Netflix is out this week with a look back at the early 2000s Blazers, a talented and troubled squad that came close to competing for a championship but was plagued by on- and off-court drama.

Why it matters: "Untold: Jail Blazers" offers the perspectives of the players, fans, media members and management on the turbulent time for Rip City hoops, but it adds little new insight beyond what fans already know.

• Still, it was interesting to revisit the chaos and think about what might have been.

Catch up quick: The era began when Blazers owner and Microsoft billionaire Paul Allen hired Bob Whitsitt as general manager and effectively gave him a blank check to build a championship team.

• Portland is a small-market team, not likely to attract superstars, so Whitsitt built his roster by "taking damaged guys, guys who had been in trouble," former Oregonian sports columnist John Canzano said in the documentary.
• Rasheed Wallace, Damon Stoudamire and Bonzi Wells would come to define the team, for better and for worse.

Flashback: The Blazers made it to Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals in 2000, but lost to the Lakers, and "that's when everything started happening," Wells said.

• Stoudamire and Wallace were busted for smoking weed while driving back to Portland from a game against the Seattle SuperSonics.
• Stoudamire's Lake Oswego home was searched by police, who discovered a pound of weed in his attic, though the charges were dropped after the search was found to be illegal.
• Over the next few seasons, Whitsitt brought in Shawn Kemp, who checked into rehab for a cocaine addiction mid-season; Ruben Patterson, who was a registered sex offender; and Zach Randolph, who had run-ins with the law several times for underage drinking, drag racing and possessing loaded firearms.

In a majority-white city like Portland, Wallace said, a group of young, wealthy Black men never quite fit in.

• "We're loud, boisterous, riding around in our big cars smoking weed," he said. "It was a culture shock."

The big picture: The team would never get close to the success of the 1999-2000 season, making the playoffs each of the next three years, but never advancing past the first round.

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🏀 Speaking of the Blazers, the team secured a spot in the Western Conference playoffs with a thrilling win over the Phoenix Suns last night. Game 1 of their series against the San Antonio Spurs tips off at 6pm on Sunday. (The Oregonian)

⛺️ Multnomah County commissioners criticized state officials in a letter late last year for policies they said pushed people with mental illness into homelessness instead of treatment, calling the policies a "moral failure and fiscally wasteful." (Oregon Capital Chronicle)

🚊 The Vancouver City Council voted unanimously to oppose a plan for light rail on the new I-5 bridge that would have the service terminate at the city's waterfront instead of at a planned transit center downtown. (OPB)

🍽️ Hua Hin, a new restaurant on Southeast Hawthorne, aims to bring Thai fine dining to Portland when it launches its soft opening on Friday. (Bridgetown Bites)

😷 Hundreds of people may have been exposed to measles at Centennial Middle School in Southeast Portland earlier this month, but officials said roughly 95% of the 849 students at the school are vaccinated against the virus. (OPB)

The U.S. Postal Service recently announced it plans to raise stamp prices this summer as it looks to shore up finances amid mounting cost pressures.

• The proposed increase — alongside a series of cost-cutting and pricing moves — shows USPS is pulling multiple levers to stabilize its finances.

Driving the news: USPS said in a news release it had filed a notice with regulators to raise the price of a First-Class Mail Forever stamp by 4 cents, to 82 cents, starting July 12.

• Overall mailing service prices would rise about 4.8% if approved.
• The agency said the changes are needed as it faces a "severe financial crisis."

The big picture: USPS has warned it could run out of cash as early as 2027 — and Postmaster General David Steiner told lawmakers in mid-March that the agency could run out of money in less than 12 months without congressional action.

• Mail delivery itself could be at risk if finances deteriorate, officials have said.

USPS is making a series of moves to manage its growing cash crunch, including the suspension of employer contributions to its main retirement program and an 8% surcharge on packages starting April 26.

• Some mailing industry groups say the crisis is self-inflicted — and warn USPS is "raising prices while reducing service."
• Keep US Posted, a nonprofit advocacy group, argues that USPS has lost more than $25 billion since 2021 despite federal aid and repeated price increases — and says the agency has a "cost control problem," not a revenue one.

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