Articles by Amanda Waldroupe
Amanda Waldroupe is an award-winning freelance journalist and writer based in Portland, OR. Amanda contributes reporting to the New York Times, and has written for almost every publication in Portland, including the Oregonian, Portland Mercury, Willamette Week, the Portland Tribune, Oregon Business Magazine, Oregon Humanities, Just Out, Street Roots, Reed Magazine, and Portland Magazine. She graduated from Reed College in 2007 with a degree in philosophy and studied documentary writing at the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies.
Neighbors, Bike and Pedestrian Advocates Creating Ladd Circle Survey
Hosford-Abernethy Neighborhood Development (HAND) is in the beginning stages of creating a survey on perceived risk and safety for people who use Ladd Circle. The survey is part of the neighborhood association’s ongoing efforts to improve the safety of pedestrians and bicyclists. HAND vice president Linda Nettekoven says HAND’s board suggested the idea of a survey during its July 19 meeting. The hope is more...
Southeast Portland Neighbors Working With People’s Co-op to Develop Good Neighbor Agreement
Neighbors living near People’s Food Co-Op are working with the employee-and member-owned natural foods store to craft a good neighbor agreement (GNA). Development manager Shawn Furst says the agreement will codify some measures People’s Co-Op already employs to ensure the grocery store does not negatively impact the surrounding neighborhood. “We’ve always been a neighborhood store,” more...
Southeast Portland Neighbors Notice Increase in Rats
When the Portland Bureau of Environmental Services repaired a sewer break in the alley behind Cordelia Shea’s house in Ladd’s Addition, they didn’t tell her that she had a problem with water damage as a result of the break. Nor did they tell her that her pipes had to be replaced. And there wasn’t any permanent damage caused by the sinkhole the sewer break caused. What they told her had nothing more...
City Considers Changing Time, Place and Manner Ordinance to Deal With “Problem” Bars and Taverns
In an effort to deal with “problem” bars and taverns, the Office of Neighborhood Involvement (ONI) seeks to change the city’s time, place and manner (TPM) ordinance and add to the ordinance’s list of “nuisance” behaviors. Proposed changes include adding failure to meet international fire code and issues related to overcrowding and exiting. But the changes also include adding more...
Neighborhood Associations React to House and Senate Redistricting
One of the Oregon Legislature’s last acts before adjourning on June 30 was to approve newly drawn district lines. Known as “redistricting” (or more derisively as “gerrymandering”), the process of redrawing the district boundaries of each state representative, senator, and congressional representative happens every 10 years and is a reflection of new federal census data. That the Oregon more...
Kenton Community Garden Finally Sited
After almost four years of persistence, patience, site-scouting, and overcoming bureaucratic and land use obstacles, North Portland’s Kenton neighborhood will have its own community garden. The garden, expected to open as early as this fall, will be located on the corner of N Burrage Avenue and N Houghton Street, slightly south of N Columbia Boulevard. Angela Moos, chair of the Kenton Neighborhood Association, more...
St. Johns Looks Forward to Business Development
Forty-five St. Johns residents attended an “urban renewal training” on June 23 hosted by the St. Johns Neighborhood Association, the St. Johns Main Street Coalition, and the Portland Development Commission that presented resources, tools, and ideas available to those interested in small business development in the St. Johns area. If St. Johns becomes part of the proposed expansion of the Interstate Urban more...
Bicycle Safety Concerns in Ladd Circle Gain New Energy
UPDATED 8/3/2011 Bicyclists do not always stop at the two stop signs on Ladd Avenue at either end of Ladd Circle. Some continue pedaling into the tightly curved circle and into traffic. Over the years, solutions to get bicyclists to stop at the signs and make the area safer have been batted around, such as increasing enforcement, structurally changing the curve, or mounting an education campaign. Energy to tackle more...
Montavilla Church Offers Free Community Garden Plots
Central Bible Church, located near NE Glisan St. and NE 90th Ave. in the Montavilla neighborhood, hopes to begin planting a new community garden on its grounds in the next two weeks. Church member Matt Lawer, 27, has been working to build community-wide interest in the garden. He is one of a dozen other members in his church involved in the project. “We really want to be a service to the community we’re more...
Zenger Farm Begins Pilot CSA for Food Stamp Users
Zenger Farm, an urban farm in the Powellhurst-Gilbert neighborhood that grows food and offers experiences to young people interested in farming, is beginning a new pilot community-supported agriculture (CSA) program that will accept food stamps and allow lower-income people to make weekly payments rather than paying upfront. It is the first CSA to accept food stamps in the city. “It’s a really positive more...