Apartment Choice

Leesha Posey remembers cutting across a vacant lot in North Portland on her way to Harriet Tubman Middle School . "It's been empty since I was a little girl," says Posey, 41. That was three decades ago. But the lot still sits empty—a rarity in a city where vacant land is coveted, especially in the red- hot North Williams Avenue corridor . Its emptiness is a reminder of what the city and its urban renewal agency , Prosper Portland , took from the black community . In the 1960s, the city-owned agency, then known as the Portland Development Commission , condemned vast tracts of inner North and Northeast Portland . The takings—including the still-vacant block at the northwest corner of North Williams Avenue and Russell Street—allowed urban renewal, including construction of parts of Interstate 5, the Oregon Convention Center and Legacy Emanuel Hospital . But in the process, the agency gutted neighborhoods and dispersed the black community . In a belated ef...

Capitol Hill is best known for the eponymous domed building that symbolizes American democracy . But the large neighborhood, which spans the quadrants of Northeast and Southeast, has a lot more going on than legislative dealings. Here are 10 facts about the neighborhood that don’t show up on your average double- decker bus tour . 1. It Was Not Always Called Capitol Hill According to Architect of the Capitol, an organization that maintains the grounds and many of the neighborhood's government buildings , when city architect Pierre Charles L'Enfant found the area in the early 1790s, it was known as Jenkins' Hill. That didn't last much longer. L'Enfant proclaimed it "a pedestal waiting for a monument," and construction atop Capitol Hill began in 1793. The US Capitol Building is located at East Capitol St NE and First St SE. 2. Christ Church (Not the Cathedral) Is the City’s Oldest Episcopal Church The National Cathedral is one of the most famous churches...

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) -- Catalan authorities say a woman injured in an attack in a popular seaside town south of Barcelona has died. The woman, who wasn't named, is the first fatal victim of the attack late Thursday in Cambrils, about 130 kilometers (80 miles) south of Barcelona. It came hours after a van slammed into pedestrians on a busy Barcelona promenade , killing 13 people and injuring over 100 others. Police on Friday shot and killed five people wearing fake bomb belts who staged a car attack in a seaside resort in Spain's Catalonia region hours after a van plowed into pedestrians on a busy Barcelona promenade , killing at least 13 people and injuring over 100 others. Authorities said the back-to- back vehicle attacks — as well as an explosion earlier this week elsewhere in Catalonia— were connected and the work of a large terrorist group . Three people were arrested, but the driver of the van used in the Barcelona attack remained at large and the manhunt intensi...

Thinking of moving to Grand Rapids? Here’s what you need to know. Grand Rapids has hit its stride in the last few years, and the national media has caught on. In 2014 it was named #1 U.S. Travel Destination by Lonely Planet, a Top 14 Destination for Your 2014 Travel Bucket List by Huffington Post, and Best Beer Town by USA Today and 10Best. The low cost of living, good public transportation and community atmosphere round out the lengthy list of attractive qualities for residents.   Who’s There? The more than 1 million inhabitants of the metropolitan area work in a variety of industries, however the area’s heyday in logging and furniture production can still be felt. After WWII, the office furniture sector blossomed and has remained an important part of the economy. The area is also a major producer of automotive parts, industrial machinery, plastics and chemicals. There are two major medical centers in the region. Spectrum Health System has 23,000 employees and 1,300 physicians...

On Aug. 9, 2007, Lansing police discovered the beaten body of 46-year-old Debra Renfors in her apartment in the 1000 block of North Washington Street . Renfors was the third woman to be bludgeoned to death in the city in two weeks, and a grim reality was beginning to set in. Det. Sgt. Joey Dionise confronted Captain Ray Hall , giving voice to a fear that had been bubbling for days. “Captain,” Dionise said, ”We have a serial killer. Years later, Hall still remembers the “sinking feeling” that accompanied that moment. Ten years ago this month, Lansing was in the grip of a killer who preyed on single women, using whatever was convenient to murder them, and, in some instances, sexually assaulting them. Before police caught him, he had killed five women in just over four weeks. A sixth woman would survive. Matthew Emmanuel Macon , then 27, was eventually convicted of two of the murders, and the assault of the surviving victim. When detectives got Macon in an interview room, it would take ...

There were many aspects of the four- site Capitol Hill transit - oriented development the East Design Review Board liked, but confidence was not high enough to clear it for permitting on Wednesday. Situated above the light rail station , the transit- oriented development will be Capitol Hill’s largest construction project to date, creating more than 400 apartment units in a superblock that borders Broadway , 10th Avenue, East John Street and East Denny Way. Each of the four buildings will be seven stories. Three will provide around 20 percent of their apartment units at affordable levels, while the Capitol Hill Housing B-North site will include 110 units at affordability rates of 30-60 percent of the area median income . The East Design Review Board ’s last assessment of the development, which is being led by Portland- based Gerding Edlen Development (GED), was in December. Board members agreed developers responded to the guidance provided at that time, but didn’t feel every r...