Maybe being sick with the flu to start the new year is actually a good omen somehow???? This god forsaken illness got me engaging in magical thinking

Update: the city will allow the DQ drive-thru. www.portlandmercury.com/news/2025/12... efiles.portlandoregon.gov/record/17614...

It should be possible to heat your house during the winter without also drying out your entire body. Anyone who suggests I drink more water is getting blocked btw

The point of a podcast is to listen to it. The hosts need not gussy themselves up to record it. If I have to put on makeup to be on your “podcast” I’m DECLINING

Ok

TriMet’s Safety Response Team is billed as an unarmed alternative to police on public transit. Now, workers say they need more support themselves and are organizing a union. What’s driving the push—and what it could mean for the future of the program.

I wish I’d never even heard of the Portland Trail Blazers

A business owner's effort to rebuild a historic Dairy Queen on SE Division and 56th Ave faced problems from the start. Now, the franchisee is duking it out with the city over the inclusion of a drive-thru at the ice cream shop, which he thinks is necessary for the DQ to succeed.

1/ At bargaining yesterday, @propublica.org management said that they should have 100% discretion to replace workers with AI and would not commit to labeling future AI-generated content.

I went deep on some drama over a DQ drive-thru in SE Portland. The franchisee is arguing with the city over his right to include a drive-thru, despite strict zoning rules. It’s sparked debate among neighbors, many of whom are nostalgic for the old DQ, which this business owner demolished in 2019.

Initially included a “fuck you, David Sedaris” here but I took it out because the truth is he still maintains a special place in my heart, even though he sucks now. Thx @christenmccurdy.bsky.social for the recap of the Sedaris New Yorker piece on Portland. www.portlandmercury.com/good-morning...

Nurses at Legacy Emanuel hospital are raising alarm bells, saying hospital policies accommodating immigration enforcement agents violate the code of ethics they swore to uphold.

Despite the efforts of tech CEOS, plenty of people are tired of generative AI. A group of Portland artists made their positions on AI known at a recent forum discussion at Mother Foucault's Bookshop. Speakers shared their takes on the machine takeover—and suggested potential ways to push back.

Look at the central city riverfront of Portland. It's just so shocking and embarrassing that we tolerate this.

A Portland Police Bureau officer is under investigation after he was arrested last month on domestic violence charges. ✍️ Courtney Vaughn

PCEF is still doing exciting things! But they’re kinda doing it outside the public eye now that the City Council isn’t responsible for approving their grant allocations. Here’s a rundown of some of the projects the clean energy fund will pay for in this year’s community grant cycle.

I’m late to this but this is a bad article. Among the major flaws: the journalist—and California lawmakers—treated a 16-year-old girl and her friends as experts on e-bike and traffic safety because of their personal experiences. With respect to teenage girls’ capabilities, they’re not.

This sucksssss

After just over a year of bargaining, union employees at The Stranger, the Portland Mercury, EverOut, and Bold Type Tickets have just ratified their first-ever contract! 🥳 🎉 🥳 🎉

Jantzen Beach, Oregon 😍😍😍

If my haters saw how I perfectly tempered six egg yolks to create a smooth and creamy custard their perspectives on me would change QUICKLY.

Assuming those signatures are legit, Gov. Tina Kotek will want to start getting ready to lay off hundreds of ODOT workers -- or finding another option. A successful referral would freeze taxes Dems say they need to fund those positions. #orpol

The campaign hoping to refer Oregon's newly passed gas tax increase to next year's ballot now says it has more than 150,000 signatures -- roughly double of what it needs. #orpol

Much better than blowing it up.

Most comedians who post short-form skits online today are just reheating Jake and Amir’s nachos. Comedic innovation stalled out at CollegeHumor in 2009.

For a few blissful minutes I was happy. I guess that’s all I can ask for……

Dan Ryan attempts to make an apology for saying other councilors’ agenda aligns with the “national socialist” agenda in a newsletter and Instagram post earlier this week. Councilor Morillo interrupts to say it is a “non apology.” Pt. 1

For the loved ones of someone killed in a traffic crash, every day is a day of remembrance. But many others need a reminder of the devastating human toll traffic violence takes each day. On Sunday, Portlanders gathered to honor the lives lost and demand action to prevent more needless deaths.

