By Midge Pierce Love it or hate it, Portland’s post-recession transformation was unforeseen by framers of the original Comprehensive Plan 35-years ago. Now, as the Plan is updated, citizens have …
Hearings Target Construction Madness Read More
By Midge Pierce SE Portland’s urban street trees get middling grades based on data from a recent tree summit at the Mt. Scott Community Center that reviewed five-years of information …
Trees Rate a “C” at Summit Read More
By Midge Pierce Excavation work needed to divert drinking water from Mt. Tabor continues on the park southside as part of the process to disconnect the decommissioned open air reservoirs. …
Mt. Tabor Adjustment project Read More
By Midge Pierce Portland Public Schools Superintendent Carole Smith is expected to weigh in on the redrawn boundary proposals in January. Additional opportunities for citizen input will be available after …
School Boundaries to Change Read More
The Portland Water Bureau’s contractor for the project, James W. Fowler Co. (JWF) will continue with exploratory excavation (“potholing”) in each of the Work Areas in November. There will be …
Reservoir work – What to expect in November 2015: Read More
By Midge Pierce At the current pace of more than one demolition per day, some 800 more houses could be razed over the next two years before City code and …
No Quick Fix to Housing Crisis Read More
Living Room Conversations Brad Malsin, Beam Development, co-hosted a Living Room Conversation Community Forum with Cameron Whitten to talk about the upcoming move of Right to Dream Too (R2DToo) to …
SE Updates November 2015 Read More
By Midge Pierce If a house on your block is slated for demolition, chances are you heard it first from The Portland Chronicle. The website is marking a year of …
Demolition Resources to the rescue Read More
By Midge Pierce As residents of Eastmoreland celebrate the preservation of three majestic sequoias in their neighborhood, a mile away, Richmond neighbors continue their vigil beside two Douglas Firs left …
Triumph and Tears Tag Trees Read More
Mt. Tabor Reservoir Disconnection October marks the beginning of disconnection of Mt. Tabor’s reservoirs from Portland’s drinking water. Portland Water Bureau (PWB) reports that exploratory excavation known as potholing will begin in …
SE Updates October 2015 Read More
By Midge Pierce Construction is solidly underway at 50th and Division where a four-story apartment building is rising. With 134 units, it will have 119 studios, 13 one bedrooms and …
Squeeky Wheels on 50th Read More
By Karen Hery It’s not just parents that breath a sigh of relief when kids are back in school. Graffiti clean up coordinators get a break from the peak season …
Relief from Graffiti is a Fall Focus Read More
By Don MacGillivray The Comprehensive Plan will guide Portland’s land-use development and facility investment decisions over the next twenty years. It is critical that the Plan influence other non-public organizations …
Comprehensive Plan for Portland’s Future Read More
By Midge Pierce Portland may be a mecca for the young, but nearly a fourth of its population is over fifty. Most strive for a vibrant, active lifestyle. Few are …
Portland’s newest and most unique bridge is opening to the public September 12; Tilikum Crossing, Bridge of the People. This is the largest car-free transit bridge in the U.S. and …
Tilikum Crossing, Bridge of the People Opens This Month Read More
By David Mayne In a move that was symbolic, the statue of Ben Franklin was moved to a temporary location as modernization work continues at Franklin High School. Like the …
By Nancy Tannler Washington High School (WHS) and the surrounding park and properties are once again the subject of conversation as we approach two deadlines. Portland Development Commissions (PDC) has …
Still Waiting for WHCC and Park Read More
By Midge Pierce As expected, Portland City Council decommissioned the Mt. Tabor reservoirs at its meeting August 19. Disconnection construction is slated to begin before year’s end to comply with …
Reservoir Refill Coming Soon Read More
By Midge Pierce “Demolition is like a cancer spreading through the City,” lamented Sunnyside resident Jeff Cole as demonstrators gathered on a recent Saturday in front of a one hundred …
Another House Goes Down Read More
By Midge Pierce Portlanders know that maneuvering through town can be more guesswork than science and Thorburn St. winding around Mt. Tabor is uniquely challenging. At best, it’s merely confusing. …
Safety Improvements on SE Thorburn Street Read More
