Janken, An Upscale Pan-Asian Restaurant, Opens in the Former Bluehour Space

Editor’s Note: Portland Monthly’s “Property Watch” column takes a weekly look at an interesting home in Portland’s real estate market (with periodic ventures to the burbs and points beyond, for good measure). This week: a bungalow in Northeast that just a few years older than the nearby Hollywood Theatre. Got a home you think would work for this column? Get in touch at [email protected].

The James Beard Foundation announced its 2023 Restaurant and Chef Award semifinalists on January 25. As you’d expect, there are plenty of Portland and greater Oregon restaurants and chefs in the mix, and on March 29 we’ll find out the winners. Here are the local chefs and restaurants in the running to win.

The annual Portland Winter Light Festival returns with its characteristic charm this February. Since 2021—when it shifted to a decentralized format during the pandemic—the festival has transformed neighborhoods, storefronts, and public spaces across the city, serving as a source of joy during the darkest time of the year.

When the coronavirus pandemic hit Oregon, those who could work from home did. Nearly three years later, many still are. Office vacancy rates in downtown Portland were sitting around 26 percent in late 2022. While there are some efforts to reinstate on-site work to more closely resemble prepandemic paradigms, a lot of office workers say they prefer the flexibility that comes with hybrid or remote work.

Literary Arts announced the finalists for the 2023 Oregon Book Awards the morning of Tuesday, January 24. A panel of non-Oregon judges selected 34 titles from across the state, highlighted in categories of fiction, poetry, nonfiction, creative nonfiction, children’s literature, YA, and drama. Additionally, this year’s awards include two for literary legacies, honoring the Pulitzer Prize–nominated poet Gary Miranda and the celebrated children’s author Dawn Prochovnic.