Portland

A picture of the Portland skyline with the letters PDX

blue

Axios Portland Partners

Portland Alerts

Alert

Get smarter, faster on what matters in Portland with Kale Williams and Meira Gebel.

Axios Portland

Standard

A daily look at the most significant and interesting stories affecting Portland.

Axios Portland Thought Bubble

Thought Bubble

Portland Members

Membership

Salt & Straw explores sale at $200M valuation

The Oregon ice cream brand is weighing a deal to support future growth.

Business

Portland&#x27;s long-running ice cream icon, <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Salt &amp; Straw" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/portland/2026/05/28/salt-straw-s-new-chef-collabs-look-wildly-good" data-vars-content-id="b54074e7-2646-4097-84a1-df309bd35df7" data-vars-headline="Salt &amp; Straw explores sale at $200M valuation" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/portland/2026/05/28/salt-straw-s-new-chef-collabs-look-wildly-good" target="_self">Salt &amp; Straw</a>, is up for sale at a valuation of roughly $200 million, per media reports.Why it matters: A sale could help fund the artisan frozen confectioner&#x27;s next phase of growth as the brand expands beyond its West Coast roots.

Oregon households without A/C face rising heat risks

As heat risks rise, many Oregon households still lack A/C.

Climate

Clatsop County — home to coastal towns like Astoria, Cannon Beach and Seaside — has the highest share of households without air conditioning in Oregon, according to <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="recent census data" data-vars-click-url="https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2026/2023-lace.html" data-vars-content-id="4fd43a31-ff57-48ba-9a20-e36289d92cbf" data-vars-headline="Oregon households without A/C face rising heat risks" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2026/2023-lace.html" target="_blank">recent census data</a>.Why it matters: As <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="heat waves get more common" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/portland/2025/07/09/heat-dome-study-climate-change" data-vars-content-id="4fd43a31-ff57-48ba-9a20-e36289d92cbf" data-vars-headline="Oregon households without A/C face rising heat risks" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/portland/2025/07/09/heat-dome-study-climate-change" target="_self">heat waves get more common</a> and more intense due to climate change, more Oregonians may install A/C to stay cool and healthy — especially in places that <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="aren&#x27;t as used to extreme heat" data-vars-click-url="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41612-023-00340-3" data-vars-content-id="4fd43a31-ff57-48ba-9a20-e36289d92cbf" data-vars-headline="Oregon households without A/C face rising heat risks" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41612-023-00340-3" target="_blank">aren&#x27;t as used to extreme heat</a>.

Federal cuts sink Pacific Northwest ocean-monitoring buoys

Researchers warn the loss could weaken climate and ocean data collection.

News

A federally funded <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="ocean-monitoring" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/portland/2024/10/25/climate-change-tipping-point-ocean-current-collapse" data-vars-content-id="4dd3b7c7-bf03-4834-97b9-c310da7426c9" data-vars-headline="Federal cuts sink Pacific Northwest ocean-monitoring buoys" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/portland/2024/10/25/climate-change-tipping-point-ocean-current-collapse" target="_self">ocean-monitoring</a> network off Oregon and Washington is beginning to be dismantled after National Science Foundation budget cuts.Why it matters: The removal of research buoys is the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="latest reduction" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/boulder/2026/06/01/judge-blocks-ncar-lab-transfer" data-vars-content-id="4dd3b7c7-bf03-4834-97b9-c310da7426c9" data-vars-headline="Federal cuts sink Pacific Northwest ocean-monitoring buoys" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/boulder/2026/06/01/judge-blocks-ncar-lab-transfer" target="_self">latest reduction</a> in climate and ocean research under the Trump administration.

How Portlanders build community with their neighbors

Small gatherings and simple hellos are helping neighbors reconnect.

After we shared <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="new national data" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2026/05/13/americans-neighbors-socializing-less" data-vars-content-id="bfcb83c9-818b-46a4-907e-935ab51fea47" data-vars-headline="How Portlanders build community with their neighbors" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2026/05/13/americans-neighbors-socializing-less" target="_self">new national data</a> showing Americans are talking with their neighbors far less than before, we were bummed to learn Portlanders are seeing that trend play out on their own blocks — but some are taking action to reverse it.Why it matters: Casual neighborhood ties are quietly disappearing, and the health consequences run deeper than most people realize.

What Portland will see during the solar eclipse

A third of the sun will be shadowed, and it might get slightly dim.

Eclipse

Portland is a long way from the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="path of totality" data-vars-click-url="https://science.nasa.gov/eclipses/future-eclipses/eclipse-2024/where-when/" data-vars-content-id="f73ccfa1-7f1d-47e3-bf44-432fadae9bc8" data-vars-headline="What Portland will see during the solar eclipse" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://science.nasa.gov/eclipses/future-eclipses/eclipse-2024/where-when/" target="_blank">path of totality</a> for Monday morning&#x27;s <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="solar eclipse" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2024/03/18/solar-eclipse-april-8-travel-hype" data-vars-content-id="f73ccfa1-7f1d-47e3-bf44-432fadae9bc8" data-vars-headline="What Portland will see during the solar eclipse" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2024/03/18/solar-eclipse-april-8-travel-hype" target="_self">solar eclipse</a>, but we can still enjoy our modest display.Why it matters: Total solar eclipses are rare — we won&#x27;t see <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="another one" data-vars-click-url="https://apnews.com/article/total-solar-eclipse-travel-14b52646d918184922d651bf8c8daab2" data-vars-content-id="f73ccfa1-7f1d-47e3-bf44-432fadae9bc8" data-vars-headline="What Portland will see during the solar eclipse" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://apnews.com/article/total-solar-eclipse-travel-14b52646d918184922d651bf8c8daab2" target="_blank">another one</a> span the contiguous U.S. until 2045, Jim Todd, space educator at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI), tells Axios.

Path of the April 8, 2024 eclipse

Percentage of the sun that will be covered by the moon at the peak of Monday's solar eclipse. Data: NASA; Map: Erin Davis/Axios Visuals