By Don MacGillivray The Arts Tax remains a subject of concern and debate. It has never been popular and only partially successful. The Arts Education and Access Income Tax (Measure …
The Arts Tax: For Keeping Portland Weird Read More
Sunnyside United Methodist Church at 35th & SE Yamhill will celebrate their last worship service on August 30, at 10:30 am with lunch following. This venerable old church has served …
Changes at Sunnyside United Methodist Church Read More
By Don MacGillivray Few things are more complicated than Parking. There is never enough of it, and everyone who drives a car is a self-proclaimed parking expert. Change is often …
Parking: A Challenge Without a Solution Read More
By Nancy Tannler Houseless idea Sunnyside Land Use co-Chair and local architect Michael Molinaro has a suggestion/solution to turn potential homeless locations into a tiny house village. In the diagrams …
By Midge Pierce Collective, if cautious, relief ripples across the cinder cones of Mt. Tabor this summer among park lovers who value keeping water in the reservoirs soon to be …
Reservoir Compromise Resolves Scenic Issue Read More
By Midge Pierce Portland residents have had enough of the so-called Demolition Derby that is defacing the City’s storied older neighborhoods. As frustration mounts, residents are beginning to push …
Demonstration Against Demolition Read More
By Don McGillivray SE Division St. over the last ten years has evolved into one of the hottest, up and coming neighborhoods in the nation said USA Today last …
Collaborative Designs for Division Street Read More
By Nancy Tannler At a recent Sunnyside Neighborhood Association (SNA) Land Use meeting, the subject of zoning and the future development of Hawthorne Blvd. and Belmont St. were the focal …
Mixed-use Zoning Changes in Sunnyside Read More
By Midge Pierce Score another round for citizen volunteer efforts to protect Mt. Tabor Park. At a June 25 City Council hearing to review reservoir land use arguments, Portland Water …
Reservoir Stand Off Updates Read More
By Don MacGillivray If anyone thinks Portland isn’t serious about climate change, think again. The City recently adopted a new policy to track energy output and carbon emissions of large …
New Energy Rules For Commercial Buildings Read More
By Don MacGillivray Those with disproportionate risk suffer from the disparities of opportunity. This is especially true of young children expecting to enter Oregon’s educational system. The first years in …
Don’t Leave the Children Behind Read More
By Nancy Tannler Portland’s Neighborhood Associations (NAs) are a microcosm of government. They are one of the first places a person can turn to if they need help solving a …
Underlying tensions surface at RNA election Read More
On June 3, Portland City Council unanimously approved a resolution instructing the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability (BPS) to establish a pilot program to advance deconstruction (disassembly of structures) in …
Portland City Council approves pilot deconstruction program Read More
By Don MacGillivray As housing rents grow at rates faster than inflation those without income or housing have few choices. A structural budget gap exists between the city’s affordable housing …
A Solution for Affordable Housing Advances Read More
By Nancy Tannler A meeting of SE Uplift board members and local citizens quickly convened to discuss Mayor Hales proposal to move the Right 2 Dream Too (R2D2), a nonprofit …
By Midge Pierce By the time you read this, the fate of the Mt. Tabor Reservoirs will either be sealed or entering the most intensive, expensive round of legal machinations yet. …
Citizens Stand Firm as PWB Bulldozes Ahead Read More
By Stephyn Quirke For nearly 100 years, residents in Southeast Portland have fought the Brooklyn rail yard. In 1924 several residents complained that the noise of train assemblies was waking …
Toxic Air in the Rose City Read More
By Don MacGillivray The Central Eastside District (CED) is arguably the most dynamic and evolving quadrant of Portland’s Central City. Its energy and change are revitalizing the old and creating …
Recommendations for the SE Quadrant plan ready for City Council Read More
Join the community in celebrating the Ground-breaking Ceremony for the new Franklin High School Saturday, May 16, Noon – 1 pm at 5404 SE Woodward St. Mayor …
By Midge Pierce A highwire balancing act over a wireless technology upgrade has SE residents rights to protect their property facing off against a telecommunications company’s proposal to replace a …
Cellphone Transmitter Faces Foes Read More
By Midge Pierce Despite the recent addition of some 4,000 living units to Portland, a surprising shortage of affordable housing remains. Observers say rents are up more than 7 percent. …
