ben@whereby.us, Author at Bridgeliner

(68 posts)

Going to Pickathon? Here’s How to Pedal There

📸: Amanda Cowan Pickathon is only a week away, and so is the group bike ride out to Pendarvis Farm. Thinking about tagging along next Thursday or Friday? Here’s what you need to know. WHERE TO MEET: Leave from Reed College in Southeast Portland. You’re allowed to leave a car and there will be a […]

Evergreen / July 14, 2021

I Fell In Love With Portland. Here’s Why.

Portland is a city of dreamers. We work nine-to-fives just long enough to launch our side hustles. We sell sneakers from Volkswagen vans and crowdfund projects that make a difference. We find quiet corners in the basement at Townshend’s or the Purple Room at Powell’s and sketch out crazy ideas that won’t make anyone rich, […]

Evergreen / July 5, 2021

How to Train for a Marathon: Portland Edition

We reached out to Eric Dettman, who teaches coaches cross country and track & field at Lincoln High School, for advice on how to prepare for a marathon. Here’s what Eric told us: What’s your favorite trail or running route in Portland? The Leif Erickson Trail in Forest Park for a long run or The Fairmont […]

Evergreen / March 1, 2021

Swiping Your Way to Love Is Hard. Here’s Some Advice from a Portland Pro

(📸: Jet Cat Studio | Haley Weaver) Online dating is one of the top ways people find romance these days, but getting started isn’t always easy. Luckily, we have a pro here in Portland to help out. Ladan Radafshar is the founder and CEO of FernDate, a local branding service focused on online dating, and […]

Evergreen / February 12, 2021

Dating Can Be A Struggle in Portland. What’s the Deal?

“I have dated in San Francisco, Seattle and Colorado, and… though there were bad dates, they were not even close to the garbage fire that is dating in Portland.” —Isabelle It’s true, you could probably find hot takes like this written about any city — but even the experts agree that Portland’s dating scene is […]

Evergreen / February 5, 2021

Black Lives Haven’t Always Mattered to the Climate Movement. Here’s How to Fix That.

Support Local Entrepreneurs Fighting Climate Change We are a nonprofit fighting climate change by providing funding and holistic support to cleantech entrepreneurs. Join us today. This series is sponsored by VertueLab. VertueLab did not provide editorial input. Black Americans are more likely to breathe polluted air, more likely to live near a landfill, more likely […]

Environment / August 10, 2020

Electric Cars Aren’t Living Up to The Eco-Friendly Hype. Here’s One Way to Change That.

(📸: Paul Brennan from Pixabay) Support Local Entrepreneurs Fighting Climate Change We are a nonprofit fighting climate change by providing funding and holistic support to cleantech entrepreneurs. Join us today. This series is sponsored by VertueLab. VertueLab did not provide editorial input. It’s sad losing a hero. For years, you think your hero is flawless, […]

Environment / August 3, 2020

Is the Covid-19 Outbreak Getting Worse or Better in Oregon? Here’s How to Tell.

It seems like a simple question — is the Covid-19 outbreak getting better or worse in Oregon? But the daily case counts that many news organizations obsess over don’t actually tell us much about the outbreak, at least not by themselves. I talked to Kim Toevs from the Multnomah County Health Department about what metrics […]

Health + Fitness / June 24, 2020

Mark Kruger Created a Public Shrine to Nazi Soldiers — And Kept His Job with Portland Police

When Portland police officers took a knee alongside protestors this week, it became part of a national narrative — a storyline about how most cops are good people who condemn violence and want to reform their departments and the system as a whole. But before we turn those officers into heroes for taking a knee, […]

Politics / June 4, 2020

Oregon is Getting Ready to Ease Its Stay-At-Home Order. Is It Still Too Soon?

Our progress report for May 14th. It’s been nearly eight weeks since Governor Kate Brown issued her stay-at-home order in Oregon, and barring any surprise setbacks, the state is expected to take its first baby steps toward easing the lockdown on Friday. But are we actually ready for what comes next? Last week, a Harvard […]

Community / May 14, 2020

Is Oregon Really Over the Hump? And Other Answers to Your Coronavirus Questions.

