What we know for now:

City of Portland now reports $106 MILLION total in unbudgeted housing funds. More soon.

“The incident was a reminder of their past in Yemen, she said. The pair moved from Taiz, the country’s third-largest city, shortly after their home was hit by an airstrike in 2014.”

Multnomah County officials expect to have $87 million less to pay for shelters, rent assistance and eviction prevention in the next fiscal year. (Meanwhile, City of Portland may have $35M+ more?)

The race for the top spot on the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners has begun. (Election day is in Nov.)

Federal officers in Portland have been blocked from directing or using “chemical or projectile munitions,” including pepper balls, tear gas and other crowd control munitions at protesters outside the ICE facility.

The news of this surprise cache comes two months after the city revealed roughly $21 million in housing dollars sitting unspent in city coffers.

Following a nearly 16-month vacancy, the tribal relations department at the City of Portland has been filled.

Weekend protests in Portland against federal immigration actions were again met with thick clouds of tear gas outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office. Here's what to know about how the city is reacting to tear gas, ICE’s use of force and other factors tied to the facility.

Council President Jamie Dunphy tells @shanedkavanaugh.bsky.social that Jonas Biery, the city’s chief financial officer, informed him Friday night that PHB had “millions” of additional dollars within a housing investment fund that remained unbudgeted. www.oregonlive.com/politics/202...

A large protest, dubbed “Labor Against ICE,” is underway in downtown Portland, with thousands of people gathering at Elizabeth Caruthers Park on Saturday.

“It’s grossly irresponsible,” said Isaac McLennan, president of the Portland Fire Fighters’ Association, the union representing the front-line workers. “There’s no way these cuts could be made without risking public safety”

City councilors want Mayor Keith Wilson to speed up an effort to fine Portland's ICE landlord for his tenants’ use of chemical munitions on protesters.

Alert: We updated this story and @andrewtheen.bsky.social made some headline magic.

FWIW, this failed in committee. But Councilor Green said he's going to find another path to get it before the full council.

One of those magical stories which sparks outrage from... everyone!

Children detained at a South Texas ICE facility led a demonstration yesterday to protest their treatment. “He heard what sounded like ‘hundreds of children’ shouting, with voices he described as ‘high-pitched’ and ‘urgent’… chanting ‘Libertad.’”

On Thursday, 7 yr old Diana Crespo suffered a nosebleed that lasted most of the night. The next morning, Diana's parents took her to urgent care at Portland Adventist Health, but they only made it to the parking lot before they were detained by immigration officers. www.opb.org/article/2026...

Since the city's new camping rule went into effect, data shows 20 people have been charged, but court delays and missed court appearances have kept the citations from advancing. In all cases, those charged with the crime have been released back into the public. No one has spent time in jail.

A progress report on Portland's new public camping ban, two months in:

Ahmed is the third bureau director to be placed on leave in the past year.

2,500 additional homes per year would be about 33% fewer homes than Portland added, on average, from 2006-2024. In other words, this is an achievable goal but one that'd still probably require effort, especially if we don't want prices to rise as much as they did in 2006-2018.

This falls short of the goal set out by Gov. Tina Kotek in her statewide housing production goal to add 250,000 more homes by 2035. Per the city, that goal would require the city add roughly 48,000 new units in eight years.

Now that we've passed the 1,500 shelter beds in one year challenge, Portland Mayor Wilson has a new goal: 20,000 new units in 8 years. Stay tuned.

The Dalles wants to pull more water out of the Mt Hood forest. It says it’s for a growing population, but the city hasn’t grown much in recent years. What has: Google’s footprint. The tech giant uses a third of the city’s water. www.opb.org/article/2026...

me when my friends want to hang out

As a compromise to end hours of deadlocked votes, Portland City Councilor Dunphy was elected council prez and Councilor Clark as VP. Both said they were "reluctant" to take on the roles.

“The termination of a lead union organizer during the fragile, initial phase of a union drive is an exceptionally severe act,” reads the complaint, filed Tuesday with the Oregon Employment Relations Board. This comes a day before the council prez election. Smith is currently a nominee for the role.

“We say Portland is a place where small businesses can thrive but really it’s where small businesses can start. The thrive part is a really tough one,” says Deadstock’s Ian Williams. A program meant to help jumpstart small biz in Old Town falls short for some. By @publicradiogoblin.bsky.social :

“The termination of a lead union organizer during the fragile, initial phase of a union drive is an exceptionally severe act,” reads the complaint, filed Tuesday with the Oregon Employment Relations Board. This comes a day before the council prez election. Smith is currently a nominee for the role.

The two people shot by Border Patrol officers in Portland have been charged & detained. Nino-Moncada is in the county jail, charged w/ aggravated assault on a federal officer & depredation of federal property. Zambrano-Contreras is at the ICE facility in Tacoma, WA, charged w/ illegal entry.

Breaking: A Portland police officer has been reassigned after he was captured on film Friday appearing to agree with the tactics used by federal officers when they fatally shot a Minnesota woman last week.

Several hundred people attended a planned immigrant rights rally at Legacy Emanuel in North Portland today in response to the shooting and allegations that Legacy is allowing ICE to dictate patient care at the hospital. Legacy has denied those claims. www.opb.org/article/2026...

The defense attorney for one of the people shot by Border Patrol in East Portland Thursday spoke exclusively to OPB about his client. Read more here: https://www.opb.org/article/2026/01/09/defense-attorney-disputes-police-narrative-in-portland-border-patrol-shooting/.

Attorneys representing the man shot by federal officers in Portland Thursday are refuting law enforcement’s narrative.

If this wasn't already clear: The Portland council prez vote has been tabled.

"During the evening, as some children ran down 146th Ave playing with sticks, a woman stepped out of her apartment and told them not to speak to each other in Spanish, and not to open the door if anyone came to their apartment."

This story has been updated throughout the day/eve (and will continue to be!). Follow for updates on the feds' shooting of of two Portlanders this afternoon -- and related protests and lawmakers response.

Breaking News: Portland City Council was in session Thursday afternoon and abruptly recessed due to a security concern. City Council President Elana Pirtle-Guiney interrupted the meeting by saying: “Councilors, we actually need to recess immediately.”

More info soon.

Portland City Council in recess indefinitely for security concern. Info still coming into focus.

A recap.

Mtg over, still deadlocked. Will continue tomorrow afternoon. Annnnd I got a parking ticket. A big day for bureaucracy!

Hour six, seven deadlocked votes. It’s getting messy.

For those interested, we're at a stalemate after four rounds of voting. Feels.. familiar.

The director of Portland’s police oversight agency is resigning amid a department overhaul.

Portland’s kicking off the first council meeting of the new year with a political battle. President Elana Pirtle-Guiney wants to keep the job, but her vice president says she is not up for the gig. www.opb.org/article/2026...

The 120-day stay limit policy the city placed on all 24/7 shelters in September is now kicking in.

What can Portlanders learn from year one under a new form of gov't? Some answers:

In Harney County, the occupation pit neighbors against each other. Since then, some residents say the county has tried to put their divisions firmly in the past and move forward together.