The Mercury provides news and fun every single day—but your help is essential. If you believe Portland benefits from smart, local journalism and arts coverage, please consider making a small monthly contribution, because without you, there is no us. Thanks for your support! 

Good morning, Portland!  Temp check: We'll be in the high 60s today. Prepare for overly hot weather tomorrow 🥵, and then, *fingers crossed* some much-needed rain over the weekend.

But first, here's the news.  

This Thursday is May Day—also known as International Workers’ Day—and Portland is showing up. From a rally hosted by the Portland Association of Teachers on May 1 to weekend events for the working stiffs who can't call out, Portlanders have options for how they want to celebrate workers' rights.

If the day's title reminds you more of a ribbon-strewn maypole than workers’ rights, you’re not alone. Though May Day emerged out of the tumultuous US labor movement in the late 19th century, it’s far more celebrated internationally than it is in the US. But given the full calendar of events in Portland this year, more and more people seem to be catching on. 

What is now known as May Day started as a massive, nationwide general strike on May 1, 1886, in which hundreds of thousands of workers walked off their jobs, demanding an eight-hour workday. In subsequent protests police and workers clashed. Some of these demonstrations—most notably the Haymarket Affair in Chicago—ended in tragedy. Both workers and police were killed, and labor activists were rounded up and punished, some by death. 

In the following years, labor advocates from around the world decided to commemorate the 1886 general strikes, deeming May 1 International Workers’ Day. While it took years of worker action—and, arguably, the Bolshevik Revolution—for the eight-hour work day to become the norm in many countries, the first May Day protests were instrumental in strengthening the international labor movement. 

As the American labor movement weakened, May Day’s significance waned in the US as well. (It also faces competition from Labor Day in September.) But for labor advocates around the world, and dedicated activists in the US, May Day has always been a day to celebrate—and demand more for—workers. And with nationally-known labor figures like United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain calling for a general strike on May Day 2028, the holiday is gaining more mainstream recognition. 

This year, the federal government’s attacks on workers, immigrants, and marginalized people across the board make May Day commemorations all the more relevant and important. Here’s the Mercury’s roundup of ways to commemorate International Workers’ Day this year. 

We have a new cadre of Oregon Book Award winners, the prized title bestowed upon the state's storytellers by letters-loving nonprofit Literary Arts. In addition to seven awards for works in specific genre categories, the organization also recognized the founders of two reading-focused efforts—Street Books and A Kids Co.—at a special ceremony Monday night.

Street Books founder Laura Moulton accepted the Stewart H. Holbrook Literary Legacy Award, which recognizes "significant contributions that have enriched Oregon’s literary community." Moulton started out in 2011, with a RACC grant to fund a mobile library for people living outside, day laborers, and low-income residents. Over time, the little book carts pulled by cargo bikes have come to additionally carry social services resource guides, pamphlets and zines about legal rights, blankets, hygiene products, and harm-reduction supplies, like Narcan/naloxone and fentanyl test strips. 

Jelani Memory, founder of A Kids Co., accepted the Walt Morey Young Readers Literary Legacy Award to recognize his children's book company's contributions to young readers—publishing over 30 books on difficult / oft-avoided subjects like racism, menstruation, empathy, and self-harm, among others.

From 212 titles submitted to the 2025 awards for genre works, panels of out-of-state judges whittled down 35 finalists. The finalists and winners from each category are below. Literary Arts alternates its awards for published play scripts and graphic literature every other year, and 2025 is a year to recognize drama. Comics are back on the menu next year.

FICTION, Ken Kesey Award

Miriam Gershow, Survival Tips: Stories (Propeller Books)

Victor Lodato, Honey (Harper/HarperCollins Publishers)

WINNER: Kimberly King Parsons, We Were the Universe (Knopf/Penguin Random House)

Charlie J. Stephens, A Wounded Deer Leaps Highest (Torrey House Press)

Willy Vlautin, The Horse (Harper/HarperCollins Publishers)

