While millions of soda bottles are taken back to stores every day to bring about the return of the buyer’s deposit, actually recycling the bottle isn’t as easy one might believe. The petroleum-based plastic used to create bottles, such as those used by Pepsi or Coke, is very difficult to recycle and can actually take several decades to fully breakdown. Read More +
Literate Forest Grove residents (we’re assuming that’s most of you) have reason for excitement, as the possible layouts for the new Cornelius Public Library have been revealed by Scott Edwards Architecture. Recent estimates assume the library will be a single-story, 16,800-square-foot building that will cost in the neighborhood of $4.8 million. That’s a significant increase over the current 3,025-square-foot library located on N. Barlow St. and in fact the new library may yet be built even larger. Officials are still looking into the viability of adding a second floor to lease out as either office or retail space. Read More +
Residents of Goose Hollow and Northwest Portland, take note: you no longer live near PGE Park. The outdoor athletics stadium, home to the Portland Timbers of the MLS and Portland State University football, will be known as Jeld-Wen Field going forward, the latest name change for the stadium that, since its construction in 1926, has also been known as Civic Stadium and Multnomah Stadium. Read More +
Northwest Portland residents who are interested in adding solar panels to their homes have a few weeks left to take advantage of a simplifying program, Solarize Northwest, that offers prospective new buyers free resources. The project encourages local residents to go solar by selecting an exclusive solar partner to work with—Mr. Sun Solar was selected because of their local ties and customer service—who will then offer all participating residents a bulk-discount as well as free on-site estimates. Read More +
Yesterday was the University of Oregon’s Pro Day, when NFL scouts descend on Eugene to put Oregon’s senior football players through all sorts of mental and physical tests to forecast who can play in the NFL and how well. Read More +
Today we are very excited to announced our brand new IDX—a much improved property search tool located on our website here. Naturally we’ve always had a search function, but our newest version is an absolute pleasure to use. Moving past the old “enter values into fields and hit submit” pages you see everywhere, we have an extremely user-friendly interactive map. It allows you to easily navigate around the Portland metro area (or anywhere, really), as well as adjust prices, size, property type, number of bedrooms, etc without ever leaving the listing map. Read More +
For years now we’ve heard about the electric car and how much of a reduced impact it has on the environment, but the logistics haven’t quite lined up for mass mainstream use. Thanks to automotive accomplishments like the acclaimed Nissan Leaf and the Chevy Volt however, the idea of a fully-electric car—rather than a hybrid—is becoming a more common reality. And now Fred Meyer will do their part to simplify matters for electric car owners throughout Portland and the Pacific Northwest. Read More +
Beaverton will see the addition of new natural areas, a park and a trail-head for the Bronson Creek Trail, thanks to the Tualatin Hills Parks & Recreation District purchasing 9.5 acres of land. The purchase was done in two parts, with $990,000 going toward the acquisition of 6.67 acres of property at the intersection of Southwest Farmington Road and Southwest 165th Avenue. That land will be developed into a neighborhood park along with a wetland and restored riverbanks. Read More +
It looks like the absurdly futuristic technology promised us in films like Back to the Future is finally being created. Later this year, the FDA will consider approving a new device that will give sight, at least minimally, to the blind. The artificial retina device is made up of a pair of camera-mounted glasses and 60 electrodes that have been surgically implanted at the back of the eye. When the camera sees shapes, lights and images, it transmits that data to to electrodes at the back of the eye, which in turn stimulates the nerve cells connected to the visual center of the brain. That then allows the wearer to see an image, albeit a crude one. While the system is far from perfect vision, it is a drastic increase for people like Barbara Campbell, a test subject who lost her vision 20 years ago and can now see at least the presence of lights. Besides the rather limited vision the system offers, there’s another drawback. The device is expected to cost around $100,000. Read More +
Walmart will open a grocery store in Beaverton, it has been announced, replacing the closing Ashley Home Furniture Store at 17275 NW Cornell Road. Being that Walmart is one of the most polarizing topics out there, this comes as interesting news, especially considering how supportive the Portland metro area is of small business. Read More +
