Concordia Neighborhood Association | Portland, Oregon

Stop Car Idling for Kids, Environment

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In cold weather and in school parking lots, we see a lot of car idling. The City of Portland urges you to reduce car idling, which has a negative impact on children’s health and air quality in the Concordia neighborhood.

All of us have idled our vehicles while waiting to pick up kids from school, waiting at the drive-up window, or waiting for a bridge. Part of the reason is that when we were just beginning to drive, the mindset was that it’s better to leave the car running rather than turn it on and off.

Well, maybe that was true then, but it’s certainly not true now. As a matter of fact, it’s actually better for your vehicle to turn it off if it’s going to be idling for more than 10 seconds.

This fact leads to the top ten reasons to turn off your vehicle when you’re not moving:

  1. Studies have shown a direct link between contaminants in vehicle emissions and significant respiratory health effects.
  2. Vehicle exhaust is the leading source of toxic air pollution in Oregon.
  3. Excessive idling can be hard on your engine. Because it isn’t working at peak operating temperature, fuel doesn’t undergo complete combustion, leaving spark plugs dirty, which can increase fuel consumption by 4 to 5%. Also, the engine oil becomes contaminated by idling.
  4. According to Ford and the Auto Alliance, vehicles produced after the mid-‘80s don’t require additional time to heat a “cold engine.” The best way to warm up your vehicle is to drive it, even in cold weather.
  5. Besides, idling warms only the engine, not the wheel bearings, steering, suspension, transmission, and tires. These parts warm up when the vehicle is driven.
  6. Frequent restarting has little impact on engine parts such as the battery and starter motor. The wear on components that restarting the engine causes adds about $10 a year to your costs. This is money that you’ll likely recover several times over in fuel savings from reduced idling.
  7. More than 10 seconds of idling uses more fuel than restarting the engine.
  8. Toxic air pollutants account for an additional 700 cases of cancer for every million residents.
  9. Children breathe 50% more air per pound than adults, and their asthma symptoms increase as a result of car exhaust.
  10. When you idle you get 0 miles per gallon.

    11. For education resources and for any questions, contact Donna Green at the Portland Office of Transportation at 503.823.6114, donna.green@pdxtrans.org.

Radon: Is your home safe?

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If you live in the Concordia Neighborhood, there is almost a 50% likelihood that the radon level inside your home is higher than the EPA’s recommended action level potentially putting your family at unnecessary risk of lung cancer.

Radon, a naturally occurring radioactive gas, concentrates inside buildings. Nationally, radon is responsible for 15,000-22,000 lung cancer deaths every year—more deaths than caused by drunk driving and drowning combined. The second leading cause of lung cancer in America, radon is the leading cause of lung cancer in non-smokers.

According to a Portland State University study, nearly the half the homes (old, new, with or without a crawlspace or basement) in the Concordia Neighborhood have indoor radon levels exceeding EPA’s recommended action level of 4 pCi/L (pico curies per liter of air). That’s the bad news. The good news is that testing for radon is simple and inexpensive and that, when needed, reducing indoor radon to safer concentrations is affordable.

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Northeast Portland Kwanzaa Events, December 26 – January 1

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[Ed. note – Apologies for not getting this posted before some of the events have taken place; events will go through year-end however…]

Kwanzaa, December 26 through January 1, is a unique holiday celebrating the strengths and accomplishments of the African American community. Kwanzaa activities will be featured at two Portland Parks and Recreation sites – the Matt Dishman Community Center and the Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center (IFCC).

On Wednesday, December 26, the Matt Dishman Community Center (77 NE Knott) will honor the first day of Kwanzaa, Umoja (Unity) with a presentation of the Feast of the Seven Tables, a performance by Liquid Moves Entertainment. The event runs from 5:30 P.M. to 8:30 P.M., with the candle lighting at 6:30 P.M.

The Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center (340 N. Interstate) honors Kujichagulia (self-determination), the second day of Kwanzaa week, with live performances by poets and drummers throughout the Gallery from 4:30 P.M. to 7:30 P.M. on Thursday, December 27. The candle lighting ceremony will be held at 6:30 P.M.

In addition, IFCC is presenting a Kwanzaa Marketplace from 11 A.M. to 4 P.M. on Saturdays and Sundays through December 30. The Marketplace will also be open during the Kujichagulia celebration on December 27. Great gifts and art finds by African American artists will be available, as well as art supplies, décor, and ideas for creating one’s own Kwanzaa Celebration. Artists featured at the Marketplace include Donna Smith, Renee Mitchell, Kemi Arigibon, Vivienne Mathis, Kahunya Wario, Marsalis Brown, GG, Romaine Harris, Jaime Lee Christiana, Wanda Wright, and Blacque Butterfly.

