news in Humboldt, Northeast (NE) Portland...

This is the first in a series of articles that will cover the basics of land use in Portland. Let's face it. You might not notice when a six-story apartment building is being constructed just a few hundred feet from a cluster of single-story homes—unless one of those homes is yours. Developments happen all the time, in every city. Some residents are grateful when a grocery store opens just a few blocks more...

Who is responsible for job creation? The president, local government, entrepreneurial business people? As we expressed last month in the first installment in our Thinking Local series, you don’t have to look to ambiguous entities to create change in your community. You, and your neighbors, have the power to effect considerable change by just changing your habits. There is power in your dollar, but there is more...

In a shift away from the country’s once hyper-consumptive ways, many Portlanders have been discovering how to participate in a local, and more resourceful, sharing economy. Based on models of collaborative consumption, in which owning becomes less necessary, our innovative and community-minded citizenry has expanded an economy centered around bartering, borrowing and sharing. Portland has, in many ways, led more...

Under a cold gray sky on the first day of spring, Jeremy O’Leary apologizes for the appearance of his backyard garden. “It looks about as good as you can have it after spreading three yards of compost,” says O’Leary, a Multnomah County employee who is involved with Transition PDX and also helped the City of Portland develop its Peak Oil plan. In his Centennial neighborhood backyard, more...

It's frequently estimated that the cost of recruiting, hiring and training a new employee can cost a business $4,000 (or more), which is often anywhere from 25 percent to 200 percent of annual compensation for that new worker. As industrious and multi-talented as you may be, if your goal is to grow your business, and have a life outside of it, the reality is that you can't do it all. At some point you need more...

Sharing Ideas: Grassroots Projects Started by Neighbors What extraordinary things are happening in your neighborhood? Recognize and learn from the positive things happening in community! Nominate a neighbor, volunteer group, or nonprofit working on a grassroots project that is making a difference. Community Outreach is seeking panelists to participate in the next upcoming Sharing Ideas Panel. This panel showcases more...

The Oregon Health Authority Drinking Water Program (OHA) today issued a final order granting the Portland Water Bureau’s request for a variance to the treatment requirements of the federal Long Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule (LT2). The variance—the first of its kind ever granted under the Safe Drinking Water Act—allows Portland to avoid constructing a treatment facility to address the more...

What will happen to your business when you retire? Do you plan to sell it? Hand it down to your kids? Or will you simply have a sale and close up shop? Your business can have a life beyond you, the sole proprietor, but it takes planning. And this planning will not only benefit you 20 years down the line, it will also help you create stability, make decisions, and even expand your business in the present. According more...

While new restaurants and bars ruled the business landscape of early and midwinter, late winter in Portland belonged to consignors, refurbishers and providers of vintage threads. While February brought new businesses specializing in baked sweets, cotton candy, authentic Iraqi cuisine, and chicken and waffles (plus fitness classes to work it all off), it also brought retailers of jewelry made from found fossils, more...

Thinking Local is a new monthly series that examines the reasons why thinking and buying local matters to Portland's economy and neighborhoods. It's no secret that Neighborhood Notes loves local—we're not shy about professing our support of local coffee micro roasters, new locally owned businesses, or evenneighborhood-specific honeys. And while it's fun to share the love for local artisans and more...