Solving Portland’s Homeless Challenge: a Long-Standing Conundrum
By Don MacGillivray The challenge of homelessness has always been part of Portland. During the depression and World War II, housing development was …
Feature Stories
Treating Portland’s Water: Filtration vs. UV and Ozone
By Nancy Tannler On December 4, 2019 City Council Commissioners Amanda Fritz, Nick Fish and Mayor Ted Wheeler voted to proceed with Portland Water B…
Terica Buckner To Head Up Hawthorne Auto Clinic
By Jack Rubinger Terica Buckner is continuing Hawthorne Auto Clinic’s tradition of a family-owned woman-owned small business. Buckner takes the …
Make Emergency Prep a New Year’s Resolution
By Midge Pierce Rising from the center of SE Portland is a reminder of nature’s unpredictability: the only volcano in a major American city, accordi…
Home, Money and Age-Related Changes: Your Home and Your Memories
By Rachel Hemmingson, Consultant The Holiday Season is an evocative time. It is a marker of both continuity and change and it is the gateway to cold…
The Changing Face of Christmas
Op Ed by David Krogh “Keep Portland Weird” is one of many descriptors for Portland and it is entirely apropos considering the many diverse philosoph…
Building Small Sustainable Structures
By Nancy Tannler The Build Small Live Large Summit was held at PSU in November in response to a national demand for greater diversity in housing opt…
Look Up, There’s a Star Party on Mt. Tabor
By Midge Pierce If December holds a certain stargazing fascination for you (or you just want to scan the skies for Santa), consider trekking up Mt. …
Local’s Tale of the Pacific Crest Trail
By Nancy Tannler They say the hardest part of any journey is the first step. Fortunately for Duncan Bauerlein, his first step onto the Pacific Crest…
Meet The SE Examiner’s Team
By Kris McDowell Whenever I hear about new ownership taking over an existing business, one of the first things I want to know is the status of the s…
Restoring Watersheds and Salmon Runs
By Don MacGillivray It is a great tragedy that there is little remaining salmon habitat throughout the Pacific Northwest. One hundred years ago, str…
Business Walkabout November 2019
The Mud Room By Nina Silberstein Lizzie Koehler and Cole Lendrum searched for a place to practice their craft but the few, existing ceramic studi…
Kids Combat Climate Change
By Midge Pierce Anyone who doubts that children are leading the way to save the planet, meet Jeremy Clark and Charlie Abrams. Fearing for their …
Something to Crow About
By Midge Pierce They’re back and there’s a good chance their murder will land on a doorstep or rooftop near you. It’s crow season in Portland. As…
Representatively Speaking November 2019
By State Representative Rob Nosse As State Representative, not a week goes by where someone does not contact me with concerns about homelessness in …
The American Dream
By Nancy Tannler Mia Birdsong spoke at a public conversation/Happy Hour in the newly opened Apano building on 82nd & SE Division St. Commissi…
Celebrating 100 years in business
By Nancy Tannler A hundred years ago, Walter and Arnold Kuhnhausen opened their first appliance business with locations in both Portland and Seattl…
Business Walkabout in SE Portland Oct 2019
Presents of Mind By Nina Silberstein Retail businesses come and go, but Presents of Mind at SE 36th and Hawthorne has been a stronghold in inner …
Walking the talk of Christian charity
By Nancy Tannler At a poignant farewell dinner last month, Pat Schweibert addressed some of the hundreds of people she has served over the past thir…
Striking for the earth’s sake
By Midge Pierce Wondering about the large green billboard popping up on SE streets? It’s part of a countdown to a weeklong Global Climate Strike Sep…
Business Walkabout September 2019
Belmont Books By Nancy Tannler The Masonic looking symbol on the T-shirt of Belmont Books’ owner Joe Witt, actually reads Ordo Templi Oklahomis, …
Wireless Silent Spring
By Nancy Tannler The Oregon Legislative Assembly passed Senate Bill 283 on August 12. The bill recommends Oregon Health Authority and The Dept. of E…
Representatively Speaking September 2019
By State Representative Rob Nosse Happy Labor Day! Unlike the rest of the world that celebrates workers and their unions on May 1, the United States…
Gerry Loves Tacos