It seems likely that City Council will pass legislation banning AI rental price-fixing at tonight's meeting. But the Council's conversation about the ban has raised interesting questions (and caused some drama, too). For example, do renter protections necessarily mean reduced housing development?

I have written a lot about the perils of poorly maintained (and leaf-filled) bike lanes. That didn’t stop me from wiping out in one just now, falling on my face and scraping up my knee pretty badly. This is a truly hazardous situation, @pbotinfo.bsky.social. When are you going to do something?

NEW: DOJ is appealing last week's decision in the National Guard case out of Oregon to the Ninth Circuit. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

We may not have their influence on local elections (I’d argue no one Portland newspaper does) but I’m grateful for the shoutout in this article about The Stranger’s endorsements. Also so glad the Mercury’s news team has grown since last fall!!! Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2025/11/14/t...

It's very hard to get good and current data on immigration arrests, but an OPB analysis of what's available confirms what many have suspected: Oregon saw a major uptick in arrests last month.

Governor Tina Kotek signed a new state transportation funding package into law on Monday. Later that day, two state legislators and an anti-tax advocate filed a petition with the state in hopes of sending a referendum on the bill’s tax increases to Oregon voters.

First, Portland got a Mayor Wilson. Now, there’s going to be a Mayor Wilson in Seattle. At this rate, every city in America will have a Mayor Wilson by 2050. Is this the future we want????

Revoke my Oregonian card because I don’t like hearing about exploding whales, past or future. I think we should live in awe of those gorgeous, huge creatures who roam the vast sea, blessing it with their songs. It is okay if you find joy in the exploding whale but this is simply my truth.

Oregon Sen Bruce Starr, Rep Ed Diehl, and Taxpayers Association of Oregon founder Jason Williams have officially filed a petition against the state transportation package, which Governor Tina Kotek signed into law today. stopthegastax.com

My son Seamus died 15 years ago today. He was killed by a careless driver in a crosswalk. He walked at 9 months, almost as if he knew he wouldn’t have much time. His favorite thing to do was throw rocks into water. He loved the moon. He called butterflies “buddy buddies.” I miss him every day.

Moderate Democrats saw that voters were energized and might expect something from them, so they needed to put a stop to that ASAP

We used to build MAX lines and now we’re debating whether we can afford paint for bus lanes bikeportland.org/2025/11/07/t...

Portland City Council will consider an amendment next week to redirect $4.3 million from the city program that sweeps homeless encampments. If passed, the budget adjustment will instead invest $2 million in rent and food assistance, and support for immigrants and refugees.

Portland is setting up a new, more powerful police accountability office approved by voters in 2020. Whether current staff will be guaranteed jobs under the new structure is central to ongoing labor negotiations, and the dividing lines at City Hall are getting complicated.

Mamdani cracks 1M votes, the first NYC mayor to do so since John Lindsay in 1969

JUST IN: Mamdani, a democratic socialist and state assemblymember, will make history as the first Muslim and South Asian person — as well as the youngest in over a century — to serve as New York City mayor.

In a move lawyers called “highly unusual,” Portland City Council apparently declined the terms of a legal settlement over the city’s adherence to the Oregon Bike Bill. Now, a $6 million settlement agreement—intended to fund bike infrastructure projects around the city—is in jeopardy.

Dan Ryan voted with his colleagues in July to refer the Portland parks levy measure to voters. But the councilor, who once oversaw the city’s parks bureau, now says he can’t support the tax increase to support local parks services. Critics say Ryan’s denunciation is shortsighted and puzzling.

Sneaking this in before your feeds are flooded with election results. Portland City Council approves lots of legal settlements, but councilors were skeptical of this $6 million agreement — the result of a 2022 lawsuit over Portland’s adherence to the Oregon Bike Bill. What happens next is unclear.

Donald "Green New Deal" Trump strikes again!