PORTLAND DRIZZLE

🦝 A damp, gray 48°F Tuesday — classic Portland purgatory. Rain likely through the afternoon, possible snow tonight. The WNBA's self-imposed deadline to save the Portland Fire's inaugural season hits today, and 50-plus arts groups just dropped a letter demanding the city finally spend $8.5 million sitting idle in the arts tax fund.

Portland's shiny new WNBA franchise, the Portland Fire, exists on paper, has a logo, has a coach, has a GM, has a 15,000-seat fanbase of season-ticket holders — and has exactly zero players. That's because the league set today, March 10, as the deadline to reach a new collective bargaining agreement with the players union before the 2026 season starts coming apart at the seams. The two sides remain far apart: players want roughly 26% of gross revenue, the league keeps countering with 70%-plus of net revenue — which sounds bigger until you factor in that "net" means after the league subtracts its own expenses first. The players' union has already authorized a strike. Without a deal today, the Fire can't hold an expansion draft, can't sign free agents, can't trade for players. Caitlin Clark suggested both sides just get in a room and shake hands. Even Breanna Stewart agreed. The league responded by… exchanging more written proposals over the weekend. The first game of the Fire's inaugural season is supposed to be May 8. The clock is ticking.

More than 50 Portland arts and culture organizations sent a letter to city officials Monday demanding the release of roughly $8.5 million in unspent arts tax funds — the same arts tax every Portland resident earning over $1,000 a year is legally required to pay $35 for. The city has been quietly sitting on the growing reserve for years, with no policy authorizing it and no plan to use it, all while slashing nonprofit arts grants by 44% in the most recent funding cycle. Small organizations are fighting to keep their lights on. The city's response so far: the Office of Arts and Culture says reserve levels "fluctuate normally." Council President Jamie Dunphy, to his credit, is calling for reform and wants to explore taxing Netflix subscriptions to fund the arts going forward. In the meantime: your $35 is in a drawer somewhere, and the Portland Lesbian Choir is worried about next year.

Portland Police Bureau's Human Trafficking Unit conducted a multi-day operation along Northeast 82nd Avenue last week, resulting in several arrests. The corridor — long a flashpoint for street-level sex work and exploitation — has drawn renewed attention since the city's new leadership pledged more proactive enforcement. PPB hasn't released the number of arrests or the names of those charged, but confirmed the operation targeted both buyers and those suspected of exploiting victims. Advocates who work with trafficking survivors are cautiously supportive of enforcement but stress that arrests alone don't address why people end up on 82nd in the first place — poverty, addiction, and a shelter system that still turns people away. The operation is ongoing. If you have information, PPB's tip line is 503-823-4106.

L'Échelle | SE Division The most bittersweet opening in recent Portland memory. This French(ish) bistro from the collaborators of the late Naomi Pomeroy honors her legacy with steak au poivre, French onion soup, and lush cocktails in the former Woodsman Tavern space. Melancholy and magnificent. Website

On March 10, 1957, the gates of Bonneville Dam closed and Celilo Falls — a sacred Columbia River fishing site for Native tribes for over 10,000 years — was submerged forever under rising water. Gone in hours.

Well…

The West Hills might be wearing a little white hat this morning — the rest of us just get the cold rain. Dress in layers, bring an umbrella, and maybe pack some solidarity snacks in case your PCC professor is on a picket line when you get there. See you Wednesday.

by Michael Simpson Contact: [email protected]