Now starts another year of reporting
Here we are at the very beginning of 2025, a year that would have sounded like science fiction when we were young. Might as well reflect a little on this blog. With occasional breaks of a few days, I...
View ArticleTreatment center planned in old Albany house
A century-old house in Albany’s Monteith Historic District may be turned into an outpatient treatment center for people with drug or alcohol problems. Angela Kelly and Sarah Soric, owners of Recovery...
View ArticleStreet work: Not an easy drive — or ride
It must be especially difficult to do street construction and underground utility work during our rainy winters while also keeping traffic moving. In the last two or three weeks, driving on Washington...
View ArticleDon’t worry: Rain and cold won’t bother them
There are not many sights on Bryant Drive outside of Albany, but one of them you can look at from time to time is a herd of picturesque cattle. I have seen these cattle in the same pasture over the...
View ArticleAlbany plans to install four charging stations
If the city council agrees, Albany is about to pay for the installation of public electric-vehicle charging stations in four locations around town. The city staff estimates the cost at $2.3 million....
View ArticleWandering around a parking lot without cars
On Sunday I took a few minutes to wander around the completely empty parking lot at Albany’s Bowman Park. No reason, except that the park was closed to vehicles because of high water a few days ago....
View ArticleOn the riverfront beat: Water and sunshine
Back on the Albany riverfront, the news is about the same: High water in the parks, but no problems. At 3:15 p.m. Monday, the Willamette was at 19.28 feet on the Albany gauge. The Weather Service...
View ArticleAlbany pauses on subsidized housing laws
Two Albany proposals to promote subsidized housing will get another look before they are enacted. And if they get improved as a result, part of the credit goes to Councilwoman Matilda Novak even though...
View ArticleTime to watch a train pass Albany crossing
It has been a little while since the Union Pacific made an appearance on this site. Time to remedy that. Once again, on my usual bike ride Tuesday afternoon, I heard the sound of a locomotive’s horn....
View ArticleQueen crossing now features a bike trap
If ODOT and the railroads ever carry out their plans for the Queen Avenue crossing in Albany, I’ll quit writing about it. But the improvement project at the crossing keeps slipping further back in...
View ArticleNew housing, as seen on an Albany ride
On one of my bike rides around Albany the other day, I happened by chance to go past three construction sites that had one thing in common. They made use of sites to create new housing within...
View ArticleSeeing the trash along our public paths
A trip along Albany’s creekside paths can be discouraging because of the mess that a few people leave behind. I was reminded of this on a bike ride down the Cox Creek Path on Jan. 6. Cleanup volunteers...
View ArticleWhere the ‘near future’ has not arrived
This dilapidated barricade and its vague promise of a street extension have been in place for more than a decade. Now the barricade is falling apart, and the future possibility mentioned in the sign...
View ArticlePlan submitted for Albany housing project
Albany city planners are reviewing a site plan for a subsidized housing project facing Creel Avenue, a residential street one block south of the Walmart Supercenter. Farmworker Housing Development...
View ArticleClimate plan? They asked for comment
Oregon has a “Climate Action Commission.” Even though we don’t need this group, the legislature created it in 2007 as the Global Warming Commission and renamed it in 2023. Now this advisory commission...
View ArticleA visit to soggy Bryant Park in mid-January
The bike took me to Albany’s Bryant Park Wednesday. The park remains closed to vehicles because of the recent flooding, but people can get around the gates on foot or on two wheels. As usual after an...
View ArticleThe future of Maple Lawn? Just checking
What’s going to happen with Maple Lawn, the city-owned property at 1950 Salem Ave. S.E. that housed a preschool until last June? The short answer is that it will remain part of the Albany park system....
View ArticleChecking on progress at Calapooia Commons
Chilly weather this January has not stopped builder Mark Siegner and his carpenters from putting the third floor on the first of the two buildings of Calapooia Commons. This mixed-use commercial and...
View ArticleCatching up with new Albany car lots
While I wasn’t paying attention, Albany gained two big automobile businesses over the last year. A bike ride in Saturday’s sunshine took me past both of them. These new sales and service operations are...
View ArticleUnwelcome advice: Turn the heat down
Pacific Power last week gave us a foretaste of what’s in store in coming years if Oregon continues its drive to make electricity more expensive and the power supply less reliable. The utility sent...
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