Business
Amazon has filed a pre-application with Portland's permitting department to build a Prime Air drone delivery center at its North Portland fulfillment facility on N. Schmeer Road, targeting an early 2027 launch for 30-minute deliveries of items under five pounds.
Business
Amazon has filed a pre-application with Portland's permitting department to build a Prime Air drone delivery center at its North Portland fulfillment facility on N. Schmeer Road, targeting an early 2027 launch for 30-minute deliveries of items under five pounds.
Crime
View MoreA 48-year-old man died at the Multnomah County Inverness Jail on Thursday, Aug. 20, after a medical event in his cell, marking the second in-custody death in seven days and the third at county facilities in 2026.
Crime
View MorePortland fire investigators have not determined what caused the Aug. 2 Centennial Mills fire, but two neighborhood theories have emerged — homeless squatters and possible anti-ICE arson — as a Friday, Aug. 14 demolition deadline nears and K9 teams have flagged likely human remains in the rubble.
Crime
View MoreA Multnomah County judge sentenced Wayne Conrad Thompson to life in prison with a 25-year minimum for the 2021 shooting death of Adrian Richardson aboard a TriMet bus on SE Hawthorne Boulevard; Thompson's defense plans to appeal.
Crime
View MorePortland Police Bureau announced three drug enforcement operations on Thursday, Aug. 6, that resulted in multiple arrests and seizures of fentanyl and methamphetamine, the latest in a series of major narcotics busts the bureau has conducted across the city in 2026.
Crime
View MoreMultnomah County Judge Melvin Oden-Orr sentenced Marquavious Dovontae Ware, 23, to concurrent prison terms totaling 75 months for second-degree manslaughter in the death of his son Jahorden Clay, whose autopsy revealed cigarette burns, broken ribs, and severe malnutrition. The case has renewed scrutiny of Oregon's Department of Human Services, which closed an abuse report two weeks before the boy died.
Local Government
The Portland Housing Bureau selected Mercy Housing Northwest and REACH Community Development to build 82 senior rentals in Hazelwood and 24 for-purchase townhomes in Mt. Tabor, awarding $12.3 million in public funds and pushing the city's Metro Affordable Housing Bond total to 2,177 units.
Local Government
Oregon's unrepresented defendant backlog fell from more than 4,000 to 1,104 in one year, with Multnomah County down 57%, but an Oregon Supreme Court dismissal rule has already wiped about 1,500 cases in the county, including 186 robberies.
Local Government
A Street Roots analysis finds only 31% of people offered shelter during Portland camping ban sweeps have accepted, as the city has cleared more than 6,000 encampments since November 2025 and shelter beds are being cut.
Local Government
Emails obtained by Willamette Week show Mayor Keith Wilson rejected a full fee waiver for Portland's Rose Festival and Waterfront Blues Festival, offering a 50% discount for 2026 as both events warn they cannot sustain current costs at Tom McCall Waterfront Park.
Local Government
The Jade Apartments, a 40-unit affordable housing development co-built by APANO and Gorman & Co., opened in Powellhurst-Gilbert as the seventh and final Metro Housing Bond project to open in Portland in 2026.
Local Government
The 9th Circuit ruled Portland State University may have violated the First Amendment when it suspended Cal Jamison McCollough for a vulgar anti-vaccine email, sending the case back to district court.
Local Government
The Multnomah County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously Aug. 27 to push a scheduled 0.8% Preschool for All income tax increase back one year to Jan. 1, 2028, choosing a shorter delay than the two years their advisory group recommended.
Education
View MoreNearly 300 Prescott Elementary students voted on colors for a new mural at the Parkrose School District office, with a community painting event open to all set for Saturday, Sept. 12.
Education
View MorePortland City Council voted 8-4 on Wednesday to advance planning for a new 3,000-seat performing arts venue at Portland State University, choosing the PSU campus over renovating the aging Keller Auditorium. The city administrator's office has until Dec. 1 to finalize a deal with PSU, but no city dollars have been committed yet.
Education
View MoreFive of seven Portland school board members have directed Superintendent Kimberlee Armstrong to plan for closing up to 20 schools, double the spring estimate, as the district faces a projected $65.2 million budget gap and the teachers union mounts organized opposition.
Education
View MoreA former PPS principal removed after a student ingested crack cocaine at Arleta K-8 in 2019 now appears as a kindergarten teacher at Sitton Elementary under a new name, KOIN 6 reports, and the district has not explained how she returned to a classroom.
