The Oregon legislature recently approved hundreds of millions in public money to rehab the aging Moda Center, and our readers have some thoughts.

Why it matters: The vote may have cleared the legislature, but the public funding plan faces skepticism from some Axios Portland readers who question its benefits and the state's priorities.

The latest: Last week, OPB revealed details of the campaign by lobbyists for the Blazers to get city officials to support money for the revamp.

• City staffers took a trip to North Carolina to see publicly-funded arena renovations, city officials received urging from Nike CEO Elliot Hill to approve money for the renovations and a Blazers lobbyist told a city official that "100% public financing is the only solution."

What they're saying: Albert T. said he'd be fine with Portland spending all the money it wants on Moda, but he fails to see the benefit for folks like him who live hundreds of miles away.

• "Never been to the Moda Center and don't think I ever will," he wrote. "I strongly object to the state spending my taxes on the Moda Center project. Yet another example of the folks in Salem focused on Portlandia at the expense of the rest of the state!"

Gary S. said he'd rather risk seeing the Blazers play in a different city than spend public money on keeping them around.

• "This sort of blackmail happens all of the time when wealthy sports team owners threaten to leave a city unless they give in to their demands," he wrote. "If the owners and the NBA want to move the team, so be it."

It wasn't all naysayers, though. Randy M. said he recognizes the inequity in using public money for a team owned by billionaires, but he said the juice was worth the squeeze.

• "The overall impact of having pro sports integrates the entire community better than any other asset, he wrote. "Rich, poor, black, Hispanic, white, doesn't matter. It's a source of pride which everyone can share and support."

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Oregon's health care system is heavily consolidated among just a few hospital systems, a dynamic that has raised concern among critics and state lawmakers in the past.

Why it matters: As rising health care costs put more financial strain on Americans, "one major and underappreciated factor driving price increases is rising consolidation among U.S. hospitals," according to Yale's new Health Care Affordability Lab.

By the numbers: Roughly 72% of the Oregon's 60-plus hospitals analyzed in the Yale study are concentrated in ownership or represent a monopoly in certain markets.

• Between 2005 and 2025, six mergers in Oregon significantly reduced competition in the marketplace, the study found.

Flashback: Last spring, Oregon Health & Science University and Legacy Health called off plans to merge the two healthcare systems — which was poised to be the state's biggest.

• The deal faced fierce public opposition and a unanimous recommendation from a regulatory review board calling on the state to reject it.

Plus: State lawmakers moved to curb corporate influence in health care in 2025 by placing some of the nation's strictest limits on private and corporate control of medical practices.

The big picture: Hospitals accounted for 40% of the growth in national health spending between 2022 and 2024 — a much larger share than any other health spending category, per a recent KFF analysis.

• Since 2000, about 1,300 mergers have taken place among the nation's approximately 5,000 hospitals.
• The Federal Trade Commission has taken action on competition concerns in 13 of the deals.

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👀 Immigration enforcement in Oregon spiked last fall, with arrests in Multnomah County jumping 600% between September and October. (OPB)

🚖 Ride share drivers could take home more of their fares if a proposal from two Portland city councilors to cap the amount companies like Uber and Lyft take passes. The companies say it would force them to raise prices or leave town altogether. (The Oregonian)

🏥 Multnomah County commissioners announced the 24/7 sobering center in inner Southeast will open in the fall of next year after the legislature approved $25 million in funding. (KGW)

🦌 The Thompson Elk statue, removed from its perch on Southwest Main Street after it was damaged during protests in 2020, is set to return to its rightful home next month. (Portland Business Journal)

Some streets in Portland are worse than others. Potholes, wheel ruts, crocodile cracks, unpaved shoulders — we all have our nemeses.

• For me, it's the few blocks on Northwest 23rd Avenue before you turn on Highway 30 where you could pop a tire if you go over 15mph. Then, you're in for a bumpy, uneven ride on Northwest Glisan between 15th and 10th.
• Oh, there's also months-old sinkhole on my block!

😡 Now it's your turn. We want you to tell us where the worst roads in Portland are.

• As the city council floats fixes to our budget-strapped transportation agency — including charging residents utility fees and surcharges for food and retail deliveries — we want to know where Portlanders see (and feel!) the problem most.

✍️ Take this three-minute survey and let us know your thoughts.

• We may use your response in an upcoming story.