A WELL-KNOWN PORTLAND SIGN disappeared for good this week—no, not Made in Oregon, but the much more low-key Portland Storage sign that had been emblazoned for decades on the side of a brick warehouse in industrial Southeast. White paint now covers the block-print, black-and-white Portland Storage logo, the space destined to become a ClearChannel billboard. In recent years, the building has transitioned from its industrial roots and is now home to a number of small businesses, including an arts space and the office of a leader of the national Church of Satan. SARAH MIRK

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The county commission voted unanimously to place a five-cent-per-$1,000 property tax levy on the ballot to keep open the doors of the SW Portland-based Oregon Historical Society museum and library. Though the museum is a state institution that has typically run on state dollars, County Chair Jeff Cogen argued that county voters should assume the burden of keeping the museum open during the recession rather than seeing it shutter. The $10 million, five-year levy is the third local tax measure to land on November's ballot, after a Portland fire bond and TriMet bond. SM

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Hoping to keep violence from flaring anew at North Portland's New Columbia housing development, the Portland City Council tentatively agreed that anyone banned from the development also would be banned from McCoy Park, the park surrounded by the development. Mayor Sam Adams made the proposal after a run of violence both at and near the park earlier this summer, including the slaying of teenager Billy Moore. Residents and cops welcome the rule, saying they don't want New Columbia to wind up like Columbia Villa, the notorious housing project it replaced. DENIS C. THERIAULT