Education
View MoreTIME magazine ranked Portland State University No. 189 nationally and the highest-scoring public university in Oregon in its inaugural "America's Best Colleges 2027" list, which weights student outcomes at 75%.
Education
View MoreA new PSU Population Research Center forecast projects Portland Public Schools enrollment will fall 14% over the next decade, with high school enrollment already in decline, as the district prepares to discuss closing up to 10 schools this fall.
Public Safety
Crime Stoppers of Oregon will shut down Sept. 30, ending a 43-year anonymous tip program after declining tips, an aging volunteer board and an unresolved data breach at its hosting provider left the nonprofit unable to continue.
Public Safety
TriMet's MAX light rail celebrates 40 years on Sept. 5, but the anniversary comes amid a $300 million budget shortfall and the largest service cuts since 2020, with a state survey closing Sept. 10 that could shape transportation funding in the 2027 legislative session.
Public Safety
Portland Police Bureau released body-worn camera footage on Aug. 26 from the Aug. 12 incident in which Lt. Brent Maxey struck armed suspect Joshua R. Kuras with a police vehicle at 3-5 mph during a foot pursuit in Northwest Portland, triggering a deadly force investigation.
Public Safety
Federal prosecutors announced more than 100 fentanyl trafficking charges in downtown Portland since 2023, with seizures topping 100 kilograms of fentanyl, 40 firearms and $1.3 million in a joint FBI-PPB operation.
Public Safety
PBOT activated a $1.1 million pedestrian hybrid beacon on West Burnside at St. Clair Avenue, closing a 1,000-foot signal gap on one of Portland's deadliest corridors, but the Better Burnside Coalition warns that concurrent repaving without a street redesign could increase vehicle speeds.
Public Safety
A ruptured valve sent 115 gallons of heavy acid flowing inside a North Portland warehouse on Tuesday, Aug. 18, the second major chemical incident in the area in eight days, prompting a hazmat response and leaving regulatory compliance questions unanswered.
Public Safety
Portland's Safe Blocks program held six community events in July 2026, including resource fairs, self-defense workshops at two libraries and a National Night Out celebration at Director Park that drew city and county leaders alongside a dozen public safety organizations.
Community
View MoreThe Soul District Business Association's 15th Annual MLK Dream Run Weekend returns to PCC Cascade Campus on Saturday and Saturday, Sept. 19–20, with a Movement Market, free kids race, and timed 5K, 10K and 15K courses through North and Northeast Portland.
Community
View MoreLiterary Arts unveiled the full 2026 Portland Book Festival lineup on Wednesday, headlined by Portland's Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis alongside Oscar winner Ke Huy Quan, with the festival expanding to a full week running Nov. 2–8 and premium tickets on sale Sept. 17.
Community
View MoreThe Fields Park in Northwest Portland reopens Friday, Sept. 18, around 10 a.m. after a six-week closure for asbestos cleanup following the Centennial Mills fire, though the playground remains fenced pending new sand and bark dust installation.
Community
View MoreThe Portland Polish Festival celebrates its 30th anniversary Saturday and Sunday at Polish Hall on N. Interstate Ave. with free admission, traditional food, folk dancing, live music and a pierogi-eating contest.
Community
View MoreBroadway's history-making "Thoughts of a Colored Man," executive produced by former Nike DEI chief Jarvis Sam, runs Oct. 1–3 at Portland's Brunish Theatre.
Community
View MorePanda Fest, a 25-city touring Asian street food festival, wraps its Oregon debut Sunday at Tom McCall Waterfront Park with 100-plus vendors, 200 dishes and a Portland-specific panda mascot dressed as a beaver.
Business
Amazon has filed a pre-application with Portland's permitting department to build a Prime Air drone delivery center at its North Portland fulfillment facility on N. Schmeer Road, targeting an early 2027 launch for 30-minute deliveries of items under five pounds.
Business
Red Castle Games owner Matthew Mičetić won the SBA's 2026 Oregon Small Business Person of the Year award after growing his SE Foster Road tabletop gaming shop for 16 years, surviving COVID shutdowns and more than $250,000 in losses from 10 break-ins.
Business
NASA astronaut Dr. Michael Barratt, who built his first telescope at OMSI as a child, returns to the Portland museum Oct. 3-4 for a free presentation after more than 446 days in space across three missions.
Business
Siblings Shaymaa Alquriqchee and Ghaith Sahib, owners of DarSalam restaurant, plan to open a six-cart food pod called Discover PDX Food Carts at 4980 NE 23rd Ave. in Portland's Alberta Arts District in mid-to-late September, with a permanent indoor bar phase to follow.
