Picketing reflects Albany majority vote in ’24
Protesting with picket signs has almost become a Friday routine on Ellsworth Street in Albany, even when it rains. I’m mentioning this at the risk of touching off a torrent of partisan abuse in the...
View ArticleStill harping about that bike lane hazard
About once a week or so, the bike takes me west on Queen Avenue and across the tracks south of the Albany railroad yard. Each ride reminds me of a potential hazard left by a paving project in 2024. The...
View ArticleWhy all the trash? Because we allow it
That’s the trouble with winter: The foliage is gone and you can see the trash that people have left behind where, in summer, it’s hidden in the bushes. Such is the case on private property along the...
View ArticleWhat’s up at NETL: The government replies
It took a while, but the headquarters of the National Energy Technology Laboratory has come up with a brief public explanation about what this branch of the U.S. Department of Energy is building at its...
View ArticleTalking Water Gardens: no camps inside, but …
Talking Water Gardens, the wetlands Albany built in 2012, was all but deserted Wednesday afternoon, empty and almost completely clean. But that’s not the whole story. The bike took me there to check on...
View ArticleSt. Francis shows off its tall old windows
The tall windows of the ground floor lobby of the historic St. Francis Hotel in Albany have been restored, or opened up, to their full height. I noticed the gleaming wall of glass on a bike ride...
View ArticleOld supermarket to become a thrift store
The former West Albany Safeway supermarket may not be empty much longer. A nonprofit ministry, Adult and Teen Challenge Pacwest, says it has signed a lease for the building and plans to move its Albany...
View ArticleIn February, thinking about Freeway Lakes
It was in June 2018 when I last navigated the waters of Freeway Lakes near Albany in my canoe. I’m hoping to repeat the experience once it warms up this spring. Eight years ago that June, Freeway Lakes...
View ArticleCalapooia Commons: Now it’s complete
For the last eight years or so, my bike rides through Albany have occasionally taken me past the corner of Fourth Avenue and Calapooia Street to check on a long-running story. Now the story has reached...
View ArticleHow much U.S. invests in new Albany lab
The U.S. Department of Energy is investing a fair chunk of money in its latest addition to the Albany research center, and on Monday I learned just how much. As reported here on Feb. 17, a public...
View ArticleA sunny day on the riverfront path
The Dave Clark Riverfront Path in Albany is a nice place to walk or ride a bike, even when a section of it looks like in the photo above. The section under the Albany railroad bridge has looked like...
View ArticleCamera disabled over council’s worries
Albany’s sole Flock Safety surveillance camera has been temporarily disabled as a result of city council action on Wednesday night, but for now the camera equipment still stay in place. The continued...
View ArticleLooking out from Calapooia Commons
A few days after writing about the completion of Calapooia Commons, the mixed-use project at Fourth Avenue and Calapooia Street in Albany’s Monteith Historic District, I got a chance to check out the...
View ArticleKeeping track of Burkhart Street lot
Cleared of the defunct concrete tank that once was part of the Albany water system, the vacant lot at 370 Burkhart St. SE is up for sale again. The City of Albany sold the surplus property for $4,000...
View ArticleCatching up with Albany’s inclusive playground
The playground at Lehigh Park, at 17th Avenue and Center Street in southeast Albany, has been wonderfully transformed since the last time I saw it in October 2024. The playground was still under...
View ArticleAlbany hydro needs a DEQ certification
Albany’s small hydropower turbine has not turned for almost two years and may never spin again, but the bureaucracy concerning it grinds on. The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality has just...
View ArticleNoted in passing: Permanent path still closed
Returning from a visit to Deerfield Park last week, the bike and I stopped at an Albany oddity, a “permanent” public path that is indefinitely closed. This is the walkway, 10 feet wide and 50 feet...
View ArticleBowman ramp cleared of logs and debris
A mass of driftwood clogged the boat ramp at Albany’s Bowman Park over the last few weeks. But on Wednesday the logjam had been cleared away. Logs and smaller bits of driftwood were piled up beside the...
View ArticleChurch complex proposed on N. Albany field
On March 17, the Benton County Planning Commission will hold a public hearing before deciding whether to allow a church, gymnasium and 269-space parking lot to be built on a 19-acre property in rural...
View ArticleChecking on status of Deerfield Park
The renovation of Deerfield Park in South Albany was supposed to be complete by the fall of 2025. But as nearby residents know, it is not quite finished yet. The 11.88-acre park — larger than your...
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