Target coming to downtown Portland

Retail giant looks to fill gap in city’s public commerce

Target held a press conference at Jake’s Grill in mid-February to officially announce its project to bring a Target location into the heart of downtown Portland. The Minneapolis chain has already begun construction on multiple floors in the century-old Galleria building on Southwest 11th Avenue and Southwest Morrison Street.

Student Legal Services wins outstanding office award

Array of free legal services offered right on campus

In late January, Portland State’s Student Legal Services won the Most Outstanding Student Legal Services Office Award for 2011. Tucked away on the third mezzanine level of the Smith Memorial Student Union, far from high-traffic footways and lecture halls, the small legal office goes unnoticed by many students. Moreover, many students may not even be aware of the diverse legal services offered to students, or that those services are paid for as part of the student fee.

Mayoral race gains momentum

A who’s who of the candidates vying for City Hall

On May 15, Portland will vote to determine who will replace Sam Adams as mayor. Adams, who assumed office in January of 2009, made the surprising announcement in July 2011 that he would not be seeking re-election. Speculation has been rife ever since as to who will succeed him at the end of his term.

PSU and PCC change co-enrollment agreement


Partnership redefined to allow increased use of PSU resources

On Jan. 18, Portland State President Wim Wiewel and Portland Community College President Preston Pulliams met to sign an agreement that will alter the nature of the schools’ co-enrollment program. The changes will allow students concurrently enrolled at both PSU and PCC improved access to Portland State housing, among other benefits.

Umpqua latest to face class-action lawsuit

Bank is accused of charging unjust overdraft fees

Earlier this month, West Coast-based Umpqua Bank became the latest banking company to come under fire for purportedly unfair overdraft policies. Amber Hawthorne, a former member of one of Umpqua’s California branches, filed a class-action lawsuit in response to what she perceived to be an unjust attempt to overcharge Umpqua customers for over-withdrawing from their debit accounts, also known as overdrafting.

Chinese New Year comes to Portland


Taiwanese Student Association organizes downtown bash

Tomorrow at 7 p.m., Portland State’s Taiwanese Student Association is throwing a celebration at the downtown Hilton Hotel to ring in the Year of the Dragon. The Chinese New Year is considered by many to be the apex of traditional Chinese holiday festivals, both in matters of importance and excitement. This student-led event will try to live up to that reputation.

Institute for Sustainable Solutions grants awards to student sustainability projects

Deadline for applications is Jan. 20

The Institute for Sustainable Solution encourages sustainable research and development at Portland State University through its 2012 Solutions Generator student grant program.

The program, which began in 2010 and is now in its third year, challenges groups of Portland State students to design and carry out proposals that would make the campus and nearby areas more sustainable—anything from organizing an event to raise awareness about sustainability to creating a green space on campus to conducting an audit to find areas of ecological waste and suggest potential improvements.

Trans-pacific voyagers


A Portland State student’s 3-month journey across the ocean



At well over six feet tall, Simon Ngawhika (Na-fee-ka) makes an impression on the audience gathered before him as he slowly approaches the podium—an impression underscored by his intonation of a song sung in his traditional Maori tongue.

A 27-year-old Master’s of Business Administration student at Portland State, Ngawhika agreed to speak last Thursday during the Native American Student Community Center’s “Reclaiming our Waterways as Highways” event, intended to celebrate and draw attention to the vibrant modern canoe culture that thrives across the length and breadth of the Pacific Ocean. It’s a topic that Ngawhika is well acquainted with; just this last summer he undertook a voyage that brought him all the way from New Zealand to the southern coast of California.