Free Republic

Sixty days into Portland's "90-day reset" plan for the Central Eastside, business owners say they're seeing progress but still have a long way to go to fixing issues plaguing the area. We first interviewed Bridgid Blackburn in January shortly after city leaders started the 90-day plan. She described to us problems with graffiti, vandalism and safety dealing with people who are having a mental health crisis. Now, a little more than 60 days into the plan, Blackburn says she's seeing positive changes. Like the noticeable increase in Portland police patrols in the area. “That has definitely created a perception of...

Asked why they had quit their office jobs and set off on a biking journey around the world, the young American couple offered a simple explanation: They had grown tired of the meetings and teleconferences, of the time sheets and password changes. “There’s magic out there, in this great big beautiful world,” wrote Jay Austin who, along with his partner, Lauren Geoghegan, gave his two weeks’ notice last year before shipping his bicycle to Africa... Then came Day 369, when the couple was biking in formation with a group of other tourists on a panoramic stretch of road in southwestern...