Earlier this month, leaders atKnow Your City held an impromptu meeting. They’d learned months before that the group’s finances were in trouble. Cameron Whitten, the newly announced executive director of the local nonprofit, was working full time for no pay, and didn’t know if he could continue. After six years, it looked like Know Your […]
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Posted inFashion
The Weekend Shopper: The Game of Last Chances, Minutes
There’s a thrill to waiting until the very last minute to do holiday shopping. I get it. • Amelia‘s annual holiday party has arrived, with drinks and other treats, plus 20 percent off everything in store, including new dresses from Portland’s Hubris Apparel and Seattle brand Una, and shrugs from local Copper Union. Amelia, 2230 […]
Posted inBooks
Now Is the Perfect Time to Read Portland Made
We’re about halfway through the biggest retail crush of the year. It’s a time of stress and overspending, and it can be hard to make thoughtful decisions when the crowds are overwhelming and the weather is so crappy that you’d rather stay in bed forever than go shopping… much less to the post office. (Ugh.) […]
Posted inNews
Martin Shkreli Defrauds Investors, Loves Emo
Ooh, what’s he reading? The internet hit peak schadenfreude this morning when news broke that pharmaceutical CEO/Wu-Tang Clan enthusiast/unrepentant jerkwad Martin Shkreli was arrested by the feds today on securities fraud. (Read Bloomberg’s report.) [UPDATE: Shkreli was released today on $5 million bond and is restricted to the New York City area. He will appear […]
Posted inHousing
The City Will Use Airbnb Money to Build Cheap Housing—But Not Without Controversy
Nicole Cmar More affordable housing is coming to Portland, courtesy of your friends at Airbnb. Or something like that. As we previewed last week, Portland City Council took up a resolution today that will scoop up a minimum $1.2 million in “short-term rental” lodging taxes collected by Airbnb, VRBO, and similar services, and plop them […]
Posted inNews
The City’s Going to Have Another Plush Budget Year, According to Its Latest Forecast
Portland’s budget picture keeps getting rosier. A year after the city saw $49 million in surplus revenues—money it largely spent on transportation projects—city budget staffers expect an additional $11 million to play with in Portland’s general fund next year, according to a forecast released this morning. “This year will likely end up being the fastest […]
Posted inHousing
Hate Airbnb? At Least It’s Going To Help Pay For Affordable Housing
For all the controversy, and occasional shadiness, surrounding Airbnb’s emergence in Portland, the service—and those like it—have produced a reliable income stream. Last year, the City of Portland reaped an estimated $1.2 million from short-term rentals that are dotting the city. Now the city’s going to use that money building affordable housing. Mayor Charlie Hales […]
Posted inNews
Proof: Give Developers Money, They’ll Give You Cheap(ish) Housing
Back in August, Portland City Council decided it would offer up way more money to convince developers to provide affordable housing. In a unanimous vote, commissioners okayed tripling the 10-year tax breaks developers could get for projects containing cheap units, from $1 million per year to $3 million per year. It’s already having an effect. […]
Posted inNews
PBOT Wants to Build a $6 Million Bike/Pedestrian Bridge Over I-405
PBOT As it casts about for new funding to maintain the city’s roads, the Portland Bureau of Transportation’s also setting its sights on bridge-building. Not metaphorically, either. PBOT wants to build a new steel bike and pedestrian bridge over I-405. In a grant application filed with the Oregon Department of Transportation in October, the bureau […]
Posted inNews
City Employees Now Get Parental Leave! Well, Most Of Them.
City employee Sarah Kowaleski speaks at yesterday’s hearing. Want a notion of how inconsistent the city’s treatment of its own employees can be? Cue up the video of yesterday’s Portland City Council meeting. About an hour in, you’ll see the council take up and pass a progressive policy most Portlanders can get behind: Qualified city […]
Posted inNews
Portland’s Not Getting A Demolition Tax—This Year
Mayor Charlie Hales’ proposed demolition tax [pdf] appears to have blown up. Hales, who had to duck out of this morning’s Portland City Council meeting early, did something sort of extraordinary in a council where votes are often tabulated ahead of time: He whooshed his proposal for a $25,000 tax on home demolitions to the […]
Posted inPuppy
Home for the Holidays: Give Yourself as a Gift (to a Beast)
Pet adoption—especially on behalf of others—should not be reckless. Don’t surprise someone with a pet as a gift unless you are sure they want exactly that kind of pet. In fact, I don’t even know if we should be thinking of it that way at all. Maybe think of it as you giving yourself—complete with […]