Representatively Speaking
By State Representative Rob Nosse Many of you know I write an e-newsletter. It really took off during the start of the pandemic when people were hungry for information and updates […]
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Feature Stories
Tackle Clutter With a Purpose
By Arashi Young The days get longer, the weather gets warmer and the neighborhood plants toss pollen into the air. There’s no denying it – spring is here. Spring is
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Get Better Gas Mileage
By Kris McDowell With gas prices at record levels it’s a good idea to take steps to increase your gas mileage. For over 100 years, AAA has been helping travelers
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Paying Off Debt as Retirement Nears
By Kris McDowell Take Charge America has been offering financial education and counseling services since 1987. Michelle Sullivan, personal financial consultant with Take Charge American, says, “Although paying down debt
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Oscar’s Burgers
By Ellen Spitaleri At Oscar’s Burgers, the impossible is possible — at least in the plant-based burger world. During the pandemic, the restaurant, located at 3500 SE Milwaukie Ave. across
Everyone Here is From Somewhere Else
By Jack Rubinger Mysteries, comedy and atmospheric Irish golf abound in this stand-alone novel that also continues the stories of brothers Phillip and Spencer Elliot first explored in the novel
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Really Good Stuff Vintage and Collectibles Reopens
By Ellen Spitaleri As Evan Shlaes was on his way to work on the morning of October 5, 2021, he saw two fire trucks headed in the direction of Really
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Kanji Fusion Restaurant
By Jack Rubinger Division St. has a new Chinese and Japanese restaurant, all in one, headed by Sushi Chef Jake Wu. It’s called Kanji Fusion. Kanji are a set of
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Representatively Speaking March 2022
By State Representative Rob Nosse This month I have been in Salem a lot as we rush to pass bills and improve budgets in a 35-day window. As I mentioned in
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Pitfalls of Natural Remedies in the News
In the last half of January, we saw two exciting studies released about the potential therapeutic benefits of hemp compounds like CBD and CBDA in fighting COVID-19. The first study
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Literary Arts 2022 Fellowship Recipients Announced
Literary Arts received over 500 applications for the 13 fellowships to be awarded for 2022. Judges from out-of-state spent several months evaluating the applications, using literary excellence as the primary
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Universal Design Principle Advances Equity For All
By Nancy Tannler The 7 Principles of Universal Design were first developed in 1997 by the late Ronald Mace of North Carolina State University, and a group of architects, product
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Yarn Bombing Spreads Love on SE Division St.
By Ellen Spitaleri Don’t let the name fool you, yarn bombing is not an act of war. Instead, it is the act of covering objects or structures with crocheted or
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Super Cities! Portland
By David Krogh Super Cities! Portland is the latest in a series of books from Arcadia Children’s Books a division of Arcadia Publishing. The book’s author is Portland resident Cindy
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Representatively Speaking February 2022
By State Representative Rob Nosse By the time you read this I will be in the midst of another legislative session. Last month I wrote about the bills I was working
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SE Café Owner Overcomes Coffee Industry Barriers
By James Hill, Portland Community College The fair trade coffee industry isn’t always fair to small farmers like Hector Mejía Zamora and his family. The owner of SE Portland’s Café Zamora
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Lemon Tree Wellness
By Ellen Spitaleri When Heidi Weiss decided to rebrand her business in 2021 and call it Lemon Tree Wellness, she took inspiration from a lemon tree she had been given.
LOL Jokes: Portland
By David Krogh Who would have known while looking at a new joke book about Portland that the author is well known in the comic book and children’s television industries?
