YOUR SUNDAY READING LIST: A Potential Leaf Blower Ban, So-Called “Avid Cyclists,” and Who Doesn’t Love a Drag Queen Roast?

GOOD MORNING, SUNDAY! It’s the perfect time to catch up on some of the great reporting and stories the Mercury churned out this week! (PRO TIP: If you despise being “the last to know,” then be one of the first to know by signing up for Mercury newsletters! All the latest stories shipped directly to your email’s in-box… and then… YOUR HEAD.)

• Loud, Polluting Leaf Blowers May Be on Their Way Out of Portland

Portland City Council will soon be voting on the future of gasoline leaf blowers in the city. Proponents of the ordinance say the gas-powered devices are toxic to public health and the environment, and urge the city to act as fast as possible to ban them.

Taylor Griggs

• THE TRASH REPORT

Calling all Trash Pandas! 🦝 This week: Jill Biden gets fierce, Rihanna’s private concert, and some pre-pandemic style Justin Bieber gossip! 👂

ANNA MONEYMAKER / GETTY IMAGES

• STREET VIEW

What people *really* mean when they call themselves an “avid cyclist”: Taylor Griggs drops some truth in her first “STREET VIEW” column about all things Portland transportation. 👀

Taylor Griggs

• Grab-and-Go Food and Beverage Kiosks at the Moda Center Spark OLCC Inquiry

Stores using Amazon technology to sell self-service alcohol are trying to comply with state laws. One employee says it’s not going well.

SWEETBABEEJAY/GETTY IMAGES

• Project Pabst Music Festival Provides the Portland Piece in STRFKR’s 2024 Tour

Project Pabst’s returns to Portland’s Waterfront Park this summer. Will the outdoor music festival manage to contain the bigness of STRFKR’s Portland fanbase?

CORINNE SCHIAVONE

• Poison Waters Turns Up the Heat at Her Own Charity Roast

If you missed the charity roast of Portland Drag icon Poison Waters, we’ve got a rundown of the evening and some of our favorite burns.

Suzette Smith

• Hear in Portland

In our music column this week: Waterfront Blues Festival 2024 lineup, Young Gifted and Black plan a party to rebrand, and checking in with Portland rapper Milc and beatmaker Televangel.

Ben Harper (photo MICHAEL HALSBAND)

• The Best Things To Do in Portland in March

Tulip festival? Check! Top-notch comedy? Check! Portland’s favorite chorus and worst bike ride? Check! March is packed with things to do in (and near) Portland. Plan accordingly.

Bad Bunny

• Portlanders Gather for Community Vigil After Death of Nex Benedict

The death of Nex Benedict, a non-binary teen in Oklahoma, sparked questions about school bullying, while shining a light on the needs of LGBTQ+ youth. Community members recently gathered downtown for a vigil to remember and mourn Benedict.

Kevin Foster

• Theater Review: Sanctuary City Follows Two Undocumented Teens Through the Chaos of the US Immigration System

For fans of thinking about a play for days and weeks after: Third Rail Repertory’s deft adaptation of “Sanctuary City” by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Martyna Majok is a gorgeous mosaic of lived experience.

OWEN CAREY

• SAVAGE LOVE

“Should I dump my girlfriend before or after we join a kink/swingers club?” Actually, it’s a bit more complicated than that as Dan Savage discovers in this week’s column.

Joe Newton

WOW, THAT IS A LOT OF GOOD READIN’. I hope you didn’t have any other plans this weekend! Dig in, and remember: Producing all this hard work costs moolah—so please consider contributing to the Mercury to keep it all coming! Thanks!