Built It And They Still Can’t Come Read More
By Aman Chahal Across the river from Portland’s Central Business District is the city’s rising close-in Eastside submarket: home to trendy restaurants and retailers, local and small-scale manufacturing, as well …
Portland Primed for Multifamily and Retail Development Read More
By Midge Pierce A resident near the SE 50th corridor, a recent target of development between Hawthorne and Division, says he has a solution to unrestrained growth. He is calling …
Neighbors Press for Moratorium on Demolition Read More
By Nancy Tannler Over the years The Southeast Examiner has printed several editorials by Mark Bartlett concerning questionable land use decisions made by The Bureau of Developmental Services (BDS) and …
Local Citizen Challenges Water Bureaus Land Use Application Read More
By Midge Pierce A 35-day prior notification and delay procedure is one result of the City’s new demolition regulations that took effect April 20. The delay can be expanded to …
Demolitions now require advance notice Read More
By Don MacGillivray The Portland Development Commission (PDC), created in the 1958 by the voters, is one of the most powerful and controversial public entities in Portland. Originally charged with …
Fifty-Six Years of Urban Renewal in Portland Read More
By Nancy Tannler The SE Quadrant Plan is refining new policies to help guide development in the Central Eastside Industrial District (CEID). It is an element of the Central City …
Parking Squeeze in CEID Read More
By Midge Pierce Stats don’t begin to describe the impact of development in SE Portland. But they do prove what many are experiencing: drastically altered neighborhoods. Within the Hawthorne, Belmont, …
Division Design Initiative Disputes Rapid Development Read More
The grand opening of 1510 Technology Center at SE Water and Clay St. is an adaptive reuse of one of the oldest reinforced concrete buildings in Portland. Killian Pacific and …
Building Transformation Read More
82nd Avenue Parade & Fair 9th Annual 82nd Avenue of Roses Parade, Multi-Cultural Community Fair, Carnival Days & Classic Car Cruise-In 4000 SE 82nd Ave. Saturday, April 25, 9:30 …
82nd Avenue Parade & Fair Read More
By Don MacGillivray As Portland’s Comprehensive Plan nears completion, zoning code revisions are being seriously considered. The Mixed Use Zoning Project will propose new zones and regulations for commercial …
Comp Plan Zoning Revisions Favors Developers Read More
By Midge Pierce With a December 2015 deadline looming to decommission the City’s open air reservoirs, Portland Water Bureau (PWB) filed a land use appeal with City Council objecting to …
MTNA Continues to Appeal PWB’s Aggressive Reservoir Treatment Read More
By Midge Pierce SE residents sometimes feel as if there are two Portlands. When it comes to concerns about decommissioning the City’s open air reservoirs, citizens feel that the West …
East/West Reservoirs – Tale of Two Cities Read More
By J. Michael Kearsey The towering columns that face west toward the river, give a glimpse into the history of Washington High School, set on SE Stark and 14th …
Washington High Transforms Read More
By Karen Hery Change is hard for businesses and residents who want to make the most of the inner city. Not changing the looks of the place is even …
Portland Comprehensive Plan Breeds Realists Read More
By Midge Pierce With its adoption of an interim building code amendment last month, City Council took baby steps toward addressing outrage over Portland’s demolition epidemic. The ordinance, which …
City Council Addresses Residential Demolition Read More
By Midge Pierce Diversion of Portland’s drinking water from the Mt. Tabor Reservoirs moved closer to actualization with the Historic Landmarks Commission’s (HLC) recent turnabout to conditionally approve the …
Reservoir Disconnect Terms require MTNA Fundraising Read More
By Midge Pierce In a stunning tour de force, the Historic Landmark Commission denied the City’s application to disconnect Mt. Tabor’s reservoirs from Portland’s drinking water supplies. The three …
Commissioners Deny City on Tabor Disconnect Read More
By Don MacGillivray The search for badly- needed Portland street funding is finished for now, but it is not over. At the final public hearings before City Council on …
Robust Road Debate Rocks Council Resolve Read More
The In It Together Community Summit, is Saturday, February 28, at the Ambridge Center, 1333 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. from 8 am to 5 pm Neighbors, friends, activists …
