photo by Marisa Swenson

To brighten your lovely Wednesday, here are a couple of “best of” lists that Portland made it onto:

Best Places to Live 2009 (and make a movie?)

Here is a list of 25 cities nationwide—some of them expected (Austin, Albuquerque), some of them surprising (Boise, Des Moines)—that offer moviemakers the best all-around chance of finding success with their art during these tough economic times.

Here, then, is MM’s ninth annual ranking of the country’s top movie cities:

1. Chicago, IL
2. Atlanta, GA
3. New York, NY
4. Shreveport, LA
5. Albuquerque, NM
6. Boston, MA
7. Stamford, CT
8. Memphis, TN
9. Milwaukee, WI
10. Austin, TX
11. Detriot, MI
12. Miami, FL
13. Seattle, WA
14. Portland, OR
15. Philadelphia, PA
16. Sedona, AZ
17. Salt Lake City, UT
18. Wilmington, NC
19. Boise, ID
20. Denver, CO
21. Bozeman, MT
22. Wichita, KS
23. San Diego, CA
24. Richmond, VA
25. Des Moines, IA

info courtesy of movie maker site

America’s Best Airport
#1 Salt Lake City (SLC)

Flights delayed: 14%

#2 Portland Oregon (PDX)

Flights delayed: 16%

#3 (tie) San Diego (SAN)

Flights delayed: 19%
#3 (tie) Washington D.C. (DCA)

Flights delayed: 19%

#3 (tie) Minneapolis/St. Paul (MSP)

Flights delayed: 19%

#3 (tie) Oakland (OAK)

Flights delayed: 19%
#7 (tie) Phoenix (PHX)

Flights delayed: 20%

#7 (tie) Tampa (TPA)

Flights delayed: 20%

#7 (tie) Seattle (SEA)

Flights delayed: 20%

#10 Los Angeles (LAX)

Flights delayed: 21%

So the next time you complain about your flight from PDX, remember, it is worse everywhere else except Salt Lake City.

info courtesy of MSN travel

photo by Marisa Swenson

A couple of weekends I had the opportunity to participate in a tree planting with the Friends of Trees in Montavilla.  We planted over 100 living Christmas trees along the 205 freeway and bike path.  These trees will help keep the freeway sound down for the neighbors (instant equity!) and provide some fresh oxygen.  I had a lot of fun meeting neighbors and getting really muddy.  One of the Friends of Trees employees told me that they have tree plantings going on around the city almost every weekend. If you would like to participate in one of them, here is the website.

1. Irvine, Calif.
2. Raleigh, N.C.
3. Bellevue, Wash.
4. Portland, Ore.
5. Sunnyvale, Calif.
6. Redmond, Wash.
7. Austin, Texas
8. Chandler, Ariz.
9. Rochester, N.Y.
10. Plano, Texas

To choose these 10 locations, Forbes examined the cost of the typical four-bedroom, two-bathroom, and 2,200-square-foot home. They also factored in the amount of patent and venture capital activity, average commute, and an average cost of living below $100,000.