Concordia Neighborhood Association | Portland, Oregon

Gentrification Restorative Listening Event, October 15

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Portland’s Office of Neighborhood Involvement sent us the following information about a local forum for learning about the impact of gentrification on long-time residents of the community.

Restorative Listening Circle

October 15, 2007
7:00 pm
Moore Street Salvation Army Community Center
Classroom A and B
5325 N Williams Ave., near N Killingsworth

Restorative Listening Events are based on the principles of Restorative Justice which hold that those most impacted must be heard, acknowledged and an effort made to repair the harm for a community to be made whole again. Once the following questions are answered – what happened? Who was harmed? How were they harmed? How can the harm be repaired? – can a way to move forward be found.

You can also learn more about Gentrification Restorative Listening Events or download a flier.

For more information contact:
Judith Mowry
Office of Neighborhood Involvement
503.823.4112

Everyone Eats! Community Forum, October 11

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This Thursday the volunteer members of the Everyone Eats! volunteer team will facilitate an open forum to discuss the results of the “Everyone Eats!” community food assessment of areas of north and inner northeast Portland, sponsored by Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon’s Interfaith Food and Farms Partnership (IFFP). The forum will be held at St. Andrew’s Catholic Community Center, 806 NE Alberta St.

The forum will be conducted by volunteer members of Everyone Eats! Leadership Team and also by Jocelyn Furbush and Sabrina Kosok, L.I.N.K.S. AmerCorps members with IFFP.  They will talk about what they learned from interviewing 200 neighbors on matters of access to nutritious, local and culturally appropriate food. Attendees will have the chance to give input on the next steps for projects to get more fresh local food to north and inner northeast low-income communities. A light dinner will be provided.

The food assessment survey, combined with focused community conversations about food issues in three languages, indicated that many low income residents of north and inner northeast Portland lack access to affordable fresh, local produce. Many residents of these communities expressed dissatisfaction with their options and access to food. IFFP is committed to increasing food security by bringing more fresh, local and culturally appropriate food to these communities. We are asking for community input to insure that potential food access projects are effective and appropriate to the communities they serve.

New Feature! Online Community Calendar

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The purpose of the CNA website is to keep residents informed about and offer a forum for discussing events related to the Concordia neighborhood. As a result, we receive enough notices about neighborhood and Portland area events of interest to quickly overwhelm even the most diligent newshound. Rather than limit posting to a select few items, we have created a Google Calendar with dates, times and locations for events that might be of interest, including those that we haven’t had a chance to post directly to the blog. Here’s a link to the calendar, but you can also get to it from the “Community Calendar” link at left.

Recent additions to the calendar include:

  • PSU Brown Bag: Oregon Land Use Planning, October 10
  • Fashion by Flashlight: Late evening shopping on Alberta, October 11th
  • Friends of Trees’ Second Annual Fun Run October 14th

Disaster Drills – Volunteer Opportunity, October 16 or 17

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In October the City of Portland will be taking part in a series of disaster drills known as T4 which is short for TOPOFF 4 which is probably short for something else. Regardless, now is your chance to put your drama chops to the test!

The City needs 600 volunteers to participate in a large scale disaster scenario at Portland International Raceway (PIR) on Tuesday, October 16. There are a number of different roles as disaster victims to fill but viewing the “Towering Inferno” or any other film by Irwin Allen should put you in the right place – motivation-wise. The FBI will be conducting background checks on volunteers who are positioned at the large scale event. But if your past is checkered, no need to panic because according to the news release, “There are opportunities to volunteer at other sites that do not require a background check.” In any case, if you are interested in participating in this large scale disaster play, please con can find out more specifics by contacting June Vining at 503-823-3937 or jvining@fire.ci.portland.or.us.

If you prefer more intimate productions, there is good news as well! On October 17 the Police East Precinct will host a T4 shelter-in-place exercise from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. There is a need for about five to seven volunteers who are interested in participating – so these parts are harder to come by and are clearly more prestigious. Have your agent – or someone pretending to be your agent – contact Marsha Palmer at 503-823-0264 or marsha.palmer@portlandpolice.org.

