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City to demolish Columbia Pool after years of neglect
By Mark Kirchmeier Ten years after the Portland Parks and Recreation Bureau effectively stopped maintaining Columbia Pool, and four years after Parks Commissioner Carmen Rubio ordered it closed, the Parks Bureau is going to demolish the building. “Public officials have an opportunity to learn from this fiasco and not cause further unnecessary harm to community…
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Portland Councilor Green refuses to resign after anti-police postings surface
By Jim Redden District 4 City Councilor Mitch Green is refusing to resign after a series of messages he wrote on Twitter harshly criticizing Portland and other police in 2020 and 2021 recently resurfaced. District 4 covers all of Northwest Portland, including the tip that includes the Critical Energy Infrastructure Hub along the Willamette River…
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St. Johns Community Center gym closed for emergency repairs
By Jim Redden The St. Johns Community Center gym is expected to remain closed for emergency repairs for another 12 to 18 months, if not longer. Portland Parks & Recreation closed the gym in the community center at 8427 N Central St. in mid-February after discovering structural damage allowing rain water to seep in. Damage…
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City Council ups ante in Moda Center negotiations, Blazer response hints at conciliation
The future ofthe Portland Trail Blazers is up for grabs.
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Tension builds as city’s Moda Center/Blazers deal nears Aug. 12 deadline
The controversy over spending approximately $600 million in public funds to keep the Portland Trail Blazers playing in town is heating up ahead of self-imposed Aug. 12 deadline set by the City of Portland. That is when the City Council is scheduled to approve the terms of a new 20-year lease with the Blazers at…
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New report shows less cost for controversial Columbia Pool restoration
By Mark Kirchmeier An independent study contradicts the city’s estimates for restoration of the Columbia Park Pool, saying the pool could be converted to summer use for less money than the Parks Bureau says it would take. In response, the city claims the restoration would cost roughly twice what the independent study by Convergence Achitecture…
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Dwight Jaynes: Dundon holds the cards in Moda negotations
Would new Portland Trail Blazer owner Tom Dundon really move the team out of town if the Moda Center isn’t renovated the way he wants with public funds? Legendary longtime Oregon sportswriter Dwight Jaynes believes the answer is yes and that Dundon is already preparing to relocate the Blazers when his current lease expires in…
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Split City Council votes to save jobs, as Wilson casts tie-breaking vote
By Jim Redden The City Council compromised and finally voted to save dozens of jobs that had been cut from the new budget, but not without the squabbles that have characterized many previous hearings. On July 22, the 12-member council voted 10-2 to pass an ordinance restoring 30 jobs by adding $12 million to the…
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City Council set to restore public safety and N. PDX community center funding
The Portland City Council has taken a giant step toward breaking its gridlock and approving a compromise ordinance that would restore positions and services to the $8.5 million budget that took effect on July 1. For weeks the 12-member council has tied 6-6 on two competing ordinances to amend the budget, one introduced by the…
