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Good Morning, Portland: There’s so much going on this weekend that the local section of this edition of Good Morning News! has turned out to be a bit of an ode to Portland. While there’s still a ton of news—mostly bad of course, it is 2026 after all—it’s worth noting that despite the persistent narrative that Portland died in 2020, this city is actually quite wonderful and so are you, fellow Portlander. 💐
With that in mind, let’s read the news. 📰
IN LOCAL NEWS:
- As Portland and Multnomah County face grueling budget cycles in the coming months, both local governments are deciding how to spend dwindling resources to address the homelessness crisis. Over the course of nine months—a two-year project in total—a research team at Portland State University had the novel idea to ask homeless residents what they need to get into housing. The final report, out Thursday, offers nuance to what a growing body of studies have found are the most effective ways to address homelessness. The answers are largely financial, with 98% of survey participants saying they want to move into permanent housing, but are afraid they won’t be able to afford it. Read more on the full study here.
- If you ever venture out of Portland’s central city to the eastern edge of town, you’re likely to witness some remarkable traffic sins. It isn’t rare to see people speeding down the median to pass cars daring to drive 30 in a 30, or other truly wild behavior. The chaos didn’t materialize on its own. East Portlanders say they’ve long been ignored by local government, which promised sewers and sidewalks but mostly just delivered the sewers. For the Mercury’s transportation issue, we spoke with City Council President Jamie Dunphy, one of three representatives of East Portland, who has been particularly outspoken about the inequities in Portland streets, and what the city is doing to make East Portland transit more accessible and safe. You can read this online here, or performatively hoist a print copy on the bus for the next month!
- 🚌 🚲 🚃 🚗 🛵 🚶🏻♀️
- Check out Mercury Music Picks here for live music recommendations for this weekend. Lots going on, including minimalist composer Clarence Jensen at Holocene, post-punk-ish locals Forty Feet Tall at High Limit Room, the legendary Mix Master Mike at The Get Down, and much more.
- Portland isn’t just a music city, it also has space for a other fantastic arts and culture events, like the Brookly-based visual artist Laura Burke’s show at Chefas Gallery, Drag queen Alyssa Edwards’ performance at the Roseland, and the absurdist, joyfully Portland Ladd’s 500 bike race, where you might even run into a few Mercury folks on wheels. For more of this weekend’s good stuff, check out Do This, Do That, here.
- Also this weekend at Artists Repertory Theater is E.M. Lewis’ Apple Hunters! The play is about four men in search of a rare apple. Of course, they’re actually searching for what it represents: youthful friendship and vulnerability. But they can’t talk about that, so they look for the apple. The short, 70-minute play represents the end of Lewis’ six years as playwright-in-residence at Artists Repertory Theatre and highlights both the value of Portland’s Fertile Ground Festival and Artists Rep’s investment in contemporary plays. Here’s one actual theatergoer quote: “Men would rather hunt apples than go to therapy.” The Mercury’s very own Suzette Smith reviews the play here so you can know a bit before you go. SS
- Attention smarty pants! It’s time for another noggin-scratchin’ and fun POP QUIZ PDX! In this week’s brainy local trivia quiz: magazine-destroying capitalists, crazy/unbelievable myths, and the (very much unwelcome) return of Rene Gonzalez. (UGH! Him again?) See how well YOU score! SH
IN NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL NEWS:
- President Donald Trump may have backed off his threats that “a whole civilization will die” on Monday, but he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continue their efforts to kill a whole civilization as of Friday. Forces have struck Beirut, Lebanon after the two imperialist regimes argued a two-week ceasefire agreement does not apply to Lebanon, only Iran. Well, this weekend, Pakistan is hosting peace talks, and the US is sending its best diplomats: Vice President and Hillbilly Elegy memoirist J.D. Vance, alongside the president’s son-in-law and is-he-AI? nepo baby Jared Kushner. There is a lot riding on this meeting in Islamabad, and the world sincerely hopes for a peaceful resolution. Read more on the weekend’s talks here.
- On Thursday, the AZ Mirror reported that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents moved detainees out of a facility in Mesa, Arizona in the days before two Democratic representatives visited the facility. Records show the days surrounding their visit were lower in capacity than days in which they were not visiting. This morning, the local paper is continuing reporting that congressional leaders were shocked to find people packed “like sardines” at the holding facility during a surprise visit Thursday night. The facility is supposed top out at 157 detainees (exactly 157 more than God himself would allow), but at times the facility has reportedly held up to 800 people. The reps estimated the facility held about 250 people during their surprise Thursday evening visit to the facility, which is located at the Mesa-Gateway Airport. Read more here, and a quick reminder that this is why we support local journalism.
- And this is a quick reminder that AI cannot do stories like the one above, TYVM:
- Before you say anything else, mom, I just want you to know that I did not, I repeat, Did NOT, put my hand in the cookie jar when you weren’t looking, and the photo you have of me doing it is inconsequential. Melania Trump went ahead and held an impromptu press conference Thursday to say that she never had a relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, and urged Congress to hold a hearing with survivors of his abuses. The First-Lady’s statement was a welcome change for House Oversight committee members, who said they have been wanting to hear directly from victims for months, but were told it was impossible. There’s no way to know what motivated the sudden calls, and even Trump said he wasn’t aware this would be happening. Which does check out, since Trump is in a phase of life where he appears rarely to know what’s actually happening. Either way, justice for Epstein’s victims is non-negotiable. Read more here.
- Ahhhh, the old “don’t forget who you work for” trick:
- I just left a hipster coffee shop where I overheard many people asking if this is the kind of thing that happens when you put the world’s most careless dumbasses in charge of things they don’t know about, and let them run off in pursuit of some culty ideological end:
- 😳 Well, I hope your weekend goes better than this toilet paper distribution center in California, or better than the guy who lit it up. (FWIW, labor unions can help provide far less spectacular forms of recourse for workplace issues.)