It’s one thing to hear local politicians brag about the economic growth here in Hillsboro; it’s quite another to read newspaper editorial boards in other cities outright complain about it. But that’s what an editorial in the Evertt Herald does this week. Arguing for tax incentives for data centers, the editorial says Hillsboro’s initiatives are attracting investments that previously would have gone to Washington state. As recently as 2011, Washington state was considered the data center hub of the Pacific Northwest, benefiting from that inexpensive electricity but also its proximity to Amazon, Microsoft and other leaders in information technology. But data center construction has slowed in the state’s rural areas and lags even more in the state’s suburban areas closest[…]
Author: Justin Pot
Laika is a stop motion animation company based right here in Hillsboro, famous for movies like Coraline and Kubo and the Two Strings. The detail in these films is remarkable, all the more so when you realize everything is physically made by someone right here in town. Eden Dawn, writing for the Portland Monthly, profiled their costum designer earlier this week. It’s a great read with a lot of great photos. Laika costume designer Deborah Cook chats about 17-inch-tall puppets the way most people reminisce about old friends. “I love the Sisters. There’s an elegance to them,” she says of the terrifyingly beautiful villains in the Hillsboro stop-motion animation studio’s 2016 hit, Kubo and the Two Strings. “Their faces are[…]
In 2016 the Hillsboro School Board voted to prevent a clinic in Century High School from distributing contraceptives, a 4-3 vote that broke down on gender lines. The men opposed contraception, the women supported it. In May of 2017 three of those men lose their seats in an election, only for another to step down in December. And now, in 2018, the school board has unanimously reversed course, allowing that clinic to provide contraceptives. Here’s what that change in policy looks like, per the packet (page 86): As you can see language specifically added to ban contraception was removed, replaced with language that instructs clinics to follow Oregon law. The change isn’t exactly surprising: the members who supported the ban lost[…]
Last night city employees briefed City Council on the Willamette Water Supply, a massive infrastructure project that will bring water from the Willamette in Wilsonville up to Hillsboro. Hillsboro’s water department is partnering with the Tualatin Valley Water District (TVWD) on the project, which will cost an estimated $1.2 billion dollars. TVWD will pay for most of the project, leaving Hillsboro will pay 39.6 percent: $450 million. (TVWD, if you didn’t know, provides water to Hillsboro residents east of Cornelius Pass. The district, which is independent from any city government, also provides water to large pieces of Beaverton and various unincorporated Washington County communities, including nearby Aloha and Rock Creek.) Rob Dixon, Assistant City Manager in Hillsboro, said the project[…]
Bonnie Kooken, Orenco resident for 50 years and fierce advocate for preserving the historic Orenco townsite, passed away on February 2. She was 81. Mayor Steve Calaway spoke of her passing during this week’s city council; you can read his entire statement here. A quote: Our community lost one of its champions this month with the unexpected passing of Bonnie Kooken. A resident of Hillsboro’s Old Orenco neighborhood for more than 50 years, Bonnie was a charter member and current chair of the City of Hillsboro’s Historic Landmarks Advisory Committee. He continues: Every Hillsboro resident benefits from Bonnie’s influence and community-building efforts. Driven by her commitment to preserving the land that is home to Orenco Woods Nature Park, Bonnie and[…]
I live near NW Amberwood Drive and 206 Avenue; at least, I did. According to the signs on these streets I now live on Walker Road and John Olsen Avenue. There are a lot of road name changes happening in Hillsboro right now, which is confusing. Even worse: different apps are figuring this all out at different paces. Near my place Google Maps knows about John Olsen Avenue, but Apple Maps still calls it 206. Neither knows about Walker Road. You could spend a lifetime discussing whether the various changes make sense—my wife and I have already put hours into this. Why is Amberwood, which doesn’t connect to the existing Walker Road, being called Walker? And why does the change[…]
This week the Trump administration approved a set of tariffs on imported solar panels, a policy that could impact hundreds of jobs at Solar World here in Hillsboro. We’re living in an age of sharp partisan divide, but issues like this show the world is so much more complicated than red versus blue. First of all: this is a policy change that Oregon Senator Ron Wyden agreed with Present Donald Trump about, which is certainly rare. If anything Wyden thought the policy didn’t go far enough, calling it a partial victory: I’ll be closely studying this decision to see if it will be sufficient to level the playing field for American solar manufacturers against the flood of foreign-made solar panels. However,[…]
If you haven’t been to a Bag and Baggage show yet, you should. This isn’t a theatre company that’s good “for Hillsboro,” it’s a great theatre company, period. They do amazing work, which is why people travel from all over the metro area to see it. In February Bag and Baggage is going to bring some individual performers from around the metro area to downtown Hillsboro. It’s called Solofest, and tickets are only $10 for a two-show night. Here’s the lineup, with info provided by Bag and Baggage, along with links to all of their homepages. Rob Katsuno and his work American Spirit, a story of how American culture shaped Katsuno’s own aspirations as a Japanese-American. Katsuno is a Portland-based,[…]
You probably noticed: the signs welcoming you back to Hillsboro now have a six digit population. 100,000 people call this city home—in 1990 it was only 40,000. Growth has been consistent since then, give or take the great recession. I moved here in 2015, so I’m not a longtime resident. And yet even I’ve seen several empty lots near my home turn into high-density housing seemingly overnight. The rate of change is staggering, and with 20,000 people likely to live in South Hillsboro that’s only going to accelerate. I’ve been thinking of this more often since a zoning dispute in the old Orenco townsite came up during a city council meeting a few weeks ago. Residents near a now-vacant lot[…]
Hillsboro City Council looks likely to establish a communications utility by February, in part to ensure fiber is ready to go in South Hillsboro before the roads are built. The proposal, recommended by the Finance Committee, will be up for first reading by City Council on January 16 and second reading on February 2. Proposals like this generally only make the City Council agenda when they’re likely to pass. But don’t expect a municipal broadband provider anytime soon: this policy is more about infrastructure. To quote a recommendation from Rob Dixon, Assistant City Manager: The ordinance would establish a communications utility, create a communications fund and direct the Planning Commission to initiate a code amendment that would lead to the[…]