Trailbuilding at Punchbowl Falls

A New Trail to the Confluence of the East & West Forks of the Hood River  . . . . Amazing things happening at Punchbowl Falls County Park. Our pals at Trailkeepers of Oregon have been hard at work for 2 years developing an awesome trail system. Now they've brought a crew of American Hiking Society volunteers from around the country to Hood River this week to complete a new trail to the confluence of the East and West Forks of the Hood River. Apparently some people like to travel to pretty places to spend 7 days swinging pick axes and shoveling dirt! It's steep and technical with lots of rock work to be done. We are sooo grateful! TKO Needs Your Help These trails literally would not be built without Trailkeepers of Oregon. Now they need our help to defray the $2,000 costs of hosting these hardworking volunteers. A couple of HRVRC members have pledged $250…

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County To Vote on Short Term Rental Rules

Hood River Board to Decide Short Term Rental Rules Hearing August 20th, 6 pm, County Administration Building, 601 State St We have started a petition urging the Commission to adopt a real residency requirement for STRs. You can sign the petition here and also check out the smart and heartfelt comments that others have left. The Board of Commissioners is expected to make their final decision on changes to Hood River's zoning code for Short Term Rentals (also known as STRs or vacation rentals) on August 20th. This will be their third hearing on the issue. Thanks to all of you who turned out on June 18th for the second hearing on changes to their rules for Short Term Rentals. Just like the April hearing, the room was packed and every single speaker testified in favor of a real residency requirement in order to operate an STR in the County. The Hood…

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Walk the Heights June 6th

What do YOU think will make the Heights safer and more enjoyable for walking and biking? Let’s take a walk. Join urban planning expert Dan Burden and community members on a walking tour to discover what’s great and what’s challenging about walking, biking and driving in the Heights. Share your ideas about how to make the Heights a better place to shop, live and work. Wednesday June 6th, 5:00 - 8:30 pm Hood River Armory, 1590 12th Street, Hood River  (access is from Belmont, driveway is just west of Monagon's Pancake House) Dan will lead us on a walking audit of the Heights and teach us about best practices for a built environment that enhances community. Then we’ll break into groups over dinner to identify opportunities to transform our local streets so they support businesses and people by foot, bike, transit or vehicle.  What’s a walk audit? Check out this little 2-minute video…

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June 3rd Annual Gathering

Sunday June 3, 2018 4:00-6:00 pm Columbia Center for the Arts, 211 Cascade Ave., Hood River  4:00–4:30 Informal Social with Appetizers & No Host Bar 4:30–5:30 Presentations & Speakers State of the Hood: Our Year in Review, Heather Staten, Executive Director, HRVRC Making a Welcoming & Livable Community, Mary Kyle McCurdy, Deputy Director, 1000 Friends of Oregon Backdoor Revolution: How and Why to Build an Accessory Dwelling Unit, Kol Peterson 5:30-6:00 Hood River Pear Cake from Polly’s Cakes Drawing for our Electric Bike Raffle! Questions? Contact Polly Wood polly@hrvrc.org or (541) 490-5443. More info at hrvrc.org. Guest Speakers: Mary Kyle McCurdy   Mary Kyle McCurdy earned her BA in Human Biology from Stanford University and her law degree from the University of California at Davis. She served as a law clerk to Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Edward Leavy. After two years in private practice, she joined 1000 Friends of Oregon…

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Ebike Raffle Drawing June 3

Who needs a car? Electric bikes are a game-changer in Hood River. With a Scott E-Sub Active bike you'll be laughing up 12th Street and doing it in style.  HRVRC is raffling a $2,199 Scott E-Sub Active electric bike. This bike is so cute and so loaded, we all want one! Hills? What hills? Exhilarate with that “hand of God” feeling as you are gently pushed up steep hills with very little effort even when loaded down with the week’s grocery shopping. An ideal commuter bike, the E-Sub Activ has unisex geometry with a wide step through, it's powered by a  Bosch 400 watts battery, and has 50c tires for miles of worry free reliability. Here is more on the specs. Be sure to check out the cute review video starring Hood River's own Jodie Gates and Matt Morrow. Thanks to our friends at Oregon E-Bikes  for making this raffle possible.  Raffle tickets are $20 each…

