Local Headlines

By David Krogh Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) has been receiving substantial publicity lately and much of it is negative. Here is a composite detailing several media reports. Sidewalk Repairs: …

PBOT in the News Read More

By Midge Pierce Family Housing Relief Coming Some one hundred and eighty low-income families should get needed affordable housing in a five-story, Home Forward development that could break ground next …

SE Updates Read More

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 before a final vote was …

What Densification Means to Portland Read More

By Jack Rubinger Myron Ryan, a Franklin High School metalworking and manufacturing teacher, has received the Circle of Excellence Award from OnPoint Community Credit Union. He will receive a $1,500 …

Franklin Teacher Awarded Read More

By Jack Rubinger Cleveland High School’s robotics team, The Pigmice (FRC 2733), recently wrapped up one of their most successful competition seasons at the FIRST Robotics Championships, also known as …

Cleveland Robotics Goes to the Worlds Read More

By Midge Pierce The Kids Are Alright  Grade school kids are leading the way toward racial understanding and sensitivity at Buckman Elementary. This spring 19 Buckman students, under the guidance …

SE Updates Read More

By Midge Pierce Imagine inner Eastside without those infuriating mile-long trains stopping you in your uh, tracks. A pipedream? Not according to a 20-something with a railyard redevelopment vision and …

Railroad Retracking Becomes Possible Reality Read More

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 and the City’s annual budget process. Parks needs …

Stringent Parks Budget Read More

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 “pocket of poverty,” but apparently Governor …

Opportunity Zones Provide Capital Gains Tax Break Read More

By Midge Pierce Despite massive construction and a reported 16,000 empty units, more housing has yet to move the needle significantly on affordability. Now, with state legislation on the docket …

Housing: Is Bigger Better? Read More

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 and Refugee Community Organization (IRCO) …

City Budget Cuts Hits PP&R Hard Read More

By Midge Pierce Demolition Harms Climate Too When it comes to climate change, our ecologically-minded city is steeped in contradictions. The sustainable practice of preserving the embodied energy of existing …

SE Updates Read More

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 inaugural event spanned five …

Litter & Graffiti CleanUp Read More

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 good news is that Portland’s …

Climate Action Plan Read More

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 April 12. Per the …

2019 State Housing Bill Updates that Affect SE Portland Read More

By Midge Pierce The expectation that dozens of teaching positions will be eliminated next year despite the Portland Public School (PPS) Superintendent’s proposed four percent budget increase, will likely motivate …

Educational Crisis Builds Funding Pressure Read More

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 discussion on its recent study, New …

City Club Initiates Public Meetings for De-Commissioning Discussion Read More

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-election. According to …

Fritz to Retire in 2020 Read More

It’s official! After years of work by hundreds of community volunteers, the Laurelhurst Neighborhood has been added to the National Register of Historic Places as a historic district. The National …

Laurelhurst Neighborhood Receives National Historic Recognition Read More

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 business people about President Trump’s …

Local Effects of 2018 Tax Act Read More

By Don MacGillivray The Public Employee Retirement System(PERS) began in 1946 and includes many types of public service employees. The employee breakdown is: public school – forty-three percent, state government …

Clarifying PERS Benefits Read More

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 water pipe and could happen …

SE Updates Read More

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 and housing needs are met …

State Bills Affecting Housing and Planning Read More

By Don MacGillivray With the Oregon legislature in search of more funding for public schools, various new or revised tax plans are being advanced. Democrats believe that a new tax …

New and Revised Taxation Plans Read More

By Midge Pierce Pro-growthers score a big one RIP, the Residential Infill Project’s elimination of Portland’s single family neighborhoods, moved closer to fruition with the Planning and Sustainability Commission (PSC) …

Don’t Blink – More Change Coming Read More

By Midge Pierce Perplexed Richmond residents filled tables, pushed together in a symbolic gesture of welcome, as the Neighborhood Association held its March meeting despite the absence of a board …

RNA Carries On Read More

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 to the thousand years …

Music Millennium Hits 50 Read More

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 heart of Oregon’s affordable housing …

What is HB2003 Read More

By Midge Pierce Watchers Eye OCCL Warily  Infighting within neighborhood associations like Richmond comes at a contentious time when city playbooks seem to weaken associations, according to municipal observers. Watchers …

SE Updates Read More

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 public mistrust of police appears …

