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Susan's Online Guide to Portland Let me Help You Find a Home and a Neighborhood |
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Welcome to my Web site about the Portland, Oregon, metropolitan area. It's my way of helping you become acquainted with the neighborhoods and communities of the Portland metro area and to inform you about the Portland area housing market. Your comments and suggestions about my Web site are always welcome. If you have questions or if you are interested in buying or selling a home in the Portland area, contact me online or call me at (503) 497-2984.
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Community News |
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Author Arianne Cohen walks tall, very tall, in Portland and loves it July 3 − Arianne Cohen rode the bus to downtown Portland and her knees bumped into the seat in front of her. She got off on Southwest 5th Avenue and didn't walk more than a few blocks before a stranger commented on her height. "He said 'dude, you're really tall,'" Cohen said, rolling her eyes in a what-can-you-expect look. "I get stuff like that every day. Multiple times per day." Cohen is 6-foot-3 and outgoing. The two traits are related; she said she developed a big personality to match her size because it was what people expected of her. Read the full story...
Hollywood: Photographer delights in theater's odd details July 2 − At the Hollywood Theatre, it's sometimes difficult to see the trees for the forest. Or, rather, it's difficult to see the bare-breasted mermaids for the busyness of the theater's ornate, terra-cotta facade that towers over the eponymous community. But look carefully and you'll see all kinds of oddities above the marquee: a bat perched atop a man's head, lyre-strumming angels and, of course, the half-naked mermaids. "It is the often unnoticed detail that delights me," says Portland photographer Don Jacobson, whose photos of the theater's facade are on display and for sale inside the theater's lobby. Read the full story...
Oregon Legislators give fish hatchery deal a second look July 2 − As a longtime owner and former CEO of a Gulf Coast casino, Bernie Burkholder knows well the old maxim of the gambling business: The house always wins. But last year, when after three years of negotiation the state of Oregon turned thumbs down on a $14 million deal to buy Burkholder's eastern Oregon ranch and trout hatchery, he didn't walk away and cut his losses. Instead, he put more chips on the table, hiring a prominent lobbyist and going to the Legislature to keep the deal alive. Read the full story... Guide to Summer Time Fun − Concerts in the parks, noon time entertainment at Pioneer Square, and Shakespeare.
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House and Home |
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Housing price slide into 16th month July 1 − Portland's home prices continued to hit new record declines in April as they fell 16 percent compared to April 2008, according to a report published today. Portland ranked among the nation's three healthiest markets in early 2008, but April's figures from the Standard & Poor's Case-Shiller Index show that foreclosures and job losses continue to push prices down in the region. The Portland region has set record price declines for 16 straight months and the declines have grown deeper each month since January 2008. Since the July 2007 peak, Portland-area prices have fallen 21 percent. Portland's prices have fallen back to June 2005 levels, according to the index. Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, New York and Seattle also posted record year-over-year declines in April. Read the full story...
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Living Green |
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Model energy-saving plan OK’d July 2 − A pilot program enabling Portlanders to reduce home energy usage with no out-of-pocket costs kicks off next week, just after the Oregon Legislature provided $10 million to take the program statewide. The project, dubbed Clean Energy Works: Portland, is viewed as a state and national pilot test to counter global warming by cutting home and business energy consumption. The plan’s key innovation is granting homeowners a low-cost loan that’s paid back over several years via utility bills. Homeowners can use loan proceeds to install insulation, weatherization, windows, heating and cooling systems, renewable energy systems or other energy-saving improvements. Loan payments, it’s hoped, will be offset by reductions in electricity and gas costs due to lower usage. Read the full story... |
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Sports and Outdoors |
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Portland Blogs and Web Sites |
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Susan Marthens |
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© Copyright 2000-2009 All rights reserved
● Use of this site constitutes
acceptance of our Terms of Use and
Privacy policies Web by Dasan Design ● (503) 819-0011 |
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Birds
may influence Willamette River bridge design July 3 − When
the Oresund Bridge opened in 2000, it had one of the longest cable-stayed
main spans in the world and a problem: Dead and dying birds were being found
along the deck of the bridge, which connects Denmark to Sweden. A 2001 study
by Lund University in Sweden determined that the bridge’s cable-stayed design
is particularly dangerous for migratory species flying at night. Now that
TriMet has chosen a cable-stayed design for its
Portland's
neighborhoods associations flex their muscles July 2 − When
plans were pitched for a new Triple-A baseball stadium in Lents, a quintet
of neighborhood associations — Lents, Foster-Powell, Mt. Scott-Arleta, Powellhurst-Gilbert
and Pleasant Valley — made their concerns heard. Among the objections: a
proposal to finance the stadium with urban renewal money typically steered
toward neighborhood improvements. Portland Beavers owner Merritt Paulson
cited that vehement opposition when he abandoned plans last month to build
the stadium in Lents Park. "That squeaky wheel does make a difference,"
said Mary Walker, a Powellhurst-Gilbert representative.
River
plan draw groans July 2 − Mayor Sam Adams is trying to soften
opposition to an ambitious plan for the Willamette River north of the Broadway
Bridge before it comes before the City Council later this year. The plan
calls for rezoning and reregulating portions of the land along the river,
and raising funds for infrastructure projects and other public improvements
in the area. It was approved by the Portland Planning Commission on June
23 to enhance the natural, residential and industrial areas from downtown
to the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers.
English
Tudor designed by Roscoe Hemenway − English Tudor in coveted Arlington
Height, adjacent to Rose and Japanese gardens, Washington Park, Oregon Zoo,
downtown. Gallery off living room and dining room overlooks English garden
and treed vista. Kitchen has 7x12 nook with bay window. The home has three
bedrooms - all on the same floor. There are two full bathrooms and
a partial bathroom. The family room has bookcases and fireplace. Pre-inspected,
new sewer line, new 90% efficient gas furnace. Well maintained home waiting
to welcome you. To view more photos, click
Secret
sea cave July 2 − Surf rumbles through sea caves in the
three monumental Sisters Rocks, the largest of a cluster of islands between
two scenic, rarely visited beaches. This new state park on the Southern
Oregon coast between Port Orford and Gold Beach was funded by Oregon Lottery
money. Years ago, Oregon voters passed an initiative to dedicate a portion
of lottery funds to salmon and parks. At first, legislators undercut that
measure by reducing the state park budget to match the new lottery income.
More recently, however, funds have been flowing for state parks after all.
If you drive Highway 101 past Sisters Rocks, you probably won’t notice this
park. There is a small state park sign, but it doesn’t mention a name. The
park itself is undeveloped. Still, this part of the coast has a long history.
Sisters Rocks served as a natural breakwater for the city of Frankport,
founded on the beach here in the 1850s, when gold miners from California
discovered gold flakes in the black sands of Southern Oregon beaches.
