Hard liquor on sale at Walmart? That’s what the ad insert in the paper on Sunday said. But it isn’t so, I’m pretty sure, at Walmart stores in Oregon. For decades, Oregon has guarded its monopoly on selling spirits through state-licensed agents and stores. Some time ago, the Oregon Liquor Control Commission started a pilot […]
Albany’s new chief of police got quite a welcome on Friday. The council chamber at City Hall was filled nearly to capacity as Mario Lattanzio, 47, took the oath of office administered by City Clerk Mary Dibble. The job will pay him roughly $137,000 a year. The Lattanzios have bought a house off Crocker Lane […]
On June 7 this site reported that the Buena Vista Ferry on the Willamette River was shut down because of some impending dredging. The good news today: The ferry is back in operation, providing its valuable service to mind-valley commuters, farmers and tourists alike. If there was an announcement to that effect, I missed it. But on […]
The legal strife over an Albany rail line lasted about five years, but now the city and two railroads have put it behind them and embarked on an new era of cooperation. At least that was the hope expressed by city officials Wednesday night when the Albany City Council unanimously gave final approval to a new […]
Over the objections of 28 members, mostly Republicans, the Oregon House has passed a curious bill that aims to get every citizen in the state registered as a voter whether they want to be or not. It would work this way. The DMV has a record of every citizen with a driver’s license. Under HB 3521, if […]
Albany’s downtown urban renewal program is about to restart with a sharper focus on encouraging job creation and increasing the taxable value of the revitalization district known as CARA. For the past year, the program has been on hold while urban renewal manager Kate Porsche led the 14-member CARA advisory committee in monthly discussions of […]
Dog case: Not another Blue
The city of Albany faces a potential dog dilemma, but it’s nothing like the uproar about Blue. You may recall that Blue was facing euthanasia in 2011 after biting a toddler, while his owner and supporters fought to keep him alive. The battle ended when Blue was broken out of an Albany kennel and disappeared. […]
Tags: Albany City Council, Albany dog laws, Jim Delapoer, two-dog limit