{"id":524858,"date":"2026-03-09T16:21:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-09T16:21:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/524858\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T16:21:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T16:21:10","slug":"opbs-first-look-portland-fire-smolders-as-wnba-contract-talks-continue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/524858\/","title":{"rendered":"OPB\u2019s First Look: Portland Fire smolders as WNBA contract talks continue"},"content":{"rendered":"

Subscribe to OPB\u2019s First Look<\/a> to receive Northwest news in your inbox six days a week.<\/p>\n

Good morning, Northwest.<\/p>\n

Ongoing collective bargaining between the WNBA and its players union could hold up the start of the Portland Fire\u2019s first season.<\/p>\n

The sides say they need a deal by tomorrow to start the season on time and, according to the Associated Press, swapped proposals<\/a> over the weekend. OPB\u2019s Kyra Buckley looks at what the negotiations could mean for Portland\u2019s nascent franchise<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In other news, Milwaukie\u2019s Ah Bing, namesake of the Bing cherry, is being immortalized in a children\u2019s book<\/a> out tomorrow.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s your First Look at Monday\u2019s news.<\/p>\n

\u2014Bradley W. Parks<\/p>\n

\"FILE<\/p>\n

FILE – Portland Fire head coach Alex Sarama, left, and general manager Vanja \u010cernivec in Portland, Ore., Oct. 28, 2025. The Fire have yet to sign any players as collective bargaining between players and the league continues.<\/p>\n

Saskia Hatvany \/ OPB<\/p>\n

Portland Fire season could be on hold if WNBA, players union can\u2019t reach labor deal<\/p>\n

Officials with the WNBA say a new labor deal must be in place by tomorrow to avoid disruptions to the season set to start in May. The Fire, Portland\u2019s new team, need an agreement in place before it can build a roster of players.<\/p>\n

In the past, expansion teams have had five months or more to acquire players through an expansion draft, trades with other teams and the rookie draft. The timeline for Portland and the Toronto Tempo, another expansion team, will be extremely truncated, even if the sides agree on a deal immediately.<\/p>\n

The WNBA and its players union still remain far apart on how the league should share its rapidly increasing revenue with the players. The union has already authorized a strike if needed, though both sides say they hope to avoid one.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s more on how labor talks could affect the Portland Fire\u2019s first season. (Kyra Buckley)<\/p>\n

Learn more<\/a><\/p>\n

\ud83d\udce8 Are you enjoying First Look? Forward this email your friends<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Traffic<\/p>\n

Traffic passes by the old J.H. Baxter wood treatment plant in the Bethel neighborhood of Eugene on March 7, 2026.<\/p>\n

Brian Bull \/ KLCC<\/p>\n

3 things to know this morningToday, a group of 50 Portland arts organizations sent a letter to Portland elected officials asking to\u00a0use unspent arts tax money<\/a>\u00a0to buoy nonprofits that have seen a decline in city funding in recent years.\u00a0(Alex Zielinski)Washington state\u2019s legislative session\u00a0is set to end this Thursday<\/a>. The last major deadline\u00a0Friday stopped some policy proposals\u00a0in their tracks.\u00a0(Jake Goldstein-Street)The last of two lawsuits filed against the J.H. Baxter company\u00a0was resolved Friday<\/a>. No damages were awarded and plaintiffs have no opportunity to refile litigation related to its shuttered Eugene plant.\u00a0(Brian Bull)\"\"We go behind the scenes of Oregon\u2019s short legislative session<\/p>\n

Producer Julie Sabatier tagged along with OPB politics reporter Lauren Dake just before the legislative session adjourned to hear what it was like in the Capitol building. (Julie Sabatier and Lauren Dake)<\/p>\n

Listen<\/a><\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A few demonstrators gathered on March 7, 2026, at Portland’s waterfront to oppose the regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran.<\/p>\n

John Rudoff \/ OPB<\/p>\n

Headlines from around the NorthwestOregon\u2019s sea level forecasts\u00a0more accurate<\/a>\u00a0than many around the globe, scientist says\u00a0(Courtney Sherwood)As Iranians in Portland hope for a free Iran, other protesters\u00a0call for speedy US exit<\/a>\u00a0(Courtney Sherwood)With an economy in flux, more Southern Oregon students\u00a0are choosing hands-on education<\/a>\u00a0(Jane Vaughan)How an Ashland school\u00a0trains bike mechanics<\/a>\u00a0for a changing industry\u00a0(Justin Higginbottom)The Eugene Gleemen\u00a0celebrate 100 years<\/a>\u00a0of performing \u2018for the sheer joy of singing\u2019\u00a0(Julia Boboc)Winter grain mites are\u00a0creating havoc<\/a>\u00a0in Washington fields\u00a0(Anna King)\u00a0Oregon State faces Gonzaga in WCC Tournament semifinal after\u00a0holding off San Francisco<\/a>\u00a078-77\u00a0(Associated Press)\u00a0Scoot Henderson scores 28 points as the Trail Blazers\u00a0beat the reeling Pacers<\/a>\u00a0131-111\u00a0(Associated Press)Listen in on OPB\u2019s daily conversation<\/p>\n

\u201cThink Out Loud\u201d airs at noon and 8 p.m. weekdays on OPB Radio, opb.org and the OPB News app. Today\u2019s planned topics (subject to change):<\/p>\n

US\u00a0Forest Service let wildland firefighters\u00a0wear gear containing dangerous chemicals<\/a>A look at University of Oregon\u2019s first-ever course on\u00a0hostage diplomacy<\/a>\"A<\/p>\n

A page from the new children’s picture book “Bing’s Cherries” by author Livia Blackburne and illustrator Julia Kuo. The story reimagines the life of Chinese horticulturist Ah Bing into a classic American tall tale.<\/p>\n

Courtesy of Random House Children\u2019s Books<\/p>\n

\u2018Bing\u2019s Cherries\u2019 rewrites the American tall tale through Oregon grower\u2019s life<\/p>\n

If you grew up in the United States, chances are the folk stories you read in school featured mostly white heroes, like Johnny Appleseed and Paul Bunyan. But what if you had grown up with a folk tale featuring an Asian character \u2014 a perfect hybrid of man and myth, a farmer with a larger-than-life presence?<\/p>\n

Enter Ah Bing, a horticulturalist who immigrated to Milwaukie, Oregon, from China around 1855. About 20 years later, a dark, cross-bred cherry was named after him by his employer, Seth Lewelling, giving rise to the famous Bing cherry.<\/p>\n

In addition to being honored each year at the \u201cBing in the New Year\u201d celebration in Milwaukie, Ah Bing has recently become the subject of a children\u2019s book called \u201cBing\u2019s Cherries,\u201d written by Los Angeles-based Livia Blackburne and illustrated by Seattle-based Julia Kuo.<\/p>\n

\u201cBing\u2019s Cherries\u201d is set for publication tomorrow. (Winston Szeto and Crystal Ligori)<\/p>\n

Learn more<\/a><\/p>\n

Subscribe to OPB\u2019s First Look<\/a> to receive Northwest news in your inbox six days a week.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Subscribe to OPB\u2019s First Look to receive Northwest news in your inbox six days a week. Good morning,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":524859,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[629],"tags":[49,48,206629,82,630],"class_list":["post-524858","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-first-look-news","tag-sports","tag-wnba"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/524858","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=524858"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/524858\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/524859"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=524858"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=524858"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=524858"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}