By Nina Silberstein Gerry is a seagull and the main character in Seasons Kaz Sparks’ new children’s book, Flock of Gerrys – Gerry Loves Tacos. The sto…
Clearing the caldera
By Nancy Tannler If you spend anytime in any one of our great Portland Parks you are well aware that there is no longer the man/woman power available …
Business Walkabout on Hawthorne
Nick’s Famous Coney Island By Jack Rubinger Nick Brown took over Nick’s Famous Coney Island in July. The good news? He’s keeping the iconic Portl…
Ideas for improving our voting system
By Don MacGillivray Voting is the means by which a viable Democracy survives and it seems strange that there is so much controversy around it here in …
Cleaning up diesel emissions
By Don MacGillivray Diesel exhaust has been an issue in Portland for many years. The Oregon State Legislature has finally been able to compromise on n…
For the love of flowers
By Nancy Tannler When our long time neighbors decided to pull up stakes and move to the Wallowas a few years ago, we were a little worried about who…
Books With Pictures moves into Longfellows space
By Jack Rubinger Riding my bike on a gorgeous June day, I stopped by the new Books With Pictures site (1401 SE Division St.) near Abernethy Elementa…
Business Walkabout in SE Portland July 2019
NW Scuba By Nina Silberstein When he was in the military and lived in Hawaii, Jesse Morgan was a free diver; someone who holds their breath until…
Teacher Helps Special Needs Kids
By Jack Rubinger Navigating your way through a new town, city or even a museum is stressful for many of us. Imagine what it’s like to explore the S…
Who’s Doing What About the Homeless
By Don MacGillivray From the Mayor’s recent statements and the City budget process, it is clear that a top priority of the City of Portland is to a…
Southeast Portland in 20 years
By David Krogh Planners learn through training and experience how to look 20 years into the future when planning for growth. In fact, all cities an…
Business Walkabout . . . in SE Portland june 2019
Board & Brush Creative Studio- Portland By Peter Zimmerman You can find Portland’s newest DIY craze on SE Division. Recently opened on May 4…
Notes from the Mt. Tabor Reservoir History Project
By Stephanie Stewart Four volunteers, along with a handful of Water Bureau employees and historians from Historical Research Associates, are creatin…
Exploratory Affordable Housing Program
By Nancy Tannler Portland is not the only city in America in dire need of affordable housing. In the past, big cities had “ghettos” as a place where…
Letters to the Editor May 2019
Save the Bus Stops on SE Division Regarding the so-called Bus Rapid Transit plan (BRT), an $80 million federal grant is good news for Tri-Met and…
Design Sparks Creative Solutions
By Midge Pierce Growth is inevitable but ugly is not, according to participants in April’s Design Week activities that showcased the best of both ne…
Walking Our Streets in Safety
By Don MacGillivray Everyone walks somewhere everyday. It is the oldest and most important means of getting around. The pedestrian is the foundation…
Local authors’ book unveils archetypes
By Ruth Matinko-Wald Diane Steinbrecher LCSW and Shannon Pernetti, are SE Portland residents at the top of their game. Both have over forty years of…
Business Walkabout in SE Portland May 2019
Re-Born gives your auto new life By Jack Rubinger Re-Born Automotive is celebrating thirty-five years of solid and stable service from their busy…
Celebrating twenty years of making music
By Mary Beth Camp After twenty years of holding classes with Portland families and their young children, Music Together of Portland is now one of th…
Representatively Speaking May 2019
By State Representative Rob Nosse There was a time when Oregon’s K-12 schools were the pride of our state. Our graduation rates were among the highe…
Reinventing Cargo
By Jack Rubinger Cargo has reinvented itself from a standard retail model into an international bazaar/small business incubator. It’s an emporium wi…
Old windows that work
Inner Portland neighborhoods consist mainly of houses that predate the 1950s and we all know the frustration of having windows that won’t open. Patt…
Vespa Portland combines community and fun
By Peter Zimmerman Since last year, Vespa Portland, the Pacific Northwest’s largest scooter store, has been under new management. Taking over after …
