http://www.swcommconnection.com/news/index.php Portland and surrounding area community news and information http://www.swcommconnection.com/news/story.php?story_id=121028481318913200 Food Front, the long-time Northwest Portland cooperative grocery store, is taking over the vacant Wild Oats space in the Hillsdale Shopping Center and expects to have its second store open there in August. Tom Mattox, Food Front spokesman, said Thursday that renovation of the 6,000-square-foot ... http://www.swcommconnection.com/news/story.php?story_id=121019975851718300 One thing that everyone should know about the influx of coyotes into Lake Oswego is this: You had better get used to them. As Capt. Mike Hammons of the Lake Oswego Police Department said, “They live here, we live here, we’re encroaching on their territory.” With that in mind, ... http://www.swcommconnection.com/news/story.php?story_id=120940299787100000 Emotions ran high at four meetings throughout the area last month as Portland city officials presented their solution to the long-lamented lack of sidewalks in residential areas throughout Southwest Portland. Many vocal opponents were outraged at the cost and said they didn’t trust the ... http://www.swcommconnection.com/news/story.php?story_id=120940360531791700 HILLSDALE — The city of Portland and Portland Public Schools are working on a proposal to dot the hillside along Bertha Court with solar panels — enough to power more than 60 percent of Rieke Elementary School’s current electricity needs, according to ... http://www.swcommconnection.com/news/story.php?story_id=120940574331988800 Armed with his e-mail list of about 1,000 people, SW Trails head Don Baack is turning on the heat at Portland City Hall to fund a project that would create the final link in the six-mile pedestrian trail from Hillsdale to Lake Oswego. The effort comes as the Bureau of Environmental Services is ... http://www.swcommconnection.com/news/story.php?story_id=120940323612503600 The Portland Development Commission is finally nearing the end of its 1˝-year study of the Sears U.S. Army Reserve Corps building on Multnomah Boulevard and is inviting public comment one last time before it forwards the information to the City Council. David Sheern, the project coordinator, said ... http://www.swcommconnection.com/news/story.php?story_id=120941119433406200 Portland’s Mercy Corps has created a Global Food Crisis Fund to battle rising food prices around the world. The fund will raise and distribute money to countries where Mercy Corps works and people have been most severely impacted by rising food prices. “The prices of basics like ... http://www.swcommconnection.com/news/story.php?story_id=120940481816827400 HILLSDALE – On a Saturday morning at Images Unlimited Salon on Vermont Street, owner Sandy Liptak smoothes Doris Palmer’s hair into rollers. The two are longtime friends, and Palmer’s move to Newberg 12 years ago hasn’t stopped her from coming to the salon to get her hair ... http://www.swcommconnection.com/news/story.php?story_id=120940407847978000 Realtors call for more single-level homes in Hillsdale Realtors Pam Taylor of RE/MAX Capitol Properties and Viola Wax of The Hasson Company Realtors told the Hillsdale Neighborhood Association April 2 that the neighborhood is still a desirable area, but many were looking to downsize to ... http://www.swcommconnection.com/news/story.php?story_id=120940387923435500 MARSHALL PARK – For Chris Garrett, growing up in Southwest Portland was pretty great: wild parks, a close-knit community and great schools. That is, he said, until Measure 5 came along and fouled up that last little bit. Garrett, who was the editor of The Statesman, Wilson High ... http://www.swcommconnection.com/news/story.php?story_id=120940377382722000 MULTNOMAH – The conversation quickly turned to sidewalks at this home party just off a poorly maintained gravel road in the Village. But this time, someone was here who might soon be in a position to do something about it. Former Multnomah Neighborhood Association President Brian Russell was ... http://www.swcommconnection.com/news/story.php?story_id=120940334809364100 MULTNOMAH – The popular Hillsdale Farmers’ Market will soon have a little sister in Multnomah Village. The summertime market is set to begin Thursday, June 5, and will run every Thursday from 3:30 to 7:30 p.m. until Sept. 25 at the Multnomah Center, 7688 S.W. Capitol Highway. Tye ... http://www.swcommconnection.com/news/story.php?story_id=120935769108100300 A 40-year-old woman died Sunday afternoon, April 27, on Interstate 5 southbound when the motorcycle she was riding left the road and slammed into a jersey barrier dividing the north- and southbound lanes. Portland police said the woman, who was not identified, was riding the Honda motorcycle at ... http://www.swcommconnection.com/news/story.php?story_id=120794029930524600 Dustin Torres picked the wrong day to go to Tom’s Pizza & Pub in Northwest Portland. It was April 2, and the 36-year-old man – wanted for stealing a pickup truck with a dog in the back from the Southwest Community Center and suspected of a rash of other burglaries in locker rooms ... http://www.swcommconnection.com/news/story.php?story_id=120768854319701500 Officers from Portland’s Central Precinct discovered the bodies of Juan Andres Flores and Maen Issa Lutfi dead from a murder-suicide Monday evening after a friend called asking police to check on the couple at their home in the 8900 block of Southwest 30th Avenue. The friend’s ... http://www.swcommconnection.com/news/story.php?story_id=120759941409519300 Bob Stevens wasn’t even dressed. It was an afternoon in February 2000, and he was waiting for the mail to come and waiting out a miserable cold. Outside his home on Southwest 77th Avenue, Stevens spotted the mail truck as it rolled over the steel plates covering sewer construction on the ... http://www.swcommconnection.com/news/story.php?story_id=120700417072106300 The Portland Police Bureau, in cooperation with Crime Stoppers, is offering a $1,000 reward for information that helps solve the case of a man found beaten to death near Southwest Barbur Boulevard. On Feb. 7, the body of 56-year-old Don Edward Wilson, also known as Don Drendal, was found near the ... http://www.swcommconnection.com/news/story.php?story_id=120639608795409100 HILLSDALE – Stepping into Dick and Jeanne Roy’s home in Hillsdale is like walking into a time capsule from the 1970s. The décor is in earth tones, and the furnishings have been well-kept to avoid throwing them in the garbage. Inspired by the first Earth Day, April 22, 1970, the Roys ... http://www.swcommconnection.com/news/story.php?story_id=120638073423813600 BRIDLEMILE – It was cold and dark, but still about 60 people – from teenagers to septuagenarians – gathered at the banks of the Willamette River to say good bye to Robert “Cody” Reuwsaat the night of Feb. 29. Called the “Gentle Giant” by his friends, the ... http://www.swcommconnection.com/news/story.php?story_id=120637849493178500 HILLSDALE – Portland Public Schools officials have been singing a different tune lately to Rieke Elementary School parents and staff about the types of changes needed at Hillsdale’s K-5 school. From threats three years ago to shut the school down, PPS is now offering to replace the ...