Club Impact Fills Social Gap
By Don MacGillivray Last year’s budget cuts to the Oregon State Human Services budget are taking effect now. Because of the short fall of nearly $60…
Local Headlines
Preservation Gets Its Turn
By Midge Pierce Preservationists, thwarted by Portland’s perceived pro-growth demolition practices, finally have a turn at the mike. To launch it…
Petition Calls for Public Vote on RIP
By Midge Pierce Portland’s biggest story continuing into 2018 is its housing emergency. Homelessness remains rampant despite shelters such as the 10…
Diverter Divides Cyclists and Community
By Midge Pierce Even though the Portland Bureau of Transportation has temporarily delayed a final decision on a semi-diverter proposed on the Lincol…
Seismic Retrofits for URMs
Artwork by Aaron Trotter – a wonderful local artist. Check out more of his work @ https://www.illustratedplayingcards.com/ Property owners throughou…
SE Updates December 2017
Diverters Two competing perspectives about a PBOT-proposed street diverter at SE Lincoln and 50th circulated through the Mt. Tabor and Richmond neig…
The Future of OMSI
By Don MacGillivray OMSI, the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry is planning for significant growth and change over the next twenty years. With o…
When it Comes to Crime, the County Matters
By Midge Pierce Crime prevention may be as close as ballot measures in the next county election or as remote as finding funds for more preventative …
New Challenges to RIP
By Midge Pierce As neighborhood associations hunkered down last month to meet the deadline for response to Residential Infill Project amendments and…
Community News December 2017
Home Energy Score If you’re in the market to buy or sell a home, you’re about to get a peek at the inner workings of your Portland home. That’s beca…
Density and Design Around the Nation
By Don MacGillivray The City of Portland is experiencing a housing boom and crisis happening simultaneously. In spite of herculean efforts by govern…
Progressives Push; Montavilla Pivots
By Midge Pierce Montavilla has become a flashpoint in recent debates over social justice and the use of police force. Last month’s neighborhood asso…
RIP Follows the Money: Splits Southeast
By Midge Pierce A shift in proposed housing densification from vast tracts east of I-205 inward to more neighborhoods in inner SE and NE is a signif…
SE Updates
An inevitable by-product of Portland densification is the loss of local landmarks. This is a tale of Two City Sites with very different outcomes. SE…
Grassroots Group Grapples Crime
By Midge Pierce Caught between crime and compassion, residents along the commercial corridors and tree-lined streets of SE are in a quandary about h…
The Opioid Epidemic
By Don MacGillivray Recent reports say that Oregon has one of the worst overall drug problems in the United States based on per capita consumption. …
Potential Seismic Shift Comes to SEUL with New Leadership
By Midge Pierce Under new leadership, Portland’s Office of Neighborhood Involvement (ONI) is steering its seven neighborhood coalitions that include…
Transportation Bill Partially Funds Congestion Relief
By Don MacGillivray Gov. Kate Brown’s signed the new state $5.3 billion road-and-bridge funding bill that will provide “congestion relief” at The Ro…
Solutions for Homeless Remain Elusive
By Don MacGillivray For developers and landlords it is the best of times. For low income renters and the homeless it is the worst of times. In spite…
Mt. Tabor Long Block Gets Makeover
By Midge Pierce The results of a 10 year process to improve sub-standard building and working conditions at the Mt. Tabor Central Maintenance Yard w…
Climate Change, Gorge Fires and Volunteer Actions
By Midge Pierce Climatologists, foresters and other experts – one of whom calls the recent Gorge conflagration “a postcard from the future” – have a…
Franklin High School Re-Opens Reinvented
By Nancy Tannler Thanks to the $482 million school building improvement bond the citizens of Portland voted for in 2012, Franklin, Roosevelt and Gra…
Affordable Family Housing and Apartments Coming to Powell
By Midge Pierce A project that will likely be the largest affordable complex in SE Portland is slated to replace an aging strip club at 30th and Pow…
Portland Map App
By Don MacGillivray Many people in Portland are concerned about the building boom currently underway within the inner city neighborhoods. Recentl…
SE Updates
By Midge Pierce Peacock Lane is on track to be the first of three SE Portland neighborhoods considering a National Historic District designation to …