Representatively Speaking January 2022
By State Representative Rob Nosse As you have hopefully heard, we held a special session of the Legislature in December to allocate additional rental assistance and deal with other pressing budget
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Family Promise of Metro East to Open Family Shelters in March 2022
By Ellen Spitaleri Currently the lack of affordable housing and the homeless situation are two challenging issues in Portland. “We’re all concerned and not sure how to help,” said Beckie
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Fall Sports Recap: Cross Country Strikes Again for Franklin High School Lightning
By Luke Ramsey On November 6, Franklin High School’s varsity men’s and women’s cross country teams finished in the top four in Oregon’s State Championships 5K races. Senior runners Charlie
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WITS Returns to Schools, Celebrating its 25th Anniversary
By Jack Rubinger Writing is often a solitary exercise. Writers spend hours by themselves, taking notes, reading aloud, thinking or just bouncing balls off the wall trying to find a
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Melancholia
By David Krogh The term “melancholia” is often used to describe a mental state of profound despair or even sadness. However, poet Adam Horvath’s book Melancholia is anything but that
Mama & Hapa’s Zero Waste Shop
By Ellen Spitaleri Ross Ching knows that Mama & Hapa’s Zero Waste Shop isn’t going to cure climate change, but he hopes it does make people more mindful of where
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Student Journalists Contribute to The Southeast Examiner
By Nora Hugo and Sophie McEwen The Franklin Post staff are excited to announce they will be bringing young voices to The Southeast Examiner this school year by contributing one student
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Lardo’s Chefwich is a Win-Win-Win
By Kris McDowell Restaurants throughout Portland have developed ways of giving back to the community. SE-born Lardo has been doing so in the form of their Chefwich program since shortly
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Local Company Spruces Up Peacock Lane Decoration
By Kris McDowell Peacock Lane is a SE Portland holiday tradition, with residents of the four-block street decking it out in holiday spirit annually, even as houses are sold and
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Flipside Hats is Moving
By Gabe Frayne Kori Giudici, the co-owner of Flipside Hats, emphasized the importance of sustainability as she gave me a tour of the remodeled empty space at 7850 SE Stark
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House of Dreams: A Loving Home For All Cats
By Ellen Spitaleri If cats could dream, they would conjure up an environment exactly like the one at House of Dreams cat shelter in NE Portland where felines have room
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Portland’s Historic Cemeteries
By David Krogh Many people think of books about cemeteries in terms of spooky tales. Others might assume these books would only discuss important people buried there. A new book
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Human Solutions: Community Where Everyone Can Thrive
By Ellen Spitaleri When Portland City Commissioner Nick Fish died in January 2020, the metro area lost a beloved and resolute city activist who prioritized affordable housing and accessible green
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Corner Store Provided More Than Groceries
By Sarah Zollner Case Just after the birth of our second child, we moved into a house on a corner lot in a historic neighborhood, across the street from a
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Backyard Science & Discovery Workbook: Pacific Northwest
By Kris McDowell Summer may be winding down and school may be starting, but there’s still plenty of time to take advantage of the beautiful Pacific Northwest to get kids
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For Heaven’s Sake – 5G Satellites in Space
By Nancy Tannler Speakers Julian Gresser and Ben Levi, from the Healthy Heavens Trust Initiative, recently presented the webinar, Protecting the Heavens – The Legal Implications of 5G Satellites in
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Money Talks to Have with College Bound Teens
Nonprofit Take Charge America is encouraging parents to talk with their college-bound teenagers about how to build a strong financial foundation. College may present situations where teens need to make
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SE Cafés Gradually Reopen
By Gabe Frayne For many Portlanders, the closing or near-closing of the city’s numerous coffeehouses stands out as the most visible impact on the city’s community life brought about by
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Common Ground Reckoning with Land-Race History
By Kate Belt Common Ground Presbyterian Church, 2828 SE Stephens St., was originally incorporated in 1961 as Colonial Heights, a name based on the real estate designation at the time.
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Pacific Northwest Birding Companion for Novice Birders
By Ellen Spitaleri To get closer to nature, all you have to do is look up. Go outside, look up at birds in the sky and to find out more
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Inner Gate Health & Wellness
By Jack Rubinger Inner Gate Acupuncture is now Inner Gate Health & Wellness, and has locations in both SE and NE Portland. The change was made to reflect a more
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How We Do Family
By Kris McDowell How We Do Family isn’t the typical book about adoption, pregnancy and parenting. Beyond the fact that it is about trans pregnancy and LGBTQ parenthood, it’s a
Blueberry Season is Here
Fresh Oregon-grown blueberries are one of the joys of summer and right now they’re at the peak of perfection. Thanks to Oregon’s skilled and passionate growers, this season will yield
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Summer is Time to Bust Out Your Pickleball
By Jack Rubinger Pickleball combines aspects of whiffle ball, tennis, ping-pong and badminton. It’s a sport that’s fun, great for all ages and is easy to learn. So who came
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CSAs Support Local Farmers
By Holly Hutchason, Executive Director, Pacific NW CSA Coalition Did you know there are small farms all around the Portland area selling shares of their harvest to residents as a subscription?
