Oregon’s Distracted Driving Fines Are Highest in the Nation
By David Krogh Oregon’s distracted driving fines are the highest in the US. Rosenblum Law, a New Jersey law firm, conducted a survey and determined …
Local Headlines
Walkabout Kicks Off Alliance
By Midge Pierce A coalition called Inner Powell Alliance (IPA) has formed with Creston-Kenilworth, Richmond, Hosford Abernethy and Brooklyn Neighbor…
Neighborhood Associations Live Another Day
By Midge Pierce Score a success for neighbors seeking to retain a pipeline to City Hall. Postponement of a code change vote that could have upended …
Preschool Education Addressed, Funding Increased
By Don MacGillivray Housing costs, transportation, homelessness and poverty were the highest concerns from Oregonians surveyed in a recent poll cond…
Helping Oregon’s Veterans
By Nancy Tannler After twenty-two years in the military watching over the lives and well being of her fellow soldiers, Sergeant Tina Kennedy returne…
DOZA: Changing the City’s Design Review Process
By David Krogh By the year 2035, the City is expected to grow by 123,000 households. Since Portland’s leaders have determined Portland will grow…
Congestion Pricing
By Don MacGillivray Road congestion has almost reached the breaking point. Rush hour traffic is terrible on many freeways and arterials. Unless a ma…
The District Office
By Jack Rubinger The District Office, at the corner of Stark and MLK, is one of Portland’s first cross-laminated timber buildings; a new and excitin…
Solve Volunteers Clean Up
By Larissa Gordon From Astoria to Brookings, Baker City to Medford, over 5,500 dedicated volunteers came out in full swing, Saturday, September 21, …
A Day of Climate Action
By Midge Pierce Greta Thunberg should take heart. The planet’s children have issued a spectacular message that climate is a ticking timebomb. As …
Cracks in Code Change Surface
By Midge Pierce The fate of the city’s Neighborhood Associations continues to shift following Commissioner Chloe Eudaly’s threats to Council colleag…
What do Neighborhood Associations do?
By David Krogh Every part of the City of Portland is included within a neighborhood, and all of these have Neighborhood Associations (NAs) which res…
RIP Eyes Anti-displacement
By Midge Pierce Just as Portlanders were getting used to the idea of three and four-plexes in their single family neighborhoods, a proposal surfaced…
Congestion Pricing and Congestion
By David Krogh Portland area interstate highways, feeder streets, and even City streets have become more and more congested in recent years. That…
NAs Vow to Keep Portland Neighborly
By Midge Pierce If you value public input on landuse, transportation, infrastructure and livability, thank Neighborhood Association pushback for pos…
Officer Calls for Patience
By Midge Pierce In the face of protests, car thefts, Next Door burglary reports, public drug use, “sharps” (preferred word for needles) on streets a…
History of Neighborhood Associations
By Don MacGillivray Controversy, criticism, and change challenge neighborhood associations today. It is not just city problems troubling the neighbo…
Summertime and the Livin’ is Easy
By Midge Pierce A silver lining of the attack on Neighborhood Associations is the growing outreach to under-represented groups. It’s not always e…
A Solution to Climate Change
By Meera Ramachandran A scary book can help some folk nestle into the mood of the Halloween season. With the fall around the corner, it’s good to kn…
More and More Scooters Coming
By David Krogh Note: The Southeast Examiner discussed the Portland Bureau of Transportation’s (PBOT’s) implementation of a new one-year pilot projec…
Homelessness in SE Portland
By Jack Rubinger One of the dangers of getting used to the homeless problem in Portland is that you start feeling numb, then angry, then sad, then y…
Paint the Town Green
By Allen Field Approximately two hundred and fifty volunteers, young and old, fanned out from locations near 82nd Ave. and the Central Christian Churc…
Phoenix Reborn
By David Krogh An old boarded up triangular brick building on Foster Rd. is about to be reborn. Located at SE 67th St., it originally got its start as…
Code Challenges Neighborhood Clout
By Midge Pierce A City Bureau under Commissioner Chloe Eudaly is rushing a code change to Council that, under the guise of equity and inclusion, wea…
RIP’s search for land: Responsible Growth or Demolition Derby?
