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Wilsonville Spokesman
OPINION: Build on success — vote yes on Measure 3-605
Join us in voting YES in the May 21 election on forming a Town Center urban renewal district. Our city has no downtown core, and we need one. A new plan for our Town Center was developed through a multi-year process involving residents, businesses and community partners. It involved task forces, 100+ events and 1,800+ responses from numerous stakeholders. The resulting Town Center Plan was adopted by the City Council in 2019. It envisions an active downtown core with space for socializing, shopping, dining, culture,...
Update: PSU library occupation continues as some leave, ‘number of non-students’ remain
Read a May 2 update here. Portland State University’s campus is closed for a second day while protesters calling for a ceasefire in Gaza hold out at Millar Library. The occupation began late Monday night when the main crowds dispersed for the evening and a smaller group of protesters broke into the building to barricade themselves inside. ...
Tuition to rise again at Oregon’s seven public universities
Incoming freshmen at Oregon’s public universities will pay record tuition for the upcoming school year, with all seven of the state’s public universities hiking the cost again. Nearly every one of the schools has increased tuition every year for the past 10 years, making average tuition at Oregon’s public universities today about 26% higher than it was a decade ago, according to the state’s Higher Education Coordinating Commission. The hikes...
Get your irrigation system tuned up and ready for summer
Each month, the OSU Extension provides reminders of essential garden chores, such as fertilizing, pest control, planting and maintenance. Recommendations in this calendar are not necessarily applicable to all areas of Oregon. You can contact your local Extension office if you want more information. The Oregon State University Extension Service encourages sustainable gardening practices. Preventive pest management is emphasized over reactive pest control. Identify and monitor problems before acting and...
Ballots in the mail: Clackamas County has begun mailing process
Beginning May 1, Clackamas County Elections began mailing primary election ballots to the more than 315,000 registered voters in the county. Oregon had closed party primary elections. Voters must have been registered with a major political party by the April 30 deadline to be eligible vote in that party’s closed primary election. Voters registered with a minor party or as non-affiliated (not a member of any party) will receive a ballot with only nonpartisan contests and measures in the May 21, 2024, Primary Election. ...
Ballots in the mail: Clackamas County has begun mailing process
Beginning May 1, Clackamas County Elections began mailing primary election ballots to the more than 315,000 registered voters in the county. Oregon had closed party primary elections. Voters must have been registered with a major political party by the April 30 deadline to be eligible vote in that party’s closed primary election. Voters registered with a minor party or as non-affiliated (not a member of any party) will receive a ballot with only nonpartisan contests and measures in the May 21, 2024, Primary Election. ...
Tips to make a yard less attractive to ticks
Backyards are ideal places to spend warm afternoons soaking up some sun. Lazy days in the yard are a big part of what makes warm weather seasons like spring and summer so appealing. But those afternoons can quickly go off the rails when an unwelcome visitor makes its presence known. Ticks can be found worldwide, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that only a select few types of ticks transmit bacteria, viruses, parasites, or pathogens that cause diseases in people. Even if...
OPINION: Town Center plan wouldn’t work for Wilsonville
The proposed Town Center plan, with high-density multi-story housing, shops at street level, and virtually no parking, is based on a New Urbanism concept known as “woonerf” (pron. VOO’-NERF), which mixes cars, bicycles and pedestrians in a space without sidewalks, stop signs or signal lights. What could possibly go wrong? Since the vast majority of people in and around Wilsonville use cars for transportation, this idea is simply not going to work for our city. Do City Council members really expect those with disability issues,...
OPINION: Better term limits for a better Wilsonville
In 2020, Wilsonville voters overwhelmingly approved term limits. The intent was to bring fresh ideas and approaches to the City Council and to the mayor’s role. These term limits limited anyone on the City Council to three terms (12 years), combined. This means that anyone serving as a city councilor for eight years, during which time they get to know how the city works, who then goes on to become mayor, would be limited to a single four-year mayoral term. An advantage of having a two-term mayor is the knowledge and relationships they will develop working with other cities, and...