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The Oddmire Book 3: Deepest, Darkest
By Kris McDowell William Ritter’s award-winning middle grade fantasy series, The Oddmire, is releasing a much-anticipated third exploit of brothers Tinn and Cole this month. The gripping monster-filled, scary-funny adventure
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Portland Speakers at Recycling Conference
The 2021 Northeast Recycling Council (NERC) Spring Conference offered two days of presentations on environmentally sustainable materials management, a topic not only something many people in the Pacific NW are
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WildCraft Studio School
By Ellen Spitaleri WildCraft Studio School has come a long way from its roots, moving from a rural studio in White Salmon, WA, to a roomy, light-filled space on SE
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Critical Thinking Required
By Nancy Tannler At a Civics for Adults workshop sponsored by the Oregon City Public Library Donna Cohen, M.L.I.S., M.Ed., presented Misinformation, Fake News, and Political Propaganda to a non-partisan
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Portland Statue History Through the Sculptors
By Daniel Perez-Crouse For many, the television show Portlandia primarily conjures images of Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein impersonating Pacific NW stereotypes in skits, even for citizens who walk by
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Social Stigma of COVID-19
By Jack Rubinger Some people are born to be caregivers. Others grow into the role. In Maria Beatty’s case, she was born into a caregiver role as part of big,
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Best Friends Forever
By Nancy Tannler Peering out the window on any given Tuesday morning – rain or shine – a contingent of women pull up to my neighbors’ house for coffee. These
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Ritual Dyes
By Ellen Spitaleri Even with the advent of vaccinations, COVID-19 is still with us and pandemic depression is a real thing. Bratcher is the owner of Ritual Dyes, a yarn
Boys & Girls Aid Fosters Futures
By Ellen Spitaleri The pandemic is not the only crisis in Oregon right now. Unfortunately there are nearly 8,000 children in foster care and the spread of COVID-19 has made
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Compassion and Conservation: The Heart of Kindness Farm
By Jack Rubinger There’s a lot of love in the hands and hearts of the many volunteers at the new Kindness Farm in SE Portland. Started by Lou Levit, Kindness
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Khan Academy Aids Students and Teachers
By Don MacGillivray In this period of school closures due to COVID-19, the education of children and teenagers is left to the resources of parents. Therefore many alternative learning options
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Montavilla Mailman Transforms Streets with Dance
By Megan McMorris As the world’s gears are slowly starting to turn again, it’s almost hard to imagine what things were like just one year ago – streets eerily empty;
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To See or Not To See
By Nancy Tannler Observing the night sky without the background illumination of city lights is a profound experience. Almost everyone has a fleeting memory of seeing the expanse of our
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Laurelthirst Pub Perseveres
By Gabe Frayne On a soggy Saturday evening in Portland, a band called The Resolectrics belted out a rendition of Have Mercy from the stage of the Laurelthirst Public House
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Book Looks at Criminals in Portland’s History
By David Krogh Portland Rogues Gallery: A Baker’s Dozen Arresting Criminals from Portland History is the latest in a long series of books by Arcadia Publishing on the history of
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5 Things Retirees Will Wish They Had Known Sooner
Many people planning for retirement anticipate their post-working years eagerly, ready to relax after a life of toil. Others plan with greater anxiety, unsure whether they even have an identity
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Improvement Projects, New Leadership at Leach Botanical Garden
By Ellen Spitaleri Change is in the air and on the ground at Portland Parks & Recreation’s Leach Botanical Garden, the former estate of botanist Lilla Leach and her husband
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Ode to the Neighborhood Corner Store
By Megan McMorris I first visited Taylor Court Grocery hoping to sweet-talk my way into a job. It didn’t work. Little did I realize, Mel Hafsos and Errol Carlson have
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MCL: Record Digital Checkouts + Everybody Reads 2021 Program
By Kris McDowell Just because locations of Multnomah County Library (MCL) have had to alter operations due to COVID-19 doesn’t mean reading isn’t happening or being promoted. Recently released numbers
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The Groundhopper Guide to Soccer in England
By Jack Rubinger The Groundhopper Guide to Soccer in England is a 380-page travel and cultural guide to all things football in the UK, completely updated for the 2020-21 season.