By Gabe Frayne On a quiet street off of NE Glisan, a one-story, century-old cottage fell to the wrecking ball three years ago to make way for a modern…
State Bills Passed in 2019
By David Krogh A stress filled and sometimes chaotic 2019 Oregon State legislative session is now over. Several bills that passed are noteworthy and w…
Overreach Called War on Neighborhoods
By Midge Pierce A riddle making the rounds goes, “What do you get when you co-opt worthy goals of inclusion and diversity behind closed doors? A burea…
SE Updates
By Midge Pierce RIP Gets Red Carpet It’s all over but the shouting. The passage of HB 2001, the nation’s first statewide ban on single family zon…
Associations May Go Dark Under New Code
By Midge Pierce Portland Neighborhood Associations’ fragile tethers to City Hall are growing ever more tenuous. That’s because changes in the Cod…
Commuting by Water Taxi
By Don MacGillivray Farsighted leaders have for many years, dreamed of ferrying commuters and tourists on the rivers around the region. Water-borne …
Prepare for More Oil Trains in PDX
By Don MacGillivray Ever since the creation of the oil fields in the Dakotas and Central Canada, the Pacific Northwest has been concerned that railr…
PBOT in the News
By David Krogh Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) has been receiving substantial publicity lately and much of it is negative. Here is a com…
SE Updates
By Midge Pierce Family Housing Relief Coming Some one hundred and eighty low-income families should get needed affordable housing in a five-story…
What Densification Means to Portland
By Midge Pierce The June walkout of state Senators gave critics of pending legislation like statewide upzoning in HB 2001 time to amp up objections …
Franklin Teacher Awarded
By Jack Rubinger Myron Ryan, a Franklin High School metalworking and manufacturing teacher, has received the Circle of Excellence Award from OnPoint…
Cleveland Robotics Goes to the Worlds
By Jack Rubinger Cleveland High School’s robotics team, The Pigmice (FRC 2733), recently wrapped up one of their most successful competition seasons…
SE Updates
By Midge Pierce The Kids Are Alright Grade school kids are leading the way toward racial understanding and sensitivity at Buckman Elementary. …
Railroad Retracking Becomes Possible Reality
By Midge Pierce Imagine inner Eastside without those infuriating mile-long trains stopping you in your uh, tracks. A pipedream? Not according to …
Stringent Parks Budget
By Don MacGillivray This year’s budget for the City of Portland Parks and Recreation Bureau (PP&R) indicates a major disconnect between PP&R…
Opportunity Zones Provide Capital Gains Tax Break
By Gabriel Frayne Jr. It’s been over half a century since the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development labeled the Buckman neighborhood a “p…
Housing: Is Bigger Better?
By Midge Pierce Despite massive construction and a reported 16,000 empty units, more housing has yet to move the needle significantly on affordabili…
City Budget Cuts Hits PP&R Hard
By Don MacGillivray The City of Portland held a large Town-Hall Meeting April 2 to review and discuss the forthcoming City Budget at the Immigrant a…
SE Updates
By Midge Pierce Demolition Harms Climate Too When it comes to climate change, our ecologically-minded city is steeped in contradictions. The sust…
Litter & Graffiti CleanUp
Metro and KINK Radio holds the second annual “Paint the Town Green” litter and graffiti cleanup events, Saturday June 1, from 9 am-1 pm. Last year’s…
Community News May 2019
Montavilla Farmer’s Market opens Montavilla Farmers Market invites you to join us as we kick off our 13th season on May 5th! We’ll have fresh local …
Climate Action Plan
By Midge Pierce Addressing climate change is ever more urgent as weather gets weirder, polar ice sheets melt and fires get hotter. A glimmer of g…
2019 State Housing Bill Updates that Affect SE Portland
By David Krogh HB2001 was amended by the House Committee on Human Services and Housing and was referred to the Joint Ways and Means Committee on Apr…
Educational Crisis Builds Funding Pressure
By Midge Pierce The expectation that dozens of teaching positions will be eliminated next year despite the Portland Public School (PPS) Superintende…
City Club Initiates Public Meetings for De-Commissioning Discussion
By David Krogh The City Club held a public meeting Wednesday, April 10, in the community room at McMennamin’s Kennedy School to initiate public disc…
Fritz to Retire in 2020
By David Krogh City Commissioner Amanda Fritz announced on April 5 that she would retire after her current term is up in 2020 and not run for re-el…
