By Midge Pierce The November ballot will include two City Council positions with run-offs against Portland’s Mayor Wheeler and Commissioner Eudaly. As violence, crime and houselessness rise and confidence in …
Mayoral, City Commissioner Races Read More
By Midge Pierce Multnomah County Library officials are forging ahead with a measure on the November ballot during a time when household finances have already been impacted by the pandemic. …
Library Seeks Levy for New Building and Expansions Read More
By Midge Pierce “Serendipity!” That’s how SE artist, entrepreneur and community volunteer John Laursen, a winner of this year’s Governor’s Arts Award, describes his career that began with a broken …
Portland Printer Receives Arts Award Read More
By Midge Pierce After five years of heated debate, City Council’s passage last month of the Residential Infill Project (RIP) codifies the allowance of up to six housing units on …
Residential Neighborhoods Rezoned for Multiplex Housing Read More
By Midge Pierce Amidst three-plus months of outcries for racial justice and reforms, one City department quietly achieved an equitable path toward national recognition and preservation of homes and structures …
Good News for Black Homes and Heritage Read More
By Midge Pierce A year ago, six-plexes in SE’s single-family neighborhoods would have been unimaginable. Now, love the idea or hate it, Portland’s City Council has expressed unanimous support for …
Editor’s Note: The Southeast Examiner went to press before Portland Public Schools announced earlier this week that it would not reopen classrooms in September and only distance learning would be …
PPS Stresses Safety in Fall Reopening Plans Read More
By Midge Pierce Portland has a new police chief, a revamped police budget and is on its way toward significant police reform influenced by momentum gained outside SE Portland’s Revolution …
SE Stands Up for Reform Read More
By Midge Pierce In the midst of the dual challenges of pandemic and civil unrest, Commissioners heard two days of public comment on amendments to the controversial Residential Infill Project …
Debate Over RIP Continues Read More
By Midge Pierce Portland will have a new, Long Span, seismically safe Burnside Bridge within the decade; more than a century after the original span was built, if all goes …
Burnside Bridge Replacement Design Chosen Read More
By Midge Pierce For the Class of 2020, Commencement will go on, at least in a physically-distant, drive-through form. The determination of families, educators and graduates themselves to retain some …
2020 Makes Graduation History Read More
By Midge Pierce Since closing on March 14 due to COVID-19, Multnomah County Library (MCL) has ventured deeper into the world of electronic media delivery, nearly tripling its material costs …
Pandemic Refocuses Library Priorities Read More
By Midge Pierce Prompted by what he calls, “terrifying experiences” bicycling down Hawthorne Blvd., Zach Katz, “a neighbor with a plan,” is pitching community groups on an initiative called Healthier …
Healthier Hawthorne Initiative Read More
By Midge Pierce Given environmentalists’ 10-years-to-apocalypse countdown, Earth Day would have been extraordinary under any circumstance. On the celebration’s 50th anniversary last month, Portland’s string of azure sky days gave …
Climate Collides with Coronovirus Read More
By Midge Pierce The final vote on the Residential Infill Project (RIP), five years in the making and re-making, has been postponed in recent weeks as City Hall has been …
RIP and Builders in Limbo Read More
By Midge Pierce Before the world ground to a corona virus-induced halt, climate seemed the Earth’s most pressing problem. Yet, long after this virus crisis passes, the Earth will still …
Climate Crisis in the Age of COVID-19 Read More
By Midge Pierce Public testimony on the controversial Residential Infill Project (RIP) that split the City into divisive camps is yet another casualty, at least temporarily, of the COVID-19 crisis. …
RIP Decision Delayed Read More
By Midge Pierce Portland loves its volcanoes. On a clear day, a lucky few may catch a 10-peak view along the storied stretch from Washington to southern Oregon. The city …
By Midge Pierce A spike in gun violence has added steam to Portland residents who talk of leaving the City and its problems behind. New Police Chief Jami Resch gets …
Police Bureau Pledges Ongoing Reforms Read More
By Midge Pierce SE Portland lacks a community center, a situation that leaves organizations struggling to find space for events, concerts and more. Taborspace at 5441 SE Belmont St., is …
Taborspace Fills Community Need Read More
By Midge Pierce Despite living in an earthquake zone, few Portland residents think about the danger of crossing the Willamette River on our aging bridges. Yet for 40,000 cars crossing …
Burnside Bridge: Retrofit or Rebuild? Read More
