What happens when Coffin Butte gets full?
Benton County officials will soon have to decide whether to allow the Coffin Butte landfill to expand. We all should think about the implications of that issue every time we throw something in the...
View ArticleAdd stop signs on Elm, councilor asks
Almost five years ago, the Albany City Council turned down a recommendation to put stop signs on Elm Street at 12th Avenue. Now the subject has popped up again. Ward 1 Councilwoman Steph Newton-Azorr,...
View ArticleCouncil raises city fee, makes increase annual
Every year, Albany will charge people more for “city services” based on inflation, the city council has decided. The council voted 4-1 on Wednesday to raise the monthly charge for single-family homes...
View ArticleTheater now owns building next door
The sad-looking but historic downtown building at 129 W. First Ave. in Albany has been empty for a long time. Now it has a new owner and probably won’t be empty and unused for long. I’ve written about...
View ArticleUse this path if you want to keep it
If you occasionally find it convenient to walk or ride your bike on the historic railroad right-of-way between Hill and Oak streets, you might want to use it more often and defend your right to do so....
View ArticleLinn clerk’s office will move to riverfront
If you have business with the Linn County clerk this fall, regarding either elections or records, you’ll have to go to the Wheelhouse Building on the Albany riverfront instead of the courthouse...
View ArticleClosing that path: Not soon, maybe never
It won’t be easy or quick to “vacate” — meaning to abandon and close — an offshoot of the Periwinkle Bikepath as recommended by the Albany Parks, Recreation and Tree Commission. This section of the...
View ArticleRoad taxes: What the majority’s bill will cost
We all have heard vague estimates of the jaw-dropping increases in road taxes Democrats in the Oregon legislature are poised to pass. Now, we have a more definite idea how much more costly living in...
View ArticleA closed meeting to deliberate sale of lots?
The Albany City Council will hold a public hearing on June 25 before possibly selling three surplus properties near the corner of Ninth Avenue and Jackson Street, close to the Helping Hands homeless...
View ArticleComing on Seventh: A ‘crisis stabilization’ center
About year from now, if everything goes according to plan, people in a situation that would normally bring the cops may get help instead at a new center Linn County plans to open on Seventh Avenue...
View ArticleOn the riverfront: Fencing, paving, timing
The contractor building the “plaza street” part of Albany’s Waterfront Project still hopes to finish the first two blocks in time for the first of this summer’s “River Rhythms” concerts in Monteith...
View ArticleWhere (not) to take an old mattress
What are you supposed to do with a used old mattress you no longer want? Leaving it on Albany’s Dave Clark Riverfront Path is not recommended. For the last few days an old single mattress has been...
View ArticleCouncil rejects top bid, wants more money
Wanting more money, the Albany City Council Wednesday turned down a company’s offer to buy three vacant city-owned lots so the business could expand. The council had invited bids for the three lots on...
View ArticleForget ‘multi-use;’ install lane markers
As someone who occasionally rides a bike across the Willamette River on Highway 20, I was interested in the news that ODOT is willing to spend money to study the idea of a “multi-use path” on the Lyon...
View ArticleSpeed cameras: Flashing lights don’t look likely
What are the chances that Albany will install flashing lights to warn drivers that schools are in session at locations where the city has traffic cameras? Slim to none, unless the city council orders...
View ArticleAlbany budgets for clearing Waverly Lake
Unwanted plant growth in Waverly Lake is making its annual summertime comeback, and the Albany parks department will deal with the problem as it did the last two years. The city budget for the coming...
View Article‘Firearms safety’? New law doesn’t do that
The 2025 Oregon legislature passed what it called the “Community Firearms Safety Act.” Talk about overdoing it in the naming of a bill. The title suggests that Senate Bill 243 was intended to make...
View ArticleWondering about a big empty parking lot
For the past few weeks the vast parking lot in front of 635 Pacific Blvd. in Albany has stood empty. On a bike ride last week I wondered what happened to the power sports business that occupied what...
View ArticleOne month’s toll in tickets and dollars
Drivers on North Albany Road paid more than $49,000 for speeding tickets they got during May, the last full month of school days since traffic cameras at Thornton Lake Drive went live. The cameras...
View ArticleIt’s the season for lemonade stands
The calendar says it’s summer. Another name for that is lemonade-stand season. Or that’s what it was in days gone by. Am I mistaken when I think that curbside lemonade stands run by neighborhood...
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