John Tapogna

Yesterday, the "All In on Portland's Central City" report was released. www.portlandcentralcitytaskforce.com/all-in

I had a small part in shaping this report; late last year I met with Emily from ECONorthwest for coffee to discuss projects in the Central City that were each of us were tracking. 1/4

Early post-pandemic numbers suggested the numbers were holding up. But we may have hit a headwind there too.

Big fan of the young and restless, root setters. But we need to broaden our appeal a bit.

Opinion: Portland, the city that works for 28-year-olds Portland continues to attract post-college, young adults, a critical group for bringing fresh ideas and signaling to the rest of the country that Portland still has a future, writes economist John Tap...

With the tax-service proposition so out of balance, it’s fair to ask: is this city working for anyone? It is. But for an increasingly narrow group—post-college, young adults.

Portland has become the 28-year-old city.

www.oregonlive.com/opinion/2025...

Anywhere downtown would be a shot the arm!

A great week in Puglia exploring my Castellana ancestry. Thank you to @pugliaguys.bsky.social for many great recommendations!

@pugliaguys.bsky.social We’re headed to Bari Vecchia today. Where’s the best spot for focaccia and spaghetti assassina on a Monday? And how about an obscure recommendation we wouldn’t have heard of? Thanks for all your suggestions!

Complain all you want, but a new report calls this Oregon city the ‘cleanest metro’ in the country Great water and very few cockroaches!

OregonLive: “It’s Portland metro…Using seven factors – population density, rodent and cockroach prevalence, vandalism, litter, air quality, and tap water quality – each metro was assigned a letter grade.”

www.oregonlive.com/trending/202...

Liftoff on Sandy

Peak Portland

New tariffs' effects on Oregon electronics firms is quite variable, depending on their global factory and supply networks and end markets.

* Analog Devices: ↓ 8.9% this morning
* HP Inc: ↓ 15.4%
* Intel: ↓ 2%
* Lattice Semi: ↓ 9.3%
* Microchip: ↓ 9%
* Onsemi: ↓ 6.3%
* Qorvo: ↓ 6.8%

Portland Apartment Construction Falls to Lowest Level in More Than a Decade

A theme of @ezraklein.bsky.social's excellent book "Abundance" is the way blue states suppress housing and thus increase homelessness. An example from Portland: "inclusionary zoning" rules that are well-meant but have almost halted apartment construction: www.wweek.com/news/2025/03...

The Governor’s top priority is the right one 👇

View of Downtown Portland from the Central Eastside

Beautiful day in Portland today

Beware of The Mental Doom Loop Don't get mad at the data--use it to find solutions.

Mike Thelin on mental doom loops: “When respected economists repeatedly issue warning signs, only to be met with indifference or outright denial, it starts to resemble anti-science rhetoric or other forms of conspiracy thinking.”

foodcities.substack.com/p/beware-of-...

Portland, OR and peak NIMBYism, h/t @holz-bau.bsky.social

Are Teacher Pensions to Blame for Poor Student Performance? Probably Not

Oregon schools would be in a better position if they weren't saddled with legacy pension costs. That said, PERS shouldn't be blamed for the recent, sharp reductions in achievement. More from Joanna Hou @willametteweek.bsky.social

www.wweek.com/news/schools...

Musk inducing Downtown Portland foot traffic on an otherwise sleepy Monday #pdx

Not celebrating. Just reposting the NYT columnist’s perspective.

Opinion | Trump’s First Four Weeks Felt Like Four Years The problem is that if we have another three years and 11 months of this, there won’t be a rule of law left in the United States.

Glass half full. We took one for the team: “Oregon’s experiment with decriminalizing drugs didn’t work, but state governments are really the laboratories for American democracy. So, to the degree that we learned something, it was actually a success.”

www.nytimes.com/2025/02/17/o...

It seems as if the tide has turned on policy and legislation. But I’m more skeptical that we’ve made progress on implementation. Still a lot of permitting/review sludge in local governments and ongoing neighborhood opposition. No?

Hi Dan- I’m guessing Oregon doesn’t appear because of weak coverage/test opt outs. True?

Thanks for checking! Oregon has some work to do.

Portland celebrates a year of not polluting the Willamette River with sewage Portland's sewer system combines sewage and runoff into the same pipes. Sometimes heavy rains cause those pipes to overflow. But a sewer overhaul 14 years ago has drastically reduced this pollution.

It's time to reimagine Waterfront Park and create more access to the Willamette from the park. www.opb.org/article/2025...

If this isn't a wake up call for Oregon education, I don't know what would be. When adjusting for demography, Oregon ranks last on the two 4th grade tests, and bottom five on the 8th grade tests. Highly concerning news for students, their parents, and their communities.

PDX Design Collaborative curates exhibition about Portland’s architectural past, present, and future City of Possibility opens January 31. The exhibition in Portland is curated by PDX Design Collaborative, a group helmed by local architects, artists, and educators.

Portland folks, check out City of Possibility, an exhibit of new and historical architectural models opening downtown on Friday night. UO’s Portland Architecture Program is a proud partner of the show, and we’ll be hosting a wide range of public programming.
www.archpaper.com/2025/01/pdx-...

Nice work! At some point, you’ve gotta let Josh Allen through.

Keep building!

Agree. Portland will have to get dozens of things right to piece together a downtown recovery. This is one of them.