Animal Traffic’s new chapter in SE
By Peter Zimmerman After years in NE, Animal Traffic is starting fresh at 134 SE Taylor St #201. The store has been around since 2009 and features h…
Belmont ‘Christmas House’ debuts on April house tour
The rehabilitation of a once beloved, formerly abandoned three-story, turn of last Century mansion is among three homes in SE featured on the Architect…
Representatively Speaking April 2019
By State Representative Rob Nosse Recently, articles in The Southeast Examiner and several other local news outlets have highlighted how our stat…
Letters to the Editor April 2019
Dear Editor: Thanks for your recent front-page article on the fact that crime in Portland keeps happening whether we listen or not. It’…
History of Taylor Court Grocery
By Nancy Tannler One of the positive attributes to living in the Montavilla neighborhood is having access to Taylor Court Grocery, 1335 SE 80th Ave.…
SciFi adventure offers a glimmer of hope
By Nancy Tannler When Ephraim Weisstein first started thinking about his ideas for a novel in 2010, he assumed he would be the writer. After a hundr…
Metro’s new council president
By Don MacGillivray Metro’s new council president, Lynn Peterson, was sworn into office January 7 to take over the region wide agenda of local gover…
Letters to the Editor March 2019
Greetings I am reading the latest issue and amidst all of the growth and turbulence and congestion of this “New Portland”, there remains The Southea…
The other Keny-Guyer
By Gabriel Frayne Jr. Neal Keny-Guyer has been one of SE Portland’s better-known residents since he and his wife, State Rep. Alissa Keny-Guyer, move…
The Redd
By Doe Hatfield The wait is over for local food buyers, Portland party planners, food system futurists, and curious commuters of SE Portland. The Re…
Letters to the Editor
To the Editor: In response to the December article by Midge Pierce on “The 5G Juggernaut” I would like to expand a little. Few understand that propo…
The Attic Institute celebrates twenty years
By Jack Rubinger It’s about ten steps up to The Attic Institute through a narrow entranceway on Hawthorne Blvd. on a rainy winter afternoon. To t…
Representatively Speaking February 2019
By Rob Nosse, State Representative The 2019 legislative session has begun. Since I began serving, one of my priorities has been addressing the risin…
Portopia January 2019
What to expect in 2019 By Midge Pierce It can only get better, right Portopia? Consider: Ubiquitous Airbnb host Nadia Everywhere delivers an …
Letters to the Editor January 2019
Dear Commissioner Eudaly, Thank you for having a staff member write to answer my concerns about the Residential Infill Project (RIP). I wrote to …
Reinforced workspace ready for a long future
By Nancy Tannler The iconic old building that faces Hawthorne Blvd. at Mt. Tabor is now reinforced in case The Big One hits. Despite the commotion o…
PDX food city
By Don MacGillivray Portland used to be a distant second to the likes of Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and even New York City. In many are…
Kerns Neighborhood: calling out hate
By Midge Pierce Seventeen street capsigns featuring the likeness of Ethiopian Exchange student Mulugeta Seraw (murdered 30 years ago near Laurelhurs…
Montavilla Historic Resource Survey
By Brandon Spencer-Hartle City Planner This winter, the Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability (BPS) partners with the University of Ore…
Portopia
By Midge Pierce Feeling Scroogey Portopia? Take heart. Donation buckets and poetry posts are full. Little Libraries balance give and take. Phones re…
Safe Online Shopping
By John Palmeri, Branch Manager, OnPoint Community Credit Union Hawthorne Branch As the holiday season approaches and the spirit of holiday giving t…
Portland Neighbors for Diesel Action
By Wesley Ward, Portland Neighbors for Diesel Action Clean-air construction on public sites in seven years?! Is that the best we can do? Our City…
Restaurants adjust to new dining trends
By Midge Pierce As SE Portland’s commercial corridors grow and change, so too do the eating habits of residents. Cavier, GrubHub and even Amazon are…
La Bamba receives perfect marks
For the third time in eleven years, La Bamba Restaurante, 4908 SE Powell Blvd. received a 100 percent score from the Multnomah County Health Department…
Dr Vino – Bubbles For The Holidays!
