It was a packed house at the St. Johns Community Center on Monday night, Dec. 14, as the proposed plans for a new 7-Eleven convenience store at 8157 N Lombard St. were unveiled, followed by questions and comments for 7-Eleven representative Tom Noble. There are already two 7-Elevens in St. Johns, one of which is nine blocks from the site, and a Plaid Pantry. St. Johns residents, who cheered earlier in the neighborhood association more...

Check out our interview series with Portland's mayoral candidates. Eileen Brady and New Seasons Market are a celebrated Portland phenomenon. Portland loves its neighborhood groceries, our regional support system, and the ideal of a decent job with good benefits. And, of course, being friendly. Brady is certainly warm in person, and she’s a self-touted entrepreneur. Innovation is undoubtedly the platform of any modern more...

Check out our interview series with Portland's mayoral candidates. Jefferson Smith has a lot to say. Words spew from his mouth in seemingly endless diatribes throughout our interview, in sync with the heavy traffic of Southeast Portland visible through the windows of his campaign office. It’s a gray, rainy day, but he hardly pauses. I shudder to think of the length of some of the papers he must have turned in during his more...

Twenty-five new trash cans and five additional cans for recycling have been secured by the St. Johns Main Street Coalition to replace the existing concrete bins throughout the St. Johns’ commercial core. Designed to mimic the iconic St. Johns Bridge with gothic arch tops and similar railing patterns along the sides, the two types of barrels will be differentiated by informational stickers. The receptacles were made locally by more...

The ongoing process of refining the Columbia River Crossing (CRC) project continues as opponents, including the Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods (NECN), filed a brief on November 9, 2011, with the Oregon Supreme Court arguing against Metro’s use of a Land-Use Final Order (LUFO), a statute crafted in the 1990s that pertains to light rail projects. Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA) ruled in favor of the CRC on 11 of 12 more...

Another step in the much-discussed fate of West Hayden Island is complete, as the Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability unveils two concept plans detailing alternative ideas for the possible development of a Port of Portland deep-water marine terminal. Both draft concepts, completed by engineering and design company WorleyParsons, include 300 acres of industrial marine development complimented by 500 acres of open space, with more...

After years of public advocacy and planning, construction begins this week on the Waud Bluff Trail connecting North Willamette Boulevard to Swan Island. Currently unimproved, the path is used by employees of Swan Island, neighborhood residents, and University of Portland students. It will provide an essential, safe alternative access point to the north end of Swan Island and eventually connect to the greater North Portland Willamette more...

UPDATED 9/28/2011 Portland City Council and the Port of Portland are in the midst of planning to allow developments on West Hayden Island, despite pleas from environmentalists and some East Hayden Island residents. Plans would include annexing the 800-plus acres west of the BNSF railroad—a largely untouched parcel of land—into the city to enable the Port of Portland to build a deep-water marine terminal and industrial more...

Every Independence Day, there is at least one fire. An errant firecracker most likely caused the fire that destroyed much of the roof and interior of the Alberta Central building on NE 17th and Alberta this past July 4, forcing eightbusinesses to close indefinitely. While news sources have quoted the fire department’s estimated cost of damages at $100,000, all told, the numbers will be substantially higher. Reports have failed more...