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Measures could impact Concordia

Posted on October 17, 2018 by Web Manager Posted in Concordia News, Land Use & Transportation

By Garlynn Woodsong | Chair, CNA LUTC

This election isn’t a national presidential election, so some folks may be tempted to tune out. I would like to encourage you instead to engage, pay attention and make your voice count.

Here’s a run-down of ballot measures that may impact Concordia neighbors.

Measure 26-200 imposes campaign finance contributions and expenditures, and requires campaign communications to identify funder, within the city.

Measure 26-201 imposes a 1 percent surcharge on Portland retailers with more than $1 billion in total annual revenue and Portland annual revenue more than $500,000. It would create the Portland Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund for Clean Energy Projects (renewable energy, building efficiency upgrades, green building design, tree canopy expansion); clean energy job training efforts for traditionally underemployed/disadvantaged workers; and future innovation efforts.

Measure 26-199 issues bonds to fund affordable housing in the metro region. If Measure 102 is also approved, these bonds could be used to enter into public-private partnerships to deliver more housing units than would otherwise be possible using the same amount of bond proceeds.

Measure 102 allows cities and counties to use bonds to fund privately-owned affordable housing. This is a companion to Measure 26-199, which would issue those bonds within the metro region. This is Metro’s effort to “do something” about housing affordability in the Portland region.

Measure 103 permanently exempts a wide range of transactions from any taxes and fees. It was devised as a way to prevent the city, or any other local Oregon jurisdiction, from enacting a tax on soda pop to help to pay for the additional medical expenses imposed on public healthcare by regular soda pop consumption. It has since broadened in scope, however, and now also proposes to block taxes or fees on a broad range of transactions, including Oregon’s bottle deposit fee, the fuel tax and restaurant meals. While it is described as banning a grocery tax, it is broadly written and does much more than that.

Measure 104 expands the Legislature’s three-fifths supermajority requirement from taxes to fees or taxloophole-removal efforts. This would make it much more difficult to do the business of government, which includes setting taxes and fees, and make it possible for the minority party to expand its veto power and thus its influence in the state capitol.

Measure 105 repeals Oregon’s sanctuary state laws, which currently limit the ability of local law enforcement to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement. Oregon’s 31-year-old sanctuary state laws were enacted originally to ensure that citizens and non-citizens alike would feel free to report crimes and testify in court to assist law enforcement in arresting and prosecuting crimes more serious than immigration violations.

Measure 106 prohibits public funds from being spent on abortions. No matter how you vote, please vote Nov. 6!

Garlynn Woodsong lives on 29th Avenue, serves on the CNA Board and is an avid bicyclist. He also is a dad who is passionate about the city his son will inherit. He is the planning + development partner with Cascadia Partners LLC, a local urban planning firm. Contact him at LandUse@ConcordiaPDX.org.

Ask the Historian – Vernon Avenue? When? Where? Why?

Posted on October 16, 2018 by Web Manager Posted in Concordia News, History

By Doug Decker | Historian

Wait, what? There’s an actual Vernon Avenue? The name was officially changed in 1931 by city council, resulting in a neighborhood protest and lingering resentment. This view of the evidence is looking southeast at Emerson Street.

Last month, we reported on Vernon School in anticipation of its 111th anniversary. Speaking of Vernon, doesn’t Vernon Avenue sound like a street that you should know its location – especially since Portland has an entire neighborhood named Vernon?

That street name is just an echo today because the actual Vernon Avenue was silenced Sept. 2, 1931. That’s when city council passed Ordinance 61325 readdressing all of Portland’s streets and calling for multiple street name changes.

Before the renumbering ordinance, there was no predictable and systematic addressing system, which left everyone confused, including police, fire and the U.S. Postal Service. The great readdressing of Portland’s streets in 1931 was long overdue and helpful. But losing the name of your street, that one really stung.

That street name is just an echo today because the actual Vernon Avenue was silenced Sept. 2, 1931.

