🐳 Fewer whales along the Oregon Coast

‘Glacial’ Progress on a Persistent Wage Gap

A new analysis found that Portland-area women earned 92 cents or less for every dollar a man earned in 2023. That represented an improvement over the previous five years. [OPB]

• Wider wage gap for Black and Latina women: There remains greater disparities for Black and Latina women. Latinas earned 61 cents per dollar earned by a man. Black women made 67 cents. [OPB]
• And change is slow. Policy fixes — particularly an increase in the minimum wage — helped spur progress, experts say. But at the current rate, it would take 100 years to eliminate the gap. “The wage gap numbers in Oregon and nationally move at a glacial pace,” said Emily Evans, the Director of the Center for Nonprofit and Philanthropic Insight at ECOnorthwest. [OPB]
• Read the report: “2026 State of Women in the Portland Metro Economy.” [Portland Metro Chamber / ECOnorthwest]
• Why now? It’s no accident the findings were published now. March 26 is Equal Pay Day, marking the number of days into the new year that women would theoretically need to work to match their male counterparts' earnings from last year. [Oregon Capitol Chronicle]
• National trend in the wrong direction: Nationally, the pay gap between men and women widened last year with women earning 18.6% less than men — up from 18% in 2024. [Oregon Capitol Chronicle]

Fewer whales to return. It’s Whale Watch Week on the Oregon Coast, but fewer gray whales are expected this year — an estimated 13,000 compared with last spring’s 19,260. [Oregonian]

• Why the decline? Between 2018 and 2023, the species experienced a dieoff, partly attributable to the changing climate. The population started to recover, but then declined to its lowest level since the 1970s. [Oregonian]
• Experience whale week: Here are our tips (from last year) on where to see whales — while you still can. [City Cast Portland ✏️]

New micro restaurant: The new Greek restaurant Souvlaki Queen didn’t open as a food cart, as many small new Portland spots do. Instead last year, it found a tiny space downtown. Oregonian restaurant critic Michael Russell liked what he ate — always a good sign! His recommendations include chicken souvlaki and spanakopita, as well as baklava. [Oregonian]

• Souvlaki Queen | open for lunch and an early dinner, 11:30 a.m. - 6 p.m.

Failed shoe-manufacturing project: Made in Old Town, a nonprofit that promised to bring industry to the struggling neighborhood, received massive public subsidies — with nothing to show for it. Willamette Week reporter Sophie Peel explains how elected officials kept ignoring the warning signs. [City Cast Portland 🎧]