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SE Uplift Year in Review
By Nancy Tannler When Leroy Eadie stepped into the position of the Director of SE Uplift Neighborhood Coalition last January, he had no idea business as usual was about to
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AARP’s Vital Aging Conference
By Ellen Spitaleri Even though AARP Oregon’s 9th Vital Aging Conference took place in November, people still have the opportunity to access speaker presentations from the conference on the AARP
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Flip the Script Addresses Homeless Youth
By Daniel Perez-Crouse “We are treating the symptom and not the cause,” said Doug Riggs, Director of Alliance4Kids, while moderating an event hosted by the Oregon Health Forum about shifting
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Pathways to Solutions
By Rachel Hemmingson This season, normally one of togetherness, highlights the problem of separation exacerbated by COVID-19, but it may inspire us to find pathways to solutions. Some older homeowners
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Virtual Music Scene Enjoys Crescendo
By Jack Rubinger As a musician (clarinet and saxophonist), I miss the sessions, the camaraderie, the beers and the laughs that were such a part of my life prior to
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Volunteers Spruce Up Lents Village
By Nancy Tannler On a rainy Saturday morning in November, 20 volunteers showed up at Lents Village Apartments to clean and revitalize the outdoor patio and gardening area. They spent
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Portland’s Hawthorne Boulevard, A New Book
By Ellen Spitaleri When Rhys Scholes set out to write his first book, he decided to focus on something familiar. The Hawthorne area has been his home for decades and
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Assessing Housing for Older Homeowners
By Rachel Hemmingson Here we are in dark, short, rainy days. Like every other year, we’ve put away lawn furniture and said goodbye to our gardens, but this year is
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Montavilla’s Tinker Tavern Opening This Month
By Megan McMorris Walking down lively SE Stark St. these days, it’s hard to imagine that just a season ago, the empty streets looked like the scene out of a
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Seniors Create Art During Quarantine
By Kris McDowell Like many residential care facilities in Portland and across the US, the residents at Whitewood Gardens have been quarantined in their rooms to keep them safe. It’s
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Travel the Globe with The Chicken Soup Manifesto
By Kris McDowell Portland’s Jenn Louis released her third cookbook in September, The Chicken Soup Manifesto: Recipes From Around the World. The 240-page book is divided by country, taking readers
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Longtime SE Residents Lose Home in Echo Mountain Fire
By Megan McMorris It’s a scene out of a nightmare: waking up in the middle of the night to discover a fire coming toward you. A neighbor pounding on the
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CDC Issues Halloween Guidelines
By Kris McDowell Halloween is typically a time of parties and getting together with friends for spooky fun. Like many things over the past six months, Halloween will need to
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How Some Americans’ Health Habits Changed During COVID-19
Are you finding yourself walking more or struggling with your diet these days? If so, you are not alone. The COVID-19 pandemic may have changed many aspects of our lives,
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Timing a Home Sale
By Rachel Hemmingson Weirdly, there is a whole lot of real estate activity right now and we don’t see it slowing any time soon. What does the timing of this
Status of Mormon Church Unclear
By Jack Rubinger The church at SE 29th & Harrison has been under-used or unused by the Mormon Church for many years. It was built in the early 1930s and
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Home Share Offers Solution to Affordable Housing
The numbers are staggering. In the first 12 weeks after Governor Brown declared a state of emergency in March, 450,000 Oregonians filed for unemployment and an estimated 50,000 lost insurance
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Modern Middle Housing Virtual Tour
By David Krogh In June the Homebuilders Association of Metropolitan Portland (HBA), Metro and the Build Small Coalition hosted a virtual tour of modern middle housing project examples intended to
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Free Geek Helps PPS Students
