Engineers hired to design bridge replacement
Now that engineers have been hired, there’s a timeline for getting the aging Waverly Drive bridge on Cox Creek replaced. In mid-December, the Linn County Board of Commissioners awarded a design...
View ArticleRevive CARA with a new grant program?
Albany Councilwoman Carolyn McLeod, in her first month in office, sprang a couple of surprise spending proposals on the council Wednesday. She proposed that in the next biennial budget, $750,000 be...
View ArticleLong remodeling now looks finished
Over the last few years, I have occasionally published progress reports on the remodeling of a former Chinese restaurant building on Santiam Highway in Albany. Now the outside is finished, and it looks...
View ArticleMonteith boardwalk unharmed by flooding
Being under water for a few days toward the end of December apparently did not damage the short “boardwalk” at the bottom of Albany’s Monteith Riverpark. High water flowed across this feature of the...
View ArticlePlan for city charging stations on hold
Albany’s plan to add four public electric-vehicle charging stations with federal help is on hold because the federal help is unlikely to come about. President Trump has issued an executive order on...
View ArticleAlbany pushes to add houses and density
On a bike ride last week, I passed a building under construction on Southwest Queen Avenue that struck me as being in line with Albany’s continued effort to increase housing density in residential...
View ArticleReports an issue, gets quick city response
Sometimes it’s as though readers’ comments on stories on this site are heavy on complaints. So it seemed, anyway, to Albany resident Jennifer Stuart. She lives near the Willamette riverfront, and the...
View ArticleIn Senate bill, a new approach to river trash
A state senator from Port Orford has an answer to the problem of vagrants leaving trash behind when they leave their camping spots along Oregon rivers: Make the state clean it up. Glancing through the...
View ArticleA brief diversion on a sunny winter’s day
Wednesday was supposed to be the last dry and sunny day for a while. The afternoon found the bike and me on Albany’s Cox Creek Path, where I noticed two things. The first was obvious. The Portland...
View ArticleWhen Water Avenue work will resume
This is the year the west end of Albany’s Water Avenue will get an overhaul, and I was wondering when this work will resume, and why it it didn’t start during January when it was sunny and dry. As...
View ArticleSmaller houses that cost less: Solution?
For years I have followed what was happening on a lot across from Albany’s Hackleman Park. A bike ride took me past the address again last month, and what I saw might be one partial answer to Oregon’s...
View ArticleCity approves site plan for chemical plant
The City of Albany today approved, with many conditions, the site plan of a proposed chemical plant on industrially zoned property on the east side of Ferry Street. The city’s Commuunity Development...
View ArticleHow about taking down that old sign?
Now and then I wonder if anything will ever be done with the long-closed Albany restaurant property at 3225 Santiam Hwy. S.E., less than a block from Interstate 5. The restaurant, “Original...
View ArticleRight turn on red: Remember to stop first
At least a few drivers making right turns on red at Queen Avenue and Geary Street in Albany seem to have trouble coming to a stop before they start the turn. That’s the conclusion suggested by the data...
View ArticleChange coming to corner near riverfront
There’s a lot near the Albany riverfront that has been the subject of stories here before. For years it was occupied by an old garage and warehouse, which was demolished in 2023. On the last day of...
View ArticleThat log jam: How long will it last?
The growing log jam under the railroad bridge across the Willamette River in Albany is slightly mysterious in at least a couple of ways. Mystery 1: Why do log jams form on that bridge and not on, for...
View ArticleReligious nonprofit makes a big purchase
An Albany-based religious nonprofit spent more than $12 million last month to purchase the big commercial plaza at the southwest corner of Santiam Highway and Clay Street. The property totals nearly 7...
View ArticleGood news on the pavement beat
Returning from Browser’s Books via Pine Street toward Hackleman Park, the bike and I for years tried to avoid the worst potholes. Lately that has not been necessary, because a section of new pavement...
View ArticleStill on the pothole beat: hospital street
Albany General Hospital lies in the 1000 block between Sixth and Seventh avenues. Seventh is a fine street with good pavement, so how come there are big craters in Sixth? On a bike ride Wednesday...
View ArticleFirst snowfall: Message on a winter’s day
The Willamette Valley’s first snowfall of 2025 came today, Feb. 13. For me it meant I could skip the daily bicycle ride. Instead, I walked around a little: On days like this, I’m grateful that my years...
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