it had been negotiated by plaintiffs and city staff. The settlement was over a lawsuit filed by Portland bike advocacy group BikeLoud, which alleged the city failed to adhere to the Oregon Bike Bill when carrying out dozens of transportation projects. (The Bike Bill is a 1971 law that requires Oregon cities and other agencies to include adequate bike lanes when constructing or reconstructing streets.) The ultimate settlement agreement included a $6 million investment in bike infrastructure around Portland, including $3 million for projects that would make streets safer for kids biking to school. It would also mandate the Portland Bureau of Transportation to build bike lanes on a stretch of inner NE Sandy Blvd, and require the city to include a shared bus and bike lane on the entirety of 82nd Avenue. Sounds cool, right? Well, City Council members were skeptical, seemingly because they don't want Portland's policy to be dictated by legal settlements they had no hand in shaping. (But we actually don't really know what all went down in the City Council discussions, as they have so far taken place in private executive session meetings.) The plaintiffs and their lawyers say if councilors don't take action soon, the case will go to trial, where both sides may end up worse off. Read more about this tricky situation here. 

• Police have arrested a suspect who they believe started the fire near Portland Councilor Candace Avalos' home on October 26. According to the Portland Police Bureau, Vashon M. Locust, 51, was trying to use an electrical outlet in a shed near Avalos’ house to plug in a heater in the early morning hours on Sunday, October 26. The outlet didn't work, so he reportedly lit a small fire, which spread. The fire destroyed the councilor's vehicle, carport, and part of her home. Initially, police said the blaze was suspicious, but later reported no sign of any accelerant or incendiary device that would indicate the fire was a targeted attack. Court records indicate Locust is likely unhoused and as recently as 2024, was documented as battling behavioral health issues. Read more from our Courtney Vaughn here. 

IN NATIONAL/WORLD NEWS: 

• As we know, it was Election Day yesterday. And quite an eventful and exciting one, at that! Democrats (and democratic socialists!) won high-profile races around the country, leaving conservatives reeling. Surprise—President Donald Trump's horrible policies are turning people to the left. Here's a rundown of the biggest headlines from last night.

  • First, Zohran Mamdani is going to be the next mayor of New York City. If you don't know Mamdani, climb out from under the rock you've been living under! But I'll give you some details while you dust yourself off. He's a young democratic socialist who skyrocketed to national fame after handily beating disgraced former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in the primary election earlier this year. Mamdani's campaign was focused around making New York an affordable and welcoming place for everyone, and it paid off big time. He'll also be the city's first Muslim mayor. His victory is huge for New York, obviously, but it also offers some much-needed hope to progressives around the country during a pretty dire time. 😍 
  • Democrats handily won gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey, too. Abigail Spanberger defeated her Republican opponent big time, and will become the first female governor of Virginia. In New Jersey, where the governor's race was expected to be much tighter, the election was called for Democrat Mikie Sherill just a couple hours after the polls closed. 
  • California voters approved the Prop 50 redistricting measure, which should counter the pro-Republican gerrymandering taking place in states like Texas. Early returns showed almost two-thirds of California voters said "yes" to the plan. (Republicans wasted no time filing suit in federal court to challenge the measure. Unclear how this plan would be unconstitutional but the Texas gerrymandering wouldn't, but our country remains very messed up.)
  • Democratic candidates and progressive policies did well in smaller races nationwide, too. In Mississippi, Democrats flipped two GOP seats, breaking the deep-red state's Republican supermajority. Democrats flipped two seats on Georgia's Public Service Commission, too—the first time Democrats have won a statewide constitutional office in Georgia since 2006. And in Colorado, voters approved a plan for free school meals. These are just some of last night's results that demonstrate how voters across the country are sick of Trump's reign of terror and standing up to do something about it. 

• Crazy these people are turning out to be unpopular, huh?

The comments came as federal courts ordered the Trump administration to resume food assistance payments.

[image or embed]

— NPR (@npr.org) November 5, 2025 at 6:03 AM

 

• TBH, you might wanna stay away from prepared pasta meals sold at grocery stores. A listeria outbreak connected to the products has been reported in 18 states across the country, including Oregon, Washington, and California, and six people have died from the illness so far. The outbreak started in June and was associated with fettuccine Alfredo sold at Kroger and Walmart, but now, other pre-made pasta products have been recalled from other brands, including Trader Joes, Albertsons, and Sprouts. Keep an eye on the recall list, or just make pasta at home. 

• A UPS cargo plane crashed near Louisville, Kentucky yesterday evening, killing at least nine people. The plane was bound for Hawaii when it crashed. It's currently unclear what caused the crash, but Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear says a federal investigation is open. In addition to those who died, several more people are being treated for life-threatening injuries, and dozens more remain unaccounted for. 

• In other aviation news, air traffic controllers are warning of a potential breaking point, as the ongoing government shutdown (36 days now! The longest in US history!) causes major staffing shortages. The staffing shortages are leading to major, widespread delays at airports across the country, and officials say it could get worse. Oh, yeah, and the busiest travel season of the year is coming up in just a few short weeks. NBD. 

• In case you didn't know, this is how baby chicks like to be handled. <3 Happy Wednesday!!!