CALENDAR ADVISORY Save the Date! Portland Plan Phase II Workshops The Portland Plan will be the City's road map for the next 25 years, guiding our direction as the city grows and changes. We face some real challenges, and our response to those challenges will create the Portland of 2035—the city of our children and grandchildren. We understand that jobs, education, public health, equity and sustainability are more...

Today, Commissioners Saltzman, Leonard and Fish joined with Mayor Sam Adams in expressing their support for a proposal to kick-start funding for the city's new bicycle transportation plan. The final vote on the funding proposal will take place at the second reading of the ordinance next week. Today's proposal follows Mayor Adams' commitment to bring a funding proposal back to City Council within thirty days of last more...

The City of Portland, in partnership with the U.S. Census Bureau, today released two locally produced Public Service Announcements to encourage Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) households to fill out their 2010 Census forms. Portland is the only city in the nation to produce a public service announcement in partnership with the U.S. Census Bureau to conduct outreach to the LGBT community about the Census and changes to more...

I have a dear friend (who shall remain unnamed) who credits kombucha with curing her lifelong bout with flatulence. Knowing nearly nothing about the fermented elixir, but thankful for its effect on my friendship, I was intrigued when offered a sample at Whole Foods recently. Now, this wasn’t just any sample. It was a sample of what appears to be a new tea trend brewing in town: kombucha on tap. A BRIEF more...

In June 2009, Portland Stock made an unforgetable splash into the blogosphere and Portland art scene with this intriguing post: “Stock: Clear soup broth, investment, estimation, faith, gathering, accumulation, appraisal, cash, assets, a stem, tree, or plant that furnishes slips or cuttings. Ancestry, lineage. Merchandise.” This creative, vibrant grassroots public dinner event boldly aspires to be and embrace each of more...

The City of Portland’s SmartTrips program is revving up for another successful year as the SmartTrips Green Line program gets underway at the end of March. SmartTrips is an individualized marketing program sponsored by the Portland Bureau of Transportation. The program, which was implemented by the city in 2004, is designed to reduce drive-alone trips by increasing biking, walking, carpooling and public transportation more...

Has anyone ever told you that you seem to have a lot of opinions? Do you have strong ideas and a feeling that you could "get stuff done" in your community? If you fit this description and are between the ages of 13 and 21, the Multnomah Youth Commission (MYC) is the place for you. The MYC started in 1996 with the goal of providing youth voice in the decisions that are made by our elected officials and to change any more...

I’ve learned two key things in the four months I’ve been writing this column: 1) businesses, especially restaurants, will always take longer to open than the initial announcement predicted; and 2) the stream of new Portland businesses making their debut doesn’t show any sign of drying up. You should see the list of rumors I’ve kept to follow up on—every time a place finally graduates to reality, there more...

The best of this week’s upcoming sports events Saturday, March 6 Rumble at the Roseland 50 If you’ve ever seen a Rumble at the Roseland event, you understand the pure adrenaline rush of watching two amateur fighters square off in the octagon for pride, bragging rights and maybe, just maybe, a shot at becoming the next MMA star to come out of Portland. After all, it was this event that launched the careers of UFC more...

An August groundbreaking is tentatively set for the construction of a new Central City Concern medical facility at 707 West Burnside. The building will help expand the capacity of the organization’s primary care operation, while also providing a permanent home for the integrated behavioral health services it offers. Central City Concern is a not for profit agency founded in 1979 that serves single adults and families in more...