Laurelhurst Neighborhood Receives National Historic Recognition
It’s official! After years of work by hundreds of community volunteers, the Laurelhurst Neighborhood has been added to the National Register of Histori…
Local Effects of 2018 Tax Act
Jim Houser, owner of Hawthorne Auto Clinic, hosted a Town Hall with Congressman Earl Blumenauer and Senator Ron Wyden last month to speak with local b…
Clarifying PERS Benefits
By Don MacGillivray The Public Employee Retirement System(PERS) began in 1946 and includes many types of public service employees. The employee brea…
SE Updates
Yes, It Could Happen Here The geyser that erupted last month on NE Skidmore was caused by a break in a hundred-years plus, thirty-inch diameter wate…
State Bills Affecting Housing and Planning
By David Krogh Several bills in both the State House and Senate are being considered which will provide major changes to how future planning occurs …
New and Revised Taxation Plans
By Don MacGillivray With the Oregon legislature in search of more funding for public schools, various new or revised tax plans are being advanced. D…
Don’t Blink – More Change Coming
By Midge Pierce Pro-growthers score a big one RIP, the Residential Infill Project’s elimination of Portland’s single family neighborhoods, moved …
RNA Carries On
By Midge Pierce Perplexed Richmond residents filled tables, pushed together in a symbolic gesture of welcome, as the Neighborhood Association held i…
Music Millennium Hits 50
By J. Michael Kearsey Back in 1969, a person known as a Millennial was just a twinkle in every young granny-glassed eye: an adjective that pertained…
What is HB2003
By David Krogh HB2003 is yet another affordable housing bill sponsored by State House Speaker Tina Kotek, but, the bill attempts to strike into the …
SE Updates
By Midge Pierce Watchers Eye OCCL Warily Infighting within neighborhood associations like Richmond comes at a contentious time when city playboo…
Crime Keeps Coming Whether We Listen or Not
By Midge Pierce Portland’s police force has hit a decidedly rough patch. The bureau has a hundred vacancies to fill, internal morale is low and publ…
Imbroglios Threaten Future RNA
By Midge Pierce Turmoil that has roiled the Richmond neighborhood years ago has resurfaced to plague a community frequently hailed as among the nati…
Preservation Wrap up: Grassroots Makes a Comeback
By Midge Pierce In growth-centric Portland, preservation is taxing and grassroots clout is growing to protect architectural and cultural treasures a…
Rethinking Commission Form of Governance
By David Krogh The City Club has thrown a curveball at the Portland City Council. This pitch takes the form of a study and accompanying report wh…
Eastbank Esplanade Improvements: Temporary Closure Ahead
Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R), in partnership with the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT), Bureau of Environmental Services (BES), a…
New Alignments Push Back Against URM Policies
By Midge Pierce A potentially powerful alignment of diverse interests has coalesced to oppose City requirements that unreinforced masonry (URM) buil…
Major League Baseball in PDX
By Don MacGillivray Is the dream of major league baseball in Portland possible? A growing number of Portland’s notables think so. Craig Cheek, Ni…
SE Updates
By Midge Pierce Record Funding Found to Tackle Homelessness Low income housing relief is coming to SE. The Mayor bills the just-announced Permane…
High Tech to Grass Roots
In response to the Portland housing crisis, JT, a software developer, has tapped the housing design experts at Communitecture and the edible garden and…
Empty Apartments Pale in Comparison to China
By Don MacGillivray Much criticism has been leveled at the City about housing development of recent years. It seems that the city is over building a…
State Housing Bills Reflect City Proposals
By Midge Pierce As goes the City, so goes Salem with bills on the legislative docket for rent control and densification. Mayor Ted Wheeler indicates…
Business Owner Fights TriMet’s Overcrossing Project
By Jonathan Maus, editor and publisher of BikePortland This article originally appeared on BikePortland.org bikeportland.org/2018/12/20/business-o…
URM Year End Update
URM Year End Update by Gabriel Frayne Jr. The battle between URM building owners and the Portland City Council over seismic upgrades ended the ye…
Metro Urban Growth Boundary
By Don Mac Gillivray Predicting how much our region will grow is the job of the Portland Metropolitan Service District (Metro) and it isn’t easy. …
