Do you live in District 4? Let's compare each candidate on the topics that matter most to Portlanders. Follow along here: www.portlandciviclab.org/voters-guide...
Rip City Not Rip Off
@ripcitynotripoff.bsky.social
A data-driven resource promoting a fair Arena deal for Portland and every other city in the US. Sign & share the fan compact: ripcitynotripoff.com/compact
How do you make sense of 35 candidates running for Portland City Council? Where can you find what candidates pledge to deliver, how they plan to do it, and how they measure success? We try to answer those questions in our Voter Guide for 2026. www.portlandciviclab.org/voters-guide
Portland Voter Guide 2026 | Compare City Council Candidates
Compare Portland City Council candidates in Districts 3 and 4 for November 3, 2026. Explore their plans, experience and votes in a free, nonpartisan guide.
portlandciviclab.org
5 years ago, for the 20th anniversary of 9/11, I went to Bar9Eleven in Fort Worth. I wrote about how and why we commodify tragedy, as well as my experiences as a third grader in New York City on 9/11 and grief. www.vice.com/en/article/a...
A Night at the 9/11-Themed Bar and How America Turns Tragedy Into Sales
Bar9Eleven went viral for its 'tasteless' name. But U.S. companies—in films, soda displays, and flags—have been commodifying the attacks for 20 years.
vice.com
Finally the national media is catching up! Sign the fan compact! www.ripcitynotripoff.com/compact#sign
Derek Thompson breaks down the conditions that allow sports owners to swindle over cities and fans.
YouTube video by Bill Simmons
youtube.com
THIS IS GOOD REPORTING. www.bizjournals.com/portland/new...
Economists doubt Portland’s ability to get ROI in Moda deal - Portland Business Journal
There's a powerful psychological factor at play in Moda negotiatons. “A good analogy for approaching pro teams is to think about it as a romantic relationship,” an economist who studies stadium deals ...
bizjournals.com
"One thumb up to the council for at least trying to get something significant for taxpayers, rather than just rearranging deck chairs — how much they stick to their guns from here will determine if they can earn the other thumb." www.fieldofschemes.com/2026/08/13/2...
We're live from City Hall! Press is here: good reporters like Alex Zielinski of OPB, Evan Watson at KGW. Session should start momentarily. There are a few brief agenda items ahead of the Moda debate, so we'll jump back in once Moda things get rolling.
We'll be live-skeeting one more time tomorrow. Our message to City Council: It's never too late to do the right thing.
Councilor Mitch Green on Instagram: "Worst. Deal. Ever. Now that I’ve got your attention: City Council votes on the Moda Center renovation term sheet on Wednesday morning, August 12th. I’ll be ready...
77 likes, 21 comments - councilormitchgreen on August 11, 2026: "Worst. Deal. Ever. Now that I’ve got your attention: City Council votes on the Moda Center renovation term sheet on Wednesday morning,...
instagram.com
🚨PHD economist JC Bradbury of Kennesaw State University studies stadium deals, and says the Moda deal on the table is NOT a market-rate deal, as the mayor and others have said, but rather a total outlier, where the people have to sign the check without knowing what they’re even paying for.
When I asked a Blazers representative if ownership would consider a private contribution in the Moda Center, he replied: “If that's something that's important to the city to put on the table, we're happy to talk about it along with everything else"
Closing the loop on ECONorthwest's study: The $15B “impact” assumes the Blazers leave with 100% certainty, then compares them to NOTHING replacing them, essentially forever. It never models the *real* choice: this $573M deal vs. a better deal, another operator, or the Blazers staying anyway.
The Model — A Public Review of the ECONorthwest Study
Better economics than the average booster study — aimed at the wrong question. The grade, the twelve questions, and a standing offer to publish the answers in full.
ripcitynotripoff.com
At the end, there is a fan compact petition meant for the league that needs signatures.
Rip City Not Rip Off@ripcitynotripoff.bsky.social · 2mo agoThis is my final word on the Moda Center saga. This Wednesday, the vote to spend $1.1B of taxpayer funds is going to pass. If you think you ever had a say in the matter, you were lied to. Everyone got what they wanted in the end. Everyone but you. www.ripcitynotripoff.com/everyone-but...
I really do hope that our electeds can implement something like this for future projects.
Terry J. Harris@trryjhrrs.bsky.social · 2mo agoA collateral point, beyond RCNRO's very savvy recommendations for "What Portland should build instead," the City urgently needs to more deeply consider the structural checks and balances (and utter lack thereof) in public contracting in the new form of government. (Much more on this soon, I think.)
I implore people to go watch actual economists talk about the Moda Center deal. So much important information in this webinar.