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Candidate Forum April 24

Doors at 6:30, Forum at 7:00 Columbia Center for the Arts, 215 Cascade Avenue, Hood River Our state and county face some tough problems but we also have great opportunities. Find out how candidates for the Oregon legislature and county commission plan to tackle them. Come enjoy a glass of wine with your neighbors, meet the candidates and ask questions about the issues that matter most to you. Hood River Valley Residents Committee is happy to sponsor this event along with our partners Hood River League of Women Voters and Livable Hood River.     Candidate statements are printed as submitted and not corrected for punctuation, grammar, syntax errors or inaccurate information. Candidates are listed in alphabetical order according to the position for which they are running. Candidate photos were submitted in various formats and every attempt was made to post these here in an equitable manner.   Candidates for Chair…

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Mt. Hood Bill Passed Congress

Mt. Hood Land Exchange Clarification Bill Ready for President's Pen Legislation written by U.S. Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and Representatives Greg Walden, R-Ore., and Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., to protect and enhance Oregon’s land conservation and recreation priorities on Mt. Hood passed the Senate unanimously on December 21, 2017.  The House of Representatives passed the bill in February on a 415-1 vote. The bill now goes to the president to be signed into law. Wyden, Merkley, Walden and Blumenauer introduced the Mt. Hood Cooper Spur Land Exchange Clarification Act in the Senate and House earlier this year to help resolve a nearly nine-year-long dispute over proposed land development on the northeast side of Mt. Hood. Hood River Valley Residents Committee executive director Heather Staten expressed our gratitude on getting the bill passed, “We have been working on this historic solution for more than 15 years, and we…

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After the Smoke Clears Forum Nov. 30

After the Smoke Clears: A Forum on the Eagle Creek Fire and Recovery Thursday, November 30, doors at 5:45, show at 6:30 pm Bowe Theater, Hood River Valley High School The Eagle Creek fire threatened Gorge communities, disrupted businesses, filled our skies with smoke, and burned through cherished hiking trails. Many of us are still working through the accompanying anger, outrage, anxiety, and stress from the fire. Now that rains have come and largely put the fire out, we can breathe deep and look to the forest for what it can teach us about natural recovery systems. It's also a time to look ahead at ways we can increase resilience for the land, communities, and trails that make the Gorge such a special place.  We are pleased to be a host of After the Smoke Clears a forum featuring multimedia presentations on what happened in the fire and examining key challenges moving forward, featuring insights from a collection of…

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Heights Urban Renewal Project

The Heights Urban Renewal District is about to kick into gear. The City of Hood River is launching the project with two community input events and they need you. What are the projects and priorities that would most improve this upcoming area? The meetings build on each other, so plan to attend both if you are interested in improving the streetscape, livability, economy and beauty of the Heights. The Heights is a diamond in the rough. Urban Renewal is a chance to improve the streetscape, livability, economy and beauty of the Heights. If you live there, work there, own a business there or shop there, you've probably had some close calls crossing 12th or 13th. Urban Renewal funding could go towards improvements that make the Heights a safer and more pleasant place to walk and shop.    OCTOBER 19, 5:30-7 pm,  Hood River Fire House, 1785 Meyer Pkwy  An educational…

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H is for Harvest October 7th

You are invited to our 3rd Annual H is for Harvest Saturday October 7, 6-9 pm Springhouse Cellar, Hood River Join the Resident's Committee at one of Hood River’s coolest venues for a harvest inspired evening of live music, delicious food, Northwest wines, and exciting auction items that celebrate our beautiful county and its bounty--and support our 40 years of work protecting farms, forests, wild places and the livability of our community. D is for Delicious. We’ll provide light appetizers and desserts with more substantial food truck fare available from The Huck Truck. A is for the AMAZING items in our live and silent auctions.  We've got intriguing auction items lined up from an Ashland theater trip with luxury hotel stay to Mystic Mud pottery to 9 tons of gravel from Lane's Excavation. Check out a sneak peek of the auction here. B is for the BAND and this year we'll enjoy the swinging blues and bluesy jazz of local heros OBO - Ontiveros, Bonham…

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