Future Vision Looks Rosy on 82nd Avenue
At a recent City Council meeting held at the Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon (APANO) on 82nd Ave., Council and audience heard from residents a…
Laurelhurst Neighbors Seek Solutions for Homeless Crisis
By Nancy Tannler Homeless camping and the negative impact on the neighborhood compelled the Laurelhurst Neighborhood Association (LNA) to hold the L…
Dizzying Array of Landuse Changes Coming Your Way
By Midge Pierce Brace yourselves. The back half of 2017 will bring ever more dramatic changes to Portland’s cityscape as new state laws are implemen…
Changing of the Guard at SE Uplift
By Midge Pierce The faces of the SE Uplift board are younger, more diverse, more representative of advocacy coalitions and less likely to be homeown…
SE Uplift Welcomes New Executive Director Molly Mayo
By Michelle Frost Southeast Uplift is a community center tucked into the neighborhood just a block from Hawthorne and around the corner from SE 35th…
Community News July ’17
Improve the places you love Have you noticed invasive plants like Ivy and Blackberry bushes popping up along your favorite trails, and rivers? Have …
Foes Blast Build Bill
By Midge Pierce It’s a tough time for state passage of tax plans, pension reforms and possibly emergency housing. By the time you read this, a le…
SE Updates
At the corner of 76th & SE Stark where Beet’s Auto Repair once existed, developer Randy Rapaport is proposing a “work-force housing” project. He pr…
Better Housing by Design
By Don MacGillivray Housing in Portland is in crisis. Not only the lack of affordable housing, but the affect market rate housing has on changing ne…
Low Income Housing for Seniors
By Don MacGillivray Finding an affordable home for a low-income senior citizen seems almost impossible. The typical rent for a small apartment may …
Reclaiming the Willamette River
By Nancy Tannler This year’s Big Float happens Saturday July 15. (See details on page 13) Hopefully this year’s event won’t take place on one of tho…
Infill on Steroids Gains State Traction: Riles Residents
By Midge Pierce A bill known as a “Build Baby Build” legislative bill under the idea of addressing emergency housing statewide is fueling what criti…
Reactions to HB 2007
By Midge Pierce With astronomical rental and housing costs, no one denies the need for affordable housing. The question is whether HB 2007 is the s…
Bio-gas / Poop to Power
By Don MacGillivray Portland will soon be processing the City’s sewage and making a profit doing it. This is making “power from poop.” With over sev…
SE Updates
By Midge Pierce If the devil is in the details, as nearly 3000 legislative measures move through Salem, it’s understandable that lawmakers, many of …
The Rip in Rip City
By Midge Pierce In Rip City’s cyclical economy, the bloom may be fading from the construction boom. Now, builders are using radical new tactics to m…
Police Dog Mick Honored
By Michelle Frost At Portland Police’s community open house and dedication ceremony on Saturday, May 20, at 4735 E. Burnside station, officers will …
DOZA – the Good, the Bad and the Ugly
By Midge Pierce Portland’s reputation for good design needs to be refreshed, according to the final version of Portland’s Design Overlay Zone Assess…
Citizens Plead Case to Keep 1.31 Acres As Open Space
By Nancy Tannler The SE Uplift Board, Buckman Community Association (BCA) and community activists continue to petition with Portland Parks & Rec…
Shape the Future of Portland
Citizens who want to help shape the future of SE Portland and be part of critical solutions to the quadrant’s urgent issues like road safety, transport…
Graffiti explosion in PDX
By Juliette Muracchioli, Graffiti Abatement Program Coordinator, City of Portland Seen more graffiti in Portland lately? You’re not alone. Graffiti …
Renaming the Multnomah County Elections Building
Former Gov. Barbara Roberts and Commissioner Loretta Smith high five after renaming the Multnomah County Elections Building for suffragists Abigail Sco…
Policing Pinch Affects Everyone
By Karen Hery and Jim O’Rourke It’s no secret that Portland’s population is growing. Unfortunately, the growth of Portland’s police force has not b…
Long Blocks’ Open Space Changing
By Midge Pierce Plants and flower pots are soon due to replace children and frisbees on a quarter of Mt. Tabor’s so-called Long Block between Lincol…
Finding a Place for Tiny Houses
By Midge Pierce Neighbors and online groups have been abuzz as hundreds of homeowners have stepped forward to volunteer for Multnomah County’s pilot…