OPINION: 43 days should not equal a four-year term
Doris Wehler’s argument against Measure 3-608 is that it will, “allow our current mayor another four years in office for a total of over 16 years.” This is false. Our current mayor will have served 12 years and 43 days if Measure 3-608 passes. She was appointed to fill Steve Hurst’s seat AFTER winning the election, just 43 days early, when he had to resign to take care of his school-aged children as his wife was dying. Ms. Wehler also claims that people resigned and...
OPINION: Yes on both term limits measures
I support the proposed Wilsonville term limit reform measures because they would help clean up an unanticipated situation created by the reforms voters adopted in 2020. Imagine the following scenario: A candidate wins election to the council in November to begin a term on Jan. 1 of the next year. The incumbent councilor for that position resigns on Nov. 30. If the council appoints the winning candidate to serve out the remainder of the incumbent’s term, the winning candidate would sacrifice an entire potential four-year term of reelection to the council due to serving as an appointed councilor for one...
Update: PSU library occupation continues as some leave, ‘number of non-students’ remain
Read a May 2 update here. Portland State University’s campus is closed for a second day while protesters calling for a ceasefire in Gaza hold out at Millar Library. The occupation began late Monday night when the main crowds dispersed for the evening and a smaller group of protesters broke into the building to barricade themselves inside. ...
Silver Falls sets Mother's Day birding, wildflower festival
Silver Falls State Park will hold its annual Mother's Day Birding and Wildflower Festival on Saturday and Sunday, May 11-12, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Activities include a wildflower show, a native plant sale, guided bird watching and wildflower walks, educational discovery tables, bird crafts and live raptor presentations. “May is a glorious time to enjoy nature at Silver Falls,” said Ranger Matt Palmquist. “Visitors might see or hear...
BMW X6 is the SUV for people who don't really want an SUV
The BMW X6 is part of the latest design trend in SUV bodies. It's a "coupe profile" or really, a fastback. The roof peaks over the driver and front passenger's head and then drops in a smooth curve to the taillights. Like most SUV designs, the X6 has a rear hatch that includes the rear window, four doors, and it's a mid-size vehicle with room for five passengers. The thing about coupe-profile SUVs is that they provide far less cargo capacity than the traditional two-box...
Our TV picks for Thursday, May 2: Ghosts; Accused: Guilty or Innocent?; Grey’s Anatomy
Ghosts KOIN 8:30 p.m. Season 3 concludes with something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue, as the group prepares for Isaac’s (Brandon Scott Jones) upcoming nuptials. Everything is ready to go, including a few extra plates for ghostly guests. Accused: Guilty or Innocent? ...
Blumenauer, Wyden welcome proposed change in marijuana status
Rep. Earl Blumenauer and Sen. Ron Wyden have welcomed a proposed change in the federal status of marijuana as a drug with no acceptable medical use. The Drug Enforcement Administration has proposed a shift of cannabis from Schedule 1 — which includes LSD and heroin — to Schedule 3, a step that would classify it with other drugs considered as having moderate to low potential for physical and psychological abuse. Among them: Tylenol with codeine, ketamine, steroids and testosterone. ...
West Linn-Wilsonville School District announces $10 million in budget cuts, staff reductions
The West Linn-Wilsonville School District is increasing proposed budget cuts for the 2024-25 school year from $4 million to $10 million, according to a message sent to the community via Parent Square on Tuesday, April 30. These cuts include approximately $4.5 million in districtwide departmental and operational budget reductions, $4 million in administrative and support personnel and approximately $1.5 million in primary classroom teacher reductions — or 12 teacher positions. ...
Man arrested for threatening Wilsonville Safeway employees, customers with hammer
A 47-year-old man was arrested at Safeway in Wilsonville for threatening employees and customers with a hammer on Monday, April 29. After failed attempts to reason with him, deputies used a taser to subdue and arrest David Lee Mangum, according to a Facebook post by the Wilsonville Police Department. The post said Magnum did not cooperate with deputies’ commands and “continuously yelled at the deputies to kill him.” Wilsonville Police...
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