Potting Shed Creations

Wine Bottles

If you live in an apartment or otherwise lack a patch in which to plant a garden, Potting Shed Creations' Grow Bottles might be your answer to indoor herbs. The company is repurposing wine bottles and calling on the art of hydroponics to allow those with limited outdoor resources partake in the gardening fun. Grow Bottles come in five varieties: basil, chives, mint, oregano, and parsley. Each bottle contains everything you need for growing, from seeds to clay pebbles to instructions on how to setup your hydroponic garden. Each recycled wine bottle arrives in two pieces (a single bottle sliced horizontally). The top half sits upside-down in the bottom half. The spout of the bottle creates a tube through which the water reaches the seeds (and later the roots) via a piece of cloth running from the bottom of the spout up and into the cupped opening, which is filled with clay pebbles that give the roots something to latch onto. Read more @ Dwell

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RMLS Market Action Report – April 2011

While sales activity was down in April 2011 compared with April 2010, average and median sale prices increased compared with the previous month of March 2011. Additionally, inventory was 0.7 months lower than April 2010, reaching the lowest inventory level for the area since October 2009. Closed sales were down 17% in April 2011 compared to April 2010. Pending sales were down 33%, and new listings dropped 34.2%. See residential highlights table below. Comparing March 2011 with April 2011, closed sales dipped from 1,615 to 1,611 (-0.3%). Pending sales also decreased from 2,014 to 2,005 (-0.5%). New listings went up from 3,056 to 3,099 (1.4%). At the month’s rate of sales, the 10,593 active residential listings would last about 6.6 months. Sale Prices Average sale price for April 2011 declined 5.2% compared to April 2010. Median sale price also fell 8.4%. See residential highlights table below. Month to month, comparing March 2011 to April 2011, sale prices increased. Average sale price went up from $261,100 to $267,300 (2.4%) while median sale price also increased from $215,000 to $219,900 (2.3%). Year-to-Date Comparing January-April 2010 with the same period in 2011, sales activity was down. Closed sales decreased by 6.6% (5,900 v. 5,513). Pending sales went down by 19.7% (8,476 v. 6,806), and new listings fell 30.9% (17,918 v. 12,378). Additionally, the average sale price fell 8.1% ($279,700 v. $257,000), and the median sale price dropped 10.4% ($239,900 v. $215,000).

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Bill Proposes Mortgage Shake-Up

Bill Proposes to replace mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

By NICK TIMIRAOS

Two lawmakers, a California Republican and a Michigan Democrat, are set to unveil legislation Thursday to replace mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac with at least five private companies that would issue mortgage-backed securities with explicit federal guarantees.

The measure is a compromise between conservative Republicans who have advanced bills to build a mostly private mortgage-finance system and Democrats, who say the government shouldn't abandon the mortgage market.

Fannie and Freddie were taken over by the government in 2008 as rising mortgage losses wiped out thin capital cushions. Taxpayers are on the hook for $138 billion to keep the companies afloat and stabilize mortgage markets.

Amid an uneven housing recovery, lawmakers have largely shied away from fashioning a successor to the failed mortgage giants.

Analysts say that the compromise proposed by Rep. John Campbell (R., Calif.) and Rep. Gary Peters (D., Mich.) may be the only plan likely to attract sufficient support from both parties on a politically explosive subject, particularly at a time when gridlock looms over issues such as how to curb federal spending.  Read more

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How BIG is Your Ecological Footprint?

Take the Quiz

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Recycling Starts in Downtown Portland

Public Recycling Arrives on the Portland Transit Mall from Mayor Sam Adams on Vimeo.

Portland, Ore. — Today, the City of Portland unveiled Public Place Recycling, making recycling a simple and easy option for downtown commuters, residents, and visitors. In this first phase of a multi-year project, the City is installing 175 recycling containers on the downtown Portland transit mall. One recycling container will be installed next to each garbage can along Fifth and Sixth Avenues, between Northwest Irving and Southwest Jackson Streets. As part of the Portland Recycles! Plan adopted by City Council in 2007, Public Place Recycling aims to reduce the amount of waste in public garbage cans, while bringing sustainable options to public spaces.

“Public Place Recycling is an important step toward our goal of increasing our city-wide recycling rate to 75 percent by 2015,” said Mayor Sam Adams. “Installing these new recycling containers next to garbage cans along the transit mall will make it easy and convenient to recycle downtown.” Read more

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Rainier Pacific – Portland Builder

Ankeny Lofts under construction with Colab Architecture. Project includes 2 commercial live-work duplexes, courtyard, ecoroof application, totaling just under 4000 Sq/Ft.  Skinny 24×100 size lot.

Twigg House: New 3,500 sq/ft house situated on a forested lot in the SW Hills between the Hoyt Arboretum and the Japanese Garden. Architecture by Darin Dougherty (SEED Architecture).

Rainer Pacific

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Companies That Care 2011 Symposium

The Nines Hotel 525 SW Morrison Portland, OR 97204
9am – $50 – luncheon, $125 1/2 day breakout session, $325 full conference

Meet the Leaders Who Prioritize 360° Engagement 365 Days a Year With Keynote Speaker and New York Times Bestselling Author Joseph Grenny

This year, Center for Companies That Care takes you behind the scenes of organizations with 360° engagement practices. Hear sustainable strategies from leaders who've discovered that engagement has done more than just strengthen their connection to employees, customers, and community – it creates unique pathways to better business outcomes. Event link

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Mortgage rates hit 5-month low

Mortgage rates fell to a five-month low this past week as reports of an uptick in unemployment filings and higher gasoline prices cut into consumer spending, scaring investors into safe government bonds, Bankrate said Thursday.

Freddie Mac also released its mortgage rate findings, which show the 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage dropping to 4.71% and the 15-year FRM hitting a new yearly low of 3.89%. The 30-year FRM remains below the 5% level recorded this time last year.

Meanwhile, the 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage averaged 3.47% this past week, down from 3.51% last week and lower than the 3.97% rate recorded a year earlier. The one-year Treasury-indexed ARM also averaged 3.14%, a slight decline from 3.15% last week and 4.07% from last year.

Bankrate said Thursday "when investors get nervous they rotate into safe haven government bonds, to which mortgage rates are closely related. The downswing in government bond yields had a corresponding benefit on mortgage rates."  Read more

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Robert Rummer Home Tour

Saturday, May 21, 10am – 4pm

Take advantage of a unique opportunity to visit eight homes built by Robert Rummer. These iconic “atomic age” houses are highly sought after and those on tour include some in virtually original condition and others that have been updated. An illustrated lecture by Jack Bookwalter will present an overview of mid-century residential architecture as context for the work of Rummer and Eichler. Mr. Rummer himself will be in attendance to answer questions.

* Tour 8 Rummer homes and the Oak Hills neighborhood;
* Hear an illustrated lecture by Jack Bookwalter on MCM architecture featuring Mr. Rummer to answer questions;.
* View the original church and community center;
* Non-member price includes one-year complimentary membership in the HPLO!

Event link

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The countdown begins…!

Beaverton Farmers Market

12455 Southwest 5th Street
Beaverton, OR 97005
(503) 643-5345

Full Vendor List

 

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