Kathryn Harrington

Every project must be accessible to the public, and a Metro grant can foot the bill for a maximum of one-third of the total cost. Recipients typically buy land, restore it, improve neighborhood livability or fuel an urban transformation – and this year’s six projects represent all those categories. Recipients will expand Lily K. Johnson Park in Beaverton and the Baltimore Woods corridor in North Portland, develop Cully Park in Northeast Portland and Nadaka Nature Park in Gresham, replace a stone bridge at Tryon Creek State Park and restore a creek in central Beaverton.

Riley, a giraffe from Utah’s Hogle Zoo, comes to Portland for lengthy stay

The Oregon Zoo welcomed a new, and very tall, addition to its Africa Savanna habitat last week: Riley, a 17-foot-tall giraffe from Utah’s Hogle Zoo. Visitors can see Riley in the zoo’s Africa Savanna habitat starting today.

Are your kids and pets rolling around in the grass? Best to tend the lawn without toxic chemicals. Metro gardening expert Carl Grimm appeared on KATU’s AM Northwest today to show you how. Check out the video!

Autos are the single largest source of air pollution in the United States, and short car trips are up to three times more polluting per mile than long trips. If you trade short car trips for biking, you can reduce your carbon footprint by 3.6 pounds of pollutants per mile. More bicycles and fewer cars means cleaner air in your community.

Make like a snake and slither out into that warm spring s-s-s-sun. There are several cheap or free things-s-s to do amid the metro area's great outdoors. Most of these events are low-cost or free, and registration can be completed online. Follow the links below for more information.