To loyal readers of the Sentinel site and consistent users of our community calendar:

The Sentinel site is scheduled to lock-down this coming August 3. Staff content production ceased earlier this month but the site continues to be actively used by the community. However, after some effort on my part, I have been unable find a sustainable business model or partnership that would allow continued service.

Last month The Sentinel and the Oregon News Incubator ceased their publishing and office share arrangement. The partnership produced a significant amount of coverage throughout the spring. However, by June it was clear that taking on news assignments was more demanding for ONI members than the rewards yielded by relatively free workspace in North Portland. The ONI continues to meet and conduct its work of supporting freelancer reporters. I wish them well.

Despite the fact that no partnership or staff reporting has occurred recently, some 8,000 users still traffic and post to this site. I believe this proves that both the publication and the online model we created here turned out to be a useful resource to the community.

After August 3, the site and it’s data will continue to be publicly available through search engines such as Google, Bing and Yahoo. However, all dynamic features will cease to publish. No new comments, events, or other new material may be added after July 31.

The site’s files will be transfered to the non-profit group North Portland Community Works. The NPCW will maintain the files so that they can still be accessible through the web. A set of the Sentinel’s paper editions will be donated to the City of Portland's archives and another set will go to the St Johns Heritage Society.