By Midge Pierce The Residential Infill Project (RIP) was presented to Council at a February work session as part of a broader Housing Opportunities Initiative. It now moves toward adoption …
By Midge Pierce Few issues rile up Portlanders quite so much as parking. On the eastside, it is dividing those who seek it from those who seek to reduce it. …
Richmond Considers Parking Permits Read More
By Midge Pierce Code Change 3.96 would reform Portland’s public engagement system, and is intended to give marginalized communities more voice. After accusations that Office for Community and Civic Life …
OCCL Seeks 3.96 Resolution Read More
By Midge Pierce If you’re looking for a flexible, well-paying, part-time job that benefits your community, you may be in luck. The search for 2020 census workers is on. With …
Census Workers Needed Read More
By Midge Pierce PDX Main Street, a grassroots group launched six years to advocate good design elements for new builds along SE’s commercial corridors, is accepting nominations for its 2020 …
PDX Main Street Calls for Nominations Read More
By Midge Pierce A perfect storm of conditions: an unprecedented police shortage, anti-police sentiment and diminishing crime prevention activity may threaten Portland’s safety. This summer’s contract negotiations could add to …
Police Strive to Turn Tide of Crime and Negativity Read More
By Midge Pierce Like it or not, quadplexes and possibly six or eight plexes are likely coming soon to Portland’s single family neighborhoods. That is the expectation following city council …
RIP Gains Traction Amid Calls for More Density Read More
By Midge Pierce As old Portland and new spar over the City’s future, Commissioners are in the hotseat hearing issues that split the City and blame current residents for past …
Council Wrestles Over Contentious Code and Infill Proposals Read More
By Midge Pierce Thanks to some busy holiday elves, Buckman Elementary students may return from break to find long-anticipated playground improvements intended to spur creativity for all children, including those …
Buckman Fundraises a Makeover Read More
By Midge Pierce As Fire Drill Friday climate protests swept the globe imploring action to save the planet, Portland took steps to curtail carbon emissions and protect the urban tree …
City Takes Trees and Climate Seriously Read More
By Midge Pierce Rising from the center of SE Portland is a reminder of nature’s unpredictability: the only volcano in a major American city, according to signage on the Mt. …
Make Emergency Prep a New Year’s Resolution Read More
By Midge Pierce Since New Seasons announced its sale under Good Food Holdings to South Korean E-mart, reactions at both the Hawthorne and Sellwood stores ranged from shrugs, to chagrins …
New Seasons’ New Owners Read More
By Midge Pierce SE Portlanders know intuitively what US Sen. Ron Wyden confirmed last month: Oregon is among the top five states for unsheltered homeless. The troubling stat accompanied his …
Wyden Plans to Deliver Read More
By Midge Pierce Despite a recent Portland State University study indicating the number of people moving to Portland has slowed, city planners are considering density increases for the Residential Infill …
Residential Infill Project Update Read More
By Midge Pierce If December holds a certain stargazing fascination for you (or you just want to scan the skies for Santa), consider trekking up Mt. Tabor on a rare, …
Look Up, There’s a Star Party on Mt. Tabor Read More
By Midge Pierce A once abandoned Georgian beauty known as The Christmas House, at 5631 SE Belmont Ave. is now fully restored and preparing to twinkle again this season. It’s …
Christmas House: Lights to Shine Once More Read More
By Midge Pierce A coalition called Inner Powell Alliance (IPA) has formed with Creston-Kenilworth, Richmond, Hosford Abernethy and Brooklyn Neighborhood Associations to improve safety and livability along Powell Blvd. With …
Walkabout Kicks Off Alliance Read More
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 Portland’s renowned Neighborhood Association …
Neighborhood Associations Live Another Day Read More
By Midge Pierce The role of the City’s Neighborhood Associations under Commissioner Chloe Eudaly’s watch remains in limbo with her apparent slowdown of a vote on a controversial code change …
Civility Suffers as Challenges to Neighborhood Clout Continue Read More
By Midge Pierce Anyone who doubts that children are leading the way to save the planet, meet Jeremy Clark and Charlie Abrams. Fearing for their future, the two Cleveland High …
Kids Combat Climate Change Read More
By Midge Pierce They’re back and there’s a good chance their murder will land on a doorstep or rooftop near you. It’s crow season in Portland. As leaves turn yellow …
Something to Crow About Read More
By Midge Pierce T he City, County and State are spending more than ever to curb homelessness. This year’s Point in Time Count showed homeless numbers down slightly over last …
Homeless Solutions Remain Elusive Read More