Pro vs Con – Preservation Gets Ugly
By Midge Pierce With more than 1100 signatures in support of nominating Laurelhurst for National Historic Designation, residents are undeterred by a…
Challenges and Opportunities in Public Higher Education
By Don MacGillivray Perhaps the greatest change in the requirements for future employment is an advanced education. More than three-quarters of Oreg…
Division Residents Not Warming to BRT
A Jade District meeting last month to describe the Bus Rapid Transit proposal was a show of commitment to running elongated buses down Division St. It …
DOZA Oversight is Blow to DDI
By Midge Pierce Quality design, community context, scale, neighborhood compatibility, welcoming public spaces, citizen engagement and sufficient pro…
Rose Garden Turns 100
Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R)’s iconic International Rose Test Garden (IRTG) in Washington Park is celebrating its centennial this year (1…
State Relaxes Historic Hurdles
By Midge Pierce For National Historic District nominations, the wind of opposition may have lost some sail. For homes in new districts, onerous r…
Progressive Plan Promises Better Housing
By Midge Pierce A newly-minted neighbor who moved to Portland for its friendliness, charm and generosity laments that the PDX future is “Seattleliza…
Aiming for Carbon Zero and Portland Housing Choices
By Jack Rubinger Aiming for Carbon Zero and Portland Housing Choices was a public forum held at TaborSpace last month. The evening focused on the be…
Oregon: Living Beyond its Means
By Don MacGillivray Some might say the sky is falling and it is. Portland’s rainfall in February broke an all time record. Unfortunately a differ…
Community News March 2017
Interrupting Hate in Public Spaces March 23, 7 – 9 pm Saints Peter & Paul Episcopal Church What if you see someone being harassed or bull…
Gone But Not Forgotten
The backyard at the office of The Southeast Examiner with a foot of snow; the most recorded snow fall in twenty years…
Funding Washington HS Community Center
By Nancy Tannler On January 6, Linda Nettekoven, HAND NA and Jeff Cole, Sunnyside NA, appeared before City Council to remind them that a portion of …
Laurelhurst Races Against the Wrecking Ball
By Midge Pierce With a the tally of 2016 home demolitions topping 375, according to The Portland Chronicle, some 600 plus signatures support designa…
Let’s Talk Air Quality
By Jack Rubinger “Let’s Talk Air Quality,” a community-based video and report made its premiere Sunday, January 22 at the Lents Team Center. The …
Oregon’s Budget: Hard Realities Face the State
By Don MacGillivray Oregon’s economy has achieved its pre-recession strength, but the recovery has not reached all of Oregon. Significant investment…
Oregonians Prioritize Environment
By Midge Pierce Mere hours after the new administration gutted the Environmental Protection Agency website, and just days after climate data confirm…
Bicycling Into the Future
By Don MacGillivray Portland’s Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA) has officially renamed itself The Street Trust. The change has been in the work…
2016
By Nancy Tannler, Editor As the year 2016 recedes into the past, we have remembered some of the highlights in pictures. Change is coming fast and fu…
Franklin Makeover Nears Completion
By David Mayne Franklin High Modernization enters the New Year with a new look. It seems like just yesterday that construction began at the 101-y…
Rental Housing: a Crisis Becoming a Disaster
By Don MacGillivray Rent increases as high as 40 percent have been reported last year in Portland. A rent increase of $500 will make even the most s…
Village Communities for an aging society
By Don MacGillivray The Village concept is about creating interdependent communities for those that prefer living in their homes and neigh…
Housing Comp Plan Updates
By Midge Pierce In the rush to make year-end decisions before the departure of Mayor Charlie Hales and Commissioner Steve Novick, City Council hamme…
Short Term Rental Registration
By Midge Pierce Portland’s short-term rentals are burgeoning. Now, the City wants its fair share of the action. The number of STRs has quadrupled…
Building on Climate Progress
By Stephanie Kaza In the aftermath of the November election, many people are wondering what will happen with U.S. climate commitments. People fear …
Mt. Hood from the top of Mt. Tabor
Mt. Hood from the top of Mt. Tabor, photo taken by Andrew Haliburton. This is one of many of Haliburton’s exquisite photographs available in the 2017 M…