What do you want to know about Oregon’s coronavirus response and what comes next? Send us your questions, and we’ll update this post as we track down answers. Oregon seems to have one of the lowest infection rates in the country, but is that just because we’re not testing enough people? It’s true that Oregon […]

Community / April 30, 2020

14 Ways to Spend Your Stimulus Check Locally in Portland

(📸: Hector Chacon) Stimulus payments are starting to arrive this week, and what Portlanders do with that money really matters. According to economists, every dollar spent locally creates a ripple effect in the economy as it circulates from consumers to businesses to workers and back again, helping bolster employment in the process. So if you’re […]

Community / April 15, 2020

The Alder Food Carts Might Get Their New Home Soon

It doesn’t look like much now, but this block will eventually be home to a new food cart pod. (📸: Ben DeJarnette) “What happened to the Alder Street food carts? Did the new area for those carts work? I pass by the supposed area but don’t see them anywhere.” —Ethan Chen It’s been eight months […]

Food / March 12, 2020

Trump Is Sowing Fear Ahead of the Census. Jordan Hernandez Is Pushing Back.

UPDATE: Thanks to everyone who became a Bridgeliner member to help make this project possible. Here are the profiles from Jordan’s series “We Count: Latinx Portland in 2020.” Candace Avalos Now Embraces Her ‘Blacktina’ Identity — But It Wasn’t Always Easy Teena Soto Smith Doesn’t Have All the Answers. And That’s OK. Latina or Latinx? Maria Garcia […]

Politics / February 5, 2020

Who Owns Downtown Portland? It’s Not Easy to Find Out.

“Who are the largest landowners in Downtown?” —Anonymous The answer to our latest PDXplained question is pretty simple (more on that in a moment), but getting to the bottom of it wasn’t easy. It turns out that property ownership is easily concealed in Oregon — and most big landowners seem eager to do just that. […]

Downtown / November 12, 2019

We’re Investing in Portland Creatives. Here’s How You Can Help.

The origin story of Nike is the stuff of legend — a global sportswear brand that started with Phil Knight’s big idea, Bill Bowerman’s waffle iron, and Jeff Johnson’s Volkswagen van. Nike’s success might seem inevitable now that it’s a multi-billion-dollar company. But 50 years ago, Phil Knight was just a young entrepreneur with a […]

Community / November 3, 2019

How Oregon’s Education System Can Better Support Foster Children

Foster children like Adam Sweet often move homes — and schools — more times than they can count. Adam Sweet can’t remember exactly how many times he moved growing up as a foster child, but he thinks it was at least twenty. Usually those moves meant new schools, or at least a new chance to […]

Education / September 18, 2019

5 Questions to Ask If You’re Curious About Foster Parenting

“What kind of person is the best for becoming a foster parent?” — Anna Walker I’ve been digging into reader questions for our series on Oregon’s foster care system, and this is the hardest one to answer yet. The problem is that “foster parenting” can mean a bunch of different things. Sometimes it means taking […]

Community / September 4, 2019

PDXplained: The Hidden History of Morningside Hospital in East Portland

(📸: Wikimedia Commons) For more than 50 years, an Oregon hospital held “mentally ill” patients against their will, performed bogus medical procedures, and drew allegations of abuse and neglect. And it’s probably not the hospital you’re thinking of. Ken Kesey’s novel “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” immortalized the Oregon State Hospital in Salem — […]

Hazelwood / September 3, 2019

Many Foster Parents in Oregon Don’t Feel Supported. Here’s the Plan to Fix That.

“How much help do foster parents (and institutional homes) get addressing emotional and social issues for the kids they care for?” —Alan Lehto I’ve talked to foster parents, caseworkers, and policy wonks for this series, and the universal answer to that question is “not enough.” But there’s a plan to turn that around — and […]

Community / August 28, 2019