Letters of Intent deadline for neighborhood cleanup matching grants program approaches

Is your neighborhood planning a spring cleanup event? Let your local government know – and let Metro help cover the cost.

Other legislation supported by Metro includes bills that allow for background checks of zoo employees and a memorial for the late Steve Apotheker.

Bright orange tags that declare “This item has been illegally dumped,” are appearing on discarded sofas, mattresses and other bulky items left on street corners as part of a new effort to stop illegal dumping, clean up neighborhoods and reduce costs to Metro’s solid waste rate payers.

Imagine sorting through bits and pieces of your daily life, things you’ve tossed away, from that wild fashion accessory that never quite worked, to a well-loved baking pan used to make your family memorable meals and festive feasts.

Contemplating that tangled mess of unpredictable odds and ends and guiding them to become objects suitable to be contemplated as fine art may seem unimaginable or downright ludicrous. For Jen Fuller, one of five local artists given seven months of scavenging privileges and access to the region’s discards dropped off at Metro Central Transfer Station in Northwest Portland, "what began as an exploration of materials has morphed into an overwhelming and emotional experience."