OPB’s First Look: School closure plan draws protest

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Good morning, Northwest.

Hundreds of people gathered to protest proposals to close several public schools in Portland at a board meeting last night.

OPB’s Elizabeth Miller and Eli Imadali were at the meeting where the district heard from the public for the first time since unveiling its plans. Their coverage starts today’s newsletter.

Also this morning, we preview races for six open seats on Portland City Council.

Here’s your First Look at Wednesday’s news.

— Bradley W. Parks

Top story

Hundreds of students, parents, staff ask Portland to pause school closures

Students, parents and staff swiftly met Portland Public Schools’ plan to close schools and consolidate programs with loud protest at last night’s school board meeting.

Oregon’s largest school district released its proposal to close up to 14 schools on Monday as it contends with declining enrollment and rising costs.

The district argues running schools with small enrollments is costly, inefficient and compromises the student experience.

Students, families and staff rallying against the closures questioned the district’s reasoning, and asked the board to push back on the proposals. (Elizabeth Miller)

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3 things to know

• A federal judge says he’ll issue a ruling by the end of October in a lawsuit that’s pitting concerns about the drinking water of 230,000 people in Marion County against efforts to save imperiled Chinook salmon. (Courtney Sherwood)
• Voters in Districts 3 and 4, two of Portland’s more affluent areas, will cast their ballots this November for City Council. Three seats in each district are up for grabs. Here’s what to know about the candidates for District 3 and District 4. (Alex Zielinski)
• Washington state voters will soon weigh in on a ballot measure to ban transgender girls from playing on girls’ school sports teams. The initiative is controversial, but national and local polling suggest it could have enough silent support to pass. (Sarah Mizes-Tan, KNKX & KUOW)

Northwest headlines

• US Supreme Court orders another look at how Washington state political maps are drawn (Jerry Cornfield, Washington State Standard)
• Eugene 4J School District accepting new name nominations for Chávez Elementary (Rebecca Hansen-White, KLCC)
• Washington resident conspired with Canadian school shooter before attack, officials say (Martha Bellisle, AP)

Listen in on OPB’s daily conversation

“Think Out Loud” airs at noon and 8 p.m. weekdays on OPB Radio, opb.org and the OPB News app. Today’s planned topics (subject to change):

• Breaking down the Oregon gubernatorial race

One more look

Vancouver’s Main Street reopens today after $26M makeover

In Vancouver, Washington, you could easily pass by and miss this small breakfast joint, but owner Karen Carlton is proud of her restaurant’s storied history.

Opened in 1932 as a soup kitchen during the Great Depression, Joe Brown’s Cafe has remained in the same location ever since and retained original features such as its counter and grill. It’s also where founder Joe Brown developed his caramel corn recipe before expanding the business to Portland’s Lloyd Center in the 1960s.

The diner, one of the oldest businesses on Vancouver’s Main Street, changed hands in 1985, when Carlton’s husband, Lewis, took over. Carlton still remembers how supportive he was of the Main Street redevelopment project before his death in January 2025.

Main Street’s official reopening will happen this evening. (Winston Szeto)

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