Crime Keeps Coming Whether We Listen or Not Read More

By Midge Pierce Turmoil that has roiled the Richmond neighborhood years ago has resurfaced to plague a community frequently hailed as among the nation’s most livable. Undeniably, it’s one of Portland’s most engaged. …

Imbroglios Threaten Future RNA Read More

By Midge Pierce In growth-centric Portland, preservation is taxing and grassroots clout is growing to protect architectural and cultural treasures and oppose practices that lead to demolition and gentrification. A …

Preservation Wrap up: Grassroots Makes a Comeback Read More

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 which points out severe …

Rethinking Commission Form of Governance Read More

Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R), in partnership with the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT), Bureau of Environmental Services (BES), and the Regional Arts and Culture Council (RACC), will be making …

Eastbank Esplanade Improvements: Temporary Closure Ahead Read More

By Midge Pierce A potentially powerful alignment of diverse interests has coalesced to oppose City requirements that unreinforced masonry (URM) buildings post placards warning of possible collapse in the Big …

New Alignments Push Back Against URM Policies Read More

By Don MacGillivray Is the dream of major league baseball in Portland possible? A growing number of Portland’s notables think so. Craig Cheek, Nike executive, Mike Barrett, former Blazers broadcaster, …

Major League Baseball in PDX Read More

By Midge Pierce Record Funding Found to Tackle Homelessness Low income housing relief is coming to SE. The Mayor bills the just-announced Permanent Supportive Housing Initiative as a “first of …

SE Updates Read More

In response to the Portland housing crisis, JT, a software developer, has tapped the housing design experts at Communitecture and the edible garden and permaculture specialists at Witch Hazel Designs …

High Tech to Grass Roots Read More

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 apartments that will remain vacant …

Empty Apartments Pale in Comparison to China Read More

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 support for the bills similar …

State Housing Bills Reflect City Proposals Read More

By Jonathan Maus, editor and publisher of BikePortland This article originally appeared on BikePortland.org   bikeportland.org/2018/12/20/business-owner-uses-attorney-and-electeds-to-fight-trimets-carfree-gideon-overcrossing-project-293425) Neighborhood transportation advocates in SE Portland are sounding the alarm about TriMet’s Gideon Overcrossing project. They …

Business Owner Fights TriMet’s Overcrossing Project Read More

URM Year End Update by Gabriel Frayne Jr. The battle between URM building owners and the Portland City Council over seismic upgrades ended the year on a litigious note as …

URM Year End Update Read More

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. The current approximate population of …

Metro Urban  Growth Boundary Read More

By David Krogh There is no simple solution to eliminating homelessness, much less addressing it in a meaningful way. November’s edition introduced this topic.  This part explores remedies. Homelessness is …

Homelessness in Portland Part II Read More

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 Kotek proffers a statewide mirror …

RIP Positions Intensify Read More

By Midge Pierce Good Neighbor Agreements are touted by staffers from SE Uplift and Portland’s newly rebranded Office of Office of Community and Civic Life as a way to solve dicey …

Good Attitudes Make Good Neighbors Read More

By David Krogh Speaker Tina Kotek has announced (per Willamette Week and The Oregonian) she is working on legislation that could mandate densification for single-family zoned areas. This appears to …

RIP Year End Update Read More

By Jack Rubinger There’s no shortage of interesting, fun and easy seasonal giving and volunteer opportunities in our community this season. Here are a few: • Ben Gernert from Lutheran …

Seasonal Giving Opportunities in SE Portland Read More

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 living. Housing needs the most attention …

PDX in Motion Read More

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 pilot program ended last month. While Portland …

SE Updates Read More

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 morning, after …

Centennial of the Armistice that Ended The Great War Read More

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 by the owner with …

Phantom Laundromat on Belmont Read More

By Midge Pierce Portland is awash in a toxic stew that is impacting the elderly, vulnerable and particularly children with particulate exposure that causes everything from dementia to lower IQ …

What’s in the Exhaust of 60,000 Trucks? Read More

Historic preservation Historic preservation is an uphill battle in Portland. Opponents claim preservation obstructs growth. Proponents claim it can be compatible with growth through adaptive re-use and that it honors …

SE Updates Read More

By Don MacGillivray 82nd Avenue, the Avenue of Roses, has many changes ahead to realize the vision of local business people and neighbors. Community advocates have worked diligently to improve …

