• Last fall’s Community Apple Drive has culminated in the first cider exclusively harvested by the community, and the cider will be released on tap and in bottles beginning this week by WildCraft Cider Works. Apples, pears and plums from backyards, alleys and street sides were collected from August through November to produce 575 gallons of a 28-varietal cider. A percentage of sales will go to local nonprofit conservation groups. A celebration will be held starting at 8 pm Friday, Feb. 5, at Hi-Fi Music Hall, 44 E. 7th Ave. and will include live music by Marv Ellis and WE TRIBE, Lynx and Soul Vibrator. Find the event and more information at wildcraftciderworks.com.
• Oregon is the nation’s top moving destination, by percentage, according to national moving companies that track one-way van rentals and moving services. Atlas Van Lines says 64 percent of moves in Oregon last year were inbound. United Van Lines reports 69 percent inbound. California was the top overall destination for total number of moves, but had smaller inbound percentages. Based on Portland’s booming real estate prices and low rental vacancies, it appears the PDX metro area is getting most of the influx of new residents. Will Salem and Eugene follow?
• We hear the winter storms did some damage at Cascade Raptor Center. A 70-foot Douglas fir fell one night in December and damaged the main building and an aviary, freeing Freyja, a peregrine falcon. The panicked bird was recovered the next day, Sperry Tree Care took out the downed tree and volunteers repaired the damage within 24 hours. The center has a new website with lots of information and photos at cascadesraptorcenter.org.
• Tax season is upon us once again and, in case you missed the news, the 2015 Legislature declared a tax surplus credit, better known as a kicker, but how do you get it? When the kicker activated in years past, Oregonians got a check in the mail, but this time the kicker becomes a credit on 2015 personal income tax returns. “What’s My Kicker” is a new online tool that calculates credit amount based on your filing status from your 2014 Oregon tax returns. Go online to Oregon.gov/dor and look for the “What’s My Kicker” link. You will need your Social Security or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number. But you will also need to file a 2015 state tax return to get your kicker credit.
• We like to hear about new and different ways to recycle and the latest is medicinal pot containers, you know, those little plastic pop-top bottles that you take home from your local dispensary. Bud’s LLC Marijuana Store at 439 W. 1st Ave. has a drop box outside the store to collect those containers, even empty bottles from other dispensaries. Bud’s works with the nonprofit Samaritan’s Purse and its World Medical Mission. The program ships used bottles to 40 third-world countries to re-use for their medications, says Jesse Reynolds, manager of Bud’s. Such containers are in short supply. “It’s just a good thing to do and we are willing to pay for the shipping and clean the bottles prior to shipping.”