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  "path": "/newsblast/2026/03/08/48361769/your-sunday-reading-list-preschool-for-all-theory-debunked-the-fate-of-lloyd-mall-and-who-wants-a-butter-hole",
  "publishedAt": "2026-03-08T14:30:00.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.portlandmercury.com",
  "tags": [
    "Newsblast!",
    "signing up for _Mercury_ newsletters!",
    "New Preschool for All Data Challenges Idea That Wealthy People Are Fleeing County",
    "Initiative to Divert Clean Energy Funds to Cops Moves Ahead Under Constrained Timeline",
    "A Bakery Specializing in Viral Korean Salt Bread Is Coming Very Soon",
    "Portland Design Commission Accepts Master Plan for the Lloyd Center Mall",
    "The Black Byline",
    "Bruce Campbell on Death, Dying, and the _Evil Dead_",
    "Should Portland Try to Save Lloyd Center Mall?",
    "Legislators Temporarily Cut Data Centers From Oregon Tax Break Bill",
    "Second Run Portland",
    "_Mercury_ Music Picks",
    "Savage Love",
    "contributing to the _Mercury_"
  ],
  "textContent": "by Wm. Steven Humphrey\n\n**GOOD MORNING, SUNDAY!** It's the perfect time to catch up on some of the great reporting and stories the _Mercury_ churned out this week! (PRO TIP: If you despise being \"the last to know,\" then be one of the first to know by signing up for _Mercury_ newsletters! All the latest stories shipped directly to your email's in-box... and then... YOUR HEAD.)\n\n• New Preschool for All Data Challenges Idea That Wealthy People Are Fleeing County\n\nSkeptics have suggested the universal preschool tax was driving high-income earners out of Multnomah County. The latest data doesn’t support that notion.\n\nTaylor Griggs\n\n• Initiative to Divert Clean Energy Funds to Cops Moves Ahead Under Constrained Timeline\n\nThe future of the effort to tap PCEF for police hiring remains unclear, as time runs out for petitioners to collect signatures for the initiative so it can be on November's ballot. People on both sides of the issue celebrated the judge's decision.\n\nTaylor Griggs\n\n• A Bakery Specializing in Viral Korean Salt Bread Is Coming Very Soon\n\nHailed by many as the next great competitor to the croissant, salt bread consists of a simple yeasted dough wrapped around a log of butter. As it bakes, the butter melts, leaving behind what many call a “butter hole” as the butter creates a crispy, glossy fried bottom.\n\nPonto\n\n• Portland Design Commission Accepts Master Plan for the Lloyd Center Mall\n\nOn March 5, the Portland Design Commission unanimously accepted the Lloyd Mall owners’ Revised Primary Master Plan, pushing the massive project one small step forward. This isn’t a demolition order, but the plan will eventually lead there. Here’s an update on the decision.\n\nURG and ZGF Architects\n\n• The Black Byline\n\nIn this edition, Donovan Scribes criticizes the Portland police union for trying to divert Clean Energy Fund money to hire more police. It also shouldn't escape notice, Scribes writes, that this cynical move is the latest in a line of vengeful attempts to dismantle the work of the city's first Black woman council member, Jo Ann Hardesty.\n\nRob Dobi\n\n• Bruce Campbell on Death, Dying, and the _Evil Dead_\n\nIf you haven’t heard about Bruce Campbell’s (_Evil Dead_ , _Burn Notice)_ latest film, it’s likely because he’s been working to distribute it himself. The _Evil Dead_ star wrote, directed, and stars in _Ernie & Emma_, a thoughtful, heartwarming story about a man on a quest through grief who finds more than a few laughs along the way. Campbell had planned a summer of screenings and fan conventions to promote the film. Instead, he’s also had to share difficult news with fans: a diagnosis of treatable but incurable cancer.\n\nEastmoor Media\n\n• Should Portland Try to Save Lloyd Center Mall?\n\nThis might be the last year for Lloyd Center Mall. There’s a plan for what’s next, but a community that’s grown in the mall isn’t happy with it or the process of deciding the building’s future.\n\nSuzette Smith\n\n• Legislators Temporarily Cut Data Centers From Oregon Tax Break Bill\n\nCompanies building data centers in Oregon already have a pretty good deal—and new economic development legislation pushed by Gov. Tina Kotek was poised to make that deal even better before an intervention of a legislative subcommittee this week.\n\nGetty Images\n\n• Second Run Portland\n\nThis month's Second Run Portland answers an unexpected question: What film should you see if you're really into Jules Verne? How about Octavia Butler, or Lidia Yuknavitch, or ghost stories? If you've gathered that this month's repertory film column is themed around literature, you are CORRECT, dear reader.\n\nCriterion Collection\n\n•  _Mercury_ Music Picks\n\nIs Portland an international music hub these days? The _Mercury_ thinks so! This week's _Mercury_ Music Picks features Montreal Madman Bloodshot Bill and artists from all over the globe pulling up for Portland Jazz Festival.\n\nTodd Weaver\n\n• Maggie Gyllenhaal's New Frankenstein-Inspired Film Doesn’t Always Make Sense, but It’s a Helluva Movie!\n\nDirector Maggie Gyllenhaal’s new Frankenstein-inspired film doesn’t always make sense, but it’s a helluva movie! There are approximately one million James Whale references, and we got every single one of them. Peter Sarsgaard and Penélope Cruz play a detective team, and he’s the Gal Friday. This movie has everything, and HR Smith made sure to note it.\n\nWarner Bros. Pictures\n\n• Savage Love\n\nIt's another edition of Savage Love \"Quickies\" in which Dan answers a multitude of sexual quandaries lickety-split. Including: Questionable circumcisions, X-rated Instagram, and (oh, hello) meet your brand new AI boyfriend!\n\nJoe Newton\n\n**WOW, THAT IS A LOT OF GOOD READIN'.** I hope you didn't have any other plans this weekend! Dig in, and remember: Producing all this hard work costs moolah—so please consider contributing to the _Mercury_ to keep it all coming! Thanks!",
  "title": "YOUR SUNDAY READING LIST: Preschool for All Theory Debunked, the Fate of Lloyd Mall, and Who Wants a \"Butter Hole\"?"
}