Good morning, Portland! It’s been warm and sunny out the past few days, but we’re in for some cooler temps and rain today and tomorrow. If that’s a bummer to you, fear not. The sun is set to return later this week.
Plus, it’s PIZZA WEEK!!! So, there’s no need to be sad about anything. Stay tuned for my recommendations on which slices you should try.
IN LOCAL NEWS:
• On Saturday, Portlanders gathered at Holladay Park to say “so long” to TriMet’s MAX Type 1 trains, which are being retired after 40 years of service and two million miles of travel. It was a bittersweet occasion for many transit lovers, who got the chance to commemorate the trains by writing all over one. Joe Streckert was there for the Mercury—check out his story detailing the history of the train that moved Portlanders for decades.
• It’s officially Portland budget season. Mayor Keith Wilson dropped his proposed budget yesterday (on 4/20) at 4:20 pm. I’d like to think that’s a not-so-subtle message about the state of mind you should be in while perusing the budget materials. The fiscal year 2026-27 budget had to reconcile a roughly $172 million shortfall. In order to balance it out, Wilson proposed cutting nearly 150 jobs and cutting programs. Stay tuned for more details.
• The Portland Trail Blazers lobbied hard to convince legislators in Salem to commit $365 million in public funds for Moda Center renovations. New records show the team spent $100,000 for lobbying this year, which is a lot more than it usually spends, to hire eight lobbyists from four separate firms. It seems to have worked with state legislators, who agreed to the funding plan, but the future of the Moda Center is still in flux, with city and county officials also needing to get on board. Mayor Wilson appears to be trying his best to get the job done. In his State of the City address last week, he implied that if we don’t renovate the Moda Center per the Blazers’ owner’s wishes, Portland will become a “flyover city.” Ouch! With mayors like these, who needs haters?
Also:
• The Mercury‘s Do This, Do That has dropped, giving you all the deets on what you should do this week. Church of Film presents Armenian animation on Wednesday at the Clinton Street Theater, Breakfast on the Bridges will serve up coffee and sweet treats for commuters on Friday, and on Saturday, you can check out Independent Bookstore Day AND the Making Earth Cool Earth Day celebration. More here!
• Now, to address the tomato sauce and cheese-covered elephant in the room—it’s Pizza Week. If you don’t know, that means pizza places around Portland are slinging some amazing, inventive pies just for you. Check out the PWM (Pizza Week Map) to plan your pizza crawl. Here are a few of our suggestions to get you started: Paladin Pie’s Pauper Prince (bacon jam, pimento cheese, and Cheez-It crumbles), the Bada Bing from Scottie’s Pizza, which pairs Brie, pistachio pesto, balsamic drizzle, and cherries, and Baby Doll’s slice that combines corned beef, sauerkraut, provolone & mozzarella cheese, and green onion on a pepperoncini aioli base. But you’re probably not gonna go wrong anywhere. Happy pizza eating!
IN NATIONAL/WORLD NEWS:
• Lori Chavez-DeRemer has stepped down from her position as Trump’s labor secretary, amid investigations of misconduct. Chavez-DeRemer is well-known by Oregonians as the former US Representative for the state’s 5th Congressional District. (She was ousted by current Rep. Janelle Bynum in 2024.) Now, she’s out of her new job in DC, too. Chavez-DeRemer’s resignation comes amid an apparent investigation into alleged misconduct—she’s been accused of having an affair with a subordinate, drinking on the job, and misusing taxpayer money for personal travel expenses. Look, can you really blame her? She was just trying to fit in with her colleagues in the Trump administration. For real, though, Chavez-DeRemer was not a good labor secretary, but she certainly doesn’t stand among her cohort of amoral weirdos in the Trump administration. Her resignation is the third recent high-profile departure from the administration, following Kristi Noem and Pam Bondi’s recent exits.
• The FBI director doth protest too much, methinks: Let’s turn now to FBI Director Kash Patel, the 46-year-old frat bro best known for his embarrassing behavior partying with hockey players at the Olympics earlier this year. Patel’s affinity for boozing it up has been clear, but a recent article in The Atlantic illustrated the extent of his (ALLEGED) drinking problem and struggles leading the FBI. But Patel is now taking accountability for his behavior. Just kidding! As we all know, the first step in recovery is, uh, suing a news outlet for publishing a story that alleges you have a drinking problem. Yesterday, Patel filed a $250 million (!!) defamation lawsuit against The Atlantic for the article, called “The FBI Director is MIA,” published last week. Patel described the article as a “malicious hit piece.” Well, good luck. Defamation suits are very difficult for plaintiffs to win, especially when there’s good evidence and sourcing to back up the article’s claims. But suing over this (for a quarter of a billion dollars, no less) is a great way for Patel to prove he’s actually totally fine and not defensive about his drinking at all!!! And it certainly won’t draw even more attention to the article and its embarrassing claims.
• Satirical news organization The Onion has a new deal to take over Alex Jones’ far-right conspiracy site Infowars, after winning an auction for the media company in 2024. The plan is to turn Jones’ site, which has spread harmful conspiracy theories for many years, into a parody of itself. If the plan comes together, it’ll be one of the greatest stories of comeuppance ever told. Alex Jones is already a parody of himself, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t caused real harm. Nobody knows this better than the families who lost their children in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, who Jones spent years spreading malicious lies about, prompting harassment and threats from his unhinged followers. Jones was eventually ordered to pay the families $1.3 billion for harms, bankrupting him. It’s unclear exactly when The Onion deal will settle out, with more potential legal hurdles to overcome, but come on—this is exactly what we need right now.
• Oh! (Tucker Carlson still sucks, by the way. Don’t let anyone convince you otherwise.)
• Finally, your treat for the morning. Have a great day, everyone!
