This weekend past, the Shamrock Market burned down in North Portland. It’s been a landmark for so many years, I can’t remember when it wasn’t there. The store and products within the store were worth about 3/4 of a million dollars. It’s a total loss. Hines, a city in lovely Harney County, is one fina

Tomorrow through this weekend are Free OMSI days: Fred Meyers is paying your general admission! The new Einstein exhibit is open too! Hours are 9 to 9. Not included are the extras; the submarine, the planetarium and OMNIMax. But get your science on at OMSI. Source: the Portlander

Good news, Campers! My EZ Deal’s Portland offerings are expanding! Starting tomorrow, July 9, you’ll be able to log in to their site to get special deals on all sorts of great things- look at this preliminary list: $15 for $30 worth of purchases at Bliss Cupcake, $15 for $30 worth of food and drinks at Five [

Foul smells from your breakfast cereal may not be your imagination. A slight chance of nausea and diarrhea from the liners but very low chance of some more serious effects have prompted Kellogg to pull boxes of Apple Jacks, Corn Pops, Froot Loops and Honey Smacks. Check your boxes for the letters KN following the [...]

July 16,17,18 is the weekend for Yoshida’s Sand in the City. 450 Tons of Sand, in your living room. Come checkout the masterful sculptures, the live entertainment and the great food. Last year’s event had 15 teams and 65000 visitors- that’s a lot of flipflops! More info

Here’s some free events to do this weekend. Enjoy the weather! Sign up for free swimming lessons! You can join the magical-ventriloquist Steve Taylor and his puppets for a fun summer show featuring an “aquatic” adventure — at Albina Library, 11:00 Saturday! Sellwood-Moreland Library is having a clow

Now that school’s out in the Portland area, a lot of young people are either taking care of themselves or of their siblings. Hopefully, they’ve gone through the Red Cross babysitter course, but if they’re in a pinch, here’s a source for you. Parenting.com’s First Aid. But seriously, don’

Flatfoots beware! There’s a new skate park opening in Gresham at 219 S Main Street on Monday. There will be a celebration from 4:30 to 6:30. Monday happens to be National Skateboarding Day (it’s not a crime!) The event will feature skating demos by Bacon Skateboards and Exit RealWorld, music, food, free skate, a

Parenting.com has released their list of the ten Best Cities for Families 2010 and we’re on it! Congratulations! (We’re number six! We’re number six!) Looks like it was a combination of the cool museums like OMSI and the Children’s Museum, and our Farmers Markets and even the fountains that brought u

Portland Parks & Recreation is offering free swim lessons to the public this summer! Anyone three years old or older qualifies for five free lessons for beginners from June 21 to 25 at any of the thirteen neighborhood PP&R pools. Last summer more than 3,100 Portlanders were taught how to swim during PP&R’s

Just for the summer, I’m going to encourage us to read together — I’ll be doing a “reading group.” On that page is a link to where “we” (I mean I) talked about The Golden Compass. Do you have any suggestions of books we can read together? Aim at something interesting for a [...]

The advisory board suggests Portland close another neighborhood school. Hello, Portland! Are you even paying attention here? How many schools do we need to close before our kids will learn nothing from this? Find some more money and open more schools! Or are you trying to drive down class sizes by making families move to o

I’ve caught wind of a great new coupon site for us Portland denizens. I can’t tell you more now, but I’ll be leaking information out by the weekend!

Over the past week, my worry for Kyron Horman‘s well-being has gradually changed to a deep sadness for him and for his family. Kyron’s a 7 year old and should just be graduating second grade this week. He was on his way back from the science fair with his step mother, and she [...]

A recent lead study has found such an astonishing amount of lead in one serving of fruit and drinks packaged for our kids. Everything from TreeTop to Trader Joes and even Beech Nut (who makes baby food). 125 out of 146 tested products had lead. The EPA says that especially for babies and young [...]

Community & Parents for Public Schools of Portland is holding a community meeting for parents of Portland students in 6th, 7th, and 8th grade on Monday, May 24th at 6:30pm. The meeting is to give parents a chance to ask questions and give feedback to the district and school board about High School. Whether they’ve

Susan Neilsen discussed an interesting idea in her column today. When talking about Jefferson and the possibilities of closing it or changing it, it’s crucial to remember that it’s historically a racially charged discussion. This school has a history. Putting “closing Jeff” on the table draws the ey

There’s a lot of changes in for Portland Public Schools, in particular at the High School level.The most obvious change would be for Benson to stop being a regular “school,” and instead to be a career center for juniors and seniors. Superintendent Smith has recommended some other changes too, and you reall

A quick post from Seth Godin prompts a quick post from me. Sometimes it’s easy to look at your kid at 13, 15, 18 or even 30 and think “Ok, I’m done now.” You’re not; there’s still so much more potential in that kid waiting to be explored. Help your kid learn to make a difference [...]

My mother gave me a bite size tester of “Lunchbox Love” from sayplease.com. My elder daughter doesn’t take a lunch bag but she has to take her clarinet to school each day. I put a few in there for her. It amused me; I always wanted to be the kind of father who left little notes [...]

Here’s something fun to do this weekend; take binoculars, cameras and $10 per car (cash only), head up to Sauvie’s Island, and go to the Audobon Society’s Raptor Road Trip. It’s from 9AM to 2PM, but they say to plan 3 hours to do all four locations (11 to 2 would work for you later [...]

Interested in a smaller preschool that shows dedication to the 2-5 year olds? Chrysalis Home School, a small, home-based preschool is having an informational meeting for parents who may be interested in enrolling their child for fall 2010. More Details

Well, here’s a fine how-do-you-do. Check out the Toys R Us catalog offering here… You can purchase a special pink microscope or telescope for your frill loving daughter. What’s that you say? A pink microscope’s not too bad? Notice that each pink item is lower powered than the more sedate black and gr

Calling all Teen Authors! Bored this winter break? Grades 6-12 Multnomah County Library is holding a Teen Writing Contest. Up to 1500 words, prose only. The contest will run until January 10, or until 200 entries are received. More Information! You could win a Powell’s Gift Card!!

With children, the holidays are magical. They remind us adults of what it means to believe in something extraordinary, and they help us to find the beauty in simple tasks. Decorating the tree, lighting a candle, and baking cookies become sacred events, because the presence and wonder of a child transforms an otherwise munda

Sometimes I have to wonder, what twelve year olds do authors know. Some authors really nail the personality of the pre-teen, while others seem to think there’s not a big difference between nine and twelve. On one hand, we have Derek Landy. Skullduggery Pleasant is a fun story, a little more mystery-action than fantas

Here’s a picture of the Santa my daughter went to see at Clackamas Town Center. He was great. No “Bad Santa” here. The other malls all have their own “Helper Santas” but we happened to be in the right place at the right time to catch this one. Santa at Pioneer Place today was [...]

Wednesday is Veteran’s Day, and is also a free admissions day to the Japanese Gardens. Even when it rains, the Japanese Gardens are a beautiful place to meander. Stroll through the dripping greens and enjoy the serene surroundings! And “ever so much more so …” at the Pavilion, in the gardens is curre

Congratulations to the people who won- Denise and Kristi! Thanks so much for the entries. If you didn’t win, I sympathize. The final two pictures were indeed, from Powell’s Books and from the Ron Tonkin mural. Congrats!

Our Second Chance hasn’t garnered any other entries. Please, please place some guesses on these photos. Here’s our last Pixie Dust photo for the family four-pack of tickets to the Disney On Ice presents Worlds of Fantasy show of your choice! Here’s the third and final picture. Email Me with your guess! I&