Murmurs: Portland City Council Seems to Have Votes to Ban Foie Gras

PORTLAND CITY COUNCIL SEEMS TO HAVE VOTES TO BAN FOIE GRAS: The Portland City Council is slated to vote June 4 whether to ban the sale of force-fed foie gras in the city. The ordinance has pitted the animal rights group Pro-Animal Oregon against Portland’s restaurant industry, with the French restaurant Le Pigeon and its famous foie gras taking center stage. Because over 80 people publicly testified on the policy, how councilors feel has been difficult to parse. The ordinance needs seven of the council’s 12 votes to pass. During a roll-call vote last week on an amendment to extend the date when restaurants must comply with the ordinance, Councilor Angelita Morillo gave the clearest indication of how the voting might shake out. “Because I expect we’ll have seven votes with the compromise, then yes,” she said. Because all six members of the progressive caucus, of which Morillo is a part, are lined up behind the policy, the outcome will come down to a few swing votes—most obviously, Councilor Steve Novick. And he has made up his mind. He told WW on Monday he would vote yes on the ban because he ultimately could not condone force-feeding animals to produce a delicacy for a few people. He says he recognizes the effect his vote will have on a few Portland restaurants. “I do feel an obligation to eat off the vegetarian menu at Le Pigeon,” Novick told WW.

CAREOREGON ENDS ADVISORY GROUP: In January, members of CareOregon’s community advisory group detailed frustrations in a letter. CareOregon manages Oregon Health Plan benefits for hundreds of thousands of Portland-area residents, and the insurer’s abrupt decision last year to rapidly restrict member access to a wide swath of therapists had been done, the letter said, without any meaningful consultation with the board—part of a broader pattern in which members feel sidelined from serious decision making. Last month, the advisory board, which has existed for more than a decade and comprises CareOregon members and other community representatives, received further unwelcome news: It was being eliminated altogether. The board was invited to a “final gathering” at CareOregon headquarters downtown late last month “to share a meal, celebrate the contributions and accomplishments of the group, and reflect on the impact you have had.” Board co-chair Sabina Urdes was unimpressed. “I can’t speak to their motives, but myself and others are just struggling to understand the timing,” she tells WW. “We raised some concerns. We asked to be consulted. And then shortly afterwards the board was dissolved. That sequence raises some questions.” CareOregon, for its part, responds that “sunsetting this iteration” of the advisory board was not a punitive action, but rather part of a broader effort to streamline community engagement, avoid duplication, and more clearly define pathways for community input, which, by contract, it already gets through other channels.

JUDGE LIMITS CRITERIA FOR STATE HOSPITAL ADMISSION: A federal judge put new limits on who could be admitted to Oregon State Hospital, the court’s latest effort to reduce admission wait times for criminal defendants found incapable of standing trial who instead languish in jail. The hospital has in recent years filled to the brim, largely with people charged with crimes but found unfit to defend themselves. And the judge, Adrienne Nelson, found the state in contempt last summer of a long-standing court order to keep down wait times before admission. Her latest June 1 order implements further measures to reduce pressure on the hospital’s front door—by limiting detainees eligible for admission at the hospital in the first place. And it seeks to keep patients flowing by making it harder for the state to claim exemptions that keep patients in custody beyond certain time limits. Some were displeased by the order, describing it as a public safety threat. A statement by Marion County argued that those charged with “Measure 11” crimes—often, violent offenses—might be released from the hospital before they are stabilized. But Disability Rights Oregon, a key plaintiff in the lawsuit, argued that the new rules would get wait times in compliance with the court order within the year. Other efforts by the court to help the state comply had not worked, the group’s attorneys wrote, and “more intrusive measures are now required.”

KOTEK BANS ISSUING ICE UNDERCOVER LICENSE PLATES: Gov. Tina Kotek directed Oregon Driver & Motor Vehicle Services on May 29 to stop issuing undercover license plates to U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. She said in a statement that ICE agents have “repeatedly engaged in illegitimate activities,” creating chaos and fear throughout the state. Oregon paused issuing undercover plates to all federal agencies on April 15 to review compliance with state law. Oregon DMV issues undercover plates to 45 federal agencies—as well as some state and local agencies—and has about 1,260 such plates in circulation, according to the governor’s announcement. In response to the April pause, the Trump administration on May 28 sued Oregon, as well as Washington, Maine and Massachusetts, which similarly stopped giving ICE undercover plates. Kotek’s order affirms the original ban for ICE but directs DMV to resume issuing undercover plates to federal agencies that don’t primarily do immigration enforcement. The federal government argues Oregon’s ban is unconstitutional because it will endanger ICE agents by making them easier to track. Kotek says the ban won’t endanger ICE because nonundercover plates will only identify vehicles as belonging to the federal government, not any specific agency. The Trump administration also argues the ban is discriminatory because Oregon never stopped issuing undercover plates to state and local agencies.

FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION: WW took home five prizes last week in a five-state journalism contest among Pacific Northwest newsrooms. Among WW’s Society of Professional Journalists Northwest Excellence in Journalism Awards: a first prize in page design by Whitney McPhie and Sophia Mick for stories about Portland diners, Blazers guard Shaedon Sharpe, and the Best New Bands poll. Robert Ohman won a second prize in sports features for the Sharpe profile, while Rachel Saslow took third place in arts and culture reporting for her examination of the bleak prospects faced by the Rose Festival. WW competed with medium-sized publications—with six to 20 full-time newsroom employees—in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana and Alaska for work published in 2025. See our full list of winners at wweek.com.