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Portland Mercury

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Mercury 2025 Recap: Portland City Council's First Year

Portland Mercury ·

2025/12/30

We asked councilors to reflect on their achievements and give us a sneak peek at what's to come in 2026. by Courtney Vaughn This story has been updated with additional input from Councilor Clark. This year marked a new beginning for Portlanders after 100 years of local government operating at a glacial pace. It was the first under Portland’s new form of government. A series of voter-enacted charter changes included

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Best Bites of 2025: The Savory, the Sweet, and the...

Portland Mercury ·

2025/12/30

Mercury food critic Andrea Damewood on the ten best things she tasted this year. by Andrea Damewood I’m always conflicted about how to feel at the end of the year. Like, things were shitty (and for, like, at least the sixth year running). But within that, there are also moments of sweetness. I think that’s where we owe Portland’s restaurants a big debt of gratitude. It’s tough out there, but our chefs and servers

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Despite DOJ Intervention, Portland Police are Still...

Portland Mercury ·

2025/12/30

A grand jury declined to indict officers who used deadly restraint on a man with schizophrenia in June. His family is weighing legal options. by Courtney Vaughn Teri Johnson never expected justice. Her brother Damon Lamarr Johnson died in June after being restrained by Portland police for several minutes as they tried to take him into custody for behavioral health evaluation. A medical examiner’s report concluded

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Immigrant Rights Groups Allege Multnomah County Jail...

Portland Mercury ·

2025/12/30

A lawsuit claims the US Marshals Service is using local jails to hold detainees for immigration enforcement. by Abe Asher A group of immigrants rights organizations are suing Multnomah County, claiming the county and its sheriff’s office are violating Oregon’s sanctuary state law. The suit, filed in circuit court earlier this month, claims that Multnomah County is unlawfully agreeing to hold individuals detained

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One of Portland’s Few Black-Owned Music Venues is...

Portland Mercury ·

2025/12/30

The Heights owner claims predatory lease terms left him in default. His landlord says payments were missed even after a rent reduction. by Nolan Parker One of Portland’s few Black-owned music venues is facing eviction from its location in Southeast Portland. The Heights lounge and event space was founded in 2024 by local musician Jermaine Malone. Since then, it’s operated out of a 3,800-square-foot space on SE

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Mercury 2025 Recap: Environmental News

Portland Mercury ·

2025/12/29

The new Portland City Council established a Climate Committee and pushed back against Zenith Energy, Portlanders fought for Forest Park, and more. by Mercury Staff Climate and the new City Council Portland’s new City Council started grappling with the city’s climate issues as soon as councilors took office at the beginning of this year. One of the Council’s first acts of business in January was to establish eight

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The Mercury’s Do This, Do That: Your Top Events for...

Portland Mercury ·

2025/12/29

Nothing says "2026" like a cowboy prom and a very '80s vampire flick. by Lindsay Costello It's the last week of 2025, and all those other Do This, Do That events are so last year. Here's a fresh roundup to round out your week, including events featuring complicated comedians, hot vampires, and honky tonk opportunities. Plus, New Year's matcha and a journaling session set you up for self-actualized success in

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The Trash Report: Clip Show!

Portland Mercury ·

2025/12/29

Take a trip down garbage memory lane with the best gossip from 2025! by Elinor Jones Happy holidays, Trash Pandas! 'Tis I, Elinor Jones, coming to you live from the weird vortex between Christmas and New Year's Day. In the spirit of this being the laziest, dirt-baggiest week of the year, this week's column is a compilation of my favorite morsels of trash from throughout the year. That's right friends: it's a clip

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THE BLACK BYLINE: Top 10 Takeaways from 2025, A Wild...

Portland Mercury ·

2025/12/29

Naked Bike Ride reflections, police antics, Black innovation, and more! by Donovan Scribes (fka Donovan Smith) Portland, in addition to being my hometown, is many things. “War-ravaged” is not one of them. 2025 brought us a slate of memorable, profound, troubling, and laugh-to-stop-from-crying moments: ramped up terrorism from ICE, groundbreaking reclamation efforts from Black Portland, and thousands of people

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Do My Boner Pills Have A Time Delay?

Portland Mercury ·

2025/12/27

by AnonymousBeen loving my time in Portland so far. I even got invited to my first orgy! It was supposed to be a post Christmas bash and I decided to get ready for it properly and timed my 'enhancement' to kick in right near the start. Unfortunately, it was cancelled last minute and I was left with most of the evening with nothing to do. Not only that, but I discovered that my pills were pretty weak sauce after all, as they didn't have

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The Day After

Portland Mercury ·

2025/12/26

by Anonymous One of my favorite days of the year, December 26. No more fucking Christmas music!