One of the 1931 rules aimed at orderliness required that streets between any consecutively numbered street – in our case between 14th and 15th avenues, which is where Vernon Avenue existed – had to be renamed with a number and given the designation “Place.”

As a result, the six-block Vernon Avenue went extinct and became today’s 14th Place, running between Prescott and Killingsworth streets.

In January 1933, neighbors along Vernon Avenue – angry about the change and still using their original addresses in resistance – presented a petition to city council protesting the switch. But city council denied the petition, saying an exception could not be made.

We haven’t yet come across anything on the record about how neighbors responded to that denial. Eventually the passage of time dulled the loss as Vernon Avenue families grew old, grew up and moved on. But it’s worth noting that stories in The Oregonian, well into the 1940s, referred to addresses on Vernon Avenue when reporting births, marriages, deaths and social occasions.

Long live Vernon Avenue!

Doug Decker initiated his blog AlamedaHistory.org in 2007 to collect and share knowledge about the life of old houses, buildings and neighborhoods in northeast Portland. His basic notion is that insight to the past adds new meaning to the present. If you have a question for him to answer in CNews, send it to CNewsEditor@ConcordiaPDX. com.

Bike polo is popular Alberta Park sport

Posted on October 10, 2018 by Web Manager Posted in Concordia News

By Tamara Anne Fowler | CNA Media Team

This photo is from Alberta Street Fair when bike polo players offered a demonstration of their skills. Photo courtesy of Rochford Studios

“Beer is very important,” Maria said. “If you’re not drinking, you’re cheating,” Pete added with one of the rules from the early days of the game. And so began the Friday night Bike Polo Happy Hour rounds in Alberta Park.

Maria sat on the bench. She is officially retired after playing 1½ times in 1½ years. She was indoctrinated when she started hanging out at a community cycling center.

“Bike polo looks hard. It is way harder than it looks.”
– Pete

Next to arrive was Robert – a “super star,” Maria claimed. Robert started playing about three years ago and is back after a long break.

Third and fourth, Jordan and Tim, have both been playing since 2007. Jordan started in Eugene. Tim competes in cyclo-cross. He has raced casually for the last couple of years.

Pete has been playing since 2009 and started in Columbia, Missouri. Brandon, Pete’s roommate, is from Tallahassee, Florida, and has been playing since 2016. His friends got him into bike polo when he worked at a bike shop. Stu has been playing for seven years. “Back in the day, when bike polo was just starting out, we used to play with ski poles or gas piping,” he said. “It was definitely DIY. Now bike polo companies are making fancier equipment.”

Black Star Bags, in southeast Portland, makes custom backpacks to hold bike polo gear. It is owned and operated by Dave Stoops, bike camper, bike polo enthusiast, ex-bike messenger and Concordia resident.

Drinking is no longer a requirement, so the current bike polo rules are:

  • Don’t be a jerk.
  • Only “shots” count (hit like hammer, don’t sweep like a broom).
  • Corresponding contact – mallet to mallet, bike to bike, body to body – is the only contact allowed. “A lot of people’s teeth have been knocked out in bike polo,” Maria explained.

“Bike polo looks hard. It is way harder than it looks,” Pete admitted.

Games are typically 12 minutes long with teams of three taking on each other. There is no real set goalie position. Each player just takes up the spot as needed.

Portland Bike Polo has a newbie night once a month. The club brings equipment and rental bikes to instruct beginners. Once trained in the sport, one can become hooked.

If Bike Polo Happy Hour is too tame, the more hardcore games are Sunday mornings. Just check out the calendar at PortlandBikePolo.org and see how you can keep the sport going.

Tamara Anne Fawler is Edit Kitten, a writer with 20-plus years of experience offering a sof ter, gentler approach to editing and coaching. Her personal editors — Armani, Max Factor and Spicey’D — are also her cats. Visit her at EditKitten.com or contact her at Tamara@EditKitten. com.

Neighborhoods, city retool for 21st century

Posted on October 9, 2018 by Web Manager Posted in Concordia News

By Steve Elder | CNA Media Team

Suk Rhee, Office of Community & Civic Life

The name change from Office of Neighborhood Involvement to Office of Community and Civic Life (OC&CL) reflects the Portland bureau’s mission. It’s to involve all Portlanders to shape their individual communities and affect the policies of the city to reflect their community and neighborhood needs and concerns.

That’s what OC&CL director Suk Rhee told Concordians at the neighborhood association’s quarterly general membership meeting last month.

OC&CL is involved in programs ranging from cannabis and crime prevention to noise and alternative shelter. The neighborhood association system, the director noted, was prompted partially with the defeat of the Mount Hood Freeway in 1974.

“The defeat of the Mount Hood Freeway was a high point,” she said. “A low point might have been the construction of the Interstate MAX line that bifurcated a neighborhood.”

The issue was raised whether neighborhood associations are actually homeowner associations and whether the interests of nonhomeowners are represented. “That’s not unique to Portland,” Suk pointed out. “‘Homeowner’ is not a dirty word but, when homeowner interests are all that’s represented, that’s a problem.”

Garlynn Woodsong, Concordia Neighborhood Association (CNA) board member, reported all the but one of the current board members are homeowners. Until recently CNews was delivered only to houses, not to multi-family dwellings. “We weren’t getting the word out.”

“‘Homeowner’ is not a dirty word but, when homeowner interests are all that’s represented, that’s a problem.”
– Suk Rhee

The need to engage in electronic communications – and the need to update city guidelines to allow them – was also discussed by meeting participants and the director.

For instance, when board member Truls Neal is out of town on business, he could attend board meetings if video conferencing wasn’t prohibited by city guidelines. The director agreed. “We need to change those rules.”

If someone developed the communications software and hardware for online participation in neighborhood association meetings, she suggested, OC&CL would be in the perfect position to share it among all the associations.

Another matter which requires updating to 21st century standards is cannabis. According to Suk, it’s not just an Oregon Liquor Control issue. Cannabis has become a social issue.

It took generations to decriminalize marijuana and set a new reality. “Now it is an industry where entrepreneurs can get a piece of the action,” she said.

Those are just some of the new issues that face a 44-year-old institution of neighborhoods.

And that, she said, is expressed in her bureau’s mission: “Promoting a culture of civic engagement by connecting and supporting all Portlanders working together and with government to build inclusive, safe and livable neighborhoods and communities.”

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

CNA Voices – This room can offer more

Posted on October 3, 2018 by Web Manager Posted in Concordia News

By Sonia Fornoni | CNA board member

As a Concordia Neighborhood Association (CNA) board member, social committee chair and coordinator of McMenamins Kennedy School Community room… I’m loving my involvement in CNA.

I especially enjoy the synergies we’re identifying between the very active social committee and the community room that McMenamins allows us to use, and to rent out for various uses. Both fulfill the CNA mission to connect Concordia residents and businesses:

So I’m reaching out to people willing to give one-time classes, or series of classes.

  • Community room rentals raise dollars that we give back to the neighborhood in community-building and fun activities – the holiday party, spring egg hunt, Fernhill Park Concert Series, workshops, community grants and more.
  • The social committee creates many of those community building events.

I want to see the community room become more than a money maker – to become a community builder. Many hours the room sits empty when we could book free activities that fill our mission to connect people by engaging adults and/or children.

So I’m reaching out to people willing to give one-time classes, or series of classes. Perhaps new businesses will offer samples of their wares and/or services.

How about a once-a-week session devoted to art – creating it, viewing it or talking about it? What about a seasonal gardening meeting? Celebrations of ethnic traditions?

I’m also looking for morning “motion” classes – yoga, tai chi and others to offer free to adults. Parents of children with autism plan to gather there. You can pop in and see what it’s all about. Foster parent information sessions are starting. So are craft and other creative sessions to strengthen intergenerational relations.

Some of our current, regular renters may want to open their activities to the public. Sacred Harp is one. It’s a group of people who love to sing – using a shape note system – with no auditions, no performing. This form of music-making traces its origins to New England in the late 1700s.

A monthly game night begins Oct. 19 – for children ages 8-12, accompanied by parents or guardians – to play board games. (Electronics are banned!) CNA has already begun conversational Spanish classes there on Thursday evenings. All levels are welcomed.

We are not allowed to give the room free for political and religious events; otherwise, the opportunities are endless.

If something pops into your mind that you – or someone you know – could offer in the community room, please email me at CNARoomKennedy@gmail.com.

I encourage you to check out our Community Room Calendar column on Page 8.

Sonia Fornoni, born in Bariloche, Argentina, moved 1½ years ago to Concordia. After enduring 36 years of hot humid south Florida, she feels at home in Portland. Sonia is passionate about gardening, cooking/ baking, art, meeting new people and sharing time with the people she loves.

ADUs offer homes to homeless

Posted on October 2, 2018 by Web Manager Posted in Concordia News

By Vanessa Miali | CNA Media Team

Concordia homeowner John (left) is sharing his property with Tom’s family in an accessory dwelling unit, thanks to a Multnomah County pilot project to help the homeless. Photo by Chris Baker

How far are you willing to go to help your community deal with the homelessness crisis? Would you put a 200-square-foot accessory dwelling unit (ADU) on your property and house a homeless family for five years? What if the construction was free, and you could purchase the ADU at the end of your contract for fair market value?

This is the strategy behind an innovative housing project called A Place for You, created by the Multnomah Idea Lab, part of the Multnomah County Department of Human Services. The lab tests new policies and innovations to help people and communities thrive.

“The first and greatest benefit of this program is it directly creates housing for families,” said Tim Miller, Enhabit CEO, the nonprofit that administers the pilot project.

“Secondly, it’s bringing public partners and nonprofits together in a move toward creating a scalable housing solution for those who need it.”

Last spring, four homeowners were selected from 1,100 applicants to test the concept. Concordian John LaMar had decided building an ADU was not within his means. Instead, he applied to take part in the project.

“This program seemed like a good fit for us, plus it’s mutually beneficial for people who need housing,” John said. In late July, the preassembled ADU was installed in his back yard, and the new family moved in.

He sees his connection with the ADU occupants as more than just the landowner. “We have a neighborly relationship, and they are a very nice family.”

The four project locations were chosen based on proximity to key services like transit, public schools, grocery stores and daycares.

“Part of the magic is figuring out how housing can be integrated into the community because housing is what ends homelessness,” said Denis Theriault, county Joint Office of Homeless Services communications coordinator.

During the project, the four families will receive social service support from the county, such as help if a car breaks down, medical bills or job placement assistance. They will also be expected to contribute a small amount to their rent for maintenance and upkeep.

“This program seemed like a good fit for us, plus it’s mutually beneficial for people who need housing.”
– John LaMar

According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the vast majority of homeless who transition into supportive housing situations are able to remain housed in the community. They are also less likely to be incarcerated or use costly emergency health care systems.

If the pilot project is successful, the county’s aim is to eventually build 300 tiny homes and promote the program across the country.

Vanessa Miali has lived in Concordia for 18 years. She is a former public relations professional with two kids who cooks every day and gardens occasionally.

Boutique offers palette of talent

Posted on September 26, 2018 by Web Manager Posted in Concordia News, Local Businesses

By Rachel Richards | CNA Media Team

Just as a palette provides an assortment of hues, Bobbie Stewart’s new boutique delivers a diversity of products to customers – plus
the opportunity for makers to build their brands. Photo by Rachel Richards

Palette42, 5126 N.E. 42nd Ave., opened in May and offers an eclectic and multicultural blend of items by local entrepreneurs and consigners.

Bobbie Stewart’s shop is a unique business model that offers local designers, makers, artists and authors a place to showcase and build their businesses, and offers customers a place to shop for local artisan items from clothing to books to beauty products to coffee.

Bobbie created Palette42 to help multicultural brands grow from startup to mainstream. “This is a teaching store in which a lot of people are given the opportunity to work as a collective to build their individual brands,” she pointed out.

Bobbie has lived in northeast Portland since age 2, and her commitment to community stands out – especially during her difficulty finding a retail space to lease, initially as a boutique combined with a natural hair salon.

She would call about spaces for lease and say she was an African-American business serving African-American women. Frequently she would not receive a call back.

So she created her current business model of a boutique that recruits entrepreneurs to lease space, requires a modest rent and labels each product with its maker’s information so customers can find the product again.

Each retailer has a business license, insurance and the social media necessary to drive people to the shop.

“My mission is about who I serve more than anything else,” Bobbie said. “I can’t do business and make it about myself – I want to be a true support person.”

With the opportunity for a three- month lease to try out selling at the retail level to a one-year lease with retirement investment, her unique model is one that gives new businesses a chance to grow.

The bright modern space showcases many unique, colorful items. Just a few pieces from the 45 makers are:

  • Essance, a line of organic vegan face and body products
  • How Sweet It Is, a local confection with caramel corn and peanut brittle
  • Soapbox Theory, dishware and lunch boxes for boys and girls printed with images of children in many shades of brown.
  • Essence of African Style and Pieces by Sherelle
  • Designs by Le’yon The space is one in which customers can touch, smell, and try things on with price points from $5 to $40.

Interested in selling there? Visit the shop Mondays through Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., or apply at Palette42. com.

Palette42 is giving the neighborhood opportunities at many levels and owner Bobbie invites neighbors, “Come and play in the store.”

Rachel Richards is a 16-year Concordia resident who loves her community. She has a background in counseling/education and uses her passion for helping others in her work as a real estate broker. Contact Rachel or learn more about her at RachelRichardsRealtor.com.

Kargi Gogo offers the tastes of Georgia

Posted on September 25, 2018 by Web Manager Posted in Concordia News, Local Businesses

By Steve Elder | CNA Media Team

Sean Fredericks, co-owner of Kargi Gogo, offers Alberta Street diners authentic cuisine from Georgia – the country, not the state.

Walk into Kargi Gogo and you’ll experience the warmth and charm of a Georgian home. That’s the country, not the state.

Kargi Gogo opened July 18 in the former home of Big Egg at 3039 N.E. Alberta St. It’s the cheery yellow brickand-mortar iteration of a downtown food cart, which owners Sean Fredericks and McKinze Cook closed three years ago.

Kargi Gogo literally translates to “good girl,” a term of endearment in Georgian, and the business’ cheerful girl logo embodies that. She tops the menu that offers items designed to please meat eaters, vegetarians, vegans and glutenfree diners.

At its base, Kargi Gogo serves khachapuri – breads stuffed with cheese and other fillings, including one with an overeasy egg and butter – plus the pillowy, filled dumplings called khinkali.

Also on the menu is another favorite of Sean’s, Georgian wine. “Much of it is made in large clay vessels buried underground, the same way it has been for 8,000 years.

“We’re bringing wines to Portland that have never been here before and we’re always adding to our selection.” To see a sample menu for other Georgian treats, visit KargiGogo.com.

Sean and McKinze know their Georgian food and wine. They served in the Peace Corps in Georgia from 2010 to 2012.

“We fell in love with the food, but also the Georgian culture of hospitality and generosity,” Sean explained. “We knew we couldn’t get that food back in the states, so we came back and opened the food cart in 2013.

Since closing the cart at the end of 2015, the couple sold Georgian spices online and cooked for a few events. They also traveled – including spending most of summer 2016 in Georgia – and pursued other interests.

McKinze got a full-time job that she continues to enjoy, and Sean spent 2017 as a marketing consultant until he decided at the end of the year to open Kargi Gogo.

