Happy Earth Day from Portland's dangerous CEI Hub.

Just Call Me Darcelle | Powell's Books Before he was Darcelle XV, Portland, Oregon's most celebrated female impersonator, he was Walter Cole, a boy from the small suburb of Linnton. In commemoration of his 80th birthday, Walter/Darcelle…

On our reading list: Call me Darcelle by Walter Cole. Before he was Darcelle XV, Portland, Oregon's most celebrated drag queen, he was Walter Cole, a boy from Linnton in the North Reach of the Willamette River. www.powells.com/book/just-ca...

The fight to provide housing for every Oregonian was led by unlikely activists Oregon leaders talked a lot about how the new growth management system would protect the state's farms and open spaces. But only gradually did it become clear how life would change inside Oregon's…

From OPB: Chronicling the story of two surprising advocates who took OR’s new land use system and fought to make sure local governments actually stuck to it. This installment tells the story of a Eugene homemaker and a Connecticut reporter.
www.opb.org/article/2022...

@trryjhrrs.bsky.social Are you listening to the Mayor's speech?

Is there a watch party or bingo card for the Mayor's speech tonight? #Portland

TAKE ACTION: The Mayor should not raid voter-passed climate funds to renovate the MODA Center for the billionaire owner of the Trailblazers.

My assumption, & perhaps the assumption of others, is that this process (developing the North Reach River Plan) is one of healing, reconciliation and a promise to future generations. I look forward to working on this with you & with the many communities impacted by this stretch of river. 🧵 4/4

The North Reach Plan begins with these stories. None of us can tell these stories perfectly, as most of them are not ours but we can try to understand how a well populated area came to have only 2,499 people living there today. 🧵 3/4

There is the North Reach & then there is a broader circle that includes those things and people impacted by the North Reach. Circles beyond the North Reach. I hope in these years of the “North Reach” we will all learn together this remarkable and ever changing story, starting with the tribes. 🧵 2/4

From Sarah, Braided River Campaign's co-founder: The story of the North Reach can not be told or planned for without reaching our thoughts out into the many worlds it impacts. The Willamette River is a tidal river that that is one part of the great Columbian flood plain. It is part of Forest Park.

Tribal Histories of the Willamette Valley | Powell's Books From oral history to written word, learn about the history of Oregon through the stories of the Indigenous peoples of the Willamette Valley. The Willamette Valley is rich with history — its…

On our reading list: Tribal Histories of the Willamette Valley by Oregon historian David S. Lewis. www.powells.com/book/tribal-...

It is not a static place. It is a place of great displacements and removals of people. That only 2,499 people live there now is a story of forced movement away from home. The contaminated fish and the falcons nearly gone extinct. 🧵 3 of 3 (Photo by Bob Sallinger)

What I learned was that the North Reach riverbanks are only a tiny piece of the story. The impact of what happens there has had, & continues to have, significant consequences. It reaches far into the neighboring communities and into the migration of fish and birds and all living things. 🧵 2 of 3

From our co-founder, Sarah: I am a bit of a North Reach feet-to-the-ground story collector. An approach I came to understand in Haiti when public health challenges were best understood by going up in the mountains and listening to the people. 🧵 1 of 3

Today, the City of Portland published "an internal administrative rule that guides how artificial intelligence solutions are acquired, developed, and deployed in City bureaus and service areas." Take a look. Let us know what you think about it. www.portland.gov/policies/tec...

7:08 pm: BPS planner is on slide #40. (The slide show started at 6:08 pm. The meeting is supposed to end at 7:00 pm.)

7:02 pm: What? A planner just mentioned that we need to be concerned that some people might be "overtaxed" with community involvement questions.

6:58 pm: BPS slide show presentation is continuing. BPS is really good at very long slide shows which (in our humble opinion) limits community involvement because they are almost always too long.

A BPS planner just told the City of Portland Community Involvement Committee, "Middle wage jobs are living wage jobs." NO! BIG NO! NOT TRUE! 🧵6 of ?

Love this part. At 6:42 pm, the video chat was turned off for the members of the Community Involvement Committee. Maybe because I was sharing some factual information? I asked for the committee members to be informed that they can no longer read the community chat. 🧵5 of ?

Now two planners started a presentation about the North Reach River Plan at 6:08 pm. We are always disappointed in the length of BPS planner presentations. Maybe this one will be concise and allow community involvement from the community involvement committee. 🧵4 of ?

Sarah and I received 1 minute to introduce ourselves. 🧵3 of ?

Join meeting on Teams

The public meeting can be watched by you right now at:
Microsoft Teams meeting
Join: teams.microsoft.com/meet/2179936...
Meeting ID: 217 993 645 559 39
Passcode: XD9Sg7Fz 🧵2 of ?

This thread is for the super city nerds. Braided River Campaign is watching a live stream of the City of Portland's Community Involvement Committee. The meeting started 20 minutes ago and the committee members haven't acknowledged the presence of the two community members who are present!

We're changing our cover photo today to honor the Willamette River and the people who defend the it from corporate polluters like Zenith Energy. Water is life. (Lakota: Mní wičhóni)

I'm putting on my friend's red sweater before I head downtown to deliver our letter to Portland Mayor Keith Wilson @mayorkwilson.bsky.social at City Hall.

Do you think we'd be "losing" opportunities to communities to "network" with folks?

We are having trouble logging into our Instagram account. Pondering the dream of giving up on Meta forever.

24 new species found in ocean zone eyed for battery metals mining Researchers pulled 24 tiny new creatures from a deep abyss in the central Pacific Ocean, some with long, spindly legs and others with more squat, compact bodies. Some appeared to feed on the sediment ...

24 new species found in Pacific Ocean area eyed for battery metals mining news.mongabay.com/2026/04/24-n...