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Nov 13,2008

Portland Loos Coming Soon...

by jenniferd
loo I can hardly hold it -- the excitement I feel in letting you know that the Portland Loos will make their much awaited debut early this December. What is a Portland Loo, you ask? The Portland Loo is Portland's newest form of relief -- a place to go when you gotta go. No longer will you have to hold it until you get home because conveniently located on the street corner will be on oasis to Portland's bladder stretched coffee fiends -- a bathroom. (You might also have heard them referred to as Leonard's Loos in honor of Commissioner Randy Leonard who has so delicately taken these toities from conception to fruition.) The Portland Loo offers high durability and a unique and balanced blend of privacy and security, all at a cost that is a fraction of current stand-alone restroom models. The Loo can be installed almost anywhere that water and sewer hookups are available. They will be open 24/7 and are ADA accsesible. The Loos are solar powered. The first Loo will be installe
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Nov 13,2008

Water Bureau Temporarily Turns Off Bull Run Water Supply

by jenniferd
wellfield_1 The Water Bureau temporarily turned off the Bull Run water supply system this morning due to increased turbidity in the watershed. The bureau activated groundwater wells in the Columbia South Shore Well Field to temporarily serve water to Portland. Recent heavy rains and increased stream flows in the Bull Run watershed have contributed to this rapid increase in turbidity. Turbidity is a measurement of the cloudiness of (drinking) water by suspended particles. Portland is one of six large drinking water systems in the country that does not filter its water supply. The city is able to comply with federal drinking water regulations by continuously meeting a set of filtration avoidance criteria. Portland has been able to consistently meet these criteria, but it occasionally has to shut down the Bull Run system and operate from its backup groundwater supply when storms and other natural disturbances in the Bull Run reservoirs increase the turbidity. The Surface Water Treatment Rule
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Nov 11,2008

Law for the People

by souk
sblc-logo A heartfelt congratulations to SBLC on their 2nd anniversary helping small businesses with legal matters. They provide business transactional legal advice to new and emerging businesses, primarily those owned by women, minorities, and recent immigrants (the largest growing sectors of small business owners). As a small business owner myself, I hope the public and private continue to support the services that support the backbone of Oregon's economy.
posted at 10:05 AM 0 comments comments
categories: civics + government
neighborhoods: old town chinatown
Nov 10,2008

Portland Parks & Rec Launches Blog!

by pearlgirl
ParkTalk-Header-to-size Keeping up with Portland Parks and Recreation just got a little bit easier with the launch of their new blog, ParkTalk . PP&R has so many great events and programs, it's nearly impossible to keep up. We're looking forward to hearing more from them. Don't forget to take PP&R's survey about their services. It's a great opportunity to provide your feedback and share your priorities.
Nov 10,2008

New Website Connects Resources With Those Who Need Help

by pearlgirl
Down Economy WEb Pic Mayor Tom Potter and PDC have launched a website of useful links for individuals and businesses. The site provides opportunities for businesses, homeowners and individuals to connect to the resources they need in these tough economic times. Check it out
Nov 7,2008

Portland Parks & Recreation Survey

by pearlgirl
survey_says_blog Although not everyone was able to attend the ParkFest event , there is still an opportunity for you to share your attitudes about Portland Parks &
Recreation and what is important to you. As we all know—the economic downturn is hitting us all. Portland Parks & Recreation is planning for
significant budget cuts in the next several years and needs your help. This link will take you to a brief survey that will give them important information about what you believe are the core services provided by Portland Parks & Recreation. Please take a moment to share your priorities. Your feedback will be used to plan the PP&R budgets accordingly. Please submit responses by Friday, November 14, 5:00 PM.
Nov 6,2008

City Won’t Consider Street Name Change Until Next Year

by shooter
caser chavez According to the Portland Tribune , the Portland City Council won't consider a new proposal to change a street name in honor of Cesar Chavez until at least March 2009. 

Proponents of the name change submitted more than 2700 signatures to the city on Oct. 30.  They are suggesting that one of three streets be selected, but say they do not have a preference.  The recommended streets are 39th Avenue, Broadway, or Grand Avenue. 

The process for presenting the proposal is still being finalized, but the public will have at least one opportunity to comment on the proposed name change.
 
This name change will compete with the proposal to rename 42nd Avenue in honor of the author Douglas Adams.  City code says that only one street renaming is allowed per year.  The competing proposals could complicate matters.

The Douglas Adams group submitted in their application on August 4, the Caser Chavez group submitt
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Nov 5,2008

Clearing the Air

by pearlgirl
Smoking_Logo Multnomah County residents can rediscover some of their favorite restaurants and bars as they go smoke-free January 1st. By New Year's Day, bars, restaurants, and most workplaces must be smoke-free, including at least 10 feet from windows, doorways, and vents, as a part of expanded smoke-free requirements of the Oregon Indoor Clean Air Act . Almost one in three people die from tobacco related causes, including secondhand smoke, in Multnomah County each year. Benefits of smoke-free laws include reduced healthcare costs and risks, helps former smokers stay quit, and protection for employees and the general public from secondhand smoke. Most workplaces in Multnomah County have been smoke-free since 2000. By action of the Oregon legislature, the Oregon Indoor Clean Air Act will cover more workplaces, including employers previously exempted by Multnomah County's smokefree ordinance. Workplaces that must be smoke-free include: • Any enclosed area open to the public
• E
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Nov 5,2008

City Delays Decision on Disabled-Parking for 6 Months

by shooter
disabled parking As previously posted Sept 30, the City was considering a 4-hour cap on free parking for those with disabled placards.  The goal was to end abuse of the free parking system.

The City originally proposed to keep the current system, but significantly increase fines for those who abuse the free parking.  But, a minority faction of the Disabled Parking Task Force proposed the 4-hour limit. This group was concerned that the abuse was taking too many spaces that downtown shoppers need.  The City transportation staff agreed with this alternative.

Understandably, this outraged advocates for the disabled. 

According to an article in the Portland Tribune , the City of Portland will spend more time gathering information and input, and not rush its decision on the new parking rules.   Related information Diabled Parking Dispute Runs into business Interests Standards for accessible parking places On Street Parking Enforce
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posted at 09:44 AM 0 comments comments
categories: civics + government
neighborhoods: downtown
Nov 3,2008

15 Mashup Tools for Your Local Neighborhood

by dariusmonsef
Want a donut? Want to know if you'll need an umbrella today? Trying to avoid traffic? Want to know if it's safe for your kids to play in the front yard? We'll look a dozen-ish mashups that provide useful, helpful, interesting and fun information about the local area that you you live in. For those asking what a mashup is? The web 2.0 world spawned thousands of social networks and user contributed content sites... The same world has connected even more sites and people with the ability for developers to take the APIs from a couple different sites and mash them together to create new and interesting ways to share information and data.   WalkScore | Find What's In a Walkable Distance
"Walk Score shows you a map of what is nearby and calculates a Walk Score for any property. Buying a house in a walkable neighborhood is good for your health and good for the environment." Portland rates in their top 10 cities. You can even see their directory of Portl
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