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Good morning, Northwest.

President Trump this week issued an executive order to create a federal list of eligible voters and restrict vote-by-mail. The order drew quick condemnation from Oregon, which pioneered mail voting.

Oregon Secretary of State Tobias Read, speaking on OPB yesterday, said the U.S. Constitution makes clear that states run elections, not the president. Today’s newsletter starts with highlights from Read’s interview.

In other news, the Portland Trail Blazers introduced their new owners yesterday and the Portland Fire select their first-ever players today.

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

—Bradley W. Parks

Oregon secretary of state plans to challenge Trump executive order on mail-in voting

President Trump signed an executive order Tuesday that instructs the U.S. Postal Service to only send mail-in ballots to people deemed eligible by the administration.

Oregon Secretary of State Tobias Read, along with his counterparts in other states, has vowed to challenge the order in court.

Read joined OPB’s “Think Out Loud” to talk about what these changes could mean for Oregon, which was the first state in the nation to vote exclusively by mail. (Gemma DiCarlo)

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3 things to know this morning

• Tom Dundon and other new owners of the Portland Trail Blazers made their first appearance since the deal closed, telling journalists yesterday at the Moda Center that they were ready to improve everything from the team’s performance to the fan experience in the building. (Conrad Wilson)
• The Portland Fire finally get to start building their roster today when the WNBA holds an expansion draft for the league’s two new teams. (Kyra Buckley)
• PSU trustees will vote on a 5% student tuition increase today, as the university undergoes multiple cost-cutting measures to close a projected $35 million deficit. (Tiffany Camhi)

Why Portland’s mayor and Multnomah County disagree on homelessness data

Keith Wilson ran for mayor promising to end unsheltered homelessness in Portland, but county data tells a different story. On the latest episode of “OPB Politics Now,” we discuss why city and county officials once again disagree and why the effort to quantify how many are homeless is so complex. (Alex Zielinski, Lauren Dake and Andrew Theen)

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Headlines from around the Northwest

• The Thompson Elk had a front row seat for Portland’s tumultuous history. Now it’s coming back for more (Kristian Foden-Vencil)
• Oregon Parks and Recreation Department needs more safety inspections, audit finds (Mia Maldonado)
• Klamath Falls support staff union files third unfair labor practices complaint against school district (Jane Vaughan)
• US Forest Service to close Portland headquarters, research station, open Salem office (Alex Baumhardt)
• Trump administration pushed Oregon to end its LGBTQ+ foster policy. The state ignored it (Shaanth Nanguneri)
• Jackson County declares drought emergency in anticipation of dry summer (Roman Battaglia)
• Eugene Emeralds continue search for new stadium as 2026 season begins (Nathan Wilk) 
• Jrue Holiday has 27 to lead the Blazers to a 118-106 win over the Pelicans (Anne M. Peterson)

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):

• Umatilla tribes acquire massive private collection of tribal art and artifacts
• What happened to the people evicted from a large homeless camp in the woods outside Bend?
• Cheetah researcher and conservationist Laurie Marker shares how her career began in Oregon

Superabundant recipe: The most melty, fall-apart braised lamb shanks and fragrant farro for springtime holidays

This week’s recipe takes you on a jaunt through history, time-traveling to meet its ancient foodway ancestors.

Lamb shanks are braised with aromatics for hours, until unctuous and melting off the bone, and the nutty, chewy farro cooks in the braising liquid with dried rosebuds and barberries — ingredients with wild progenitors in both the Fertile Crescent and the Pacific Northwest.

In the Arab world, barberries are call zereshk. In the Northwest, you might know them as Oregon grape, which aren’t grapes at all. Adding them to this recipe or any pilaf, salad or stew can provide an acidic spark. But, if you don’t have access to any, try dried cranberries. (Heather Arndt Anderson)

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News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2026/04/03/mail-vote-trump-oregon-tobias-read-first-look/