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Albertsons CEO buys $450k of stock, Intel has 10% rally, anti data center rhetoric heats up in Montana, Oregon, and Washington, Trail Blazers at impasse on Moda Center renovations, all eyes on Washington elections.

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PNW Market Look

As of market close 8.4.26

Bending Spoons makes first post-IPO acquisition with $1.3 billion Airtable deal (Reuters)

Headline Roundup

Oregonians are extremely skeptical of data centers, new polling suggests (OPB)
Design-build team wanted for $35M Redmond teen center (DJC)
Trail Blazers, city clash over Moda Center renovation funding (DJC)
Price tag of Portland’s Rose Quarter road project jumps past $3B as funding gap balloons, records show (ORL)
Regulators, PNW coal plant operator agree on conversion to gas (PBJ)
New apartment permitting in Portland picks up slightly, remains far below recent highs (PBJ)
Acting AG Todd Blanche reaches deal with holdout senators to scrap $1.8B ‘anti-weaponization’ fund (Ground)
US Senate stopgap fails to renew more than $38B a year in state transportation funding (DM)
Federal aid approved for 6 Washington counties battling wildfires (MNW)
How Deschutes County and Bend chooses which roads to fix first (BB)
Gov. Kotek announces $10 million fund for rural Oregon infrastructure projects (KTVZ)
Oregon transportation agency faces $200 million budget gap (BB)
Albertsons CEO Susan Morris Buys $450,000 on the Open Market. (MF)
Mining company to explore new critical mineral source near Philipsburg (MTS)
Zillow to lay off more than 500 employees (PBJ)
FAA certifies new Boeing 737 Max variant, clearing jet to carry passengers (PBJ)

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Community Highlight

Suspected arsonist arrested for lighting Spokane fire, disaster declaration approved (OPB)
Washington primary election: Key races to watch across the state (KOMO)
Angling restricted on two dozen rivers in Montana, Yellowstone National Park (MTFP)
Idaho governor’s race: Pickens, Stegner say they are in it to win it (IDC)

Rip’s Spotlight

As Oregon burns and gamblers bet, lawmakers push back against wildfire betting markets drawing millions (ORL)

“As Oregon surpassed its wildfire acreage record over the weekend with more than 2 million acres burned, Oregon lawmakers also raised a new wildfire concern Monday as prediction markets continue to allow people to place bets on wildfires, saying it could lead to more human-caused fires.

In a letter to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which regulates prediction markets, Sen. Jeff Merkley led lawmakers from other wildfire-stricken states and Sen. Ron Wyden in urging the agency to crack down on wildfire-related contracts. The group warned the markets could create financial incentives for arson and criticized what they described as profiteering from disasters affecting vulnerable communities.

“By offering contracts on fires, prediction market sites run the risk of encouraging people to influence fires that have already started, creating additional concerns around public safety and insider trading.”

The senators pointed to prediction market platforms, including Polymarket, which have attracted millions of dollars in wildfire-related wagers. According to the letter, more than $1 million was wagered on the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires alone.

“Gambling on U.S. elections is a bad bet for our democracy,” Merkley said in 2024. “Effective immediately, huge Wall Street firms can open trading to the wealthy so they can bet millions on which party controls the House or Senate.”

Wildfires are not the only natural disaster Polymarket allows users to bet on. In an active market on their website betters can choose “yes” or “no” to whether a Category 5 hurricane makes landfall in the U.S, a volcano erupts or an earthquake occurs.”