Portland’s Push for Gender-Neutral Bathrooms Is Bolder Than You Thought

Beth Slovic in Willamette Week

Special Styrofoam protects Washington Park reservoir in quake

KGW News Staff

Washington Park reservoir groundbreaking

KGW News

Automatic payments available for water and sewer bills again

Jim Redden in the Portland Tribune

Thousands of commenters weigh in on EPA's Portland Harbor Superfund cleanup plan

James Cronin in the Portland Business Journal

Portland Needs to Build Thousands of Affordable Apartments. Here’s Why It Keeps Coming Up Short.

Nigel Jaquiss in Willamette Week

Gift to parks used to fund micro grants

Lyndsey Hewitt in the Portland Tribune

October 4, 2016

On Friday, the Fish team went on a tour of Portland’s Bull Run Watershed.

The protected Bull Run Watershed is located 26 miles from downtown Portland and is 147-square-miles of heavily-protected land on the western edge of Mt. Hood. 

Drinking water from the Bull Run first flowed to Portland in 1895. As Portland’s main drinking water source, the Bull Run provides nearly one million Oregonians with some of the best drinking water in the world.

Outstanding Water Bureau guide and historian Briggy Thomas led the tour, and Sarah Poet made sure we got everywhere safely.

We started our tour along a winding road with stunning views of Mt. Hood, took a short hike to the headwaters of the Bull Run River, and stopped for lunch at Bull Run Lake. After lunch we got an inside look at the Bull Run Dam, surviving a 150-step climb back up to the bus, followed by stops at Dam Two and the lower end of the Bull Run River, where we scoped for fish in the river.

Along the way, we learned a number of fun facts:

• The footprint of the watershed and the City of Portland are almost exactly the same—roughly 145 square miles.

• The US Forest Service owns most of the protected area, which has benefitted from several pieces of federal legislation designed to protect the quality of our water.

• The Bull Run receives approximately 135 inches of precipitation annually, compared to just 36 inches in Portland.

• There are around 250 species of wildlife in the watershed, including deer, elk, cougar, black bear Chinook and coho salmon.

 Interested in visiting the Bull Run? Visit the Water Bureau’s website for more information and to register.

Short hike along the Bull Run River	Lunch at Bull Run Lake
Bull Run Dam 1	Dam 2
Last stop of the tour	Lower end of the Bull Run River

October 4, 2016

This month is National Archives Month. Join Portland’s City Archives as they host the 2016 Oregon Archive Crawl.

The Oregon Archive Crawl is an annual celebration that raises public awareness of the historical resources available to the public.

Archives Month is an excellent opportunity to support and preserve history. Attendees will be able to explore our region’s history with 28 local archives, special collections, and heritage organizations. This year’s activities will include family friendly events, historical exhibits, and behind-the-scenes archive tours.

Participating Organizations include: Oregon Historical Society, Vanport Mosaic, GLAPN – Northwest LGBTQ History, Multnomah County Archives, Metro, and more!

For more information, visit the Portland-Area Archives’ website and contact diana.banning@portlandoregon.gov with questions.

2016 Oregon Archive Crawl

Locations: Portland Archives & Records Center, the Oregon Historical Society, and the Multnomah County Library

Saturday, October 8th at 11am-3pm

FREE Event

October 5, 2016

This Saturday, join City staff, local non-profit Green Lents, and many other community organizations at the Life in the Floodplain resource fair.

Life in the Floodplain is an educational event for families who live, work, or own property in or near Johnson Creek. The event will address the specific challenges – and benefits – of living and doing business near the 100-year floodplain.

Participating groups include the American Red Cross, National Flood Insurance, and the local Neighborhood Emergency Team.

The event will include free food, raffle prizes and activities for children, and tools to help:

• Better understand flood insurance

• Reduce utility bill costs

• Home improvements that will help reduce flood insurance costs

• Prepare for the next winter flood

• Learn about grants available to local businesses

Check out the Bureau of Environmental Services’ website for more information and contact Kate.Carone@portlandoregon.gov with questions.

Life in the Floodplain

Saturday, October 8 at 10am-2pm

Zenger Farm (11741 SE Foster Rd.)

FREE Event

October 6, 2016

Yesterday, Nick attended the Center for Women’s Leadership’s 10^th Annual Power Lunch.

The luncheon honored 18 emerging women leaders in the Pacific Northwest and gave Jan Robertson the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Nick shared a table of ten with his wife Patricia Schechter, his daughter, Maria, chief engineer of the Portland Water Bureau (PWB) Theresa Elliot, deputy director of the PWB, Gabe Solmer, Rania Ayoub, Jes Larson, Asena Lawrence, Liam Frost and Betsy Quitugua.

The Center empowers women and girls in the state of Oregon to embrace their voices, lead confidently to break glass ceilings, and to change the narrative of leadership. Students go through rigorous and inspiring educational programs, skills training, and networking opportunities with top women leaders from around the state.

Our very own Asena Lawrence is currently on the Center’s Alumnae Board Committee and completed the NEW Leadership Oregon summer conference in 2013.

Special congratulations to board chair Martha Pellegrino and all the honorees.

Visit the Center for Women’s Leadership’s website to learn more about the organization.

CWL's 10th Annual Power Lunch	From left to right - Nick, Maria Fish,  Juliana Lukasik, Alexandra Welker
The Fish Table	Group Photo