Author: Justin Pot

Justin Pot is the founder of Hillsboro Signal, and covers City Council. By day he writes about technology for How To Geek.

What’s Happening in Hillsboro? May 22 to 28

Posted on by Justin Pot

Happy Monday, Hillsboro! Hillsboro Hops tickets are for sale, so maybe buy some? Or if baseball isn’t your thing here’s some stuff to do this week. There’s another forum on body worn cameras tonight at the Brookwood library. Stop by to learn about the upcoming program and speak your mind. If you can’t make it, perhaps you should fill out this survey instead. Tuesday night there’s a South Hillsboro Open House at Rosedale Elementary, a chance to learn about the ongoing developments south of TV Highway by Cornelius Pass. On Saturday there’s a Repair Fair at Brookwood Library, from 1 to 4pm. Volunteers will be on hand to fix everything from jewelry to small appliances, so stop by. Or you[…]

What’s Happening in Hillsboro? The Get Involved Locally Edition

Posted on by Justin Pot

Did you have a good weekend? Great! Now let’s get back to it, finding ways to contribute right here in our community. First, drop off your ballots at the library before tomorrow: it’s too late to mail them. After that, here are a bunch of things you can do this week, right here in Hillsboro. There’s a Body Worn Camera Community Forum tonight at the Shute Park Library, between 6:30 and 8pm. The city has a $217,500 Federal grant to purchase cameras, and is looking for feedback from residents about what the program should look like. If you can’t make it to Shute Park tonight, there’s another open house a week later at Brookwood Library. Hillsboro’s City Council meets Tuesday[…]

What’s Happening in Hillsboro This Weekend? Music for Mother’s Day Edition

Posted on by Justin Pot

The forecast says rain this weekend in Hillsboro, but I bet you can keep busy. Here’s a bunch of stuff to do right here in town—maybe take your mom along? Or at least call her? You should at least call her. You don’t call her enough. The Hillsboro Symphony Orchestra performs tonight a 7:30 at Trinity Lutheran Church. It’s a cowboy-themed night, featuring “William Tell Overture” by Giacomo Rossini and “Magnificent Seven” by Elmer Bernstein. If that’s not your style, there’s also the Open Mic Fridays at Influence Music Hall tonight at 7pm. All ages are welcome until 9, and all genres of music are possible. Should be fun. On Saturday there’s the Proud to be HSD event in Downtown[…]

City may spend $9 million on LED streetlight conversion

Posted on by Justin Pot

Hillsboro may spend $9 million upgrading city streetlights to LEDs, a move officials say will save over $500,000 a year in energy and maintenance costs while cutting lighting energy usage by 70 per cent. The LED installation will be accompanied by a networked node on every utility pole, capable of alerting city employees when a light needs maintenance and which parts are needed. “We wouldn’t have to wait for a citizen to notify us,” city project manager Tegan Enloe said during a May 2 City Council work session. Currently lights are only fixed when someone calls to report it’s broken. The vast majority of Hillsboro’s 7,300 street lights are maintained by Portland General Electric (PGE), who sometimes take a while[…]

What’s Happening in Hillsboro This Week? May 8 through 12 events

Posted on by Justin Pot

The weekend is over, but it seems like the good weather is going to hold…at least, until Wednesday night. Here are some things to do this week, rain or shine. On Wednesday there’s the South Hillsboro Parks Master Plan Open House, which will outline the plans for parks in the massive upcoming development south of TV Highway. If you live nearby this is your chance to find out what those parks will look like, and to offer input. The meeting starts at 6pm in Rosedale Elementary. If you’d rather actually visit a park, check out the Sunset Sit, Moonrise Smile at Rood Bridge Park, thirty minutes before sunset. You can watch the sunset, and learn from a Parks and Rec[…]

What’s Up in Hillsboro This Weekend? May 6 and 7 Events

Posted on by Justin Pot

The Farmers Market is back, if you hadn’t noticed! Head downtown on Saturday, between 8:30am and 1:30pm. If that’s not your style, check out Orenco Station Sunday, between 10:00am and 2:00pm. After that, stop by at the Friends of the Library Book Sale at the Brookwood Library, between 10am and 6pm Saturday and Sunday. This massive fundraiser helps keep the library running. Stop by the library to browse and buy the 60,000 items on sale. There are books, of course, but also CDs, records, and DVDs. Read more at the friends of the library website, or check our listing for more information. You can watch The Secret Garden at HART Theater on Saturday or Sunday night. It’s presented by Stages[…]

Hillsboro re-designates Enterprise Zone, despite minimum wage percentage decrease

Posted on by Justin Pot

Hillsboro City Council passed a resolution re-designating the Hillsboro Enterprise Zone this week, but not without some dissent. Councilor Kyle Allen proposed that council delay voting on the zone for two weeks, due to concerns about the minimum wage provisions in the new proposal. “We give up property taxes for a number of benefits, one of which is employers pay 150 per cent of minimum wage to their employees,” said Allen, noting that the proposed deal for the next ten years brings this down to 105 per cent. While noting that the reason for the drop reflects a desire to attract smaller businesses to the District, Allen stated the policy should be reviewed, possibly having different sets of rules for[…]

We need you: how to volunteer for Hillsboro Signal

Posted on by Justin Pot

Hillsboro Signal is a volunteer digital media organization exclusively dedicated to the city of Hillsboro, Oregon. Currently we offer coverage of the Hillsboro City Council and the Hillsboro School Board, in realtime on Twitter and with more depth on our website. We also offer a community calendar outlining what’s going on in the city on any given day. All of this happens without advertising, subscriptions, or revenue of any kind. But we want to do more, and we need you to do it. We’re looking for volunteers to help build a media brand in this city, and hopefully also build a community of journalists and activists dedicated to making Hillsboro a better place. If you think you can help, please[…]

Black Tri-Met riders face stiffer penalties for similar incidents, and other headlines

Posted on by Justin Pot

Oregon is rolling out a new earthquake detection system, OPB’s Kristian Foden-Vencil reports. If the big one hits, this might give us a couple minutes heads up, which could prove vital. Portland Art Museum is showing of Hillsboro-based Lakita’s artwork later this year, with pieces from Oscar-nominated films like Coraline and Kubo and the Two Strings. Claymation fans should keep that in mind for October until May of 2017, according to Mike Rogoway of Oregon Live. Black Tri-Met riders face penalties six times higher than other riders for similar offenses, Lee van der Voo reports, digging into an in-depth analysis of incidents for Investigate West. Did you know Hillsboro has a symphony? They’re playing a bunch of Western-inspired pieces on[…]

Family leave, Intel’s MobilEye purchase, and other headlines

Posted on by Justin Pot

Oregon lawmakers are considering a family leave bill, which could require companies to contribute to a fund offering up to 12 weeks off a year for unplanned family leave, Chris Lehman of OPB reports. Over at Stratechery, Ben Thompson has an interesting take on Intel’s acquisition of MobilEye, and what it could mean for Hillsboro’s biggest employer. Basically, companies like Intel have a chance to make a lot of money on self-driving cars if they position themselves well. School districts all over the state are going to have to make up for a budget shortfall, OPB’s Rob Manning reports. Hillsboro shortfall will be $9 million, and the school board is considering bigger class sizes and a shorter school year. It’s[…]