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! The smoke appears to be moving to a secret third location today, meaning Portland’s air quality is comparatively pretty good on the […]
City Council
Posted inGood Morning, News!
Good Morning, News: Police Funding Initiative Falls Short, America’s Global AI Blunder, and Drought Led a European City to Blow Up a Riverbed
Good morning, Portland! Let’s all try to stay safe, avoid breathing too much polluted air, and look out for each other. Today’s forecast is hot and toxic. There’s a heat advisory in effect now until Thursday night, with a high of 94 degrees and unhealthy air blanketing the region. IN LOCAL NEWS: • A ballot […]
Posted inGood Morning, News!
Good Morning, News: Wildfires Everywhere, People Still Hate Data Centers, and Maybe Business People Trashing on Portland Was a Bad Idea After All.
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! July is wrapping up, and the hottest thing in town this August is the 10-day forecast. These trends don’t appear to be […]
Posted inNews
Portland City Council Determines the Lloyd Center Can’t Be Saved
Lloyd Center defenders couldn’t get the Council to intervene in the mall’s imminent closure, but they did spark constructive civic discourse.
The plan to redevelop the Lloyd Center Mall and the surrounding land will go forward, despite two appeals aimed at saving the mall and its ice rink. On Wednesday, Portland City Council cast an initial 10-0 vote to uphold the Lloyd Center Central City Master Plan for the area’s redevelopment. (Two councilors were absent, one […]
Posted inFood and Drink
Farewell to Foie Gras
City Council voted 7-5 to ban the force-fed luxury food.
After multiple months of debates and delays, Portland City Council passed a foie gras ban Thursday, June 4. The ordinance prohibits foie gras, or fatty liver that is produced by force-feeding ducks or geese, from being served in restaurants and sold in retail stores within city limits. Those who violate the ordinance can, after a first […]
Posted inNews
Reporting Live: City Council’s Contentious Budget Meeting
Police oversight board, climate energy fund, and union jobs are on the chopping block
Portland city councilors this week are meeting to discuss amendments to Mayor Keith Wilson’s proposed budget. The city is working to address a $160 million budget gap, and the proposed amendments seek to hold onto union jobs and instead cut management jobs, stop Wilson’s proposal to divert Portland Clean Energy Fund (PCEF) dollars to other […]
Posted inFood and Drink
Highlights from Portland City Council’s Foie Gras Ban Hearing
The juiciest quotes from 90 minutes of testimony discussing force-fed poultry products.
The future of foie gras is on shaky ground in Portland. A proposed ordinance would ban the sale of foie gras within city limits, with restaurants receiving a fine of $1,000 to $5,000 for each violation. Foie gras is a luxury ingredient made by force-feeding ducks until their livers become fatty and enlarged. Proponents believe […]
Posted inNews
Portland City Council Officially Adopts Transportation Utility Fee
The fee will help pay for key road maintenance and safety programs, which have long gone without adequate funding.
The Portland City Council voted Wednesday to implement a fee that will offer a significant new source of funding for the city’s beleaguered transportation bureau. The transportation utility fee will be officially implemented starting in January 2027, coming in the form of an additional charge tacked onto Portlanders’ water and sewer bills. The new program […]
Posted inNews
Should Portlanders Pay Hundreds of Millions for a Refurbished Moda Center? City Councilors Say “Not So Fast”
With local budget cuts looming and Trail Blazers ownership committing to stay in Portland, some city leaders aren’t ready to pull out the checkbook.
On the heels of an intense lobbying campaign by the Portland Trail Blazers, the Oregon Legislature last month passed a $365 million funding package to renovate the Moda Center contingent on the Blazers remaining in Portland under new majority owner Tom Dundon. State leaders trumpeted the passage of the funding package as an economic boon […]
Posted inNews
Hall Monitor
Moving Is the Worst
After a barrage of opposition, R2DToo’s impending move is up in the air.
Posted inNews
Hall Monitor
Portland’s Nonexistent Surplus
We’ve got $11 million extra! Wait, no we don’t.
Posted inNews
Hall Monitor
Accessible Restrooms, At Last?
We’re late, but Portland might finally get a decent public restroom policy.