The IFCC Gallery will feature the works of artists GG, Mo, Art Alexander, Raymond Alexander, Adriene Cruz, Helen Montgomery, and Wanda Wright, each of whom have created an altar dedicated to each of the Seven Principles of Kwanzaa. Connected to The Center for Black Studies at Portland State University, Senator Avel Gordly, Reverend Dr. W.G. Hardy Jr., and Dr. Dalton Miller-Jones share their photos from a recent trip to Ghana. The works will be on view in the Gallery from 11 A.M. to 6 P.M., Tuesday – Friday, and 11 A.M. to 4 P.M. Saturday and Sunday, through December 31.

For more information, visit portlandparks.org.

CNA Honored With Spirit of Portland Award

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The Concordia Neighborhood Association will be receivea 2007 Spirit of Portland Award as “Neighborhood of the Year,” recognizing numerous community projects, including the playground structure at Fernhill Park, sponsored by the neighborhood. Congratulations!

The Spirit of Portland Awards have been presented annually since 1985 to Portland neighbors and organizations who have made outstanding contributions to the community. Winners are selected from nominations submitted by citizens. Each year, the selection committee is comprised of representatives from Council Members’ Offices, the Office of Neighborhood Involvement, neighborhood coalitions, neighborhood business associations, and past recipients.

Here is the full press release listing the rest of the 2007 award recipients.

Boeing Emissions Proposal Q&A

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NE Neighbors for Clean Air provided us with some additional information related to Boeing’s application to discharge contaminants at their Portland Airport painting facility. Click the link below for the complete text (with minor edits for length/style). You can also check out previous stories posted on the CNA website related to this issue.

Boeing wants to emit 99 tons per year (tpy) of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and between 10 tpy of any single hazardous air pollutant (as defined by the EPA) and 25 tpy aggregate. It’s important to note that if Boeing had asked for a permit to emit 100 or more tons per year of VOCs (or more) they would have been required to obtain a Title V permit from the EPA, which would have required additional monitoring.

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Petition to Oppose New Emissions

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You may have already seen the petition included in this month’s Concordia News opposing approval of Boeing’s request to dump 99 tons of pollutants into our airshed. If you haven’t had a chance to act, here’s an easy one – you can sign the online petition. Leave a comment here as well if you like – we’ve noticed that the website has been getting a little traffic from both Boeing and Oregon DEQ servers lately, so this is your chance to speak out.

For more information on the Boeing issue, see our previous stories, archived here.

4th Annual Tannenbaum Madness Begins November 29

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The 4th Annual Tannenbaum Madness event will open during the upcoming Last Thursday, November 29th. Sponsored by Art on Alberta, businesses up and down NE Alberta Street will create a walking tour of whimsical, artistic, and unique holiday trees on display in their front windows.

This year’s trees include Frock’s “Glitter Dolls,” “Le Petit Prince” at Tour de Crepes, “Silly Faces” at Guardino Gallery, “Tinseltown Tree” at Videorama, “Puestos de la Loteria” at Random Order Coffehouse, “All Things Bright and Beautiful” at Onda Gallery, “Tree for World Peace” at Enterbeing, and “Haute Hanukkah” at Foundation Garments. A complete list of participating businesses, as well as where to find printed directories will be available at the Arts on Alberta website.

Take a tour of this community celebration, and make sure to vote on your favorite tree during opening weekend. Ballot boxes will be distributed throughout the event with special prizes awarded for the top three trees. This event will run through December 31st.

Annual CNA Holiday Party, December 4

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Mark your calendars for the annual CNA Holiday Party! The party will be held Tuesday, December 4, 2007 in the Community Room at the Kennedy School in lieu of our December General Meeting. This year the festivities will begin at 6:30 pm instead of 7:00 pm. There will be food, children’s activities, free prizes from local businesses, and plenty of good cheer and conversation. We are also pleased to announce that the Portland Recorder Society will be performing for our listening pleasure. Everyone is invited to come out and meet your neighbors in a fun and festive atmosphere! Please contact Katie at 503-296-7839 if you are interested in helping with the Holiday Party.

Concordia University Regents Endorse Learning Center

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The Concordia University Board of Regents voted to recommend that Concordia University begin construction of its 74,000 square foot learning center in May of 2008. Their recommendation will move forward to two governing bodies of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod for final consideration in early 2008. The new Concordia University learning center will double the capacity of the current library, and expand space for academic program centers, meeting rooms, and faculty offices. The estimated cost of building construction is $15 million.

Concordia University officials have made a point of including community interests in all its plans for campus development. Neighbors will have access to library resources and meeting rooms in the learning center, and a new athletic complex will also be open to community use.

“This project will transform our campus and our neighborhood community,” said Concordia University President Chuck Schlimpert. “Our ability to develop the learning center supports the vision that a university engaged in the community can provide expanded opportunities for its students and help its neighborhood thrive.”

The learning center will be built on the current site of the University’s soccer and baseball fields, and construction will finish in August 2009. Concordia will temporarily vacate its current athletic field until the new athletic complex is complete in March 2010. The athletic complex will occupy the two blocks north of campus that are currently used for married student housing. The first home will be moved offsite by the end of October 2007. Concordia is developing plans to add new student housing along 27th Avenue.