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Posted inNews

Multnomah County Sued Fossil Fuel Companies for Billions. What Happens Next?

The county’s case is playing out amid national efforts to shield fossil fuel companies from climate-related lawsuits.
Avatar photo by Taylor Griggs

In 2023, Multnomah County filed a nearly $52 billion lawsuit against more than a dozen major oil and gas companies, hoping to hold them responsible for climate change and its local impacts. Now, as Oregonians grapple with a historically dire wildfire season and other worsening climate impacts, oil companies want to get the case dropped.  […]

Posted inNews

E-Bike Town

Portland recently launched an e-bike rebate program. The Mercury rode with some recipients to hear their stories.
Avatar photo by Taylor Griggs

Earlier this summer, Sabrina Taylor picked up her new electric bike, purchased with a rebate through the Portland Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund’s (PCEF) new e-bike incentive program. Not long after, she received a wellness check from one of her neighbors, who noticed Taylor’s car was collecting dust after sitting parked for more than a […]

Posted inNews

Transportation Advocates and Neighborhood Groups Seek a “Better West Burnside”

Some Portlanders are concerned about a recently-announced plan to address deteriorating pavement on W Burnside without making further safety changes.
Avatar photo by Taylor Griggs

A coalition of Portland neighborhood associations and transportation advocacy groups are sounding the alarm about a recently-announced pavement resurfacing project on West Burnside Street.  The project, which advocates spotted on the Portland Bureau of Transportation’s (PBOT) website earlier this summer, sets out to fix “failing pavement” and fix non-compliant ADA ramps along a 22-block stretch […]

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Portland Celebrates Biketown Anniversary by Setting a World Record

More than 1,000 people participated in a record-breaking e-bike ride on Sunday.
Avatar photo by Taylor Griggs

Portland now officially holds the Guinness World Record for largest electric bike ride, more than doubling the previous record set in Seattle.  On Sunday, July 19, more than 1,000 Portlanders—1,060, to be specific—participated in a large electric bike ride along the waterfront, and helped secure a world record in the process. The ride was held […]

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.
Avatar photo by Taylor Griggs

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 […]

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Dozens of Complaints Against Police Funding Petition Prompt State Investigation

The Secretary of State has received more than two dozen complaints alleging campaign canvassers are misleading voters.
Avatar photo by Taylor Griggs

Last month, canvassers began collecting signatures for a Portland ballot initiative seeking to use clean energy funds to hire police. Since then, the Oregon Secretary of State has received 28 complaints alleging campaign petitioners are misleading the public about the proposal. The Secretary of State’s office has opened an investigation into the allegations, many of […]

Posted inNews

Road Rules

Police policies allow at-fault drivers to leave certain crash scenes without so much as a ticket.
Avatar photo by Taylor Griggs

In early April, Portlander Jennifer Shuch was biking across Northeast Halsey Street near the Hollywood Transit Center when she was struck by a driver running a red light. The impact, which was caught on video, left Shuch bruised and shaken up, but not seriously injured.  Despite a witness calling 911, no paramedics or police ever […]

Posted inFood and Drink

Farewell to Foie Gras

City Council voted 7-5 to ban the force-fed luxury food.
Avatar photo by Katherine Chew Hamilton

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 […]

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“Chaotic” Middle School Assembly Underscores PPS’ AI Problem

A recent assembly celebrating the district’s partnership with Colin Kaepernick’s AI startup left some parents and teachers disturbed.
Avatar photo by Taylor Griggs

On a Friday last month, some Portland middle schoolers went home from school with new Nike swag and tales of an unusually eventful assembly.  The event, hosted at Beaumont Middle School on May 8, featured former NFL player, activist, and EdTech CEO Colin Kaepernick, Rip City Remix’s DJ O.G. Too, and a bunch of free […]

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Elections Complaint Alleges Canvassers are Intentionally Misleading Public About Police Funding Initiative

Workers gathering signatures for the effort to divert clean energy funds to Portland police are using talking points that don’t line up with the petition’s actual text.
Avatar photo by Taylor Griggs

Two people who were hired to gather signatures for a Portland ballot initiative that would use clean energy funds to hire police say they were trained to mislead the public about the proposal. If true, the conduct would violate state elections rules, and could spell trouble for the petitioners and the company hired to lead […]

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Net Benefits: The Future of Public Tennis in Portland

The US Tennis Association wants to run Portland’s public tennis programs. Advocates say private money will yield benefits, but others are wary.
Avatar photo by Taylor Griggs

A proposal to let the private US Tennis Association (USTA) take the reins of the Portland Tennis Center—and the rest of the city’s public courts—has gained momentum. The plan comes amid a broader push for Portland’s parks bureau, facing budget woes and a growing maintenance backlog, to open its doors to offers from the private […]

Posted inMusic Issue 2026

Turn! Turn! Turn! Wants To Be a “Place for Weirdos”

The venue has new owners. Artistic freedom is welcome.
Avatar photo by Jeremiah Hayden

What follows is one of the many articles in the Mercury‘s 2026 Music Issue. Find a print copy here, subscribe to get a copy mailed to you here, and if you’re feeling generous and want to keep these types of articles coming, support us here.—eds. On a recent weekend, the small music venue at the corner of North Williams […]

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