Community

🛒 Shopping while Black in Portland

Looking up from under. | Tag @bridgeliner or use #bridgeliner to be featured in our Instagram of the Day. (📸:@wanderoutphotos) Looking in today: Ukrainian assistance, an end to masks and a second life for a beloved tree. Listen up, Thursday. The war in Ukraine began over a year ago, and there’s still no end in […]

/ March 9, 2023

Three local businesses (and artists!) to know

In recent newsletters, we’ve been sharing interviews with some amazing local businesses to know series! ICYMI, we’re talking with business owners who are a part of Planned Parenthood Columbia-Willamette’s Shared Window project. It started in 2020 to uplift the community by providing free ad space to small businesses and local artists. With the help of […]

/ August 4, 2022

A Bridge and its Park

The St. Johns Bridge is one of the most iconic bridges in Portland, but the area below it has its own history. It was home to Native American tribal grounds and a Lewis and Clark landing site before it became Cathedral Park. For decades, it housed junkyards and factories. But “honorary mayor” Howard Galbraith and […]

/ January 18, 2022

A 110-Year-Old Fraternity Lives On at the Kenton Masonic Temple

The Kenton Masonic Temple in North Portland is either the home of a clandestine fraternity that secretly runs the world, or it’s a good place to get a haircut. It just depends who you ask. The historic building was renovated in 2011, and it now doubles as the home for Bart’s Barbershop, Kenton Cycle Repair, […]

/ October 31, 2021

🤗 How this nonprofit is helping trans families in Portland

Trans Families is a local nonprofit providing resources to trans youth and their families. (🎨: Bridgeliner illustration) In honor of Pride Month, we are covering things all about Pride in Portland — its history, its legacy, and where we go from here. We had the honor of interviewing one of our Bridgeliner Unabridged members, lo on their work […]

/ June 10, 2021

💖 How to make friends in Portland

We’ve got a few simple suggestions on where to start.  Join a dragon boat team Join a kickball league. Join a Pot Social. Pick up games in Portland are everywhere – volleyball, dodgeball, etc. Hop into a group bike ride. No matter your social style, we loved all the great tips and friend-making stories you […]

/ May 25, 2021

Rojo the Llama’s home safe from wildfire dangers

Mtn Peaks Therapy Llamas & Alpacas was home to Portland legend Rojo the Llama. (📷: Mtn Peaks Therapy Llamas & Alpacas) Mtn Peaks Therapy Llamas & Alpacas, the home of a beloved Portland legend, survived dangerous wildfires that sprung up across the state last week, reported Shannon Joy, the handler for the late, great Rojo […]

/ September 21, 2020

Spotlight on Downtown Portland businesses: Five Questions with Fossil Cartel

A peek inside The Fossil Cartel. (📸: The Fossil Cartel) Running a small business in downtown Portland means navigating changes and high speed adaptation. Since the beginning of March, small businesses have had the extra challenges of operating during the global COVID-19 pandemic, as well as nightly demonstrations in solidarity with Black Lives Matter since […]

/ September 1, 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 […]

/ 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 […]

/ April 30, 2020

Support Your Favorite Portland Business with a Free Promo Ad

(📸: Hector Chacon) We’re all worried about how COVID-19 is affecting our favorite Portland restaurants, retailers, and small business owners. So starting today, we’re offering a new way for Bridgeliner members to send some love to their local favorites. Want to shout out the barista who always brightens your morning? Or let your fellow Portlanders […]

/ April 20, 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 […]

/ April 15, 2020

Is Oregon Ready for What’s Next? We Made a Covid-19 Progress Tracker to Find Out

Our progress report for May 14th. This post is being updated to reflect the latest public health recommendations and statewide data. The governor of Illinois gave us an idea last month when he tweeted out a graphic showing the state’s progress on coronavirus testing and setting clear goals and targets for the next 10 days. […]

/ April 2, 2020

Portlanders Are Taking Coronavirus Solutions Into Their Own Hands. You Can Too.

Delivering prescriptions. Buying gift cards. Ordering out from local restaurants. There are a million ways that Portlanders are stepping up to support their neighbors. The challenge is keeping up with it all — and knowing how to pitch in or take advantage. This crowdsourced list includes all the opportunities we’ve learned about so far, organized […]

/ March 18, 2020

What Questions Do You Still Have about the Coronavirus?

(📸: Centers for Disease Control) The news has been all coronavirus all the time lately, from how to spot the symptoms to how to wash your hands properly. But now that the shock of the outbreak has started to wear off, we want to take a second to ask: What questions do you still have […]

/ March 16, 2020

3 Ideas for Supporting Portland Businesses and Nonprofits Through the Coronavirus Crisis

(📸: Hector Chacon) The need for an extended period of social distancing is clear, and so is the impact that such a policy will have on local businesses and nonprofits. A poll of nearly 500 small businesses in Oregon found that many companies expect to lose thousands of dollars of revenue due to the coronavirus, […]

/ March 16, 2020

Meet a Member: Michael Jonas

We’re profiling the people who make Bridgeliner possible — our supporting members — and next up is Woodstock neighbor and Rational Unicorn founder Michael Jonas. Where in town might people run into you? If I’m not at work at my law office, I’m probably at a coffee shop. I also really enjoy going to local craft […]

/ December 3, 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 […]

/ November 3, 2019

What Bridgeliner Readers Want to Say to Boise

“Build more roads, watch out for liberal ideas.” That’s the advice that Portlander John Jagosh gave to the city of Boise last month, in a letter published in the Idaho Statesman. John blamed progressive ideas like light rail and legal marijuana for “essentially [ruining] my town,” and he warned Boise residents to avoid the same […]

/ October 1, 2019

How the Alberta Arts District is Trying to Keep its Artists

How do you keep an arts district from losing its artists? That’s an age-old question in gentrifying neighborhoods like the Alberta Arts District, but the nonprofit Alberta Art Works and its executive director Maquette Reeverts think they have an answer — pay artists to do their craft. “That’s how we keep the folks here,” Maquette […]

/ September 18, 2019