Hola, Overlook, Beach School/Escuela Beach parents are not facing immediate closure, but change is very much still in the air. Please take a look at item 1 and share your thoughts now, whether you have kids at the school or not. All neighborhood input is welcome.
1) PPS Enrollment Balancing Survey – Please Respond! (by 1/27)
2) Tree Planting Saturday! Come on Down (1/26)
3) Fix-It-Fair Weekend (1/26)
4) OLCC Hearing: Liquor Carts (1/29)
5) Architectural Heritage Center Library Open House (2/2)
6) Peninsula Park Rose Garden—Replanting Project (February)
7) EPA updates Harbor Progress
8) Grant Program Announced; Do You Have A Project?
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1) PPS Enrollment Balancing Survey – Please Respond & Share! (by 1/27)
You may know that Portland Public Schools has been looking at the enrollment of the schools that feed to Jefferson High School; their current proposals include potentially closing Chief Joseph, Ockley Green, Vernon, and Woodlawn. Your representatives at the NECN (NE Coalition of Neighborhoods) and concerned parents have constructed a very short feedback form with 7 open-ended questions. Not all need to be answered (and not all our questions were asked). We wanted to focus on questions that are *not* school specific and that affect us all.
You can cut and paste this code into e-mails, blogs, web sites and all responses will aggregate to a single location; please distribute it as widely as possible. We’ll be sharing results with the PPS School Board of Education on Jan. 28th through public comment and with all of you here on-line. It is anonymous. It can be taken multiple times so if you can, please help someone who might not have access to a computer or the Internet provide feedback. Let’s give PPS and ourselves some constructive feedback…
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/embeddedform?formkey=dEprdVNnbGhmOEdPb3RsM3ltMnFqaWc6MQ
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2) Tree Planting Saturday! Come on Down (1/26)
Friends of Trees will be planting almost 120 new street and yard trees in the Arbor Lodge and Overlook neighborhoods in N Portland on Saturday, January 26th and we need your help!
Our plantings events are great ways to get outside, meet your neighbors and help make Portland greener and healthier! Please arrive by 8:45 a.m. at the staging sites lists below to register and be assigned to a planting crew. Plantings wrap-up by 1:00 p.m. with a free potluck lunch for all volunteers.
Saturday, January 26th: Arbor Lodge & Overlook neighborhoods
Peace Lutheran Church at 2201 N. Rosa Parks Way (map)
We also provide hot coffee and doughnuts in the morning, a potluck lunch at the end of the planting, as well as gloves, tools and trained volunteer guidance. All you need to do is show up dressed for the weather and be ready to have some fun! No need to sign-up in advance and no experience necessary!
If you have any questions, please call Andy or Jenny at 503.595.0213 or visit www.FriendsofTrees.org/Volunteering
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3) Fix-It-Fair Weekend (1/26)
Join your friends, family and neighbors at the second Fix-It Fair of the 2012-13 season!
Saturday, January 26, 2013
9:30 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Self Enhancement, Inc.
3920 N Kerby Avenue
Portland , OR 97227
Visit us online for the full brochure and workshop schedule.
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4) OLCC Hearing: Liquor Carts (1/29)
This Tuesday, Jan. 29th at 9:00 am OLCC (Oregon Liquor Control Commission) is meeting to APPROVE liquor establishments that can be located on exterior mobile carts and spaces abutting existing alcohol serving establishments.
The proposed statutory language, below, sets out the parameters by which outdoor service of alcohol is to be conducted.
Please note: Currently mobile carts can be moved from the site where they acquired their license – and move that cart anywhere in the state.
What: Oregon Liquor License Commission
Changing Statute on Outdoor Liquor Sales
When: Tuesday, Jan. 29th
9:00 AM
Where: OLCC Office
9079 SE McLaughlin Blvd
Milwaukie OR 97222
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5) Architectural Heritage Center Library Open House (2/2)
February 2, 2013 10:00 am to 3:00 pm
The public is invited to attend the Architectural Heritage Center’s library open house. This is a rare opportunity to have free access to the AHC library and get a peek into the closed archives.
Learn about great research resources available for your family, neighborhood, business or organization. Staff and volunteers will be on hand to answer your questions and share library resources.
More information: http://www.visitahc.org/content/special-events
Phone: 503-231-7264 Email: val@visitahc.org
Architectural Heritage Center
Resources and Inspiration for Historic Preservation
701 SE Grand Ave.
Portland, OR 97214
www.VisitAHC.org
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6) Peninsula Park Rose Garden—Replanting Project (February)
Rose Growers have donated 3000 new roses. Now we need to plant them!
