City of Albany, Oregon

10/09/2026

Each year, teams are welcome from every City department to compete in the City Office Olympics. Through a week of friendly competition we raise money for the charity of our choosing (and, of course, office bragging rights and tiny medals).

This year, for the 5th City Office Olympiad, employees chose to play for Linn Benton Food Share

Seven teams representing six of our departments rose to the challenge this year and provided almost $2,000 in cash as well as almost 2,000 pounds (5,457 items) of food donations for use in food banks around our community.

Congratulations to all of our teams who put together a win for our community.

10/08/2026

FREE health and wellness resource fair this Friday at the Riverfront Community Center!

We're just two days away from the 2026 Health & Wellness Fair at Riverfront Community Center! Join us for a free resource fair with 20 local and community organizations, presented by Albany Parks & Recreation.

Be sure to grab a stamp book on your way in for a chance to win generously donated raffle prizes including:

- Gut Health Bundle from Art of Metabolism
- Tumbler and Free Chiropractic Session from Timber Linn Chiropractic and Wellness Clinic
- Movie Night Basket from Herrera Insurance
- A Free Reiki Session from Spirit Sound Reiki
- Tumbler and Exercise Resistance Bands from Light the Way Health Insurance

We'll see you there from 10 AM-2 PM at Riverfront Community Center!

10/03/2026

An important post from Benton County Sheriff's Office about WEA alerts and the Linn-Benton Alert system.

And, in case you need more alerts in your life there’s two more options for Albany residents:

Albany Alerts, text/email/call:
(Low volume)
Used for high-priority emergencies within city limits, part of the Linn-Benton Alert and OR-Alert systems.
Sign up at https://albanyoregon.gov/albanyalerts

APD Nixle text/email alerts:
(Low-medium volume)
Legacy system used primarily for traffic alerts related to crashes or other police action.

🚨 Do you know the difference between WEA and Linn-Benton ALERT?

Both can deliver emergency information, but they work differently.

Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA):
• May appear automatically on compatible cell phones
• Do not require registration
• Are used for certain urgent, life-safety emergencies
• May contain limited information

Linn-Benton ALERT:
• Requires you to sign up
• Can send texts, phone calls, and emails
• Provides more detailed, local information
• May include evacuation notices, shelter-in-place messages, and other public safety updates

Having one does not replace the other.

For the best chance of receiving emergency information:

✅ Sign up for Linn-Benton ALERT
✅ Keep your contact information and address current
✅ Make sure emergency alerts are enabled on your phone
✅ Follow local public safety agencies for updates

Learn more and sign up:
sheriff.bentoncountyor.gov/linn-benton-alert/

Need help confirming your registration? Contact Benton County Emergency Management at 541-766-6864 or [email protected].

Be informed. Be prepared. Know how we will reach you when it matters most.

10/02/2026

Last Saturday, folks from Albany, OR Parks & Recreation’s Adopt-a-Park program, Calapooia Watershed Council, the stormwater team in Public Works, and volunteers from Hope Church planted over 300 native plants in about two hours, including hundreds of Oregon white oaks, at the East Thornton Lake Natural Area. What was once overgrown with invasive species will hopefully soon be a beautiful oak grove thanks to the efforts of these tireless volunteers.

Even better, the oaks were grown at Albany’s ShrubHub nursery, an innovative part of our Public Works Operations campus that enables the team to grow and propagate native trees and shrubs for use in habitat restoration and stormwater quality facilities, grown in our own Hub City Compost. It’s an idea that truly embodies our values of Service, Collaboration, Stewardship, Innovation, and Excellence.

Well done and thank you again to everyone involved. If you’d like to learn more about Albany’s Adopt-a-Park program, visit albanyoregon.gov/aap

10/02/2026

Let's close out Food Waste Prevention Week with someone we probably all know, the Fridge Remix Artist:

They turn last night’s leftovers into tomorrow’s meal. Maybe you're a Fridge Remix Artist? DJ Casserole and MC Stir Fry can't match your culinary skills. Chopped wouldn't have you on the show because your talent for transforming leftovers was deemed "too impressive" for TV.

What's your favorite meal remix? Drop it like it's hot in the comments below.

10/02/2026

It's (still) Food Waste Prevention Week! Today we get to meet the Crisper Whisperer:

They know your fridge is basically a dating app. Every food has a type, and putting it in the wrong spot is why things don’t work out. Per NRDC’s “The Refrigerator Demystified” (part of their Dating Game series on food waste), up to 40% of food in the U.S. goes uneaten, and much of that comes down to bad matches, not bad food.

Here’s how the Whisperer pairs things up:

Top shelf: the casual zone. Slightly warmer, lower stakes, good for leftovers, drinks, and ready-to-eat stuff like yogurt or cheese.

Bottom shelf: the serious commitment. Coldest spot in the fridge, which is exactly where raw meat, poultry, and fish belong — in a tray, so nothing drips on its neighbors.

The door: a situationship, not a relationship. It’s the warmest part of the fridge and gets a blast of warm air every time it opens. Fine for condiments, a bad match for eggs or anything actually perishable.

High humidity drawer: for veggies prone to wilting — carrots, leafy greens, spinach, broccoli. Low humidity drawer: for fruit and produce that tends to rot — apples, pears, grapes, berries, avocados. Mixing them up is basically a bad set-up.

A couple of house rules that keep every match healthy: keep the fridge at 40°F or below (bacteria multiply fastest between 40° and 140°), don’t overfill it (cold air needs room to circulate), and don’t let ice build up (it makes the whole fridge work harder).



Source: NRDC, “The Refrigerator Demystified,” nrdc.org/food/wasted-food.asp

10/01/2026

It's Food Waste Prevention Week! Today, let's meet the Ripeness Ranger:

They know exactly how and where produce ripens — because storage location changes everything.

Some produce (apples, avocados, tomatoes, bananas) gives off ethylene gas as it ripens, which speeds up ripening and spoilage in whatever’s nearby. Keep those separated from produce that’s sensitive to it, like leafy greens and potatoes, if you want things to last.

Separately: onions and potatoes should never share a bin. It’s not about ethylene; potatoes give off moisture that makes onions rot faster, and onions release gases that make potatoes sprout sooner. Different drawers, different problem, same result. Like The Offspring said, "Ya gotta keep 'em separated!"

Fridge or counter also matters. Tomatoes, bananas, and potatoes stay on the counter — cold kills their flavor and texture. Most everything else that’s already ripe goes in the fridge to slow things down.