Homelessness in Portland Part II
By David Krogh There is no simple solution to eliminating homelessness, much less addressing it in a meaningful way. November’s edition introduced t…
RIP Positions Intensify
By Midge Pierce Sweeping land use reform that would eliminate single family housing is all the rage in entering 2019 as Oregon House Speaker Tina Ko…
Good Attitudes Make Good Neighbors
By Midge Pierce Good Neighbor Agreements are touted by staffers from SE Uplift and Portland’s newly rebranded Office of Office of Community and Civi…
RIP Year End Update
By David Krogh Speaker Tina Kotek has announced (per Willamette Week and The Oregonian) she is working on legislation that could mandate densificati…
Seasonal Giving Opportunities in SE Portland
By Jack Rubinger There’s no shortage of interesting, fun and easy seasonal giving and volunteer opportunities in our community this season. Here …
PDX in Motion
By Don MacGillivray Our city’s growth is a continuing issue for the many citizens that rely on local public services and infrastructure for daily li…
SE Updates
E-scooters update Hear ye, hear ye, e-scooter haters and lovers. The experiment is over. With some 676,000 trips logged covering 775,000 miles, the …
Centennial of the Armistice that Ended The Great War
By Right Rev. Roland Lakey November 11 of this year marks the 100th anniversary of the end of the Great War. At five am on that damp Monday morni…
Phantom Laundromat on Belmont
By Gabriel Frayne Jr. It’s not often in our fair city that one finds a long-abandoned building that has been tagged over by graffiti artists hired b…
What’s in the Exhaust of 60,000 Trucks?
By Midge Pierce Portland is awash in a toxic stew that is impacting the elderly, vulnerable and particularly children with particulate exposure that…
SE Updates
Historic preservation Historic preservation is an uphill battle in Portland. Opponents claim preservation obstructs growth. Proponents claim it can …
Progress On 82nd Ave. of Roses
By Don MacGillivray 82nd Avenue, the Avenue of Roses, has many changes ahead to realize the vision of local business people and neighbors. Commun…
Rating Commercial Building’s Energy Use
By Don MacGillivray In the 2017 energy audit of three quarters of Portland’s large buildings scored above the national average as compared with othe…
Film Explores Future of the City
By Midge Pierce Portland’s future may spin on whose interpretation of urban activist/journalist Jane Jacobs prevails. In a recent showing of Citizen…
Mt. Tabor Visitors Center Marks Fifty Thousand
By Nancy Tannler The Friends of Mt. Tabor Park (FMTP) held a celebration marking the fifty thousandth visitor to the visitor center since it opened …
In-depth Look at the Metro Housing Bonds
By Don MacGillivray The Metro bond measure on the November ballot will authorize $653 million in general obligation bonds to fund affordable housing…
Signs of the Times at PPS
By Midge Pierce The needle drop-box positioned on the fence in front of the Sunnyside K-8 school is a sign of the times, and while the park the scho…
SE Updates
By David Krogh Mayor’s Bureau Assignments Mayor Wheeler has been shuffling bureau assignments for City Commissioners as he becomes aware of burea…
Is PSC Turning Deaf Ear in the Name of Profit?
By Midge Pierce Tens of thousands of residents could be displaced by a rezoning proposed by the Portland Planning and Sustainability Commission (PSC…
ONI Changes Clarified
Office of Community and Civic Life (formerly Office of Neighborhood Involvement) Director Suk Rhee responded to last month’s Southeast Examiner article…
Belmont’s Christmas House Lives for Another Holiday
By Midge Pierce A once grand, century-old house at 5631 SE Belmont is being meticulously restored by a tour de force with the skill and determinatio…
Artist Live/Work Facility Under New Ownership
By David Krogh, The artist communal living center, Milepost 5, in the Montavilla neighborhood at 850 NE 81st St., has been sold to CDP – Community D…
Procedures Matter in Times of Change
By Midge Pierce A grievance filed within a SE neighborhood association may shed needed daylight on changing roles, responsibilities and rules of NAs…
Booming Belmont
By Gabriel Frayne Jr. SE Portland has a new street of dreams. The entire Belmont St. corridor from Grand Ave. to the foot of Mt. Tabor is presently …
What’s in a Name – ONI?/OCCL?
By Don MacGillivray Names are always important and a name will make a difference when the City of Portland’s Office of Community Involvement becomes…