Volunteers are needed to prepare the new roses on Feb. 11, 12, 13, 14, & 15 from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Meet at the maintenance shed on east side of park.
Volunteers are needed to plant the new roses on Feb 19, 20, 21 & 22 from 9 a.m.-2 p.m.
Contact Friends of Peninsula Park Rose Garden at penrosegarden@gmail.com if you plan to volunteer.
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7) EPA updates Harbor Progress
You may have read about the EPA’s response to one clean up plan submitted: They didn’t like it (http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2013/01/portland_harbor_superfund_opti.html). Keep an eye on this topic in the near future; they are going to rush a preferred plan to us some time in 2014.
The Portland Harbor Superfund Site is the result of more than a century of industrial use along the Willamette River. Water and sediments along Portland Harbor are contaminated with many hazardous substances. Some of the compounds have been found to be harmful to human health and the environment. Because of the contamination, some types of fish found in Portland Harbor, such as bass, carp and catfish currently pose a health risk to those who eat them. EPA and the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality are working with potentially responsible parties to clean up contaminated sediment and control sources of additional contamination.
UPDATE
EPA received the draft feasibility study from the Lower Willamette Group in March 2012. The study describes various options for cleaning up Portland Harbor. EPA recently completed a technical review of the study and submitted comments to the Lower Willamette Group. Our comments are available for review (see below).
After revisions have been completed, EPA will write a Proposed Plan. The Proposed Plan will summarize the cleanup options and propose a preferred plan for cleaning up contaminated sediment in Portland Harbor. We anticipate having the Proposed Plan available in 2014.
In addition to comments on draft documents, EPA answers to community questions on proposed disposal facilities are available.
Stay informed – click documents below
EPA comments on the RI/FS Draft Baseline Ecological Risk Assessment – December 21, 2012
EPA comments on the March 2012 Draft Study Feasibility Study – December 18, 2012
Portland Harbor Baseline Human Health Risk Assessment Dispute Decision – December 6, 2012
Portland Harbor BHHRA Dispute Decision Memo – Partial Resolution – October 25, 2012
Proposed Confined Disposal Facility Questions and Answers – January 13, 2013
Learn more about Portland Harbor www.epa.gov/region10/portlandharbor
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8) Grant Program Announced; Do You Have A Project?
Contact OKNA if you have a project to apply this toward. There is also a Youth Grant program announcement coming up; we love your neighborhood projects! Maybe the list below will spark an idea..
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The Community Watershed Stewardship Program is pleased to announce that grants of up to $10,000 are available to support projects that improve neighborhoods and communities while also improving the health of our watersheds. Application deadline is March 29, 2013.
This announcement contains the following sections: potential projects, how to apply, and upcoming workshops for prospective applicants.
Potential projects
Eligible projects are those that build community and improve watershed health, including:
Neighborhood safety, health and livability projects
Discourage criminal activity by cleaning up and greening troubled properties
Manage pollution and stormwater runoff
Solve a drainage problem on your school or church playground or parking lot
Add trees, vegetation, and public art
Youth leadership and skills development
Provide stipends for teens and young adults to work on neighborhood projects
Help young people gain work experience in environmental and green jobs fields
Community gardens
Remove unneeded pavement or turf and create a garden that provides fresh food
Add native plant areas to your food garden to attract pollinators
Art and education
Create art that educates your community about watersheds
Organize learning and community service opportunities that improve the urban environment
Cleanup and restoration
Invasive plant removal
Bioswales, rain gardens and naturescaping
Natural area cleanup and restoration
How to apply
Community-based organizations, businesses, non-profits, student groups, faith communities, neighborhood associations and other groups are eligible to apply. Projects must be carried out in the City of Portland. Applications are due by Friday, March 29, 2013 at 4:00 p.m.
Find application materials and information at www.portlandonline.com/bes/stewardship, call 503-823-7917 or email shannon.jamison@portlandoregon.gov.
Workshops for prospective applicants
Four workshops are scheduled to help groups develop their projects and put together competitive applications. Light refreshments will be provided. Please visit the websites for the dates. Workshops are mandatory. If you are interested in learning more about the application process but are unable to attend a grant workshop, please contact Grant Coordinator Shannon Jamison at 503-823-7917 or email shannon.jamison@portlandoregon.gov