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Susan's Online Guide to Portland
Let me Help
You Find a Home and a Neighborhood
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Welcome
to my Web site about the Portland, Oregon, metropolitan area. It's
my way of helping you become acquainted with the neighborhoods and communities
of the Portland metro area and to inform you about the Portland area housing
market. Your comments and suggestions about my
Web site are always welcome.
If you have questions or if you are interested in buying
or selling a home in the Portland area, contact me
online or call me
at (503) 497-2984.
Susan Marthens
Principal Real Estate Broker/CRS GRI
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Community News
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Developers
suspend massive Oregon City project March 10 − The developer
behind a proposed retail-entertainment-office complex that would be twice
the size of Bridgeport Village suspended the project this week, citing concerns
about support from city officials. "We are not certain whether we will continue
to have the support of the (Oregon City) council necessary to move our project
forward," CenterCal CEO Officer Fred Bruning said in a letter to City Manager
Larry Patterson. Two of Oregon City's five commission members have opposed
the project, called The Rivers for its location near the confluence of the
Clackamas and Willamette Rivers. In addition, two supporters, Patterson
and Mayor Alice Norris, both will be leaving office. Patterson is retiring,
and Norris, because of term limits, will not seek re-election. Bruning said
CenterCal will reassess after the November election.
Read more...
Oregon puts consumer complaints data online
March 10 − The Oregon attorney general's office has put its
complaints database
online, meaning consumers can better research companies before deciding
where to take their business. Consumers without Internet access may call
the agency at 1-877-877-9392. Entries on the database, which contains
complaints received since Jan. 1, 2008, do not include consumers' names
and offer limited information, such as a company's address, the general
category of the complaint and whether it was resolved.
Read more...
County
'finally' about to open Morrison Bridge's new bike, pedestrian path
March 10 − After months of delays, a 15-foot-wide pedestrian and bike path
on the Morrison Bridge -- as well as a new auto off-ramp to Southeast Water
Avenue -- is expected to open Friday. "We're finally going to be opening
it up, it sounds like," said Multnomah County spokesman Mike Pullen with
a chuckle and a sigh. For Pullen, that means no more answering questions
about why the
$1.9 million project is taking so long. R&R General Contractors of Wilsonville
was supposed to complete the project, paid for with federal and county money,
in mid-December. Design and construction delays pushed back the opening
several times. Among other things, crash barriers separating the path from
automobile traffic on the 52-year-old draw bridge's lift span presented
challenges.
Read more...
Cheap Eats 2010 March 10 − Let us help
you out with that. You are holding in your hands our biggest Cheap Eats
ever. Since January, we’ve eaten our way across the city, from St. Johns
to Powellhurst-Gilbert and as far afield as Gresham and Hillsboro, in search
of the best places to fill your stomach without emptying your wallet. In
these listings you’ll find an all-encompassing guide to eating well on a
budget—call it a gastronomic stimulus package. In addition to the usual
list of restaurants (over 150 of them) where you can eat lunch for $10 or
less and dinner for under $15.
Read more...
When
will WES prove itself? Tri-Met's Wilsonville-to-Beaverton commuter rail
still suffering growing pains March 9 − After a year of
disappointing ridership and frequent breakdowns on WES,
TriMet is expected to trumpet a rare piece
of good news about Oregon's only commuter-rail line this week. Preliminary
numbers show average daily ridership reached 1,260 in February, marking
two straight months of growth for the much-maligned Beaverton-to-Wilsonville
service. Just two months ago, ridership on WES -- $161.2 million to build
and 10 times more expensive to operate per rider than MAX -- appeared to
be on a steady slide, attracting 1,075 passengers a day. "We're officially
in Year Two now," said TriMet spokeswoman Mary Fetsch.
Read more...
Willamette Valley plant is hopping March
9 − Oregon is ripe with both hop farms and the small breweries that depend
on locally grown hops to give their beers distinctive flavors. Yet before
Oregon hops make it to Oregon brewers, most take a detour out of state.
General Contractor BooCo Constructi on is finishing a hop processing plant
in the Willamette Valley that will eliminate that detour. The plant will
turn hops, the cone-like flower of the hop plant, into small pellets favored
by brewers. Hops supplier Indie Hops leased out 4,500 square feet of an
agricultural warehouse in Hubbard, a town that hosts an annual hop festival,
to make the pellets.
Read more...
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House, Home, & Health
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Ply-on-foam
walls increase energy efficiency March 10 − A Styrofoam
and plywood sandwich? In Washington County, the strategy is being used to
dramatically increase energy efficiency in walls of a residential construction
project. Ben Walsh, president of Green One Construction, two years ago came
up with an idea for a new wall assembly that sandwiches expanded polystyrene
between plywood sheathing and the wall frame. Styrofoam creates a thermal
barrier in the wall, which becomes 40 percent more energy efficient than
a standard wall. Walsh’s assembly, which he calls ply-on-foam, has not been
recognized by the Oregon Building Codes Division. To prove his walls were
safe for use in his Sage Green residential project in Washington County,
Walsh had his assembly tested at Oregon State University’s Knudsen wood
engineering laboratory in Corvallis.
Read more...
Home buyers check out apps March 10
− Just in time for the spring house-hunting season, smart-phone applications
that provide information to home buyers are proliferating. Real-estate firms
have long vied to have the most engaging Web site to attract people searching
for homes. Now they also feel compelled to have an "app" for
Apple Inc.'s iPhone and other smart phones. Rather than being moneymakers—brokers
tend to offer their apps for free—the apps are seen as a tool to make the
home-buying process easier. "I don't think it's driving revenue for us,
but it's making customers happier," says Glenn Kelman, chief executive of
Redfin Corp., a Seattle-based broker that operates in nine states.
