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Friday | February 4, 2011
Portland Home Sales Drop 7%
The "five-county Portland region" saw a 7% plunge in house sales from December 2009 to December 2010. Absentee buyers accounted for 19.4% of the housing sold. Most of those sales were reported as "investments." Although the median house price hovered at $222,000, absentee investors paid an average of just $190,000.
- Go to story: Portland area home sales drop 7% from a year ago
Thursday | February 3, 2011
Welcome to the Year of the Metal Rabbit
Today is the beginning of the Chinese and Vietnamese (Tết) New Year, marking the beginning of the year of the Metal Rabbit, according to the Chinese Zodiac (year of the Cat in Vietnamese Zodiac). Astrological predictions of rabbit years include associations with "home and family, artistic pursuits, diplomacy, and keeping the peace", and conversely that "nations will also become more insular and increasingly lock down their borders to protect against the 'other'". In Portland, there will be many free activities and celebrations this Saturday.
- Go to events listing (celebrations this Saturday): Chinese and Vietnamese New Year events
- Go to astrology explanation: The Year of the Rabbit: Chinese Horoscope Predictions for 4709 - 2011
- Go to astrology explanation: Chinese New Year 2011 - The Year of Golden White Rabbit
Wednesday | February 2, 2011
PDX Out-Migration Fuels Fossil
Local slacker/hipster has "grown tired of Portland" and plans to relocate to Dinosaur, Colorado, a "very real town."
- Go to story: I've grown tired of Portland, so I'm moving to Dinosaur, Co. A very real town.
- Go to very real town: Dinosaur, Colorado
Tuesday | February 1, 2011
Gov. Kitzhaber releases state budget proposal, responding to funding crisis with further cuts to education, health
The budget Kitzhaber offers would include cuts to Oregon's already ailing K-12 education, reducing teachers and increasing class sizes. Also Oregon Health Plan, the same program Kitzhaber started in the mid-90s, would have cuts. According to OPB, "doctors would be paid less to treat Oregon Health Plan patients and fewer treatments would be covered." Since it was conceived, people who have relied on Oregon Health Plan have experienced several critical cuts in their health care, including a massive cut in 2003 that attracted national attention, when 100,000 people in mental health and/or substance abuse treatment lost their prescription coverage.
Monday | January 31, 2011
Feds Want To Roll More Green
A number of Federal agencies are already familiar with the color green. Whether it's an alert code stuck at the very bottom of Dept. Homeland Security's Terror Alert System[1], or the hue of endless piles of loot shoveled into the black hole of a failed financial system, green is the new black as far as the Feds are concerned. Now they want to raise the green bar high on their own supply. Supply chain, that is. And you can participate! The White House Council on Environmental Quality and the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) are co-sponsoring a "Greening the Supply Chain Roundtable" tomorrow in Portland at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) Auditorium (1945 SE Water Avenue, Portland, OR 97214). The event is scheduled for Tuesday, February 1, 2011; 3:15 PM - 4:45 PM. Wanna join the fun? Visit Greening the Supply Chain Roundtable to sign up.
- Go to story: Obama administration looks to greening federal supply chain
- Go to sign-up form: Greening the Supply Chain Roundtable
Sunday | January 30, 2011
Public Forum: Oregon State Bank Bill | Tuesday February 1st, 2011
Did you know that an "Oregon State Bank could offer 6 percent credit cards and 6 percent certificates of deposit, much better than any private bank offers"? In fact, low-interest credit loans and high-interest savings are not the only potential benefits a state bank can offer the citizens of the state it serves. A state bank is potentially free to align its mission with the interests of that state's many and diverse communities, rather than the short-term interests of a small group of profit-seeking shareholders. You can learn about the other benefits a state bank can offer Oregonians at an upcoming public forum focused on the Oregon State Bank Bill.
- Go to email announcement: Oregon State Bank Bill - Public Forum - Tuesday February 1st, 2011
- Go to story: Why a state bank makes sense
- Go to blog: Public Banking Institute's Public Banking Blog
- Go to story: Are State-Run Banks a Good Option?
Saturday | January 29, 2011
Egyptian Uprising Sparks Sympathy Protests In Portland, Elsewhere
"The uprising and unrest in Egypt is spawning sympathy protests across the United States." Yup! Even "in cities [like] Washington, D.C., San Francisco and Portland..." About "300 protesters turned out in Portland's Pioneer Courthouse Square Saturday, most of them Egyptian-American. They support the protesters in Egypt, and they want Mubarak out." Egyptian-American and Portland resident Doaa Elhaggen "is fed up with 30 years of autocratic rule in her native country. 'Everything is messed up: education, health, transportation....'" Hey wait a second! All that is also "messed up" right her in the good ol' U.S. of A. Time for our own uprising? Perhaps. But some folks here worry that if the Arab world's people free themselves they could disrupt oil flows to fuel-hungry U.S. drivers. Three Bronx cheers for good ol' Yankee pragmatism!
- Go to story: Portland-area Egyptian-Americans stage protest sympathy rally
- Go to story: Unrest in Egypt stirs interest in auto show’s electric cars: Crowds swarm to clean energy cars as Mideast protests spur oil supply concerns
- Go to story: Inside Story - Egypt: The youth perspective: Young people are at the forefront of protests in Egypt, but do they believe that they can bring about change?
- Go to analysis: We're Better Off Than Egypt -- Right?
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