Portland most certainly does care about its planning and priorities, as demonstrated by consistent full-house Portland Plan workshop attendance at the November 17th session held at Beaumont Middle School, on December 1st at St. Johns Community Center, and on December 7th at Wilson High School—and at almost every session in-between. Over 200 concerned citizens came to this week's Southwest installment (at Wilson High) to more...

Spend a few minutes surfing PortlandOnline within the Bureau of Planning and Sustainabiliy section, and you'll quickly notice a lot of plans. Plans for our rivers and trees. For our urban design and development. For bike lanes. For climate action. There's the Downtown Plan, the Central City Plan, the Strategic Plan. Wading through all these plans can certainly prove confusing, but the plan du jour that truly requires our more...

Neighbors, it's time to write and submit proposals for the Neighborhood Small Grants Program. These grants fund community building projects in neighborhoods all over Portland. Dream big! Here's more from the Office of Neighborhood Involvement: The City of Portland, Office of Neighborhood Involvement and seven neighborhood District Coalitions announce the 4th year of the Neighborhood Small Grants Program with more...

On Wednesday, August 5th, the Portland Water Bureau will begin blending a small portion of its groundwater supply from the Columbia South Shore Well Field into Portland's water distribution system as part of a maintenance operation. The groundwater supply is a complex system that must be operated regularly to identify maintenance needs and issues. By doing this maintenance operation, the bureau will ensure the reliability of more...

This just hit our inbox... The present economic crisis has drastically impacted many of our neighbors. Commissioners Amanda Fritz and Nick Fish invite all members of our neighborhoods to join them in a community forum to find alternative ways to share our streets and review opportunities for supporting members of our communities who are faced with homelessness and other challenges. On April 29, 2009 the Portland City more...

Morning, neighbors. The Pearl District, Madison South, Central Northeast Neighbors, Cully and Hillside websites were hacked over the weekend. OakStand Community Web Development was quick to respond and all sites are now in working order. Thanks, Todd! more...

This just hit our inbox. Sounds like a great opportunity for neighbors to provide feedback to OLCC:The Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) is measuring how well it serves key customer groups by asking a set of standard questions, which all state agencies are required to ask. The OLCC has many key customer groups and your response is important to provide a more complete picture of how the OLCC is doing.Please take a moment to more...

From the Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability:The City of Portland is developing code amendments that would foster green technologies and practices on a neighborhood scale. The 2009 Regulatory Improvement Program - Sustainability Work in Progress contains a "green bundle" to promote the installation and use of solar panels, water cisterns, wind turbines, eco-roofs and district energy systems.The green bundle is part more...

Fresh from the inbox...The City of Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability (BPS) is pleased to announce the recipients of the first Portland Recycles! Small Grants Program.BPS received a total of 70 applications and 21 groups were funded through the program. The organizations ranged from schools to neighborhood groups to grassroots organizations.The grant's goal is to offer neighborhood, community and nonprofit organizations more...

Currently the draft City of Portland budget included a 50% cut in funds to the Graffiti Abatement Program.  This loss of funds will put an end to free removal services to homeowners and small businesses.  Already, the Abandoned Auto Hotline was saved from elimination due to public pressure on city council. You are encouraged to submit your support for Graffiti Abatement to all of our city commissioners via phone, email or more...