Flute in hand, I untwist the wire, ease the cork, tip the bottle and slide this pale gold (or pink) offering down the side of its next to last containe…
Representatively Speaking December 2018
By Representative Rob Nosse The election and what comes next Wow. What a difference two years makes. I still remember Election Night in 201…
Christmas culture in Portland
Op Ed by David Krogh Christmas has different meanings to different people. To devout Christians, it identifies a celebration of the birth of Christ…
Andy & Bax – an original
By Nancy Tannler The iconic Andy & Bax Outdoor Store has been in business since 1945 when two army buddies, Edgar Baxter and Andy Anderson start…
Not your Average Joe
By Jack Rubinger SE Portland’s Not-Your-Average Joe Mishkin remembers performing magic shows for the neighborhood kids in Indianapolis when he was s…
Addressing homeless problems in PDX
By David Krogh Media estimates put the homeless count in Portland at +/- 5000 with increases around 10% per year. Portland has become a draw for the…
Notes from a planning conference
By David Krogh Note: The conference identity was inadvertently edited out. It was the annual conference of the Oregon Chapter of the American Plann…
Letters to the Editor Nov 2018
Editor’s note: As a follow up to last month’s letter about gas-powered leaf blowers, an important section on noise pollution was omitted. Here is the c…
Letters to the Editor October 2018
An Argument for the Banning of Gas-Powered Leaf Blowers Gas powered leaf blowers have become ubiquitous in Portland and the noise and air pollution …
A story of horror and hope
By Nancy Tannler The Lone Fir Cemetery’s Tour of Untimely Departures will not be taking place on Halloween this year, but fortunately for story love…
Cost of housing’s value
By Don MacGillivray The history of housing affordability in Portland is complex. Thirty years ago, inner city neighborhoods were affordable for low-…
Art on a wall
By Midge Pierce Self-taught Eastside artist Laurel McSpadden takes no short-cuts crafting a personal approach to her customized paintings. “I want m…
Laurelhurst Hometour a success
From indigenous American tribal gatherings to the privations of early Portland pioneers; through roaming cougars to the formation of pig farms and gran…
Portopia Loses Its Righteous Edge
By Midge Pierce Portopia’s storied charm has the yips. The former Rose City is declared a cesspool, the noxious air so thick Beijing boasts better a…
Classes for women by women
By Nancy Tannler After dealing with a lifelong weight struggle, Tammy Salvato eventually found a solution at a gym in NE Portland. It was here she m…
Bricks, Mortars and Memories OpEd August 2018
OpEd By Corey Brunish Everyone wants the safest possible city. Every building owner wants to know he has done everything in his power to make his pr…
Letters to the Editor August 2018
Dear SE Examiner I realize the title of this article is “Pushback Over Parking Reform,” but perhaps you could have found someone’s perspective that …
It Takes A Village
By Midge Pierce Despite the City’s long-standing promise to establish a nearby recreation and community center, inner SE lacks city-funded resources…
Representatively Speaking August 2018
Upcoming ballot measures By Representative Rob Nosse In late spring, I wrote about petitions that were circulating and vying for the November bal…
NorthStar Supported by 100 Women Who Care
By Karen Oehler At a special luncheon in August, NorthStar Clubhouse, a mental health recovery community, received checks totaling $6000 from 100 Wo…
Land use news and notes -OpEd
OpEd By David Krogh, AICP So much is happening in Portland lately in terms of land use, planning, and government processes. Here is a summary of sev…
Hawthorne Street Fair Sunday August 26
Sunday, August 26; 11am – 6 pm Celebrate 35 years with neighbors and friends! Whether you bike it, walk it or drive to it, join Hawthorne Merchan…
Letters to the Editor August 2018
To the Editor: I had a fall from my trike – a combination of unfamiliar area, (I’m from SW) failing light, etc. etc. The SE neighbors got me disent…
Local Tech Company Invests in Inner Southeast
By Emily Puro On the west side of SE 12th Ave. between Hawthorne and Madison, sits a black concrete building that, like so many other buildings in i…
On the road with Katie Spillane
By Midge Pierce For transcontinental cross- Canada cyclist Katie Spillane, SE Portland was the mid-point, time-wise, in her solo bike trip from Queb…
Group singing in Portland
Summertime... and the singing is easy. From farmer’s markets to backyard barbecues, hearty voices raise in song. At a patio in Colonial Heights, SE …
Hawthorne Street Fair history
By Roger Jones The first “Street Fair” on Hawthorne was in 1983 when a guitarist, a Tarot Card reader and a couple of non-profit organizations kicke…
Letters to the Editor July 2018
Dear Editor, RNA Appoints all Candidates to the Board, Overrules Election Results As a Board Member of the Richmond Neighborhood Association, and…
Representatively Speaking July 2018
What to expect on your ballot By Representative Rob Nosse If you’ve been out in our part of the world this time of year, chances are you have bee…