The Economics of Publicly Funded Stadiums
YouTube video by Portland City Councilor Mitch Green
youtu.be
This is my final word on the Moda Center saga. This Wednesday, the vote to spend $1.1B of taxpayer funds is going to pass. If you think you ever had a say in the matter, you were lied to. Everyone got what they wanted in the end. Everyone but you. www.ripcitynotripoff.com/everyone-but...
Everyone But You: how Portland promised $573 million in rooms the public never entered
The league was in the room. The team was in the room. Three governments were in the room. 8,000 pages of the City's own records show who wasn't — and what it cost.
ripcitynotripoff.com
We had a chance today to show PDX that we’re fighting for their best interest in this deal and we failed. We failed every future city who will someday have to reckon with the next ownership group who will threaten, without evidence, to wreck their economy unless they pony up at least as much as us
OR has a high PIT burden. Why? Bc residents chose it. They chose to have no SUT and to limit ptaxes. The Blazers are trying to tell you a high PIT burden is a policy defect, but it's a feature, one voters chose. Just like TX chooses to have a stupid large ptax burden in large part bc it has no PIT.
I genuinely have no idea how Jessica Vega Pederson still has a job after this. This is the most insane thing i've ever seen.
amb@amb.fyi · 2mo ago“I’m sorry, did I mishear?” Moyer asked when Vega Pederson first shared his name Thursday. “We hired a negotiator that’s on the board of an organization that is lobbying us on this issue? How is that not a wild conflict of interest?”
Having an anchor tenant is nice, but less so when they're not paying rent and taking away dates that could be used on concerts that would. It's still not likely Tom Dundon moves the Blazers, but it does seem he needs Portland more than Portland needs him.
Arenas that have lost NBA or NHL teams turn out to have done just fine
For anyone who holds to the belief that sports fans are mindless boosters who want their elected officials to keep their beloved team owners (or just beloved team's owners) happy no matter what the co...
fieldofschemes.com
If you weren’t able to watch the webinar @councilorgreen.bsky.social and I hosted with stadium economists @jcbradbury.com and @victor-matheson.bsky.social you can watch the recording at the link below! www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BqO...
The Economics of Publicly Funded Stadiums
YouTube video by Portland City Councilor Mitch Green
youtube.com
Excellent reality check. I think it's legit to argue that having the Blazers here has real cultural and vibes value (the Oregonian editorial board did just this), but the fiscal case is marginal at best.
Would Portland be Better Off Financially Without the Blazers?
Empty arena? Lost revenue? Not so fast.
blazersedge.com
1/ Mike Wilkerson, the economist behind the "$15 billion" Blazers study produced last week graciously answered our questions in writing. Full letter on our site. Short version: that number doesn't mean what you've been told — and it measures less than half of what next week's vote gives away. 🧵
Starting soon
Mitch Green@councilorgreen.bsky.social · 2mo agoJoin me, sports economists @jcbradbury.com & @victor-matheson.bsky.social with co-host @councilormorillo.bsky.social on the economics of publicly funded stadiums. The term sheet is coming with limited information provided to us on the Moda Center renovations. Let’s discuss. zoom.us/webinar/regi...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbYfrG910JM&t=19s Blazers conversation starts at 00:00:19. Video link timestamped.
Leaked Trail Blazers Email Report
YouTube video by Rip City Radio
youtube.com
WOAH. Blazers leaked emails show they refused to respond to city emails asking basic questions, weeks before any “first-class” claim was mentioned, contradicting Dewayne Hankins claim that that claim “chilled negotiations” They were not negotiating in good faith since the beginning.
@wrightkatu.bsky.social · 2mo agoNEW: Internal emails obtained by KATU show Portland Trail Blazers leaders debated whether to respond to the City of Portland's questions on key pieces of a proposed Moda Center deal, with one executive saying the city's requests felt like "a trap”. katu.com/news/investi...
🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 PRR shows the city asked Blazers the questions we all have been wondering, but somehow none of these made it into the draft term sheet. So who decided to remove or dilute the City’s June negotiating demands—and what did the Blazers, the NBA, or political leadership say that caused it?
There. My proposed Moda Center renovation renderings. And I'm not asking you to vote to give me money first.
Voting on leg that you don’t have all the facts on is common for lawmakers, which obvi doesn’t make it right or smart. Elect better. But the insane part in Portland is that the city owns the f’ing arena. Why let yourself be bullied? Come up with your own reno design! www.opb.org/article/2026...
Portland City Council won’t have all answers before voting on Moda Center funding package
As a deadline to commit public dollars to Moda Center renovations rapidly approaches, it appears that Portland city councilors will be asked to approve spending $120 million on arena renovations next ...
opb.org
Stop asking for clawbacks if a team moves. It’s a wasted negotiation parameter. Instead, ask for clawbacks if the team doesn’t win, doesn’t sellout, doesn’t deliver ancillary on time, and if owners/team do something that hurt city/co public image. www.kptv.com/2026/07/18/c...