By Ellen Spitaleri “We view the internet like electricity and Free Geek provides the light bulbs,” said Adelle Pomeroy, the digital inclusion manager at Free Geek, a nonprofit community organization
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Walker Tracker
By Jack Rubinger It’s been five months since the initial lock down in Portland and we’re facing the next (silent) public health emergency, a mental health pandemic. People aren’t leaving
Improvement Grants Awarded to Nonprofits
By Nancy Tannler In February of 2019 Portland City Council approved the Enhanced Services District (aka business improvement district), in the Central Eastside; a geographic area from the Willamette River
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Letter to the Editor September 2020
To the Editor: The North Tabor Neighborhood Association meets every third Tuesday to discuss topics that impact our community. One of these topics includes construction taking place in the area
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Pandemic Pivots: Two Success Stories
By Megan McMorris When Marko Johnson opened MuddWorks coffee roastery on NE 70th and Glisan in November 2019, his plan was to focus on wholesale roasting first, retail second. Plans
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Your Home and Community
By Rachel Hemmingson, Consultant & Advocate for Aging Well When I was first working with Home Equity Conversion Mortgages, a woman called me with great shame and fear. She’d come
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Our Common Purpose
By Don MacGillivray The United States finds itself challenged by shifting political, economic and social conditions. There is a prevailing sense of crisis in America and with the challenges of
Gardening and Aging Well
By Rachel Hemmingson, Consultant & Advocate for Aging Well Ever since the stay-at-home decree, I’ve observed one small business down the street from me being absolutely swamped: it’s a garden
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What to Plant Now in Your Home Garden
By Ian Wilson, Portland Edible Gardens Summer is in full swing. Spring greens have wilted away in the heat, tomatoes are starting to ripen on the vines, zucchini’s broad canopy
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Rising from the Ashes: Montavilla’s Main Drag Gets Creative
By Megan McMorris When I last saw Daniel and Elise Gold in February of this year, we were sitting at Montavilla Brew Works (SE 76th and Stark) as they told
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Eastside Village Works
When COVID-19 shut down the state, all lives changed dramatically. This was never more true than for seniors who often struggle with a sense of isolation from their communities. As
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Getting the Healthcare You Need During COVID-19
By Dr. Richard Smith, Intermountain Regional Vice President for Health Services, Humana Multnomah County residents have been turning to virtual medical visits, also known as telemedicine, more than ever during
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Addressing Workplace Safety
By Jack Rubinger At Reed College, concerns about Oregon OSHA’s top workplace safety hazards are being addressed pro-actively. These include injuries from trips and falls, chemical spills, physical and mental
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Book Takes Readers on a Portland Tour
By Kris McDowell 111 Places in Portland That You Must Not Miss is a book that feels good in your hands. The sturdy, ultra-heavy stock paper cover is smooth and
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Rocket Empire Machine Readies for Launch
By Kris McDowell These days we are seeing change in many areas of life and in many areas of our city. One area that may have flown under your radar
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Staying Safe At Home
By Rachel Hemmingson, Consultant & Advocate for Aging Well In this time of the pandemic life is bewildering. Two friends of mine have lost 90+-year-old aunts to the illness. A
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OMSI Reopens with BODY WORLDS Exhibit
By Kris McDowell Prior to the COVID-19 closing of Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI), they received another BODY WORLDS exhibit from the series of traveling exhibits that has
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Urbanism Next Addresses COVID-19
By David Krogh Urbanism Next, the University of Oregon program, sponsored a virtual forum on May 14. The primary topic was COVID-19 and its impact on cities, primarily related to
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Where Have All the Insects Gone?
By Nancy Tannler Have you noticed your windshield is no longer splattered with bugs when you return from a road trip? That might make washing easy, but the bad news
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