“We’re trying to create the warmth of a typical Georgian home and, as soon as I saw the character and charm of this space, I knew it was perfect,” he said.

He’s as pleased about the space. “It also has a large kitchen, which is helpful when making so much dough.

“Alberta Street is such a busy and lively area with a great sense of community, and the neighborhood has been wonderful about welcoming us in.”

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

Concordia Murals: ‘Still We Rise’ mural is history and art

Posted on September 19, 2018 by Web Manager Posted in Arts & Culture, Concordia News

By Karen Wells | CNA Media Team

Photo by Karen Wells

The last link of chain, broken, dangles from the arm of central male figure as he cradles a brown child. Arm and index finger point to Pan-African flag embellished with “Still We Rise.”

This is the title of Arvie Smith’s 2018 mural facing Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) Boulevard at Alberta Commons Natural Grocers, 5055 N.E. MLK Blvd. The 10-by-17-foot porcelain enamel panel is a permanent installation of the Alberta Commons building.

The mural is one of two murals to be installed. The other mural, “Until We Get There” by artist Mehran Heard, will be of the same dimensions and will face Alberta Street.

“Still We Rise” is a nod to Maya Angelou’s 1978, 240-word poem “Still I Rise.” Arvie’s multi-paneled mural is a narrative of Portland African-American history from last century to the present.

Icons embedded in the mural’s field provide clues to the forces and elements that shaped, negatively or positively, the Portland black experience. Reading the mural, starting at the lower left corner and progressing clockwise, several main themes emerge.

The central figure stands on a roadway posted as “I-5.” Scenes of flood waters and home destruction morph to a nightclub band scene. The flute guy in the band, clad in yellow, is Arvie Smith.

The 11 o’clock position, offers scenes of occupations and police brutality. The 1 o’clock area tells the story of the impact the Emanuel Hospital expansion on the community’s viability. A broad red line dominates the 5 o’clock space.

Arvie is a long-time northeast neighbor and, in 1984, became the first African-American graduate of Pacific Northwest College of Art, where he earned a bachelor’s of fine art. He received his master’s in fine art from Maryland Institute of Art in 1992.

His work has been featured in numerous Baltimore and Portland galleries, including the Portland Art Museum.

Editor’s note: If you’d like to know more about Arvie Smith and Maya Angelou, their lives and their art, Karen shares her resources online. Visit ConcordiaPDX.org/still-we-rise.

Hit the (local) streets for Sundays Parkways

Posted on September 18, 2018 by Web Manager Posted in Concordia News, Events
Sundays Parkways – the annual, safe, family-friendly event – is in its 11th year. Roadways in Concordia and nearby neighborhoods will be closed to traffic Sunday, Sept. 23, so you can walk or ride the eight miles that connect four parks. Photo by Nancy Varekamp

Oil your bike chain, adjust the axle nuts on your skateboard, charge your Segway or electric scooter and/or change the shoestrings in your sneakers. Sundays Parkways comes to northeast Portland Sunday, Sept. 23.

Street closures and vendor booths in the parks from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. provide a safe walk or ride for people of all ages. There are eight miles of streets closed to vehicular traffic for you to wend your way through neighborhoods and parks in Concordia and nearby neighborhoods.

The route is largely on Ainsworth and Going streets, connected by 9th and 55th avenues. Visit PortlandOregon.gov/ transportation/article/676060 for the map that designates all of the roadways and the four parks.

Woodlawn, Alberta and Fernhill parks offer activities, music and food. At Khunamokwst Park is a Bilingual Bike Fair sponsored by the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) and the Andando en Bicicletas en Cully Group. That bike fair offers bike safety information for young and forever young cyclists.

This is the final of five Sundays Parkways in this, the PBOT event’s 11th year. Total attendance in the first decade’s 44 Sundays Parkways events is estimated at nearly 900,000 people.

This is the first year PBOT has worked with Olde World Puppet Theatre to showcase as many as 66 tall and small puppets through an exhibit with themes that range from mermaids and birds to giants and sharks.

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