News Even though Portland Parks & Recreation has cancelled plans for a bond measure on this November's ballot, City Commissioner Nick Fish keeps reminding voters the idea will come back soon.At his opening address for the Pearl District's new dog-oriented Fields Park this afternoon, Fish put in a plug for a future bond—urging the assembled crowd to support the parks system "at budget time, at bond ...   More

News City Commissioner Nick Fish is wading into the apartments-without-parking controversy, proposing a compromise between the multiple factions arguing over how many parking spaces developers should be required to build on large apartment buildings.Fish will introduce an amendment at the April 4 City Council hearing on new requirements for on-site parking at apartment projects. His change would swap out ...   More

News Before the line of well-wishers began giving him hugs, before any results were announced, Portland Mayor-elect Charlie Hales had scheduled a meeting with outgoing Mayor Sam Adams. "I'll be meeting with the mayor tomorrow at 1:30," Hales told WW shortly before 8 pm at his election-night party at Holocene.Minutes later, the first wave of election results showing Hales' decisive victory over Rep. Jefferson ...   More

News UPDATE: The Parks Budget Advisory Committee released its slightly revised list of proposed cuts Thursday afternoon. Notable changes include moving the closure of Hillside Community Center to the 6 percent-cut scenario and the cut to parks workers into the worst-case scenario.It’s possible that next August, when families flock to Portland’s parks to play, picnic and cool off, they may have to use ...   More

News Wearing face masks and latex gloves, Portland police and parks bureau employees after daylight began cleaning up the remnants of the Occupy Portland camps at Chapman and Lownsdale Squares. Most protesters had left by 9:30 am. ---Parks & Recreation Bureau Commissioner Nick Fish says he has no estimates yet as to what it will cost to repair turf damage at the parks, which weeks of camping have left ...   More

News Portland City Hall is taking steps that will likely accelerate a confrontation with the Occupy Portland camp one block away. ---Yesterday, the Bureau of Development Services, which is responsible for building code enforcement and answers to Commissioner Dan Saltzman, sent a notice of code violations to Portland Parks & Recreation, which is responsible for maintaining the land on which Occupy Portland ...   More

News City Commissioner Nick Fish has pulled his Parks and Recreation employees out of the Occupy Portland camp out of concern for their safety, leaving the Occupiers with no public toilets, no trash pickup and no park security.---Fish tells WW the damage to Chapman and Lownsdale squares has gone too far, and city employees have found that Occupy campers have cut down branches from the historic elms.  ...   More

News The Portland Housing Bureau says it's received $1.365 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to help fund rent assistance, employment services and permanent housing for homeless people with HIV/AIDS.  Portland is one of only eight communities chosen to receive federal money from HUD, beating out 38 other cities.  City Commissioner Nick Fish calls the new grant a ...   More

News City Commissioner Nick Fish has named a top official of Central City Concern, a local social service agency that deals with homelessness and addiction issues, as the city's new director of its Bureau of Housing. Traci Manning takes over the bureau as Fish is promoting his new anti-housing discrimination plan and is struggling to overcome the fallout from a flawed audit paid for by the city that misrepresented ...   More