Addressing the Issues Impacting the People Read More
By Midge Pierce Opinions about Division St. are as widespread as the head-spinning transformation of the corridor. To determine what is and isn’t working, The Division Design Committee Initiative …
Build and they will critique Read More
By Don MacGillivray The issue of devising a better way to fund and care for highways will be ongoing until it is satisfactorily solved. All levels of government are …
In Search of the Perfect Highway Tax Read More
By Karen Hery Government employees and citizen groups deeply involved in the development of Portland’s Comprehensive Plan have been pouring over community statistics detailing shifts from 1980 until now …
The Way We Were and What’s Next for Portland Read More
By Midge Pierce With the clock ticking on disconnecting Portland’s open air reservoirs, a procedural catch 22 may buy concerned citizens a precious few days to comment or sign …
Citizens Advocate for Historic Mt. Tabor Park Reservoirs Read More
By Midge Pierce It has become a familiar refrain: We’re losing what makes Portland, Portland. Mature tree canopies. Affordable single-family homes for first time buyers. Classic craftsmen houses. Century-old …
Proposed Megalith Apartment Riles Neighbors Read More
By Don MacGillivray Portland’s Street Funding proposal has undergone much review by both business people and residents and it still remains a question in the minds of the public. …
Street Fee Debate Continues Read More
By Nancy Tannler (Note: the scheduled Dec 10 meeting has been postponed) The Mt. Tabor Reservoir meeting with Commissioners Amanda Fritz and Nick Fish was like something one would …
Riotous Reservoir Meeting Read More
By Nancy Tannler Eastside Village PDX is a group of like-minded people living on Portland’s east side who have come together to develop resources they will need to age …
Eastside Village PDX Volunteers Growing Model Community Read More
By Midge Pierce Portlanders may assume historic designations protect treasured places from the SE wave of new construction, but the saga of the Herman Vetter Property, midway up SE …
Partition Pinpoints Lax Protections Read More
By Don MacGillivray If you’ve wanted to know more about neighborhood associations and the many advocacy groups in Portland, the Office of Neighborhood Information (ONI) Community Summit is your …
The Portland Community Summit Planning is Underway for 2015 Read More
By Don MacGillivray Portland is increasingly interested in addressing issues about equity of opportunity. In a society with wide economic diversity, opportunities are not distributed equally. Much of the …
Epigenetics–a way to a Healthy Future Read More
By Karen Hery Hopes for a morale-boosting decision by city council were dashed last month when a land use appeal requested by the Central Eastside Industrial Council for the …
Street by Street Politics – The Shape of Things to Come Read More
By Sandy Polishuk From Eastmoreland, to Kenton, to Ladd’s Edition, to Northwest Portland, Portlanders are fighting to save good old houses and maintain the character of their neighborhoods–the City …
Saving the Good Old Houses: The 1989 Struggle in NW Portland Read More
By Bob Kellett Neighborhood Planning Program Manager SE Uplift Neighborhood Coalition The City of Portland turned 163 years old this year. It is young compared to cities on the …
Preserving Portland history Read More
By Midge Pierce The Water Bureau’s final construction plan for decommissioning the Mt. Tabor Reservoirs has been submitted to the Portland Land Use Review Board. This means the clock …
Clocks ticking on reservoir disconnect project Read More
By Nancy Tannler People do have the power to change decisions that governments make. A case in point is the Eiffel Tower, originally built for the 1889 World’s Fair …
Protecting Important Functional Icons Read More
After years of construction and disruption, Division Street is once again Open for Business! The neighborhood survived the chaos – and can proudly say many of your favorite businesses are …
Division St. Open for Business and a Party Read More
By Karen Hery SE Portland has a long history of fostering, preserving and protecting everything from bike lanes to open space and a vibrant local business scene. That explains …
One Street, Three Zones and 17,000 Jobs Read More
By Don MacGillivray Livability is important when businesses decide to locate or relocate. System Development Charges (SDC’s) help maintain Portland’s quality of life as city infrastructure grows. Most people …
System Development Charges – For Better or Worse Read More