Progress On 82nd Ave. of Roses Read More

By Don MacGillivray In the 2017 energy audit of three quarters of Portland’s large buildings scored above the national average as compared with other major cities across the United States. …

Rating Commercial Building’s Energy Use Read More

By Midge Pierce Portland’s future may spin on whose interpretation of urban activist/journalist Jane Jacobs prevails. In a recent showing of Citizen Jane: The Battle for the City two Janes …

Film Explores Future of the City Read More

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 2011. On Saturday, September …

Mt. Tabor Visitors Center Marks Fifty Thousand Read More

By Don MacGillivray The Metro bond measure on the November ballot will authorize $653 million in general obligation bonds to fund affordable housing in Washington, Clackamas, and Multnomah counties. It …

In-depth Look at the Metro Housing Bonds Read More

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 school shares …

Signs of the Times at PPS Read More

By David Krogh Mayor’s Bureau Assignments Mayor Wheeler has been shuffling bureau assignments for City Commissioners as he becomes aware of bureau problems. Since Portland is the last large city …

SE Updates Read More

By Midge Pierce Tens of thousands of residents could be displaced by a rezoning proposed by the Portland Planning and Sustainability Commission (PSC) to allow up to four houses on …

Is PSC Turning Deaf Ear in the Name of Profit? Read More

Office of Community and Civic Life (formerly Office of Neighborhood Involvement) Director Suk Rhee responded to last month’s Southeast Examiner article about Process that questioned open meeting rules and the …

ONI Changes Clarified Read More

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 determination to save historically significant architecture …

Belmont’s Christmas House Lives for Another Holiday Read More

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 Development Partners, a California- …

Artist Live/Work Facility Under New Ownership Read More

By Midge Pierce A grievance filed within a SE neighborhood association may shed needed daylight on changing roles, responsibilities and rules of NAs and their supporting organizations. Filed by a …

Procedures Matter in Times of Change Read More

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 in the …

Booming Belmont Read More

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 the Office of Community and Civic …

What’s in a Name – ONI?/OCCL? Read More

Innovative Pre-school Art, the outdoors and early childhood education intersect at Fiddleheads, a new program this fall that will immerse young children in nature. Known as an urban forest preschool, …

SE Updates Read More

The Laurelhurst Neighborhood Association holds its first home tour Sunday, September 9 from 11 am to 4 pm. Six homes of varying architectural styles and features will open to the …

Laurelhurst Home Tour Read More

By Midge Pierce Shocked by ​a ​planning ​commission recommendation​​ to ​add more multi-units to internal lots ​​in the proposed Residential Infill Project (RIP)​ and include virtually all R2-R10 zones that …

RIP Changes Demographics Read More

By Midge Pierce The Feds return of the state’s paperwork on the Eastmoreland National Historic District containing 5000 potentially unverifiable trust objections may open the door for re-submission and provide …

Historic Designation Not Dead Yet Read More

By Midge Pierce For several years, an undercurrent of tension has rippled through Richmond Neighborhood Association meetings as distrust, disrespect and charges of election shenanigans have surfaced. RNA is not …

Turning Toxic Around, One Neighborhood at a Time Read More

By Midge Pierce Citing the potentially devastating effect on its commercial strip, the Hawthorne Boulevard Business Association unanimously voted to oppose a PBOT proposal to implement permit parking for 623 …

Pushback Over Parking Permit Read More

By Midge Pierce With the Mayor, Police Union Chief and other Portland residents trading barbs that the city has become everything from ungovernable to a cesspool, one thing most agree …

Montavilla Explores Remedies for Houselessness Read More

By Nancy Tannler At a recent Lents Neighborhood Livability Association meeting, knowledgeable officials fielded questions about why your water bill was 4.46 percent higher starting in July. Michael Jordan, Director …

Increase in Water Bill Read More

By Nancy Tannler In August 2018, Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) will be sending mailers to residents in the Richmond and Sunnyside neighborhoods to inform them of a proposed parking …

Proposed Permit Parking Read More

By Gabriel Frayne Jr. The bustling allure of Hawthorne Boulevard is any realtor’s dream. A local commercial realtor describes it in a brochure this way: “One of Portland’s oldest and …

Hawthorne Vacancies – New Normal or Not Read More

By Midge Pierce “Density with Sensitivity” is the motto of urban planner and architectural firebrand Heather Flint Chatto, who with longtime landuse activist Linda Nettekoven, launched the Division Design Initiative …