Mercury Music Picks is all-city, baby! There’re shows represented in this week’s MMP in all five quadrants. There’s not much better in this life than catching an early show, jumping on your bike to mash across town, and arriving just in time to catch another band you’ve been dying to see. We rag on our public transit, but when compared to cities of similar or even bigger size Tri-Met holds their own—use it! Pay bus drivers more! Pay musicians more! As I’m writing this on Monday afternoon, I’m riding a weekend high of seeing Help and Anthers at Shanghai Tunnel on Saturday and hiking Hamilton Mountain on Sunday. Get out there! There’s so much Portland has to offer…

I’m a 33-year-old bisexual redheaded cis woman from Europe. Last week, I stumbled across the word “gingerism,” and an important part of my life clicked into place. I went down a rabbit hole of stories from other redheads who, like me, have been bullied, hypersexualized, and treated like mythical creatures since puberty. Honestly? It felt like reading my diary, minus the glitter gel pen. Here’s the tea: I’ve always wondered if being a redhead — even while being considered conventionally attractive — has made my life unnecessarily complicated. Spoiler: it kinda has.

 Until my 20s, I was shy as hell. Think quiet girl in the back of the class, just trying to survive. Meanwhile, classmates were publicly speculating about the color of my pubes — seriously — and boys would approach me like I was a one-night fantasy, not a human being. I was either adored or despised, no in-between. For years I thought I was the problem. Fast forward: I toughened up. I got louder, prouder, and way more assertive. Plot twist? Society doesn’t exactly throw a parade when a woman finds her voice. Especially not a redhead. Now I’m constantly walking the line between “sex goddess” and “too much.” Confidence? Misread as sexual suggestion. Assertiveness? Labeled aggressive, arrogant, intimidating. You get the idea. And when it comes to intimacy? Yikes. Way too often, my red hair turns me into a walking fetish. I’ve had multiple partners spring degrading kinks on me without asking — choking, spitting, the works — like redheads come with some kind of BDSM consent waiver. At this point, I’m genuinely afraid that my hair color and gender combo is making my sex life more dangerous than it should be.

I love my hair. It’s a part of me. I wouldn’t change it. But I’m also exhausted from being hypersexualized and misunderstood. So, here’s my question: Have you heard similar stories? Is this a legit issue affecting redheads? And what’s the deal with redheads still being overrepresented in porn as exotic, kinky, or straight-up submissive?

Got Issues, Need Guidance, Everything’s Rough

I’ve heard stories like yours before — upsetting stories about straight men who assumed choking and spitting didn’t require discussion or, you know, getting the consent of the woman in advance of the choking and spitting. But I’ve heard stories like yours from women of all kinds, GINGER, not just redheads. While I certainly don’t doubt that you’ve been subjected to a particular kind of sexual objectification as a redhead — and more on that in a moment — the kind of consent violations you describe are sadly common, GINGER, and all women are at risk.

The Mercury provides news and fun every single day—but your help is essential. If you believe Portland benefits from smart, local journalism and arts coverage, please consider making a small monthly contribution, because without you, there is no us. Thanks for your support!

Good morning, Portland! Today’s forecast says we’ll get sunshine later this afternoon through this evening, after intermittent rain showers. Tomorrow is shaping up to be warm and sunny, and …. good god, we could get temps into the 80s on Thursday. 🙀

In Local News: 

• Funny timing: Portland State University says City Councilor Mitch Green’s recent public comments had no bearing on its decision to drop conduct violation penalties against students. At a National Day of Action for Higher Ed rally earlier this month, Green issued an ultimatum for PSU, saying he wouldn’t vote to support city funding for PSU’s performing arts center unless the university dropped all pending charges against students who protested the genocide in Gaza. Last weekend, the Mercury reported PSU has since withdrawn code of conduct violations against members of a pro-Palestine student group. The university says all decisions about academic penalties are made solely based on the facts of each case.  

With a bracing musical elegy, the three actors of The Brothers Size enter the Armory’s main stage, each announcing his own entrance and joining in song to build a rhythmic performance, invoking traditions of oral storytelling, old negro spirituals, and the echoed songs of a chain gang. "This road is hard, this road is hard and rough," the trio sing, as the lights rise on a stunning set. Designed as two sharply-angled, sloping walkways and placed amidst a towering pile of junk, a set dressing of items like car doors, a bed frame, a rusted shopping cart, and chain-link fencing create an altar built to the everyday, the unthanked, the used and discarded.

