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Good morning, Northwest.

It’s that time of year when Portland residents prepare to pay the annual $35 arts tax.

Today’s newsletter starts with how the oft-lampooned arts tax has generated millions of dollars in reserves — and why arts advocates are urging the city to spend them.

In other news, the Seattle Seahawks are Super Bowl champions, and Trail Blazer Damian Lillard will take part in the three-point contest at the NBA’s All-Star Weekend.

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

—Bradley W. Parks

How Portland’s arts tax let $9M go unused for years

For years, millions of tax dollars meant for arts programs in Portland have sat unspent in city coffers.

The nearly $9 million in reserves comes from the city’s Arts Access Fund Tax, the oft-bemoaned fund familiarly known as the “arts tax.”

The annual $35 tax on any Portlanders who earn over $1,000 yearly generates around $12 million each year. It’s largely dispersed to public school art programs and art nonprofits.

The untapped funds surface as city leaders raise concerns about unspent dollars identified in other city bureaus, prompting city councilors to call for outside audits ahead of another tight budget year. (Alex Zielinski)

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3 things to know this morning

• The Seattle Seahawks rode their “Dark Side” defense to a Super Bowl title last night, pounding the Patriots 29-13. (Rob Maadi)
• President Trump said yesterday that it is hard to cheer for American Olympians who are speaking out against his policies, calling Bend skier Hunter Hess “a real Loser” who perhaps should have stayed home. (Fernanda Figueroa)
• The Portland Trail Blazers’ Damian Lillard — who has not played this season while recovering from a torn Achilles tendon — will participate in the 3-point contest on All-Star Saturday, the NBA announced. (Tim Reynolds)

How Mexican Americans in Oregon created the first Chicano college

Chicanos in Oregon founded an institution that would change education for Latinos across the Pacific Northwest for generations. This is the story of Colegio César Chávez. (Mia Estrada, Alicia Avila and Jenn Chávez)

Listen

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Headlines from around the Northwest

• After cyclist is killed in Eugene, locals push for safety improvements (Rachael McDonald)
• Fin whale found dead on Oregon beach (Joni Auden Land)
• From Regency gowns to cowboy chaps, Oregon Shakespeare Festival does brisk business in costume rentals (Francisca Benitez and Sheraz Sadiq)
• A Rogue Valley group hoped to start a peer respite in the hills above Ashland. Why didn’t it open? (Justin Higginbottom)
• PeaceHealth to replace local emergency room doctors with out-of-state ApolloMD (Tiffany Eckert)
• Olympic marmots could get federal endangered species protections (Bellamy Pailthorp)
• After loss of tax credits, Washington state sees a drop in health insurance coverage (Jake Goldstein-Street)
• Elsa Lemmila’s career-high 23 points lead No. 9 Ohio State past Oregon 80-64 (Associated Press)

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):

• Kotek announces funding for maternity care in rural hospitals, as some labor and delivery units close their doors

Lewis & Clark College displays rare medieval manuscripts for the first time in nearly 30 years

In a small room at the campus library at Lewis & Clark College, glass cases keep the dust off a recently acquired set of centuries-old objects.

“Shaping the Soul” is an exhibit of over 30 manuscripts from the Middle Ages, the first of its kind in Portland in almost three decades.

The exhibit in the college’s department of special collections displays items that originate from Western Europe between the 13th and 16th centuries. The oldest manuscript on display dates back nearly 800 years. (Riley Martinez)

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News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2026/02/09/portland-arts-tax-reserves-first-look/