by Karen Hery The words sanctuary and industrial wouldn’t come up in the same sentence in most parts of Portland. If you spend time around Mike Redmond of …
Inner City Industrial Sanctuary in Jeopardy Read More
By Robin Corrigan “Fall for Elms,” is the fundraiser Saturday, September 20 at the Jagger House, 609 SE 16th Ave. from 4 to 8 pm. The recently-restored Jagger House …
Save Our Elms Fundraiser Read More
By Midge Pierce A citizens task force that met frequently this summer with engineers from the Portland Water Bureau reports the final plan application has not yet been filed …
Dual Issues Impact Park Read More
By Don MacGillivray Comprehensive is not a meaningful enough term for the all encompassing qualities of the City’s Comprehensive Plan. Portland voters will decide in November whether the city’s …
Deciding City Parks Funding Read More
By Don MacGillivray Transportation funding has long been an important issue in Portland. Our streets are deteriorating under the pressure of weather, age and normal use. At the same …
Options to Raise Revenues for Street Maintenance Read More
By Midge Pierce In response to last month’s story, The Rubble Within, Justin Wood with the Portland Homebuilder’s Association says the association has not done any formal research on …
By Don MacGillivray The City is embarking on its Seventh Regulatory Improvement Code Amendment Package (RICAP #7). Those that remember the temporary vacation rentals flap may know the term. …
Tweaking Portland’s Zoning Code Read More
By Don MacGillivray Portland residents are invited to view and comment on elements of a long-range plan to direct growth and change over the next twenty years. Draft 2035 …
Up for Review and Comment – the New Draft Comprehensive Plan Read More
By Nancy Tannler In 1988, the Central Eastside became an official district of Portland’s Central City and is now part of the Central City 2035 Plan (CC2035). The SE …
Central City 2035 SE Quadrant Read More
By Midge Pierce You may feel like your car, bike or sandals are barely squeezing through Portland’s tightly-packed commercial corridors and detours this summer. Inner SE is bursting with …
Have Patience While Commuting Read More
Portland’s longest running STREET FAIR Hawthorne businesses are looking forward to hosting our community on Hawthorne Boulevard on August 17. The Boulevard will be closed from SE 30th to SE Cesar …
Hawthorne Street Fair 2014 Read More
By Don MacGillivray The Nature Conservancy is an organization taking climate change seriously. The Conservancy has revised its activities across 23 million acres in Oregon to ensure that priority …
Preserving Pristine Environments Read More
By Midge Pierce The progress presented by a citizen’s group that reduces damage in Mt. Tabor Park from Portland Water Bureau’s upcoming, 18-month reservoir disconnection project was almost overshadowed …
Park Progress Made Frustrations Mount Read More
By Don MacGillivray Quality homes are being scraped away. This is not infill or added density, it is the gradual devastation of many neighborhoods and perhaps their rebirth. Demolitions …
Home Demolition Epidemic Read More
By Rich Riegel An initiative petition for a proposed ballot measure is being circulated in our area in an effort to give guidance to how the region’s water supply …
People’s Water Trust Initiative Petition Read More
By Midge Pierce The year-long Franklin High School Centennial ends this month with an alumni weekend that starts with the planting of a Centennial Rose during a school open …
By Don MacGillivray Nearly 1,100 public comments were received in the review of the second section of the Draft Comprehensive Plan in the forth quarter of last year. Most …
Public Opinion About the Draft Comprehensive Plan Read More
By Don MacGillivray While some graffiti shows artistic talent all of it is considered vandalism. Perhaps, more importantly it is criminal behavior that is expensive to repair. Generally, modern …
Graffiti – Art or Visual Vandalism? Read More
by Karen Hery It’s taken quite some time for a closed down high school in the inner Southeast to graduate to its next use. The diploma is almost in …
Washington High School’s Commercial Comeback Read More
Heavy equipment enthusiasts may have been delighted with the massive 20-plus ton excavator digging up the old Portland Impact Building at 4703 SE Hawthorne recently but neighbors were less than …
Excavating Old Properties Read More
By Nancy Tannler The community meeting about the Mt Tabor Reservoir Disconnection Project was co-hosted by Portland Water Bureau (PWB) and Mt. Tabor Neighborhood Association (MTNA). It came about …
Negotiations on Reservoir Disconnect Read More
