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Posted inHoliday Guide 2024 🎅

Zen and the Art of Holiday Pet Sitting

I’m permanently estranged from my family.
 Here’s what cats and dogs have taught me.
Avatar photo Lindsay Costello

  [Editor’s note: Read all our holly jolly HOLIDAY GUIDE articles here. Looking for a print copy? Good! You can find it in more than 500 spots across Portland with this handy map!]   From etymonline.com: estrange (v.) late 15c., from French estrangier “to alienate,” from Vulgar Latin *extraneare “to treat as a stranger,” from […]

Posted inHoliday Guide 2024 🎅

Knives Out: An Extremely
 Sharp Holiday Gift Guide

Everybody wants a good knife.
 Here’s where to find the best in the land.
Avatar photo Andrea Damewood

[Editor’s note: Read all our holly jolly HOLIDAY GUIDE articles here. Looking for a print copy? Good! You can find it in more than 500 spots across Portland with this handy map!] For your favorite home chef or local line cook, a new knife is a thing of glory—and it’s even better when someone else […]

Posted inHoliday Guide 2024 🎅

Fairytale of Old Portland

A love letter to a less shiny city, and the teenagers, insomniacs,
and eccentrics who populated it.
Avatar photo Ben Coleman

[Editor’s note: Read all our holly jolly HOLIDAY GUIDE articles here. Looking for a print copy? Good! You can find it in more than 500 spots across Portland with this handy map!] It was December 25, 2013, and everyone in the gay steakhouse was getting amiably drunk. It was one of those Portland winters that […]

Posted inHoliday Guide 2024 🎅

Eight Vinyl Gift Ideas for the Holidays

Nothing says “you’re cool” like the gift of vinyl.
Avatar photo Jenni Moore

[Editor’s note: Read all our holly jolly HOLIDAY GUIDE articles here. Looking for a print copy? Good! You can find it in more than 500 spots across Portland with this handy map!] The holidays are a great time to support your loved one’s passions (read: greatest obsessions) by splurging on vinyl copies of their favorite […]

Posted inHoliday Guide 2024 🎅

Fantastic Holiday Treats
(and Where to Find Them)

A roundup of the best holiday sweets and snacks for your festivities.
Avatar photo Martha Daghlian

[Editor’s note: Read all our holly jolly HOLIDAY GUIDE articles here. Looking for a print copy? Good! You can find it in more than 500 spots across Portland with this handy map!] Throughout centuries of human civilization, people have sought out ways to combat the darkness and cold temperatures of winter: from ancient temples that […]

Posted inHoliday Guide 2024 🎅

What’s the “Holiday” in Holiday Beers?

Local brewers describe the secret ingredients that put their beers in the holiday spirit.
Avatar photo Joe Streckert

[Editor’s note: Read all our holly jolly HOLIDAY GUIDE articles here. Looking for a print copy? Good! You can find it in more than 500 spots across Portland with this handy map!] Every year around November, beer aisles and bottle shops get seasonal. Winter ales appear on the shelves right around the time frost starts […]

Posted inHoliday Guide 2024 🎅

Christmas Music for Every Mood

Four examples of music that take a decidedly
different spin on the holidays.
Avatar photo Corbin Smith

[Editor’s note: Read all our holly jolly HOLIDAY GUIDE articles here. Looking for a print copy? Good! You can find it in more than 500 spots across Portland with this handy map!] Over the years, the recording industry has managed to create Christmas music for every mood. Thousands of sad piano takes on “The Christmas […]

Posted inCulture

Cosplay Break: Bask in the Charm of Costumed Fans at Kumoricon 2024

After 20 years, Oregon’s largest anime convention is still volunteer-led and bursting with enthusiastic energy.
Avatar photo Corbin Smith

More than twelve thousand fans descended on Portland last weekend to celebrate 20 years of Kumoricon, Oregon’s largest convention for appreciators of anime and the content world that surrounds it. From Friday through Sunday attendees competed in video game tournaments, stood in as chess pieces in human-sized games, browsed the works of hundreds of artists […]

Posted inOpinion

Portland’s Ranked Choice Voting Was a Success (Despite What the Oregonian Claims)

The newspaper asserts that Ranked Choice Voting “cratered” voter engagement. That’s bullshit.
Avatar photo Wm. Steven Humphrey

Starting in January 2025, Portland will have the most diverse, and politically balanced City Council in the history of our city. Full stop. The reason why we’re able to celebrate this indisputable fact is thanks to charter reform and ranked choice voting, which allowed citizens from every demographic and Portland neighborhood the opportunity to serve […]

Posted inNews

As Traffic Crash Fatalities Rise, Portland Auditor’s Office Recommends Changes to Vision Zero Program

PBOT leaders say they’ve already addressed many of the auditor’s recommendations. They also say the scale of Portland’s traffic violence crisis is too big for just one bureau to address.
Avatar photo Taylor Griggs

The Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) adopted its Vision Zero Action Plan in December 2016, with the goal of eliminating traffic crash deaths and injuries in the city. But in recent years, Portland has seen its highest numbers of traffic injuries and fatalities in decades. Pedestrians have faced a heightened risk of traffic violence in […]

Posted inNews

City Council Urged to Postpone Vote on Controversial Downtown Service District Contract

Citing ethical issues and potential conflicts of interest, advocates want the city to halt a no-bid contract renewal that would funnel millions to the Portland Metro Chamber.
Avatar photo Courtney Vaughn

For years, Portland has collected fees from property owners in enhanced service districts to pay for added cleaning and security services in designated areas. The districts are typically concentrated around businesses, offering private security, extra policing, janitorial services, and more recently, removal of homeless camps.  Some stakeholders say the city has yet to confront the […]

Posted inSavage Love

SAVAGE LOVE: Mourning in America

Advice for those who feel like democracy has abandoned them.
Avatar photo Dan Savage

Dear Readers: Well, fuck. Reading a sex-advice column at a time like this — to say nothing of writing a sex-advice column at a time like this — might seem a little pointless. But I’ve lived long enough to know that seemingly pointless distractions, small comforts, and guilty pleasures have the power to sustain us […]

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