Elliot Njus

Over the last decade, employment at factories supplying the world’s largest athletic apparel brand expanded dramatically in regions of Indonesia where, according to one leading estimate, the minimum wage is less than the amount workers need to live on. theoregonian.visitlink.me/BrrRlx

A judge in a courtroom

Multnomah County's district attorney sidelined a local judge from hearing serious felony cases, a time-out that's lasted months. His justification hasn't been reported until now, by @zane.bsky.social: www.oregonlive.com/crime/2026/0...

Sap drips from a tap in a tree

The Northeast has long monopolized domestic maple syrup production, but some in the Northwest are hoping to tap the market — with a more complex syrup derived from native bigleaf maple trees. @jamiehale.bsky.social reports: www.oregonlive.com/business/202...

Federal officers violating policy by firing pepper balls, using pepper spray against passive protesters

@oregonian.com

www.oregonlive.com/crime/2026/0...

The Oregon Legislature is moving toward imposing a 1-year moratorium on major new tax breaks for data centers.

This is a big, surprising reversal. Gov. Kotek had been pushing to expand data center inventives.

www.oregonlive.com/silicon-fore...

As Oregon's data center tax breaks have grown they've become more expensive to manage.

Counties want help covering those costs. They're not getting it, so they're opposing Gov. Kotek's economic development bill (which further expands data centers' tax breaks.)

www.oregonlive.com/silicon-fore...

You can buy tickets for this Portland music festival now, priced between $125 and $500.

But just two months out, Soundscape Northwest only has a few venues on board, and it's missing required permits. Vendors and venues say they haven't been paid.

@lizzyacker.bsky.social reports:

Gov. Kotek says data centers’ impact on Oregon is “not sustainable” at the current growth rate, citing impacts on water, energy and community resources.

But she's pushing ahead to expand tax breaks through a program that primarily benefits data centers.

www.oregonlive.com/silicon-fore...

Much bigger data center tax breaks on deck in Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek’s bill Data centers' Oregon tax breaks were worth nearly $500 million last year. They could be much bigger in the future.

Many states are considering reining in tax breaks for data centers, citing rising energy costs and environmental impacts.

Gov. Tina Kotek's economic development bill would take Oregon in the other direction, substantially boosting the state's data center giveaways.

The mystery of the Les Schwab pinball machine: how a tire company prop ended up in an Astoria arcade The custom game, featuring plastic “free beef” steaks and company slogans, can be played at Galactix arcade on the Oregon coast.

This is the kind of quirky, insightful, distinctly Oregon bit of whimsy that only @editorswindler.bsky.social can deliver.

Portland airport’s latest terminal renovation will fix one lingering annoyance The roughly 300,000 square feet of space includes new storefronts, big art and, crucially, a faster walk to baggage claim.

PDX is getting ready to unveil the newest additions to its main terminal: roughly 300,000 square feet of space on both ends that will include new storefronts, bathrooms, a revamped baggage claim and, yes, shorter walks to the exits.

Self-driving cars, limits on needle handouts: These are among the dozens of bills that are dead in Oregon’s short session The pile of discarded bills began to grow in the past week as two key deadlines came and went.

Dozens of bills are dead in the Oregon Legislature today after a key deadline. From self-driving taxis to restrictions on needle distribution, here's what didn't make the cut.

@carlosfuentes.bsky.social reports:

Sad to see my final story written during my time at The Oregonian running today. I had gotten to know her while reporting a project and remember nervously pitching her on the idea of writing her obituary. "It would be a blessing," she told me. RIP, Avel Gordly.

The last two Chinese restaurants in Portland’s Chinatown hold on — and hope for a comeback Golden Horse Seafood and the Republic Cafe are the last of the longtime eateries serving a neighborhood that was home to generations of Portland’s Chinese and Japanese residents.

The last two Chinese restaurants in Portland's historic Chinatown are barely holding on. Owners say the neighborhood is coming back — but customers haven't.

