By Nancy Varekamp | CNews Editor

A project that will benefit the environment plus the watershed and habitat – as well as the community – drew plenty of neighborhood interest and effort in February.

About 60 neighbors and nearby residents came out for three hours to turn the two blocks of the Ainsworth Street median – between 22nd and 24th avenues – into an attractive, self-sustaining habitat corridor.

The Columbia Slough Watershed Council organized the Stewardship Saturday in this pilot project. Eventually, it will connect Alberta Park’s nature trail that’s due for expansion and one planned for Fernhill Park. (See 2017 CNews report on Alberta Park.)

“We bit off a chunk we knew we could finish,” reported Max Samuelson, interim stewardship director. The dynamics worked well, so the next event will move east to the next two blocks. That’s planned for early next year after the first effort is assessed to determine if plantings thrived and/or if tweaks to the plan are needed.

The 15-block, 25-foot-wide median receives tending only at the mercy of neighbors, and its grass and weeds aren’t always attractive. They also don’t stop storm runoff that picks up pollutants to flood and send sewer overflows into basements and streets and/or flow into the Columbia watershed.

Native shrubs, trees, grasses and rushes comprised the 1,700 plants chosen for their low maintenance and deep rooting abilities – as well as their habitat for birds, wildlife and pollinators.

The project is a partnership between the watershed council, Portland bureaus of environmental services and transportation, Audubon Society of Portland and Wisdom of the Elders.

Enthusiasm for the project wasn’t limited to the volunteers Feb. 8. “People were sticking their hands out of the cars, honking their horns and cheering us on as we were planting,” Max reported.

He hopes community interest continues for future plantings, and especially this summer for the first two blocks.

“We’re looking to the same and more neighborhood heroes,” he said. “Although the native plants we installed are intended to sustain themselves, they’ll need watering, weeding and probably mulching to get them through their first year.

For details, contact Rachel.Walsh@ColumbiaSlough.org.

Nancy Varekamp is semiretired from her career in journalism, public relations and – her favorite work engagement – writing and editing targeted newsletters

By Steve Elder | CNA Media Team

Pacific Power began reconstruction of its dormant Kennedy Substation last September. But the utility neglected to advise neighbors in advance of its expansion plans to fill the growing energy needs of northeast Portland.

.So the plans and the lack of notice have continued to be the talk of the neighborhood for months.

According to Tom Gauntt, Pacific Power spokesman, the utility is installing one transformer and three distribution voltage circuit breakers. Efforts include associated steel structures and wires on 41st Avenue to tap into the existing northeast Portland transmission system and provide three new sources to serve the neighborhood.

“We are not removing any facilities, but are replacing some existing distribution and transmission wood poles with a mixture of wood and steel poles to make the new connection,” he said.

Neighbors reported they were surprised and dismayed when the substation reconstruction began, including a 52-foot structure. “We are developing a better protocol for providing notice to the neighborhood before work commences again,” the utility spokesman said.

A letter responding to their questions and concerns was sent by Pacific Power, following a meeting of those neighbors.

It addresses noise, landscaping, street repairs and more. Under consideration is building a wall between the substation and adjacent houses to buffer light and sound.

The letter goes into such details as the fate of the existing cherry tree on Emerson and removal of the dead tree on 42nd Avenue.

Pacific Power submitted a draft of a “good neighbor agreement” at a Feb. 27 meeting with neighbors. It calls for monitoring noise and electromagnetic fields, a commitment to consider constructing a shell around the site, solar storage at St. Charles Church and a $25,000 annual grant for energy related projects in the area.

The utility also offered to pave the section of Emerson Street between 42nd and 41st avenues, but neighbors declined, saying their property taxes would be impacted.

Those commitments are not enough for neighbor Rebecca Marshall.

“My concern all along has been the enormity of this ‘upgrade,’” she pointed out. “This substation is a major change to the way our neighborhood looks, and we are also concerned about our health and loss of property value.

“We are also concerned about the noise this will make when it is fully energized.”

Other potentially impacted residents expressed concern about noise and lights left on all night. So the utility pledged to contain noise to levels governed by city code and to install motion sensors for security lighting.

Steve Elder, East2@ ConcordiaPDX.org, is an inactive lawyer, a developer, activist and old grouch.

By Dan Werle | CNA Media Team

Our 42nd Avenue is a local organization whose stated mission is to “cultivate economic opportunity to achieve a prosperous, diverse 42nd Avenue community.”

It’s been fulfilling that role since it gained nonprofit status eight years ago as one of seven Neighborhood Prosperity Initiative districts in Portland, and one of two in Cully. In 2016, The Portland Mercury featured it in a story headlined “NE 42nd Is Portland’s New Restaurant Row.”

The district is bordered by Lombard and Shaver streets, and 33rd and 55th avenues.

In January, Our 42nd Avenue’s longtime executive director, Michael DeMarco, stepped down from his position to create Genuity Economic Development, a consulting firm housed on 42nd Avenue.

Although Michael retains an advisory role with Our 42nd Avenue, Eduardo “Edy” Martinez officially took over as the group’s district manager Jan. 7.

Edy grew up in northern California with six sisters and a brother. He enjoyed volunteering and working at the local summer camp. He earned a degree in recreation and administration from California State University, Chico before moving to Portland.

He has spent 16 years working to improve communities, most recently as a Schools Uniting Neighborhoods school manager, where he assisted organizing nutrition, medical, dental and educational programs for nearby students and their families.

Edy speaks with a calm, measured, confidence, and he exudes leadership and optimism. He is enthusiastic about Our 42nd Avenue’s priorities.

“We are focused on creating generational wealth, looking at barriers differently and figuring out how to knock them down.” Additionally, he is excited about the opportunities he has for learning about and serving the community.

Edy’s arrival is not the only significant change the new year ushered in for Our 42nd Avenue. The Native American Youth and Family Center (NAYA) is now Our 42nd Avenue’s umbrella organization.

The two groups had been discussing a merger for several months prior to the decision. Both share similar visions, and perform similar work. The size, strength and organizational structure of NAYA provided Our 42nd Avenue an opportunity to sharpen its focus, and more efficiently use its available resources.

With Michael’s departure, and Edy’s arrival, both organizations believed it was an optimal time to make the change.

Edy looks forward to building relationships within the 42nd Avenue community and continuing the steady progress Our 42nd Avenue has made.

He’s officed at 4213 N.E. 42nd Ave., and you can reach him via email at Edy@42ave.org. It’s best to advise him before dropping in. “If I’m doing my job right, I won’t be in the office very much.”

Dan Werle lives in Concordia with his wife, Anna, and their dogs.

By Kathy Crabtree | CNA Media Team

A mystery set in a fictional national park filled with native folklore, vivid scenery and political intrigue is a perfect read for a rainy day in the Northwest.

In “Deadly Bluff,” local author Kathleen Cocannon’s heroine park ranger, Dana Madison, leads a mismatched team attempting to decipher clues of connected deaths at multiple national park sites.

Even more baffling is the fact the deaths have spanned multiple years. In a recent interview, Kathleen explained the addition of several separate chapters of historical significance by including Teddy Roosevelt’s influence on her story.

“President Roosevelt is considered the founder of the national park system. As a conservationist myself, I wanted to honor his creation and acknowledge his preservation of the sacred lands of the Northwest tribes.”

While the actions of the team lead the reader closer to solving the mystery, it is the descriptive scenes that capture the imagination. In every chapter there is evidence of Kathleen’s appreciation for the beauty of mountain trails.

As Dana hikes the footpaths, it is as if the reader is beside her, sharing her thoughts. Kathleen admits to having run a few miles of trails in her youth and continues to walk them whenever given the chance.

The book’s premise that heroine Dana was a Denver detective before becoming a national park ranger is something that Kathleen admits was not part of her wheelhouse of knowledge.

Having never been a policewoman, or a ranger, she credits a desire to emulate the strengths she admires in herself and other women. Although Dana is decisive, she is vulnerable – having endured previous struggles leading her to question her budding relationship with Dodge, one of the park carpenters.

That attraction complicates separating the good guys from the villains. Readers will commiserate with her as they, too, will question whom to trust as the story progresses.

Kathleen meets with a group of writers every couple weeks to critique and review each other’s work. She credits their support and includes them in the book’s acknowledgements.

Several years ago she had an agent marketing a previous novel and, although close to a contract, it didn’t materialize.

She self-published this book and credits the Northwest Independent Writers Association with decreasing the learning curve related to that effort.

Will there be more adventures of Dana’s team, including the attractive Dodge? She nodded. “I’m sure there will be.”

“The Deadly Bluff” is available at Amazon.com.

Kathy Crabtree lives near Fernhill Park and enjoys the constant flow of dogs happily on their way to romp off leash. In real life she is a nursing professor. In her dreams she is the creator of a series of mystery adventures of a retired female lawyer/judge of a certain age – to be named at a latter date. Contact her at KCrabtree4320@att.net.