Malheur
Let’s have an honest discussion about the Rose Quarter freeway widening project
By Joe Cortright Good decisions result only if state officials are transparent and honest City Observatory has been closely following the proposal to spend $500 million widening the I-5 freeway at the Rose Quarter in Portland. In the process, we and others have repeatedly uncovered instances of state agency officials…
Read MoreCould Your Plant Benefit from a FREE Energy Assessment?
By: Energy Trust Looking for new ways to trim energy operating costs and increase the bottom line in your facility? Whether you’ve already made energy improvements or are just getting started, an energy assessment can help you determine the largest savings and decide where to focus. Available at no cost…
Read MoreYour Zoning Code Is Inherently Exclusionary (But It Doesn’t Have To Be)
by Nolan Gray Since bursting onto the scene in the 1970s, the concept of “exclusion” now figures heavily in the way urban planners do their work. Now more than ever, urban planners are aware of how certain land-use regulations and forms of public process can systematically exclude certain groups of…
Read MoreSale Prices Surge in Neighborhoods with New Tax Break
By Alexander Casey Sale prices ticked up sharply in some of the nation’s lowest-income and highest – poverty communities near the end of last year-but mostly in the neighborhoods now eligible for newly created tax breaks. Tucked within the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) is a somewhat…
Read MoreHow to Update Your Employee Handbook
By Jenna Reed, Vice President General Counsel and Compliance Services Cascade Employers Association jreed@cascadeemployers.com If it’s been more than a year since you’ve given your employee handbook a thorough read, chances are it’s already out of date. I don’t know too many people that jump up and down about the…
Read MoreDoes Your City Have Shiny New Toy Syndrome?
by Daniel Herriges Everybody, at some point, has known (or maybe even been) that kid who just has too many toys. The one who gets showered with new stuff on every special occasion from birthday to Christmas to 100-on-the-spelling-test. And everybody knows the sad, lonely fate of all the older-but-still-fairly-new…
Read More