News More than 61 percent of Portland voters checked “yes” on a Nov. 6 ballot measure to raise millions in new taxes to hire more art and music teachers and help bankroll arts organizations. They   More

Murmurs Occupy Portland reportedly did $85,000 in damage during its 39-day stay in Lownsdale and Chapman squares-—this according to the Parks & Recreation Bureau. But a retired Parks Bureau plumbe   More

Dr. Know Shooting for the new NBC [TV] series Grimm seems to be everywhere I turn. Does the City of Portland receive remuneration   More

Features The Portland Aerial Tram's temporary ground crew will work on all fours this weekend. It turns out that OHSU Tram is hiring six Angora, Boer and Alpine goats named Mo, Ella, Brunhilda, Olivia, Cecelia and Clarence to "mow" the Lower Station lawn this weekend, June 25 and 26.“With summer finally here, the Lower Station lawn is ready for its first trim of the season, goats are not only an environmentally ...   More

News The final item on tomorrow's City Council agenda likely will produce the most contentious debate among commissioners. That item concerns the Bureau of Development Services' recent request for money to implement a new computerized permit-tracking system. BDS, which Commissioner Randy Leonard oversees, issues building permits. Amid the recession, revenue has fallen precipitously, prompting massive ...   More

News The number of bike trips in Portland showed an increase in 2010 compared with 2009, when the number of bike trips in Portland dropped for the first time since 1995 amid the recession. By how much and where won't be known until next week, when the Portland Bureau of Transportation releases its annual bicycle-count report for 2010, which measured bike commuting between July 20 and Sept. 30. An ...   More

News Fair warning: While most non-emergency City of Portland employees have the day off today, parking-meter attendants do not. They're working overtime, which means there is NO free parking in Portland today. And now that Thanksgiving is over, you're free to complain about this situation. Just make sure to leave Commissioner Randy Leonard out of your kvetch-fest. When city commissioners approved ...   More

News Mayor Sam Adams' annual state-of-the-city address takes place on Feb. 18, less than a month from now. And if you're wondering what the mayor may highlight at the City Club of Portland event, let us help narrow the field. Mental health won't be the only topic the mayor discusses, but it will be on his list. Last year, Portland's 2010-11 budget offered a relatively modest allocation of $540,000 ...   More

News A 16-month experiment with single-sex swim sessions at Buckman Pool appears to be coming to an end. This month, as City of Portland bureaus head into their next round of budget cuts, Portland Parks & Recreation has prepared its proposal for eliminating 4 percent of costs from its 2010-2011 budget. On the chopping block? A women-only swim time that was created to accommodate the customs ...   More

News A Murmur in this week's paper described how Portland's Bureau of Transportation and its Office of Management and Finance are continuing talks about the cost of fully implementing the city's Bicycle Plan for 2030. OMF analysts reviewed PBOT's $613 million figure for the plan and wrote, in a memo to City Commissioners last week, that that number may have underestimated the price of building the ...   More