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 a “rinse and repeat” kind of week weather-wise, with highs hovering around 80 through Friday, with clouds in the morning giving way to mostly sunny skies in the afternoons. And weirdly enough, it’s a “rinse and repeat” week as well for NEWS. Let’s get into it.
IN LOCAL NEWS:
• Welcome to Monday, which means the continuing Moda Center drama will reach a new phase today, as negotiators from the city as well as the Blazers’ rich owners and muckety-mucks will get together to discuss Portland’s term sheet which was begrudgingly approved by City Council last week. For those just catching up, the city has agreed to put up to $400 million over the upcoming years into the already-filthy-rich pockets of billionaire Blazers owner Tom Dundon (who has thus far been unwilling to contribute a single penny) in order to refurbish the Moda with top-notch luxury accommodations. (Note: We’re assuming these will be luxury, since Blazers ownership has thus far refused to reveal what they’ll do with our money. Nice transparency, guys!)
Anyhoo, according to reporting from our Courtney Vaughn and Jeremiah Hayden, the approved term sheet says the city will chip in $120 million toward the renovation in the near-term and another $275 million (your money, too) toward the arena’s upkeep over the next 20 years. In return, and among other things, the city expects the team to pay $3.7 million per year in rent; keep a 6 percent user fee on all tickets sold for events at the Rose Quarter as well as getting all revenue from parking; a promise to play nice with Moda Center union workers, while maintaining development rights on all land parcels adjacent to the Moda Center (working hand-in-hand with groups such as Albina Vision Trust who are un-gentrifying the area). Naturally, Dundon and his obstructive band of greedy capitalists have previously called this term sheet a “non-starter”… soooo, I guess we’ll see where this deal will take us! Pop up some corn, because it’s gonna be a bumpy (and probably infuriating) few months ahead.
• Today in “the city doing things that the city should absolutely NOT be doing”: Amid serious allegations of misconduct at Urban Alchemy-run temporary homeless sites, new public records obtained by the Mercury show the city spent months coordinating with the nonprofit’s public relations firm to help polish its public image. (Umm… WHAT?) An investigation by KATU earlier this year outlined more than 80 complaints filed between 2023 and 2025 alleging staff drug use and dealing at the sites, sexual harassment, sexual assault, and other grievances. But the city appeared concerned with avoiding a potential PR debacle, at times running interference for the contractor by dismissing the grievances as “unsubstantiated,” or blaming Urban Alchemy shelter residents’ mental health challenges for the complaints. (Umm… WHAT?) Portland Solutions—the informal program hub that oversees the city’s shelter system—shared draft documents for responses to reporters’ questions, alerted Urban Alchemy’s PR firm to publication dates, and recommended local journalists who the city thought might publish stories more friendly to the organization. (Ummm… WHAT?) City staff also connected the PR representative to top staff in Mayor Keith Wilson’s office. Additional grievances filed in 2026 have brought the total to at least 156 complaints filed since the nonprofit came to Portland. OKAY, WOW. Check out the full report from our Jeremiah Hayden.
• Promising news from the Big Grass wildfire in Southeastern Oregon: The blaze—which has reached the “biggest in state history” status, and has crossed the border into Idaho—has been 54 percent contained, thanks to the work of more than 1,000 firefighters. However, there’s still a lot of work to be done to douse the wildfire which covers over 300 square miles, but humid conditions are helping firefighters get the job done.
• In case you need a reminder, the Mercury’s extra excellent Climate Issue (edited by our own extra excellent Taylor Griggs) is in print and ready to be picked up at more than 500 locations all around town. You can also read the stories online, and in particular you shouldn’t miss Taylor’s article on Portland’s Clean Energy Fund and the people it benefits. As we know, lots of bad actors (or willfully ignorant people) are trying to rob the fund for their own selfish needs, but as Taylor explains, that money is already spoken for and helping lots of people as well as the environment. Check out the article for an eye-opening look at some of the beneficiaries of this much-needed program. And be sure to share the info with the willfully ignorant who will surely refuse to read it!
• The planned demolition of the fire-damaged and abandoned Centennial Mills building in Northwest Portland kicks off today, with a set of four controlled explosions designed to take down the building’s massive water tower. Expect sirens and text messages in the neighborhood warning nearby residents of the explosions, though the full demolition of the building could take weeks.
• Good news for Portland Fire fans: The Fire racked up the team’s fourth win of the season over the Seattle Storm Friday night, edging out their rivals 84-82 at the Climate Pledge Arena. The win also meant the Fire had a clean sweep of the Storm, this time largely due to the electric work of Oregon graduate Holly Winterburn. Our Stephanie Kaloi has the recap! (Oh and while you’re there, also check out Stephanie’s excellent analysis of the Fire’s chances of making the playoffs this year. As you may suspect, it’s almost unheard of for a new expansion team to crack the top eight, however, Stephanie also provides the analysis, recaps, and receipts that prove it’s not out of the realm of possibility. Fingers crossed!)
IN NATIONAL AND WORLD NEWS:
• It’s always a good day when Trump gets humiliated in court: The president’s partially handpicked Supreme Court dealt him another blow this morning by refusing to throw out a $5 million ruling in which a jury agreed he sexually assaulted writer E. Jean Carroll during the ‘90s. Trump’s lawyers had asked the Supremes to reconsider their earlier refusal to hear their pleas, but were still, like, “NOPE!” Another case, in which the president is asking the Supremes to overturn a second Carroll verdict in which he’d have to pay $83 million is still working its way through the court.
• Dictator-in-training Donald Trump has also ordered the Pentagon to tap the brakes on yearly military exercises with South Korea, out of deference to dictator Kim Jong Un of North Korea—who he greatly admires—and because South Korea has refused to get involved with the president’s ridiculous war against Iran. The exercises were designed to help South Korea protect themselves against threats from the north, but once again Trump is turning his back on a longtime ally to kiss the oily bottoms of dictators (AKA “business as usual”).
• Dementia is obviously setting in fast with Trump, as he once again hopped on social media to blame “VANDALS!” for a patch of dead, flattened grass on the National Mall—ummm… the exact spot where he held a partisan concert for thousands of people on July 4. Apparently still very upset that his previous lies about “VANDALS!” causing damage to the National Mall’s reflecting pool were revealed as bullshit by his hand-picked U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, Trump added that “Anybody who thinks the Reflecting Pool wasn’t vandalized should go back to Law School!” (Sooooo… does that mean he’s going to pay for 90 percent of Americans to go to law school?)
• RIP to actor Hayden Panettiere (from the TV series Nashville and Heroes) who has died at the age of 36. The cause of death is currently unclear, but authorities do not suspect foul play, and in the past Panettiere has spoken openly about her struggles with depression and substance abuse.
• And finally… here’s your Monday morning burst of motivation (from the guy who rides an ATV with a microwave on his head).