Mainstreet Style Design is Good for City Read More

Shelter Approved Despite Objections Multnomah County is moving forward on a controversial 120-bed shelter at SE 61st and Foster. Ignoring pleas of neighbors concerned about proximity to schools and childcare, …

SE Updates Read More

By Don MacGillivray There is no end in sight to the urbanization of the Central Eastside Industrial District (CEID). What once was an industrial district of one and two story …

The Urbanization of the Central Eastside Read More

By Don MacGillivray Tax Reform  Initiative Petition 37 will be on the November ballot. It is a referendum to eliminate any and all future taxation of the groceries in Oregon. …

Tax Proposal on Unhealthy Food Read More

By Midge Pierce A pair of petitions demanding the City take forceful action against criminal elements on our streets has struck a nerve. The petitions were started after a handful …

Petition Urges Portlanders to Take Back the City Read More

The City Repair Project, the Portland-based non-profit that hosts the annual Village Building Convergence (VBC), invites you to join in the many events scheduled between June 1-10. For nearly seven …

18th Village Building Convergence Read More

By Midge Pierce The human toll of the housing crisis is measured in the wizened face of 92-year-old Anna Lendya, an immigrant who has called Holgate Manor home since 1993. …

Holgate Manor is Microcosm of Crisis Read More

By Midge Pierce Grassroots support for the City’s Residential Infill Project (RIP) slipped during last month’s testimony before the Planning and Sustainability Commission raising the opposition’s hopes that planners might …

RIP Backlash Emerges from Former Supporters Read More

By Midge Pierce Which mailer did you get–blue, yellow or none at all? Did you respond? Distinctively colored notices sent by city planners over the past few months have caused considerable …

Blue is for Better Housing Design Read More

By Midge Pierce Portlanders concerned about the changing cityscape are bracing for the outcome of a June 13 City Council hearing on new seismic retrofit rules. Proposed Unreinforced Masonry (URM) …

URM Update: Over-reach or Critical Need Read More

By Don MacGillivray Cyclists are a huge part of the Central Eastside Industrial District (CEID) and their numbers are increasing. The building boom here is complicating the future of the …

Cyclists Input Needed in CEID Transportation Network Read More

By Don MacGillivray For years off road cycling has been tossed around like a political football with major advocates and critics who argue about any significant cycling changes to Portland’s …

Balancing Recreation with Nature Read More

Correction: A slight but important correction needs to be made in this article: https://www.southeastexaminer.com/2018/06/the-case-for-participatory-budgeting/ The author refers says “The new organization is “The Rosewood Initiative” and they recently held a …

The Case for Participatory Budgeting Read More

By Midge Pierce Finding balance between compassion for the homeless and diffusing neighborhood tensions is a dilemma for police caught between charges of excessive force on one hand and increasing calls …

Police Explain Homeless Crisis Limits Read More

By Midge Pierce A name change for the Office of Neighborhood Involvement (ONI) to the Office of Community and Civic Life has surprised observers who wonder if the new label …

What’s in a Name? Read More

By Sean Miller Portland has rolled out its Vision Zero Action Plan in order to engineer reduced speeds into city roads. The plan hopes to accomplish this through lower posted …

Best Practices for Making Vision Zero Work Read More

By Midge Pierce 135,000 Portland residents received  notices  from the City that their single family property would be rezoned under the Residential Infill Project (RIP). Now they’re realizing their home, …

Clarion Call Issued for Final RIP Planning Testimony Read More

By Don MacGillivray It is rare to have the opportunity to choose a new member of Portland’s City Council. With Dan Saltzman retiring, the Council will lose it longest-serving member …

City Council Candidates Read More

By Bryan Brumley The Rev. E.D. Mondaine became president of the NAACP Portland Branch in March. He remembers growing up in St. Louis, Mo., in the shadow of chemical factories …

Frontline Communities on Climate and Environmental Justice Read More

By Allen Field The Richmond Neighborhood Association holds its 1st Richmond Graffiti & Litter CleanUp Day, Saturday, June 16, from 9 am to 1 pm. From a staging area at …

SOLVE Richmond’s Graffiti and Litter Clean Up Day Read More

By Midge Pierce Now that a proposal to rezone a chunk of Mt. Tabor Park has been rescinded by Commissioner Amanda Fritz, park supporters are breathing significantly easier. “We delivered …

Tabor Park House Sale Averted Read More