Entries Tagged 'Portland' ↓

Street Books has had a fantastic Summer. In fact, I think the project went so much better than Laura expected that she and her and her co-conspirators (Sue Zalokar, among others) have decided to turn it into a year round project.

One of the things I’m most excited about in the long-term project is converting existing patrons into paid librarians. Totally awesome.

In order to get a start with funding, they’ve started a Kickstarter project:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/streetbooks/street-books-a-bicycle-powered-library-for-people

Check it out!

Also: if you’re in Portland, tonight’s the reception.

Hey all -

Today is voting day in PDX, and there’s a measure on the ballot that affects us quite a lot. The sum is huge to support the school bond ($548 million), but Portland Schools, as per the Mercury, are an embarassment.

PORTLAND’S PUBLIC SCHOOLS are an embarrassment: Only 53 percent of students graduate on time, and the average age of our buildings is 65 years. We’re outpaced by suburbs like Lake Oswego and Beaverton, which have lower dropout rates and better facilities.

…Our schools are falling apart. (We’re talking asbestos-coated pipes, oil furnaces that are time bombs for fire, and kids taking turns plugging in computers because of shoddy wiring.) They’ll be even worse in two years. And with the state mired in a budget apocalypse, it’s our responsibility to fix them. Now. Before a major disaster or tragedy makes us wish we’d voted yes.

Portland Mercury Endorses School Bond

We live across the street from an elementary school that both of my kids will go through. It’s old and extremely crowded — sometimes classes are conducted in the halls, but most often every year they get a new double-wide trailer that sits on the land where they conduct classes (without running water, etc)

It feels like hard timing, with the recession still upon us, but I believe this is an excellent investment in the future, will bring new life to PDX schools and new businesses to the city, and I will be voting yes.

Hey cool – my good friend Julianna Bright (of the Golden Bears) has her really, really great artwork  up on Etsy.

See her Etsy store here.

via PDX Writer Daily and Reading Local. Eulogy here. Very sad, a really great book store.

I remember seeing, among others, Jim Harrison read there — his book of poetry Letters to Yesenin was very influential on me at a time I needed it. 

23rd Ave Books will be missed.

A blizzard is characterized as having 25mph or above winds, blowing snow, a windchill of -13F and visibility of less than 5/8th of a mile.

Weather.gov has a warning for just such a thing here – yet the weather underground claims we haven’t quite hit that – though having just spent 10 minutes outside, I beg to differ. 

At any rate – having lost a tree earlier this week (we live next to a field, and all the wind seems to end up in our yard) we’re taking it seriously by making sure we have emergency supplies and a well-stocked alcohol cabinet.

Here are a few pics I took — hard to know the best way to take pics in this, as they look nothing like what I see with my eyes. 

(click a thumbnail for a larger view)