Just received this alarming two-sentence email from the TriMet newsroom:

TriMet faces $27 million in cuts for [Fiscal Year]11 budget; will be discussed tomorrow at 10:15 a.m. No other details available tonight.

Thanks for the details, TriMet. These cuts could be much larger than the ones the agency underwent last year. In 2009/2010, TriMet made up for a $13 million budget gap by slashing free bus service from Fareless Square, freezing staff salaries, eliminating 139 jobs and cutting five bus lines, among other changes.

What would go if the agency cut twice as deeply? Or maybe they'd consider replacing poetry on the bus with ads on the bus?

Previous reporting on TriMet's budget here.