National Shutdown: Restaurants Open and Helping in the Portland Metro

Tomorrow—Friday, January 30, 2026—is a National Shutdown day across the country, in response to the killings by ICE. The campaign’s subtitle is “No Work. No School. No Shopping. Stop Funding ICE.” It’s a kind of general strike.

However, in Portland there are a lot of small businesses that simply can’t shut down for the day, due to economic reasons. And while “no shopping” might mean “don’t spend your money anywhere,” it’s generally understood to mean that shopping at small, independent businesses is ok.

Continue reading “National Shutdown: Restaurants Open and Helping in the Portland Metro”

Small Bites: End of Wilderton, Donuts, Good Measure, and More

The end of Wilderton is a sad state of affairs. Here's their final product. We will miss them.
Wilderton during a more colorful time.

The end of Wilderton. Bummer news about this NA distiller in Hood River. They closed their tasting room in August 2025 and the distillery will close at the end of January. One of the founders, Brad Whiting, said this: “We endeavoured to find a new steward of the brand for the past several months, but alas none worked out so the brand/IP etc will be shelved in the hopes to be resurrected at some point in the future. The distillery and tasting room are now closed and decommissioned.” More details here.

Continue reading “Small Bites: End of Wilderton, Donuts, Good Measure, and More”