In his sparse office on SE Belmont near the Horse Brass Pub, Slav Davidzon is buzzing around, making final arrangements for his sustainable bike touring company’s December ride in Hawaii, dealing with a ceiling that sprang a leak during the recent downpour, and polishing off his paperwork to run for mayor. Davidzon, the 26-year-old CEO […]
Amy J. Ruiz
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Hall Monitor
Take Out
Around city hall, Thanksgiving kicked off a day early—with Chinese food. On Wednesday, November 21, after the city council’s second round of voting against the idea of renaming Interstate Avenue for César E. Chávez, the committee behind the rename headed to Fong Chong Restaurant on NW 4th for a celebration of sorts. Though Interstate hadn’t […]
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Citizens’ Patrol
Cyclists to Cite Unsafe Drivers
Christopher Heaps is an avid cyclist, commuting from his home in Sellwood to his downtown office each day, where he practices environmental law. He ticks off the benefits of biking, like “helping to lower the single highest cause” of global warming by not creating carbon emissions, doing his part to delay peak oil, and staying […]
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Howard’s Beginning
Neighborhood Activist Jumps into Council Race
The day after Thanksgiving, Howard Weiner got the thumbs up from the city’s elections office: He could start collecting signatures and $5 contributions in his bid to secure public financing for his fledging city council run. Weiner—owner of Cal Skate Skateboards on NW 6th in Old Town, and a long-time community activist—has plenty of catching […]
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Chasing the Dragon
Green Dragon’s All About the Beer
If you’re fortunate enough to walk into Green Dragon Bistro & Brewpub when owner Jim Parker is tending bar—as he often does—do yourself a favor, and let him choose your beer. The man has a beer-soaked resume a mile long: He published a beer magazine in Colorado, ran a brewery-tour operation, was head brewer for […]
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Hall Monitor
Smoke Signals
City Commissioners Randy Leonard and Dan Saltzman took a moment during the Wednesday, November 14, city council meeting to stand up for a marginalized group—one that others have loudly complained about, a group that the council was poised to vote against, and push elsewhere. No, it wasn’t the César E. Chávez Boulevard Committee. “My issue […]
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Our Streets
Cyclists Demand Solutions for Safer Streets
The rain went from a shower to a downpour on Saturday just as cyclists around the city were converging at over a dozen tragic sites. At N Interstate and Greeley, where Brett Jarolimek was killed by a garbage truck on October 22, and Siobhan Doyle was seriously injured in a second collision a week later, […]
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Back and Fourth
Chávez Rename Turns to Fourth Avenue
Hours before the November 15 city council meeting on whether or not to rename Interstate Avenue for César E. Chávez, the latest twist in the months-old saga emerged: Late the night before, Portland’s four city commissioners had crafted a compromise idea to rename Fourth Avenue—city hall’s address—for Chávez. They tried to bring Interstate stalwart Mayor […]
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Heeere’s Johnny!
John Branam Kicks off City Council Campaign
During the Monday, November 19 lunch hour, John Branam, the 33-year-old development director for Portland Public Schools, officially launched his city council campaign. Though Branam has been campaigning for weeks—with former Mercury managing editor and mayoral candidate Phil Busse as his manager—and has collected nearly $8,000 in seed money donations, and approximately 300 of the […]
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Hall Monitor
Name Dropping
Renaming Interstate Avenue to César E. Chávez Boulevard seems like a no brainer to me. Those opposed to the change cite things like losing the Interstate brand, and fret that customers will have difficultly locating the new street. The cost of replacing signage and stationary would burden small businesses. Plus, renaming Interstate so soon after […]
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Bump It or Dump It
Council Wrestles over Budget Surplus
Every fall, the city’s financial planner compares the previous year’s budget to how much money the city actually collected and spent. If there’s a surplus, the city council gets to spend it—last year, they sent nearly $23 million to projects like gang outreach, water billing, and road repairs. This time around, there’s only $6.7 million […]
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For the Kids
Youth Testify on OLCC’s All-Ages Proposal
On Monday, November 12, with just one day left before the end of the public comment period on a proposed Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) rule change that could open up Portland’s all-ages music scene, youth gathered in city hall’s council chambers to testify. In front of the Multnomah Youth Commission—the hearing wasn’t an official […]