March 22, 2016

Today is World Water Day!

World Water Day is an international observance day that dates back 1993, when the United Nations General Assembly designated the special day in response to global environment and development needs related to water. 

This year’s theme is "Water and Jobs". It highlights the power that water and jobs have to transform people's lives for the better.

World Water Day coincides with Women’s History Month. The Portland Water Bureau is observing both occasions by sharing stories of women employees of the Water Bureau who have dedicated their careers to STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) fields.

Check out the Water Bureau’s Water Blog all week to learn more about some of the talented and hard-working women who provide Portlanders with clean, safe, and reliable drinking water.

And, visit the United Nation’s Water website to learn about World Water Day.  

March 29, 2016

The Portland Building’s newest art installation transforms the installation space into an activated environment, made entirely of brown paper bags

Talented artist Jenna Reineking encourages viewers to rethink simple, mundane items with her installation, Temporal Ecologies. Her carefully sculpted paper bags metamorphosed into an incredible installation, reminiscent of barnacles.

The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) sponsors the Installation Art Series. Selected through a juried process, each installation questions common perspectives through art.

Temporal Ecologies runs through April 15 in the Portland Building’s lobby. Check out RACC’s website for more information.

Portland Building Installation Art Series

1120 SW 5^th Avenue

8 am – 5 pm

Photo courtesy of RACC.

Commissioner Nick Fish: OEB ‘substitutes cheap shots for reasoned opinion’ (Letters to the Editor)

Nick Fish in The Oregonian

Hall Monitor: Remember, Portland, Your River’s Also Filthy

Dirk VanderHart in the Portland Mercury

Comp plan: Add ‘missing middle’ housing

Jim Redden in the Portland Tribune

Business group fights R2DTOO move

Jim Redden in the Portland Tribune

Sources: Kafoury endorses Bailey…twice

Jim Redden in the Portland Tribune

Has Portland City Hall Learned Its Lesson About Parking Spaces Raising Rents?

Rachel Monahan in the Portland Mercury

Crews knock down protected birds’ nests to protect birds

Keely Chalmers in KGW News

March 28, 2016 

Last night, Nick was honored to attend the Bing Kong Chinese News Year’s dinner celebration at Wong King’s Restaurant in Southeast Portland.

Nick joined many leaders in our Chinese-American community, including Stephen Ying, Raymond Wang, Steven Louie, as well as visiting dignitaries from Oakland, San Francisco and Seattle.

We are grateful for the many contributions of the Chinese-American community in our region, and we wish you and your loved ones a happy and healthy New Year!

March 29, 2016

The City of Portland is committed to open, transparent and accountable government.

This week, Nick will file an Ordinance to increase transparency in decision-making at the City. His proposal would establish new disclosure and reporting requirements for “Political Consultants.” It builds on the ethics reforms adopted by the City to cover lobbyists, and is modeled after reforms adopted by the City of San Francisco. It will be heard by Council on April 13.

Political Consultants advise City elected officials and enjoy privileged, confidential access to them. Locally and nationally, they increasingly play an important role in shaping public policy. Consultants who provide advice to elected officials may also act as registered lobbyists. When a Political Consultant acts as a registered lobbyist, and lobbies her own client, she is in effect representing both the “buyer” and the “seller” in the same transaction.

Nick’s proposal would require disclosure of the relationships between City elected officials and their Political Consultants.

In developing this new policy, Nick worked with the elected City Auditor and the City Elections Officer, as well as public interest groups including the Oregon League of Women Voters of Portland, Represent Us, Common Cause Oregon, Portland Alliance for Democracy, and the ACLU of Oregon.

This Political Consultant proposal builds on a number of actions Nick and the Council have taken to bring more sunshine and accountability to the public’s business.

Nick led the creation of two new citizen oversight bodies – the Portland Utility Board, which provides community oversight of the Water Bureau (PWB) and Bureau of Environmental Services (BES), and the Portland Housing Advisory Commission, which oversees the work of the Portland Housing Bureau. He established a unique new partnership with the Citizens’ Utility Board of Oregon (CUB), and directed his bureaus to place contracts of $500,000 or more on the Council’s discussion (Regular) agenda rather than the Consent agenda.

Finally, he supported the City Auditor’s proposal to waive fees for citizens challenging City decisions, worked with Commissioner Fritz to establish the independent City Budget Office, and pushed for reinstatement of the Chief Financial Officer role at the City.

Ethics Reform FAQ

Ordinance

Code