Business
Prosper Portland's board approved the purchase of a 30-unit Concordia apartment building, the agency's first acquisition under its Middle-Income Housing Preservation Strategy targeting households earning 80%–120% of median income.
Business
Phil and Penny Knight pledged $1.1 billion to Providence Health & Services to build Oregon's first women's-only hospital tower at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center, bringing the family's total Providence commitment to $1.3 billion and their combined Oregon healthcare giving past $3 billion in 14 months.
Business
Kevin Orona and German Olivas, who moved from Odessa, Texas, to Portland in 2020, open Hecho de Mano Tortilleria in Sellwood on Sept. 15, selling handmade, vegan flour tortillas and family meal packs.
Sports
View MoreMayor Keith Wilson told KOIN 6 that Moda Center lease negotiations with the Trail Blazers are "fragile" with "no certainty at all" the team stays, and the city still has no identified source for its $120 million commitment as a Dec. 31 deadline looms.
Sports
View MoreDamian Lillard is set to return to the Trail Blazers' starting lineup after missing the entire 2025-26 season rehabbing a torn Achilles, joining a revamped roster under new owner Tom Dundon and coach Micah Nori ahead of media day on Sept. 28.
Sports
View MoreKristoffer Velde scored twice from free kicks, including an 89th-minute equalizer on his birthday, as the Portland Timbers rallied for a 2-2 draw with St. Louis CITY SC at Providence Park on Wednesday, Sept. 9.
Sports
View MoreThe Portland Timbers host Minnesota United at Providence Park on Saturday, Sept. 5, trailing the Loons by one point for the Western Conference's final playoff spot after a stoppage-time loss to Austin FC.
Sports
View MoreThe Portland Timbers lost 2-1 to Austin FC on Saturday night at Providence Park after conceding a stoppage-time goal, dropping to 11th in the Western Conference in their first home defeat under manager Martí Cifuentes and first match without sold striker Kevin Kelsy.
Sports
View MorePortland State built a 21-0 halftime lead over No. 6 UC Davis at Hillsboro Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 29, but the Aggies scored 31 unanswered second-half points to win 31-24 in the Big Sky Conference opener for both teams.
Hip Hop
Multnomah County Library hosts a free, walk-in DJ Skills for Beginners workshop on Sept. 13, part of the system's expanding music education programming.
Hip Hop
Portland rapper Aminé announced his New Balance 'Outdoor School' 992 sneaker, a $220 Made in USA release inspired by his childhood at Oregon's Outdoor School, dropping Oct. 2 as state funding for the program faces a 20% cut.
Hip Hop
The Artist Mentorship Program, which served 20,000 meals and hosted 1,500 recording sessions for homeless youth last year, is moving to a facility three times its current size in Northwest Portland and hosting a two-night fundraising festival Sept. 11-12 at The Star Theater.
Hip Hop
The 13th Annual Montavilla Jazz Festival runs Sept. 4–6 across Portland neighborhood venues with 25 shows, headlined by six women presenting original themed programs including an album debut, a feminist Orpheus reimagining, and a tribute to late Portland jazz icon Nancy King.
Hip Hop
A new mural at My Voice Music's East Portland headquarters features a hidden rabbit honoring late co-founder Ian Mouser, whose nickname among bandmates was "The Rabbit." The unveiling anchors a free block party Sunday, Aug. 30, that also debuts a mobile recording studio.
Hip Hop
Vince Staples closed out PDX Live's fifth season at Pioneer Courthouse Square on Aug. 20 with a punk-band performance of his album Cry Baby, turning Portland's central public square into a sweaty, genre-bending experiment.
Hip Hop
Portland Monthly profiles Queso Queso, the anonymous son of Guatemalan immigrants whose municipal-style tags have blanketed the metro area and made him a local folk hero connecting lucha libre culture, the Chicano Movement and immigration politics to Portland's streets.
Roveena Chand Jassal is the editor of the Cascadia Wire Network, producing community relevant news for residents living in the Portland and Seattle suburbs.
Roveena Chand Jassal is the editor of the Cascadia Wire Network, producing community relevant news for residents living in the Portland and Seattle suburbs.
Roveena Chand Jassal is the editor of the Cascadia Wire Network, producing community relevant news for residents living in the Portland and Seattle suburbs.
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Copyright © 2026. Rose City Beat. All Rights Reserved.