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Posted inNews

PSU Lays Off 17 Academic Faculty Members As Union Talks of Potential Strike

Portland State University’s professors union says independent financial analysis shows stable cash reserves, raising questions about the necessity for layoffs.
Avatar photo Kevin Foster

Amid an $18 million budget deficit, Portland State University is laying off 17 non-tenure track faculty, citing “changes in programmatic and curricular needs.” The university issued layoff notices on Dec. 13. While the current layoff plans are less severe than the 94 notices sent to staff a few months ago, the faculty union, PSU-American Association […]

Posted inSavage Love

SAVAGE LOVE: Crop Top

“My boobs won’t stop growing, so I’m undergoing top surgery—and my husband is distressed.”
Avatar photo Dan Savage

My boobs began to get bigger — apropos of nothing — in my early thirties. A lot bigger. No weight gain, they just started growing and didn’t stop. I hated it. I’m very active, and they were heavy and miserable and got in the way. So, I had a breast reduction and had never been […]

Posted inThe Trash Report

THE TRASH REPORT: In Honor of Short Kings. Plus: Ingenius Legal Defense Strategies, Bears in Portland, and Portland in Song

Enjoy this classic edition of The Trash Report from our garbage can archives!
Avatar photo Elinor Jones

[Our Elinor Jones is taking a well-deserved trash-free vacation this week, so please enjoy this CLASSIC edition of The Trash Report from May 22, 2023!—eds.] Hello, my sweet baby Trash Pandas! If nobody has told you yet today, you are a darling goblin whose mere existence dramatically increases global average human sexiness by several points, and […]

Posted inGood Morning, News!

Good Morning, News: County Considering “Catastrophic” Tax Cut, East Coast Drone Panic, and ABC News Caves to Trump

Avatar photo Wm. Steven Humphrey

If you’re reading this, you probably know the value of the Mercury’s news reporting, arts and culture coverage, event calendar, and the bevy of events we host throughout the year. The work we do helps our city shine, but we can’t do it without your support. If you believe Portland benefits from smart, local journalism […]

Posted inNewsblast!

YOUR SUNDAY READING LIST: A New Type of Protest, the Drag Queen of Your Nightmares, and Take the Mercury Sex Survey!

Avatar photo Wm. Steven Humphrey

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 […]

Posted inNews

Affordable Housing Advocates Warn Slashing Supportive Housing Tax Could Be Catastrophic

As the regional government considers a handful of changes to the Supportive Housing Services tax on high-income earners, social service providers are sounding the alarm.
Avatar photo Courtney Vaughn

Dec. 17: This story has been updated to clarify the status of SHS spending by Multnomah County. Since its rollout in 2021, Metro’s Supportive Housing Services tax has raked in nearly $912 million to help prevent evictions and transition people from homelessness to housing. But as Metro Council faces pressure to help lower the tax […]

Posted inHear In Portland

Hear in Portland: PDX Jazz’s Once-In-A-Lifetime Erykah Badu Concert

Plus, Cool Nutz planned a Christmas-themed hip-hop “Festivale,” and Ural Thomas plays his own 85th birthday party.
Avatar photo Jenni Moore

This week’s Hear in Portland touts two local music events to check out this month—in between all of December’s holiday revelry and frantic shopping. We’ve got a birthday show for an 85-year-old local music treasure and a two-day Christmas-themed hip-hop “festivale.” Also, ICYMI, neo soul icon Erykah Badu’s special Portland concert—as part of the 2025 […]

Posted inSex Survey

Hey Sexy! Take the Mercury’s 2025 SEX SURVEY!

How sexy was Portland over the past year? LET’S FIND OUT! (It’s anonymous, so tell us EVERYTHING!)
Avatar photo Wm. Steven Humphrey

🚨 CALLING ALL SEXY PEOPLE! 🚨 The horniest time of the year has arrived—which means it’s time to fill out the absolutely smoking-hot, annual Mercury SEX SURVEY! In this partially scientific (but 100 percent fun) survey, we want to know HOW Portland does it, WHERE they’re doing it, and WHO they’re doing it with. For […]

Posted inGood Morning, News!

Good Morning, News: Portland Protesters Plot New Path, Restaurant Sues City for $2.4 Million, and Biden Sets Commutation Record

Avatar photo Wm. Steven Humphrey

If you’re reading this, you probably know the value of the Mercury’s news reporting, arts and culture coverage, event calendar, and the bevy of events we host throughout the year. The work we do helps our city shine, but we can’t do it without your support. If you believe Portland benefits from smart, local journalism and […]

Posted inNews

Disillusioned, But Determined: Portland Activists Plot a Path Forward As Second Trump Term Looms

Recent Portland protests paled in comparison to those of 2020. Are demonstrators giving up or writing a new game plan?
Avatar photo Adlai Coleman

“I’m regularly asked two questions, almost daily, since I started a year ago,” said Portland Police Chief Bob Day at a press conference on November 1. “What’s gonna happen on election day? What’s gonna happen during the week of the elections?”  Flanked by various law enforcement officials, Day’s message was clear: The city had “diligently […]

Posted inNews

With $850 Million Secured, ODOT Plans to Break Ground on Rose Quarter Project

A recent funding allocation gives ODOT enough to start the long-awaited I-5 expansion—but the agency doesn’t have enough to finish the rest of the project.
Avatar photo Taylor Griggs

Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) officials say after years of planning amid financial and political uncertainty, the state can finally begin work on its plan to expand and cap I-5 through Portland’s Rose Quarter next year.  But the agency is still hundreds of millions in the hole for the project, and its current construction plan […]

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