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A Moment in a Coffee Shop

Portland Mercury ·

2025/12/26

Remembering the year that was, and the Portland that’s actually Portland. by Ben Coleman This time last year I was sitting in a quiet cafe trying to decide if Portland was any different from anywhere else. This was one of those eclectic, slightly hippie-ish coffee shops that used to be more common: colorful walls, mismatched armchairs, a big chalkboard advertising a local chess night and a knitting club. It

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Happy New Year’s Eve! What to Do on December 31

Portland Mercury ·

2025/12/26

Nolan Parker, Lindsay Costello, Suzette Smith, Shannon Lubetich, Wm. Steven Humphrey, Janey Wong, Bri Brey, Jenni Moore, Julianne Bell by Nolan Parker As 2025 comes to a close, let us reflect on what a wild year it has been. 2025 blew the doors off all of our expectations clocking in at 525,600 minutes, 365 calendar days, and 12 distinct months. Can you even believe it? It’ll be hard for 2026 to keep up, but hopes

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Mercury 2025 Recap: The Top 10 Most Read Stories of...

Portland Mercury ·

2025/12/26

A failed National Guard takeover, Portland protesters in high gear, and City Hall shenanigans marked a very busy year. by Wm. Steven Humphrey It's been a huge, busy 2025 for Portland, with a brand new 12-person City Council settling (and occasionally stumbling) into their new roles, important elections, Trump's failed efforts to embed the National Guard in the city, and—as usual—Portland making headlines across the

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Thank You TriMet Operators Who Keep It Warm

Portland Mercury ·

2025/12/24

by Anonymous Thank you to all the bus/MAX drivers who keep it warm inside. Nothing sucks more than being soaking wet and being stuck on somebody's bus with zero heat and most of the windows open. It's official winter and it can get quite cold. Even the vibe can get kind of dark and make everyone, not just myself, miserable. So thanks again to those who turn on the heat, and turn it on full blast if you keep the front two windows (or a

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The Mercury's 10 Favorite Romance (and Romantasy)...

Portland Mercury ·

2025/12/24

Escape into airplane lust, dragon eggs, and lessons in queer flirting. by Melissa Locker Between the meet-cutes and the enemies-to-lovers tropes and the sweet feeling of new crushes and the spicy oh-god-don’t-let-my-parents-walk-in moments, there is no better form of escapism than romance books. And in this year, in this economy, under this administration, we all need a little escapism (and won’t judge anyone’s

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Hear In Portland: Getting "Lit 4 the Holidays" with...

Portland Mercury ·

2025/12/24

Jenni Moore by Jenni Moore We have officially entered the slow season, but we’re giving you a handful of local music-related things to enjoy. In this last Hear in Portland of 2025, we are recommending you check out the Thesis at its new location on Alberta, plus two new songs by Portland R&B artist Rachel Wong, and that you mark your calendars for Brandi Carlile’s visit to Moda Center in March. Merry Christmas,

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The Fringe

Portland Mercury ·

2025/12/24

by Anonymous I just looked up what this hairstyle of cut is considered because of some boy at work who clearly takes pride in that fluff on the top of his head that flows down to the bangs just above his eyes that he's always kind of flipping that hair out of his eyes but it always rests perfectly in place right above his eyes and stays exactly that way for the whole day. Then I looked up and started seeing almost every high schooler

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The '99-'00 Blazers Squad Get Their Roses

Portland Mercury ·

2025/12/24

Corbin Smith by Corbin Smith The 1999-2000 Portland Trail Blazers squad was an excellent basketball team. A group of grinders, bruisers, and guys who sincerely believed in team basketball, managed a 59-23 win-loss record, took that season's eventual champions to seven games in the Western Conference Finals, and set a personal statistical record that may never be topped. A deep, multifunctional squad who could

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The Mercury’s Favorite Visual Art Shows of 2025:...

Portland Mercury ·

2025/12/23

New artists and art spaces made Portland feel like its old self. by Lindsay Costello The most memorable exhibitions this year made a mess, rejecting pristine gallery walls in favor of fish skin, plastic bags, and lived-in spaces like a mall corridor and a home garage. Artists viewed art itself as inhabitable—Ginny Sims turned walls into spaces for dimensional scenes, and Lydia Rosenberg’s experimental lamps gave

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