Whole Foods on Fremont will donate 5% of its earnings on April 3 to the Portland Fruit Tree Project, which is a co-sponsor for the Sabin Community Orchard. Shoppers can also contribute produce purchased at the store, which will be donated to the SUN program at Sabin School. So, prepare your shopping list and head to the store on April 3.

"This week Hales convened a meeting with leaders of the African-American community, neighborhood and business representatives. He announced he would work to bring Trader Joe’s back to the table. He also called on the city to allocate an additional $20 million dollars in affordable housing money that would go for housing in the Interstate Urban Renewal Area, which includes the NE MLK Jr. and Alberta lot.

Listen to the interview with Maxine Fitzpatrick, Executive Director of Portland Community Reinvestment Initiative, here.

"Neighbors on Northeast 35th Place looked outside one morning last fall to see a man eyeing the views as he went up, up, up -- higher than the brick ranch house at number 3419. He was a builder preparing to raze the existing home, valued by county tax assessors at $839,000, and replace it with two new homes, each expected to cost as much as $1 million. Neighbors, who peppered nearby streets with “Stop the Demo” signs, hate the idea. But there’s nothing they can do."

Read more here.

Listen to the interview here.

"Something insidious is happening and Portland’s traditional neighborhoods are seeing the cumulative effects of the growing epidemic of the demolition of single-family homes. There is something at work here…perhaps it’s the combination of house “flippers,” people who like closer-in locations but want a house that’s brand new…BUT how can the costs of acquisition, demolition, and new construction be anything but enormous? Perhaps that’s beside the point. What we do know is that in early-December, 2013 the city had already issued at least 230 demolition permits for the year-to-date. Residents in SE and NE Portland have sounded the alarm bells, knowing all too well that among the impacts are the continuing loss of the qualities that make up a neighborhood’s character and its physical identity."

Read the rest of the article by Cathy Galbraith at Portland Preservation blog.

The Portland Bureau of Transportation is working on a project to plan, design and construct safety improvements to a 9.1 mile north-south bicycle route.  The route uses a variety of local residential streets and neighborhood collector streets between NE/SE 26th and 29th Aves. It runs from NE Lombard St at the north end of the City to connect to the Springwater Corridor at SE 45th Ave at the south end of the City. The project is funded through a $2.4 million federal grant.

PBOT will hold three open houses where you can learn more and provide input. The first open house will be held Thursday, March 13th from 6:00 – 8:30 p.m. at the Fremont United Methodist Church at 2620 NE Fremont. The same material will be presented at open houses in SE Portland on March 17 and March 18 at Cleveland High School and Central Catholic High School, respectively.

For more information on the project, including draft maps, documents and Stakeholder Advisory Committee notes, see the project webpage.