A SURVEY FROM METRO reveals the majority of Portlanders support
smart growth for the city in theory, but in practice many are
not keen about density coming to their neighborhoods. Fifty-one percent
of the county’s residents think that new development should take place
within the city limits and already urbanized areas. But 23 percent said
they didn’t want to see growth in their neighborhoods, and 13 percent
said that the region as a whole shouldn’t grow at all. The Metro
Council fell on the side of the keep-it-dense voters, deciding two
weeks ago not to expand the urban growth boundary—for the first
time in 30 years. SARAH MIRK.
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What is City Commissioner Nick Fish putting in the water in
his office? His chief of staff, Sam Chase, quit on Friday,
September 25, following the departure of Senior Policy Advisor
Carmen Rubio a week earlier (to take a job running Portland’s
Latino Network). This all arrives on the heels of Senior Policy
Director Hannah Kuhn‘s resignation on September 1. Fish tells
the Mercury he doesn’t know what’s in the water. “It’s not
bottled,” he says. “It’s that filtered stuff.” Is Fish just a crazy
boss who’s impossible to work for? “I think I’m one of the easiest
people to work with in the building,” he says. “You should do a
survey. But I think I’m a pushover as a commissioner.” Fish said he was
“blessed” to have worked with all his departing aides, and announced
Chase's replacement on Monday, September 28. It's Betsy Ames,
from the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability. MATT DAVIS