Parking Exemption for Inclusionary Housing
By Nancy Tannler At the recent Buckman Neighborhood Association meeting, Tom Armstrong from the Bureau of Planning & Sustainability (BPS) gave a…
Final Testimonials on Infill Issue
By Midge Pierce With roughly half the City zoned single dwelling, Residential Infill Project concepts that add multi-unit housing to single family n…
Tiny Houses for the Houseless
By Don MacGillivray Portland recently received some very good news on the homelessness front. Blanchet House’s grant proposal was selected the winne…
Emergency Mental Healthcare Facility
By Tim Hall In January, the Unity Behavioral Health Center will open in Portland and be the first and only psychiatric-specific emergency room in Or…
Groundbreaking on Service Center for Disabled
Photo above: New building design at 21st & SE Division Despite the pouring rain, a happy crowd was in attendance at the ground- breaking ceremon…
Mid Scale Housing Needed in Portland
By Don MacGillivray The “missing middle” has to do with the low density post war suburban development in Portland’s neighborhoods versus the new hig…
Dramatic Density Increase Proposed for Eastside
By Midge Pierce Love it or lump it, Portland's revised Residential Infill Project (RIP) concepts would turn Portland into a dramatically d…
SE Updates
HBBA Patrol Hawthorne business district is home to a variety of shops, designer clothing stores, distinctive restaurants, nightlife, and neighborhoo…
Settling the Rapid Transit Route/stops
By Midge Pierce SE citizens concerned about a stretch of the proposed bus rapid transit service lacking stops can take solace that a requested stop …
Homeless Issue Reaching Tipping Point
By Midge Pierce Portland residents, generally tolerant to a fault, have hit a tipping point over the City’s inability to solve the homeless crisis. …
Community News November
Save your seeds Grow Portland, a nonprofit organization dedicated to urban gardening, is starting a program to train local gardeners on how to save …
Halloween Fun at Lone Fir Cemetery
Photo courtesy of Metro By Michelle Frost If you enjoy a spooky night in the cemetery, hearing stories of Portland’s history, and wearing costume…
Dangerous Eastside Streets
By Midge Pierce The three most dangerous thoroughfares on the Eastside are Powell, Division and Broadway. Yet it was upper Hawthorne, with center la…
Toward More Affordable Housing
By Don MacGillivray In Portland the local government is scrambling to find ways to alleviate the one year old housing crisis. Developers have built …
Is Preservation a Dirty Word?
By Midge Pierce The lack of preservation incentives dismays Portlanders who consider the City’s classic, older home stock a greener, more sustainabl…
Comment Period Ending for Rapid Transit Line
By Midge Pierce Citizens have until Sept. 9 to weigh in on Metro’s Powell-Division Transit and Development Project that proposes to run articulated …
Last Swim at Buckman?
By Midge Pierce The lead in Portland Public Schools drinking water may have sealed the fate of Buckman Pool. PPS recently informed members of a g…
Infill Ideals Pit Developers Against Protectors
By Midge Pierce As the City reviews responses to last month’s Residential Infill Proposal (RIP) survey, the only clarity so far is the division betw…
A Mass Shelter: Full of Hope or Concern
By Don MacGillivray The public does not seem to know about the extensive work being done to address the homeless situation in Portland. Media co…
Hundreds Line Hawthorne to Pay Tribute
A week after the death of Fallon Smart, a 15-year-old Franklin High teen killed by a speeding motorist, a heart-rending scene unfolded along Hawthorne …
Fernandez Takes Reservoir Case to Court
Photo Scott Fernandez presents open reservoir evidence to the EPA in Washington DC. By Nancy Tannler Scott Fernandez, M.Sc. Biology …
Infill Doesn’t Promise Affordability
By Midge Pierce More housing is no guarantee of affordability, say critics claiming housing advocates are “drinking the density Kool-aid”. At nei…
New Columns at Lone Fir Cemetery Entrance
By Rebecca Koffman At one time, Lone Fir Cemetery’s two entrances were each flanked with hand-carved stone columns. The original columns on the ceme…
Division Preferred for Rapid Transit
By Midge Pierce As surprise subsides, Metro and Portland transportation officials are getting an earful as they make the rounds soliciting feedback …
Brownfields and Toxic Legacies in Portland
By Stephen Quirke The ongoing controversy over Portland’s air quality provides a snapshot of a longer problem stretching back over a century, and in…