Governor Ted Kulongoski held a press conference at Unitus Community Credit Union yesterday to announce a new resource in an attempt to consumers avoid high-interest payday loans.

The Credit Union Association of Oregon (CUAO) and the Department of Consumer & Business Services (DCBS) created a partnership earlier this year to provide information to the general public about payday loan alternatives.

Beginning in August, the CUAO and DCBS are sponsoring a public education announcement about payday lending alternatives, which will air on television and radio stations throughout Oregon. The public education announcement leads consumers to resources where they can locate information about the short-term loan products Oregon credit unions are providing.

This year, the City of Portland’s annual kick-off to National Night Out begins a week earlier than usual.  Billed as the Countdown to National Night Out the event happens on Tuesday, July, 25 running from 5 to 6p.m. at the Lloyd Center Applebee’s Neighborhood Bar and Grill, 1439 NE Halsey St.

Stephanie Reynolds, interim program manager for the Office of Neighborhood Involvement’s Crime Prevention Program says, “In past years we’ve held the kick-off event the same night as National Night Out.  We realized that this was a conflict for many of the party-givers that wanted to attend the kick-off but couldn’t because they were in the midst of final arrangements for their neighborhood celebration.

The Ninth Annual Rossi Farms Barn Bash was another hit with the community.

The Columbia Cut-Ups, one of two live music acts perform at the Ninth Annual Rossi Farms Barn Bash.

Saturday, July 8 2006 was the date; Rossi Farms in east Portland the place. For the ninth year running, people helped Aldo, Irene, Joe, Nick and Jodie Rossi party down and raise money for Parkrose youth activities.Mona Kelly, Parkrose High School class of 1977, at her second Barn Bash, from left, pauses to pose with friends Charla Guenther, PHS class of 1987 and Terri Edstrom, also  PHS class of 1977.

The Portland Office of Transportation advises motorists that a street paving project on East Burnside Street will require traffic control changes. Over the next few weeks in east Portland, Bureau of Maintenance crews will be paving East Burnside Street from 102nd to 160th Avenues.
The project also includes a section of 122nd Avenue from East Burnsdie to Stark Streek.
The maintenance project begins Thursday, July 13 and is expected to take three to four weeks.
While crews are in the area motorists are advised to take alternate routes and to avoid East Burnside Street especially during peak times in the morning and late afternoon.
Since portions of East Burnside Street will be closed to through traffic, motorists will be re-routed to either Northeast Glisan Street or to Southeast Stark Street.
TriMet MAX stations will remain open and trains are expected to run according to schedule. However, there will be no vehicular access to the stations during the street paving work.
PDOT strongly advises motorists, pedestrians and bicyclists to use extreme caution and pay close attention to temporary changes in traffic patterns during the maintenance project.

 

Portland Trailblazer Seung-jin Ha helps a new basketball player at a Youth Basketball Mini-Camp held last month at Portland Christian High School.

Last month, at Portland Christian High School in east Portland, Jane Olson Mauk turned the auction item she purchased at the Oregon Korean Foundation annual dinner for her son and three friends lunch with Portland Trailblazer and Korean National Seung-jin Ha into a Portland Trail Blazer Mini-Basketball Clinic for 53 Korean high school and college exchange students, Portland Christian athletes and members of the Korean Chamber of Commerce church youth group.