@editorswindler.bsky.social reports:

‘Excessive and disproportionate’: Police criticize feds’ tear gas tactics at Portland ICE protests Lawyers for the city and state are seeking friend-of-the-court status in the suit filed by protesters and freelance journalists against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Portland police criticized feds’ tear gas tactics at ICE protests as "Excessive and disproportionate"

@maxbernstein.bsky.social reports:

PGE will expand to Washington state, acquiring swath of PacifiCorp territory PacifiCorp will get an infusion of cash as it grapples with growing wildfire liabilities.

Portland General Electric is expanding its territory, taking over Pacific Power’s service and assets in a swath of Washington state

Education, interrupted: A Portland school grapples with blending high-needs students and mainstream classrooms Portland Public Schools’ four-year-old effort to include students with profound medical or behavioral needs in general education classrooms carries promise and challenges.

Portland aimed to integrate students with special needs into general education classrooms at their neighborhood schools, but the bumpy rollout has been paused.

The U.S. needs leading-edge chip research. Can Intel deliver? Will it even try? The nation's semiconductor factories would be "stuck in time" without the research work Intel does in Oregon.

The government is pouring billions into leading-edge chip factories. But without advanced R&D in the U.S., too, those plants would rely entirely on overseas tech — “stuck in time” in case of a disaster in Asia.

Intel’s Oregon researchers could be the solution, if they can deliver.

‘We’re in uncharted territory’: 5 dire warnings from scientists about what Oregon’s snow drought could mean for the state’s future Climate scientists say conditions could be a preview of the new normal as the Pacific Northwest enters uncharted territory with critically low snowpack across the region.

Oregon's snowpack is the lowest on record. It might get worse, @lizzyacker.bsky.social reports, this year and in years to come.

“Who’s this rando in my feed?” (clicks) “Oh right, Group Project Gregory from freshman year.”

The algorithm: “This guy’s obsessed!” (weeks of notifications about Group Project Gregory)

Trump drops appeal of Oregon ruling barring National Guard deployment Lawyers for Oregon, California and Portland ask appeals court to remand case to federal district judge for "monitoring and enforcement."

The Trump administration has dropped its appeal of a ruling that barred the deployment of the National Guard in Portland, @maxbernstein.bsky.social reports:

Portland has been under a declared housing state of emergency for 10 years and counting.

VERY MUCH

Self-driving Waymo cars could soon hit Portland’s streets under proposed Oregon bill Waymo has recently ramped up its expansion efforts both in Oregon and other states.

Waymo coming soon to Oregon?

OpenAI says it's committed to local news, evidenced by expanding its investment in Axios Local. At the time the partnership was announced, Axios said it had hired 100 local reporters to cover 34 markets — 2.9 reporters per city*.

*Including some in Portland I respect very much

She crusaded for workers’ rights at Nike’s Indonesia factories. She says the work isn’t done Cicih Sukaesih led fellow Indonesian factory workers in a strike, part of a movement that led Nike to create its first code of conduct.

In the 1990s, she crusaded for workers in Nike’s Indonesia factories. She quoted in American newspapers as Nike battled bad press over sweatshop conditions.

Today, she survives on donations from abroad.

More from @matthewkish.bsky.social:

Nike says its factory workers make nearly double the minimum wage. In Indonesia, workers say, ‘It’s not true’ The Oregonian/OregonLive spoke with roughly 100 workers in Nike’s second-largest production hub. None said they made anywhere near twice the minimum wage.

Nike says its factory workers make nearly double the minimum wage. In Indonesia, workers say, "It’s not true."

@matthewkish.bsky.social reports

Powell’s Books lays off more workers in what it calls ‘final’ round of cuts The Portland bookseller cut about one-fifth of its staff over the past year.

Powell's Books laid off more workers this week in what it called the "final" round of cuts in a yearlong organizational shakeup. Veronica Nocera reports: