"We consider Metro's management practices 'strong"' under our Financial Management Assessment methodology," S&P said. "An FMA of 'strong' reflects our view that practices are strong, well embedded, and likely sustainable."

The Columbia Slough Watershed Council will honor two people connected to Metro next week at its annual celebration of the wildlife-rich waterways tracing the Columbia River.

In less than three minutes on a rainy Monday in front of the Clackamas County Courthouse, Metro claimed the missing link in a stretch of bluffs it owns along the Willamette River.

The City of Portland has granted land-use approval to the Oregon Zoo for improvements to be made across the zoo site over the next decade. The decision, which took effect Jan. 28, allows work to proceed on the full complement of zoo projects approved by metro-area voters in 2008. In all, these projects will transform nearly 40 percent of the zoo site.

In the suburbs, hour-long commutes and mid-day service dropoffs make it hard to justify going somewhere on a bus. Would an increase in service help the region meet a state mandate to reduce tailpipe emissions? If so, can we afford it?

News media references for the week of Jan. 22-Jan. 28, 2013.

Portland’s ground-breaking Geezer Gallery has expanded its reach to the Portland Center for Performing Arts, where a special showing of works by elder artists opens Thursday, Feb. 7.

The Mount Scott/Scouter Mountain Trail would link the Springwater Corridor and Powell Butte in the north with Mount Talbert and the Clackamas River in the south, bringing together town centers, neighborhoods, schools and natural areas – including the 100-acre Scouter Mountain Nature Park.

The Southwest Corridor Plan Steering Committee met Monday Jan. 14 to discuss future transit connections and review approaches to building shared investment strategies that will support, strengthen and connect communities in the Southwest Corridor. 

How can Metro engage a diversity of people from throughout the region, be accountable for how public input affects council decisions, effectively evaluate outreach activities and build public trust? That's what the new Public Engagement Review Committee wants to help Metro figure out.