Seven stories on the edge of the bluff

Editor,

I just came across your article in THE BEE about the plan for a large apartment building off Milwaukie. First I want to say – thank you for your work at THE BEE, I often read it with interest and appreciate having a local newspaper.

But I was quite disappointed with the tone of the article – while you described a landslide concern, the article gave the impression that the real problem was just that the apartment building was too large for our neighborhood.

This is a wonderful neighborhood, and part of what makes it that way is that it has a mix of people from different backgrounds and ages. But it can’t stay that way if we don’t build more housing – it will price out everyone but the old or the rich. A large apartment building adding hundreds of units is excellent news! More riders for the 19 and the 70. More customers for the shops on Milwaukie. More people coming into the neighborhood means we can keep our schools full, and spread the tax burden of public infrastructure. We shouldn’t oppose housing just because it’s new and big.

I’ve copied the housing solutions chair at SMILE because your article mentions SMILE as an opponent of the earlier project. I should pause to also thank SMILE for all the work it does in this neighborhood! I hope SMILE comes around to being a supporter of more housing here.

Chris Loer
via email

EDITOR’S NOTE: Actually, I and the SMILE Land Use Committee have no objection to the size of the project, and SMILE has been involved in the design hearings. Both SMILE and I worry that something of that mass perhaps should not be built on the very edge of a cliff in a recognized landslide zone! However, the owners say they will have it very well-anchored, even if part of the cliff were to erode under the western edge of the structure. The other problem nearby residents are confronted with, although not mentioned in that article, is that there is only enough on-site parking for a fraction of the many residents that the project will accommodate; there are already four multi-story, but smaller, apartment houses within a block of this property that have no on-site parking at all, and street parking spaces are getting scarce in that vicinity. The planned MAX station at the foot of Harold/Reedway was never built, and that station was the city’s rationale for the widespread high-density rezoning in north Westmoreland, which SMILE voted unanimously to support in the 1990s specifically because of that promise of a nearby light-rail station. SMILE and the neighbors still want to see that station built, as do the Reed and Eastmoreland neighborhoods, which are on record favoring it – as long as there is access to it from S.E. 28th westward along the Reedway right-of-way with a pedestrian/bicycle bridge, of which two have been built on both sides of Powell Boulevard well to the north. There is NO pedestrian or bike crossing over the railyard between Holgate and Bybee – quite a hike for pedestrians, in particular.

Pat Hubbell has a plea for residents

Editor,

In the February BEE my photo was on the top of page one, in a story about legislators rallying to call for solutions to the vice grip of “Pharmacy Benefit Managers”, whose practices have been squeezing small pharmacies out of business.

Brooklyn Pharmacy has served Southeast Portland since 1897 – surviving three ownership changes, two relocations, and accumulating 125+ years of neighborhood trust. Today, we are fighting for survival, along with independent pharmacies across Oregon.

Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs), powerful and largely unregulated middlemen, are driving up drug costs, forcing unfair contracts on pharmacies, and steering patients to corporate mail-order operations. Their practices have created a crisis: Pharmacies are closing, services are being cut, and communities are losing access to care. Just in the week of April 14, four more Oregon pharmacies closed for good or announced their intention to do so. We urgently need the Legislature to act – this session – before it’s too late for other pharmacies.

At Brooklyn Pharmacy, we offer immunizations, compounding, direct RPh access via phone/in person, and even a comfort K-9 (Hal) to provide superior pharmacy care that mail order cannot provide. We’re being pushed to the brink, often losing money on prescriptions because PBM reimbursements don’t cover our costs. This is unsustainable.

I’ve worked with Senator Wyden and local legislators for reform, but Congress hasn’t acted. Now, we need Salem to step up. Representative Rob Nosse – my State Representative, and Chair of the House Health Care Committee in Salem – has seen this crisis firsthand, and is sponsoring HB 3212 – a bill that would finally rein in PBM abuses, and help level the playing field.

No surprise: PBMs and their insurance allies are working hard to kill this bill, while more pharmacies close, and their own profits soar. If HB 3212 fails, more communities will lose their pharmacies, and patients will lose access to care – it’s that simple.

Will you help? You can find out how to contact your legislators here – https://tinyurl.com/5n7tftjs

Or, email Representative Rob Nosse directly – Rep.RobNosse@oregonlegislature.gov – and urge him to stand up to all the corporate pressure and pass HB 3212. Thank you so much.

Pat Hubbell, RPh/Owner
Brooklyn Pharmacy
3131 S.E. Milwaukie Avenue

Cycles

Editor,

Your March 2025 issue headline “Speeding cyclist dies on SE Mcloughlin Blvd” was confusing, as cyclists refer to bicyclists. I believe you meant Motorcyclist.

Cary Fisher
S.E. Marion Street

EDITOR’S NOTE: Yes, of course we did, as we said in the first paragraph of the story, and also in the caption of the accompanying photo. Headlines sometimes require abbreviations to fit, and this was such a case. We previously received another similar response to that headline, and we asked that reader what they would then call somebody riding a bicycle driven by a motor, something we’re increasingly seeing these days? We did not receive a reply.

Young Girl Scouts plant a tree in Woodstock

Editor,

Girl Scout Daisy Troop 20029 earned their Good Neighbor badges on April 17th by partnering with local business Dick’s Primal Burger to plant a street tree in front of the restaurant, which provides the room for the girls’ bi-monthly meeting. The girls earned the money to purchase the tree and supplies by selling cookies this year. A free permit was secured from the City of Portland Urban Forestry, and the tree species chosen – a Saratoga Ginkgo – is a powerline-friendly selection from the City Street Tree list. This activity also supports a key Girl Scout program goal: To “make the world a better place”. This planting was their final Daisy service project, as they will bridge to Brownies in June.

Ruth Williams
S.E. Schiller Street

The time of year for Neighborhood Assn. elections

Editor,

As anyone who has been a board member knows, institutional knowledge can be a challenge.  At a 115 years of age, the Eastmoreland Neighborhood Association has a lot to remember.  Unfortunately, over time, memories fade and deeply held values can be lost.

Last summer, everyday maintenance activities became controversial. The crisis was averted, but I realized that providing the institutional memory of how we got where we are and why we should continue is very important. Karen and I returned to Eastmoreland after graduate school in 1979. We have worked tirelessly on many community projects ranging from noise and emissions at the Brooklyn Railyard, to maintaining Reed College Place, the continuing effort to maintain affordable housing, and the preservation of our urban canopy.

I’ve decided to run again for the ENA Board to do my part to maintain our institutional memory, and protect a greener tomorrow . . .

Robert McCulloch
Eastmoreland

EDITOR’S NOTE: A reminder that all Neighborhood Associations in Inner Southeast are having their annual Board Elections in May, and every one of them seeks volunteers from their community to run for a seat! We suggest finding out what your own Neighborhood Association is, if you don’t know – and attend their May General Meeting to consider running for a seat on their Board, and getting involved in your own community!

All letters to the editor are subject to editing for clarity and available space, and all letters become property of THE BEE.