Albany city officials want more building and business downtown. To that end they’re launching a review of the city development code, hoping to get rid of regulations that needlessly stymie developers and builders.
In the wilds of northwest Benton County, there is Fort Hoskins. What’s fun about visiting this county park is to put yourself in the boots of the few dozen U.S. Army men serving there a century and a half ago and think about what their life must have been like.
Hoping to prevent longer waiting times, the operator of Oregon’s “Bottle Drop” redemption centers says it’s preparing for a higher volume of empties expected once the deposit on beverage containers doubles to 10 cents next April. But now I’m wondering if there is solid enough justification for the increase itself.
A local gas tax for Albany? You won’t have to worry about this for a while. The city council is making no move to put it on the ballot in the Nov. 8 general election. And whether it will try in 2017 is anybody’s guess.
Albany is no closer to knowing where marijuana sellers and processors will be allowed if voters in November overturn the existing ban on commerce in recreational pot. The city council argued about it for a while Wednesday night but didn’t get anywhere.
Albany this year has managed to light up the riverside Dave Clark Path and nearby Monteith Riverpark, so maybe now something could be done to pierce the darkness that descends on the parking lot of the Albany Post Office after the sun goes down.
Riverside bike route: Not so fast
ODOT completed a million-dollar separated bike path along Highway 34 last fall. It’s supposed to be part of a safer bike route between Albany and Corvallis. Linn County had hoped to start this year on its part of the deal — wider shoulders along part of six-mile-long Riverside Drive — but there’s been a delay.
Tags: cycling in the mid-valley, Higway 34 bike path, Linn county roads, ODOT, Riverside Drive