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Good morning, Northwest.
The new owners of Portland’s Lloyd Center yesterday offered a look at their plans for demolishing the mall (and its historic ice rink) and rebuilding the area.
OPB business reporter Kyra Buckley starts today’s newsletter with a report on the new design and why dozens of residents came out to oppose it at a public hearing.
In other news, a landmark decision by the Oregon Supreme Court yesterday attempts to tackle the state’s public defense crisis.
Here’s your First Look at Friday’s news.
—Bradley W. Parks
A provided rendering of proposed designs for the Lloyd Center redevelopment. The proposed master plan aims to create a mixed-use development and provide shopping and recreational spaces. February, 2026.
Courtesy of URG and ZGF Architects
Developers of Lloyd Center send master plan — absent ice rink — to city for consideration
Community members defended the importance of the current Lloyd Center and its iconic year-round ice rink at a public hearing Thursday for a plan to demolish the mall.
The master plan submitted to the city by owners Urban Renaissance Group and KKR Real Estate centers around park space and walking paths through blocks of housing and businesses. The city of Portland’s Design Commission heard public testimony on the plan yesterday.
Absent in the master plan is the rink, which has existed in some iteration at the Lloyd Center since the mall opened in 1960.
Dozens of public comments were submitted ahead of the hearing. The majority of comments opposed the demolition of the current Lloyd Center building and ice rink and included notes from those who visit or do business at the mall daily. (Kyra Buckley)
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FILE - Tracy Miller, 63, holds a sign protesting the creation of districts for Deschutes County commissioners at a board meeting in Bend, Ore., on Dec. 3, 2025.
Kathryn Styer Martínez / OPB
3 things to know this morning
- In a unanimous decision yesterday, the Oregon Supreme Court ruled that a defendant’s criminal charges must be dismissed if the state has failed to provide a defense attorney for 60 days in a misdemeanor case or 90 days in a felony case, after the defendant’s first court appearance. (Conrad Wilson and Lauren Dake)
- In one of the fastest-growing regions in the state, the question of how to divvy up local political representation for a geographically and politically diverse population is playing out over a proposed Deschutes County district map. (Jen Baires)
- Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek and the mayors of 31 cities sent a letter to Homeland Security Sec. Kristi Noem and Border Czar Tom Homan, calling on them to cease Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in the state. (OPB staff)
Lawmakers begin Salem session, plus the politics surrounding Portland’s ICE building
On this week’s “OPB Politics Now,” we’ll talk about how much money the state expects to have in Salem, lawmakers’ efforts to push back on the federal government and the latest on the ICE building and the politics surrounding it. (Alex Zielinski, Dirk VanderHart, Lauren Dake and Andrew Theen)
Yohendry De Jesus Crespo, Darianny Liseth Gonzalez De Crespo and Diana Crespo, shown here in a photo provided by a friend of the family's, were detained by immigration officers while seeking medical care for 7-year-old Diana on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026.
Ana Linares
Headlines from around the Northwest
- Dexter denied entry to Texas detention center, but says she plans to bring Gresham family home (Holly Bartholomew)
- Oregon, Washington and tribes head back to court after Trump pulls out of deal to recover salmon (Claire Rush)
- Police shoot, kill man in Portland’s Pearl District (OPB staff)
- Ken Peplowski, music director for the Oregon Coast Jazz Party, dies at 66 (KLCC)
- Kaiser Permanente named sponsor of new Portland Thorns, Fire training facility (Kyra Buckley)
Penny, a doberman pinscher, competes in the Best in Show judging of the 150th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026, in New York.
Yuki Iwamura / AP
Doberman pinscher led by Clark County dog handler takes best in show at Westminster Dog Show
A relaxed, pointy-eared Doberman pinscher named Penny was crowned best in show at the 150th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in New York City this Tuesday.
On Wednesday night, her handler Andy Linton arrived back at his Clark County home in Brush Prairie. Competing and winning were surreal.
“You have to imagine being on the floor of Madison Square Garden, and there’s 15-, 16-, 17,000 people screaming at the top of their lungs for their favorite dog,” Linton said.
Westminster is the biggest dog show in the U.S., and it’s the second time that Linton, a professional dog handler, has won the prize. (Erik Neumann)
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