Neighborhood Notes

They’re trying to kill Springy. Poor Springy. Bright yellow, and bigger than the rest of his friends at the small pond in Tanner Springs Park in the Pearl District.

Now, Springy doesn’t actually answer to his name, unofficially given to him by an elderly woman who often visits the park.

But the dozens of fish swimming around Tanner Springs have become celebrities of sort, and Springy is one of them. Kids love the fish, elderly women name them and local residents turn out at night to feed them handfuls of fish food.

Call it eco-sabotage, call it upsetting the balance of nature or call it performance art, but somebody finally has found a way to make Tanner Springs fun for children. By secretly putting goldfish into the water.

And it’s not just goldfish — while nobody is saying for sure, Springy and a few of his larger mates appear to be playing koi.

But not everybody loves the fish in Tanner Springs Park. Portland Parks & Recreation officials said they’re out of place. Nuisances. They don’t belong. Fish out of, well, never mind.

Read the full story at the Portland Tribune...