Read more...
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Living Green
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Energy
Trust of Oregon hosts free workshops for home energy efficiency
March 9 − Energy Trust of Oregon is hosting free
workshops for anyone who wants to learn how to make their home more energy
efficient. Workshop attendees will learn the most effective methods for
reducing energy use and creating their own "energy-savings action plans."
Many homes, including newer homes, can waste as much as 60 percent of energy
with leaky ducts, poor insulation and air leaks, and inefficient equipment.
The Home Energy I.Q. workshops are March 27 and 28 at the Portland Expo
Center as part of the Energy Trust Better Living Home, Garden and Lifestyle
Show.
Read more...
City will hold ecoroof fair Friday and Saturday
March 9 − Anyone interested in installing an ecoroof, a vegetated
roof that absorbs rain and reduces stormwater runoff, can find all the information
and resources they need at the free, city-sponsored Ecoroof Portland 2010
fair from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday at Leftbank Annex, 101 N.
Weidler St. The fair will go over how ecoroofs work, why they're important
and what the future is likely to bring for Portland's rooftops and skyline.
Read more...
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Sports and Outdoors
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Northwest outdoor calendar for March − On
March 13-14, head to Mazama Lodge and join the Mazamas Nordic Committee
and Trails Committee in this event for the whole family. Activities include
cross-country ski lessons, a snow-leprechaun building contest, storytelling
by the fireplace and a snowshoe race. Visit the Web site or call the lodge
for directions. Register for the event by e-mail to mwynton@lycos.com. Lodging
$22 adults, $15 children; all event-related activities free; www.mazamas.org
or 503-272-9214.
Read more...
Sideways on the Siletz March 10 −
There are moments when it seems everything is going
sideways on the scenic river that encircles its namesake town like a
green jade necklace. The rain comes down sideways. Alder and vine maple
trees grow sideways out of moss-covered canyon walls. And, of
course, there’s that definite sideways tilt to the winter steelhead
fishing on the Siletz River.“ ‘Side drifting’ is by far the most popular
method,” said Phil Paradis, of Paradise Guide Service in Canby. “I’d say
90 percent of the boat anglers side drift.” Side drifting is a technique
in which anglers allow small bits of lightly-weighted bait to drift
downstream alongside or slightly behind their boats, with boat and bait
both moving at the speed of the current. Properly executed, the
technique results in a “nice natural drift,” Paradis said. It also
produces a high percentage of “hook-ups” because the downstream angle of
the fishing line tends to pull the hook back into the fish’s mouth
rather than out of it.
Read more...
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Portland Blogs and Web Sites
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Bookslut
Who among us has not wished for a literary concierge? Someone to tell
us, “Read this, skip that”? Fortunately, there’s Bookslut to help us
from wading through the drivel.
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Bright Neighbor
A social networking web site that helps Portland communities thrive.
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Burnsider
Stories and pictures from the Burnside Bridge, Portland, Oregon.
The e bloggers live near the bridge and walk across it as part of their
commute every day.
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Documented
Lifee Planet Earth as seen from Portland Oregon.
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Community & Parents
for Public Schools in Portland They seek to redefine parent
and community involvement in Portland Public Schools.
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Discovering
Portland Two women flee California for Oregon to ask if Portland
is the city they've dreamed of.
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Ever Day is a Miracle A blog about families, kids, politics
and current events, travel, books, and living in Portland.
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Good Stuff
Northwest Kab is a writer and designer who loves living
in Oregon with its combination of urban style and down-home friendliness.
Lots of recipes on Kab's blog.
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Home Ownership A blog about the "Neighborhood Housing Program"
sponsored by the Portland Development Commission.
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Kids in Portland
This site provides a resource for parents to come together and find
out all of the attractions, restaurants, activities, ideas, issues,
art, music, for kids in the area.
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Oregon Fly
Fishing Fishing reports, conservation news, fishing advice,
and hot fly patterns.
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The Oregonian Neighborhoods Covers Portland metro area neighborhoods
and communities.
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Pat's Blog
Whatever ticks Pat off or tickles his fancy: politics, news and society,
music, movies, books, cooking, autism, and anything else bright and
shiny in the world of ideas. And Pat does it with humor.
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PDX.FM In Portland,
the city with quirks, pdx.fm fits in perfectly.
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Portland
Architecture If you're interested in buildings, this is the
site to visit. RSS feed and newsletter.
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Portland Blogs
A list of bloggers who call Portland home.
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Portland Dog
Blog For people who exercise their dog at Portland parks.
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Portland
Housing Blog Real estate and economic discussions.
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Portland Metblogs
Written from the perspective of people who live, work, and play in Portland
every day.
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Radio23 Cascade
Community Radio is changing the way we listen to music.
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Republic of
Cascadia If we Oregonians,
Washingtonians and Northern Californians were in charge, what would
we do? We'd leave the United States to its own self-created woes and
build Ecotopia, our independent utopian society. Maybe British
Columbia would join us.
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SheSue Experience
Shelley blogs about events, restaurants, attractions, outdoor activities,
curiosities and more.
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Upper
Left Coast Thoughts on politics, faith, sports and other random
topics from a red state sympathizer in indigo-blue Portland, Oregon.
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Walking
in Portland This blogger walks around Portland with his wife
and dogs taking photos and making notes about living in Portland.
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Oregon Newspapers
Links to over 100 newspapers in Oregon. This includes community weekly
papers − check out the stories in smaller
towns like Astoria and Pendleton.
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(866) 368-7878
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Susan Marthens
Principal Real Estate Broker
CRS, GRI
(503) 497-2984
Fax (503) 220-1131
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6443 SW Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway
Suite 100, Portland, Oregon 97221
(503) 297-1033
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