A cookie topped with a gummy finger, matcha ice cream studded with chocolate-covered mealworms and crickets, a sundae crowned with a life-size gummy eyeball: Portland's Halloween treats have arrived weeks early. Bars across town are getting in on it too, with swamp-themed pop-ups, scary bathrooms, and a cocktail named after a very specific "30 Rock" bit.
— via Portland Mercury, Katherine Chew Hamilton
A judge told Portland Councilor Dan Ryan his phone story doesn't add up, and ordered him to back up his device within a day and explain under oath, by Monday, what really happened to the old one. His account of a trade-in already fell apart once in court filings this week.
— via Portland Mercury, Jeremiah Hayden
Rainy weekend, Portland: duck inside for an Indigenous Peoples Day celebration, a 1911 poor farm turned haunted hotel, and a doll show. Edgefield's ghost tour digs into Room 215's mystery pentagram and reported phantom nurses for $20.
— via Portland Mercury, EverOut Staff
The Klan is fading even as hate groups surge, and Turning Point USA's chapters jumped 180 percent since Charlie Kirk's death. The real story isn't hoods and burning crosses anymore, it's how racism gets laundered by people desperate to avoid the label.
— via Portland Mercury, Donovan Scribes (fka Donovan Smith)
Portland's How Strange It Is returns with a sophomore record that swerves from heavy metal teases to Sonic Youth squalls without settling down. Out October 20, with trumpets, melting guitars, and a live show at Show Bar on the 22nd.
— via Portland Mercury, Ryan J. Prado
Body camera footage shows four officers firing 13 rounds at a homicide suspect pinned by a police K9, killing both the man and the dog, which was hours from retirement. Campbell never fired his own gun; police won't say if they tried recalling the dog before opening fire.
— via Portland Mercury, Courtney Vaughn
Two officers fired nine shots between them before a Gresham homicide suspect and police K9 Kylo both died on September 24, according to newly released PPB video. Both officers remain on administrative leave while the department's passive-voice account draws scrutiny.
— via Portland Mercury, Jeremiah Hayden
This week's Pop Quiz PDX skips the trivia and practices ranked choice voting instead, with categories covering sandwiches, N*SYNC and sexual positions. Results, and bragging rights, drop next week.
— via Portland Mercury, Wm. Steven Humphrey
Forget the wet-shirt Colin Firth version: this Pride and Prejudice opens with a club-beat dance breakdown and features a vampire-walk seduction of a walking stick. Portland Center Stage's irreverent, double-cast romp runs through October 25.
— via Portland Mercury, Candice Taylor
I-5 through the Rose Quarter reopens by midday Thursday, weeks ahead of its planned five-week closure. Plus: a city councilor's spouse traded in the phone he was court-ordered not to wipe, and Trump's midterm cash promises mostly won't reach you.
— via Portland Mercury, Suzette Smith
Seven free ticket giveaways, one deadline: the Mercury's contest covers George Clanton, Floater, Glitterfox and more, but entries close October 12 and winners get notified the following Monday.
— via Portland Mercury, Mercury Promotions
A judge barred Dan Ryan from wiping his personal phone the same day his spouse traded it in for a new one. The device had been set to auto-delete messages every 30 days since March, raising questions about whether city records on it still exist at all.
— via Portland Mercury, Jeremiah Hayden
Oregon's 2027 legislative session is still 100 shopping days off, but anti-poverty advocates are already bracing: 38,000 residents lost SNAP benefits between January and July, and up to 200,000 could lose health insurance under federal law. Add a tight governor's race and a shaky revenue forecast, and "affordability" is shaping up as the fight that defines Salem next year.
— via Street Roots, Tom Henderson
$5 symphony tickets exist for SNAP recipients, plus free passes for library cardholders at the ballet, art museum and Japanese and Chinese Gardens. A first visit to Arlene Schnitzer Hall for Abel Selaocoe's show prompts a case for classical music as communal, not exclusive, kicking off this week's Mercury Music Picks.
— via Portland Mercury, Starly Lou Riggs
Three new PACs funneled campaign cash through a pass-through scheme to hide who paid for Portland's roadside billboard blitz, a new complaint alleges. Meanwhile, the Secretary of State clears Portland's police chief of political meddling in a city council ouster push, and hundreds storm PPS headquarters over looming school closures.
— via Portland Mercury, Courtney Vaughn
Experimental duo ear turned Portland's the Den, a usually 21-plus EDM venue, into an all-ages show for one night. The sold-out Thursday bill also brings producer cranes and Asa Smiles, the sister act making her Portland debut.
— via Portland Mercury, Emerson Brady
PPS just named up to 14 schools that could close under two budget-driven scenarios, with dozens of boundary changes and a board vote expected by year's end. Nearly every targeted school serves mostly students of color, and teachers are already pushing back.
— via Portland Mercury, Wm. Steven Humphrey
A 182-page complaint accuses a Chamber-aligned PAC of spinning up three shell committees to hide who's funding anti-Mitch Green billboards. The filer flags 15 potential violations, including a $60,000 transfer with mismatched dates and check numbers.
— via Portland Mercury, Jeremiah Hayden
A Benson Polytechnic student accused of releasing toxic gas in the school faces 19 charges, including attempted aggravated murder, with a hearing tomorrow deciding if he's tried as an adult. Also: TEGNA investigates KGW's decision to dig up a Blazers broadcaster's teenage tweets, hours after the team abruptly fired him.
— via Portland Mercury, Taylor Griggs
Loukoumades, hip-hop named after Cheddar Bob, and the Trail Blazers Fan Fest all land this weekend as Portland's fall event calendar kicks into gear, with the 73rd Annual Greek Festival anchoring a lineup that spans book fairs, dairy-themed rap shows, and crisp October weather.
— via Portland Mercury, EverOut Staff