Portland Center Stage’s latest production provides a rare opportunity in Portland to see work by a contemporary Black playwright performed by an entirely Black cast. Written by Tarell Alvin McCraney—best known for co-writing the 2016 Academy Award-winning film Moonlight—The Brothers Size explores the relationship between Ogun (Austin Michael Young), a grounded older brother burdened with responsibility and Oshoosi (Charles Grant), his pleasure-seeking, daydreaming younger sibling recently released from prison. When Oshoosi's ex-prison mate, Elegba (Gerrin Delane Mitchell), starts coming around, a tug-of-war ensues between two types of kinship: familial and found.

Updated: 11:55 am April 28

Originally published: 11:47 am April 26 

Note: This story has been updated to include a statement from Portland State University about its decision regarding student conduct violations.

Amid a threat from Portland City Councilor Mitch Green to vote against city funding for Portland State University’s (PSU) new performing arts center, students say the university has dropped all code of conduct violations against its chapter of Students United for Palestinian Equal Rights (SUPER). The violations, which had not been publicly disclosed, were headed to a conduct review meeting before being unexpectedly rescinded, according to SUPER Executive Board leaders Khadija Almayahi and Van Lawson.

At a National Day of Action for Higher Ed protest at PSU on April 17, Councilor Green said he would vote against funding PSU’s new performing arts center if the PSU administration did not drop the charges against students who engaged in pro-Palestine protests.

In a statement provided to the Mercury, PSU maintains the decision regarding student conduct wasn't influenced by the councilor's public pressure on the university.

"Student conduct decisions are, and have always been, made independently and are completely unrelated to any comments by Councilor Green or other external political statements," the statement reads. "At Portland State, it is our policy to enforce content-neutral time, place, and manner rules that support and protect free speech for all members of our community. The student affairs professionals in the office of the Dean of Student Life are trusted to make decisions based only on the facts of each specific case and manage student conduct issues independently based on their rules and the best interests of the students and the campus community."

PSU SUPER was placed on probation in March 2024 for actions earlier that year which were deemed as code of conduct violations. The probation is set to last through June of this year. 

ALERT! ALERT! Noisy Creek, the parent company for the Portland Mercury and The Stranger (in Seattle) is now hiring for a FULL TIME ART DIRECTOR. Could this be you or someone you know? Check out the following job listing, and let's find out!

Job Title: Art Director for Noisy Creek

Salary: $90,000-$120,000 DOE

Noisy Creek is hiring an Art Director to join our vibrant and growing team. This position will lead the design of the print and digital editions of the Portland Mercury and The Stranger, and be responsible for the overall production process. The Art Director will lead and manage the production team to ensure a cohesive and compelling visual identity for these two marquee publications each month, as well as related digital and social assets. This position will have the opportunity to engage on broader creative decisions for Noisy Creek as a whole, and to support key areas of work with the marketing, sales, and product teams. 

We’re looking for an Art Director who is talented, entrepreneurial, and detail-oriented. This position reports to Noisy Creek’s COO / CFO, and works closely with the editors of The Stranger and Mercury, Noisy Creek’s Publisher, and the heads of other divisions to develop the look of digital and print visuals, manage the visual identity of print editions, and provide vision and cohesion across the publications. The ideal candidate will have a collaborative spirit, be entrepreneurial and driven, be a conceptual thinker and excellent communicator, and be able to manage multiple projects on deadline simultaneously.

Requirements
• Lead creative and art direction for The Stranger and Portland Mercury.
• Lead and manage the production team, including a production manager and assistant art director.
 • Work closely with Editors in Chief of both publications to set and achieve print and digital deadlines. 
• Work closely with design and photography staff, freelancers, and printers to facilitate great visuals and layouts.
• Design and layout feature stories, packages, and special sections for print and online versions of the papers, as well as associated digital products.
• Complete work on time and on budget.
• Commission illustration for features.
• Mark up and review design and art work by freelancers and staff.
• Assist with other creative projects on an as-needed basis.

They say April showers bring May flowers, but you can also expect top-notch events from Denzel Curry's Mischievous South Tour to Professor Brian Cox and from The One Motorcycle Show to the Portland Cinco de Mayo Fiesta this week.

