GOOD MORNING, SUNDAY! It's the perfect time to catch up on some of the great reporting and stories the Mercury churned out this week! (PRO TIP: If you despise being "the last to know," then be one of the first to know by signing up for Mercury newsletters! All the latest stories shipped directly to your email's in-box... and then... YOUR HEAD.)

• Cash-Strapped Tenants Say Landlords Flout Housing Rules at Low-Rent Apartments

Bed bugs. Mold. Overflowing garbage. They're just a few of the issues that highlight potential systemic problems in Portland’s affordable and transitional housing landscape, where low-income tenants often find themselves with few options and little recourse. 

Kevin Foster

• POP QUIZ PDX!

This week's quizzy Qs include: Offensive Trump bricks, bloomin' cherry blossoms, and... oh no! Your mom's fave store is closing! 😱 See how well YOU score!

TeoLazarev / iStock / Getty Images Plus

• This Lunch Pop-Up Is Bringing Dry-Aged Fish to Portland

At his Aji Fish pop-up, Chef Jeffrey Kim serves simple sashimi bowls with explosively delicate flavors.

Suzette Smith

• Portland Preps for New, “Toes-in-the-Water” Riverfront Park

For years, advocates have been dreaming about redeveloping the underused bowl beach at the south end of Tom McCall Waterfront Park, turning it into a world-class space for recreation and culture. Now, thanks to a Metro grant, Portland can officially begin to plan the future riverfront park.

Human Access Project

 ⁠• Hear in Portland 

Epic upcoming shows from Oh, Rose, Durand Bernarr, and a big Wu-Tang finale this summer. Read all about what’s on the music forecast, Hear in Portland.

Photo by Gianna Snapped

• THE TRASH REPORT

This week: Forever 21 nevermore, celeb divorce drama, and let's move to Kansas City with Taylor Swift! 🧳

Nicholas Hunt/Getty Images

• Tootsie Answers the Call

Gender roles get BLURRY in the final production of Stumptown Stages’ 2024-25 season as the company takes on Tootsie, the Tony-winning musical.

 Photo by Mike Lindberg

• Mercury Music Picks

This week's Mercury Music Picks is here and it's loaded with all the choicest concerts and music news happening in glorious Portland, including MSC, James K., and Frank La Rocca’s Requiem for the Forgotten.

Photo by Zachary Harrell Jones

• Death of a Unicorn Asks: What If Unicorns Make Meat Out of YOU?

Death of a Unicorn betrays an unspoken dream—the idea that Gen Z will fix our messes. How novel to combine the violence of grindhouse with the plot of a straight-to-video moral kid’s fantasy.

A24

• SAVAGE LOVE

"I had sex in a hot tub once... and it ruined my life." OR DID IT? Dan Savage has some expert hot tub and medical advice in this bubbling edition of SAVAGE LOVE.

Joe Newton

WOW, THAT IS A LOT OF GOOD READIN'. I hope you didn't have any other plans this weekend! Dig in, and remember: Producing all this hard work costs moolah—so please consider contributing to the Mercury to keep it all coming! Thanks!