PDX RADAR — March 26, 2026

🔴 TODAY

NINTH CIRCUIT UNLEASHES FEDS AT PDX ICE BUILDING — PROTESTERS LOSE THEIR SHIELD A 2-1 Ninth Circuit panel overturned a lower court ruling that had restricted when federal officers could use force on protesters outside Portland’s ICE facility — the same building that’s been a flashpoint since the Trump immigration crackdown accelerated. The stay is temporary, but the message is clear: the legal buffer protesters had is gone, at least for now. Expect the situation outside that building to get uglier fast.

BLAZERS OWNER’S PREDATORY LENDING EMPIRE IS BANKROLLING YOUR NEW ARENA OPB and ProPublica expose the Trail Blazers’ prospective owners while Kotek is on the verge of handing them hundreds of millions in taxpayer subsidies — the same people Portland is being asked to fund have built wealth through predatory lending.

PCC STRIKE IS OVER — 700 WORKERS BACK, SPRING TERM SALVAGED After two weeks on the picket line, Portland Community College and its classified employee union reached a tentative deal Wednesday night, ending Oregon’s first-ever community college strike.

OREGON LAWMAKERS FIDDLED WHILE THE BUDGET BURNED The short session wrapped and the Oregon Capital Chronicle isn’t letting anyone off easy — legislators trimmed a few tax breaks for the wealthy but nowhere near enough to plug the state’s structural budget hole.

SUPREME COURT COULD KILL OREGON’S LATE BALLOT RULE SCOTUS is hearing a Mississippi case that could invalidate Oregon’s policy of counting mailed ballots received after election day — a ruling here would reshape how Oregon runs every future election.

CHINOOK SALMON HATCH IN UPPER KLAMATH FOR FIRST TIME IN A CENTURY The Klamath Tribes documented naturally hatched Chinook in Upper Klamath Lake — the first in over 100 years — delivering the most tangible proof yet that the massive dam removal was worth it.

OREGON GETS AN “F” FOR PROTECTING PEOPLE FROM GAMBLING ADDICTION A national report ranked Oregon in the bottom 10 states for online gambling harm reduction — and the state’s lottery-addicted budget model helps explain why Salem has no appetite to fix it.

⚡ WATCH LIST

BIG MONEY FLOODING OREGON BALLOT MEASURE PROCESS A Portland private equity executive has filed a barrage of ballot measures pushing pro-sprawl, anti-regulation positions — the opening salvo of what looks like a well-funded campaign to reshape Oregon land use law from the outside.

VIRTUAL SCHOOL DROPOUT CRISIS HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT Oregon’s virtual school enrollment has more than doubled in a decade to 28,000+ students — and dropout rates are significantly higher than traditional schools, with almost no accountability mechanism in place.

OREGON AG WON’T PUSH SUPREME COURT ON FATAL DEA CRASH CASE AG Dan Rayfield declined to appeal a case that could have forced federal accountability for a DEA agent’s deadly crash — a politically radioactive decision that’s drawing heat from victim advocates.

🏛️ CITY HALL / SALEM

MODA CENTER DEAL STILL ALIVE: The legislature’s Blazers arena subsidy plan moved through Salem’s short session, and Governor Kotek remains the key variable — now that the predatory lending story is out, watch for pressure to mount on her to slow-walk or condition the deal.
PORTLAND SANCTUARY CITY POSTURE ESCALATING: Portland.gov is actively publishing its sanctuary city status and federal overreach response on every city webpage — a symbolic but deliberate signal as ICE activity intensifies and the Ninth Circuit ruling removes protester protections.
CHILD CARE INFRASTRUCTURE FUND DEAD: Governor Kotek’s 2024 signature child care program has distributed its final grants and is shutting down — leaving a child care construction gap with no replacement program on the horizon as federal Medicaid cuts loom.

🎯 ONE THING TO KNOW

The Blazers arena deal and the predatory lending story are about to collide in Salem. Oregon taxpayers are being asked to hand hundreds of millions to an ownership group that OPB and ProPublica have now linked to exploitative financial practices — and the governor has to decide whether to sign off before the public pressure builds into something she can’t ignore. This is the local story with the most money, the most political risk, and the least scrutiny so far.