MONDAY

READINGS & TALKS

2025 Oregon Book Awards
To add even more titles to your TBR list, don't miss this annual award ceremony, which honors the best in Oregon poetry, fiction, nonfiction, YA, and graphic literature. This year’s ceremony will be hosted by Egypt-born, Portland-based author Omar El Akkad, and finalists include names you might recognize from talks at Powell's, like Willy Vlautin, Kimberly King Parsons, and Jaclyn Moyer. Who are you rooting for? (If you don't have an answer, it's time to get readin'.) LINDSAY COSTELLO
(Portland Center Stage, Pearl District)

Hello, beautifuls! It's me, Elinor Jones, back with another Trash Report for your eyes and your hearts. Did you know that the latest PRINT ISSUE of the Mercury is out now, which is a GUIDE TO FUN?! There's a bonus Trash Report in there. And then Mercury editor-in-chief Wm. Steven Humphrey asked if I had anything else to contribute and I was like, "best I can do is a list of places to disassociate." It's not so much "fun" as it is "not agony"—but hey, we write what we know.

Would you like to check in on news and gossip? Okay!

Rest in Peace

Pope Francis passed away last weekend on Easter. With basically zero knowledge of organized religion, I feel like that has to have irritated some people, but I'm not sure who and don't want to force a joke out of it. Regardless, many outlets have been discussing his life and legacy and he seemed like a pretty decent dude. What I can make a joke out of, however, is that the Pope died shortly after meeting personally with JD Vance, and I am not surprised that Vance sucked all of the Pope's will to live straight out of him. Had that meeting and immediately was just like "woof, I'm outta here."**

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 arts coverage, please consider making a small monthly contribution, because without you, there is no us. Thanks for your support!

GOOD MORNING, PORTLAND!👋

Oh! And if you're an enthusiast of "fun," here's your reminder to pick up the Mercury's latest print issue, "The Fun-Lover's GUIDE TO PORTLAND"! If you've been feeling like, "UGH THE WORLD IS SO STUPID RIGHT NOW AND I HATE IT," then this ish is just the inspiration you need to focus a little more on "fun" and a little less on "planetary destruction." (Of course, if focusing on the latter gets you horny, then have at it, I guess?) And now? Let's have at some NEWS.

IN LOCAL NEWS:

• Students at Portland State University are saying that all code of conduct violations have been dropped against the school's chapter of Students United for Palestinian Equal Rights—and mmmmmaybe the administration's decision had something to with a recent (and controversial) warning issued by Portland City Councilor Mitch Green? The councilor had threatened to vote against city funding for PSU's new performing arts center if the school didn't back off what he felt was a "climate of repression of [the students'] free speech and what felt like overly punitive responses to the protests last spring.” Or maybe the school decided that their actions were just a really baaaaaaad look, and that now more than ever, universities need to be caring more about students and less about a certain blustering, butt-finger sniffer (that would be Trump). Anyway, get all the details from this report by Kevin Foster.

After City Councilor Mitch Green made controversial threats to withhold city funding for Portland State University over its handling of student protesters, students say their penalties were dropped. PSU faced pressure from Green and lawyers representing a pro-Palestine student group on campus.

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— Portland Mercury (@portlandmercury.com) April 26, 2025 at 1:31 PM

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.)

• City Council to Overturn Hearings Officer's Approval of PGE Forest Park Plan 

All 12 members of the council indicated they would reject PGE's Forest Park plan at an appellate hearing last week. Their decision underscores the broader implications of the utility project to people on both sides of the issue. 

• POP QUIZ PDX!

How much do YOU know about Portland's most beloved landmarks? Let's find out in this special "Fun Guide" edition of POP QUIZ PDX! You'll find it online and in our print issue all over town! 🧠

• Mercury Music Picks

Cyberplasm and Help get loud in Old Town, plus Beacon Sound takes over Sou'Wester, three must-sees at Holocene, and Portland music news! It's this week's edition of Mercury Music Picks!

OPENINGS

Bar Hollywood
There's a new watering hole in town for David Lynch devotees: This new bar inspired by the late, great auteur debuted in the space next to the Hollywood Theatre on Wednesday, featuring blue and red walls and even "blue velvet" seating. The opening coincides with Hollywood Theatre's "In Heaven: A David Lynch Retrospective" series, which highlights a curated collection of some of the visionary director's most notable films.
Hollywood District