School Families Housing Grants Community Session, October 3

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Staff from the Portland Schools Foundation and the City of Portland, Bureau of Housing and Community Development will provide a brief presentation and then facilitate a session to collect your feedback on goals and funding priorities for the Schools Family Housing Grants Program.

Wednesday, October 3, 2007
5:00-6:30pm
Central NE Neighbors, 4415 NE 87th Avenue
(Behind Firehouse at NE Sandy and NE 87th)

In 2007, the Portland City Council allocated $950,000 to the Portland Schools Foundation to establish the Schools Families Housing (SFH) Community Grant Program. This program is working with the two following goals: 1) balance student enrollment in our public schools; and 2) increase effective partnerships among schools and neighborhoods. Approximately $850,000 is available for grant making through 2008.

The Schools Families Housing Initiative (SFH) was sponsored by Commissioner Erik Sten in response to the challenges faced by public schools serving the City of Portland. SFH is designed to improve coordination and effectiveness of City resources to help balance school enrollment and develop vibrant, multi-functional schools that meet the needs of students.

RSVP: Space limited. First come first serve. Please RSVP to Sandra Lefrancois, Central NE Neighbors at cnnoutreach@teleport.com or 503-823-2780.

Boeing Emissions Increase Proposal, September 20

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On Thursday, September 20, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) staff will share information about Boeing PDX’s New Source Review permit application and what DEQ may include in a modified air quality permit. There will be an opportunity to ask questions and provide comments.

Boeing PDX is an aircraft painting facility near the airport. They plan to increase the number of planes they paint and they are asking DEQ for a modification of their current air quality permit to include an increase in air emissions.

When: 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 20

Where: DEQ Northwest Region Office
Fourth Floor, Room A/B
2020 SW Fourth Avenue
Portland, Oregon 97201

The modification that Boeing PDX is requesting would increase their Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) emission limit from 39 tons per year to 99 tons per year and needs a federally required New Source Review analysis. Boeing PDX, located 4635 NE Cornfoot Road, Portland, Oregon, paints aircraft manufactured at facilities in other areas.. The use of coatings and cleaning solvents emits Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC). The natural gas fired heating system releases Particulate Matter (PM), Carbon Monoxide (CO), Nitrogen Oxide (NOx), Sulfur Dioxide (SO2), and VOCs in small amounts. Emissions of Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPs) will remain below levels of concern with proposed control technology.

More information is available in the complete public notice for this meeting. For technical information, contact Kathy Amidon, Air Quality Program, (503) 667-8414, ext. 55010 or amidon.kathy@deq.state.or.us.

Hazardous Waste Cleanup – 9/21 & 9/22

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[Third and final in the Land Use & Livability series – here’s an announcement from the Environmental-Green Team, a subgroup of the committee.]

Once you’ve done your annual yard sale, sent your good leftovers on to ARC or Goodwill, and you’ve dumped the back yard debris in the dumpsters at the yearly neighborhood clean-up, there’s often hard to get rid of items left behind.

September 21, and 22 (Friday and Saturday) you will have your chance at Metro’s Hazardous Waste Clean-up from 9am to 3pm at the Parkrose K Mart parking lot, 12350 NE Sandy Blvd.

Hazardous is the key word, so what will they take?

Fire extinguishers, propane tanks, paint, and empty paint cans; all kinds of batteries. fertilizers and pesticides, especially those that have aged beyond usefulness; medical waste in approved containers; aerosol cans of all types; household cleaners and disinfectants.
Old anti-freeze, motor oil, oil filters, Solvents, new compact fluorescent bulbs, fluorescent, mercury tubes, and light fixtures.

Basically, they’ll take all of those items that you were hesitant about throwing out in your weekly garbage because you had concerns about their possible long-term effects in a land fill. Now you can discard them with a clear conscience. And, best of all, it’s free. So finish your cleaning up for this year.