The Portland Planning and Sustainability Commission last month unanimously endorsed the Outer Powell Conceptual Design Plan, but not without unexpected drama.

The Plan governs improvements to Southeast Powell Boulevard between the I-205 Freeway and 174th Avenue. It calls for one travel lane in each direction, a center median with left turn refuges at major intersections, two bike lanes, and wide sidewalks with street furniture and trees west of 162nd Avenue.

Are east Portland neighborhood associations all illegal? Technically yes, says East Portland Neighborhood Office Executive Director Richard Bixby, but it is not their fault. It is his.
A handful of the City’s 95 recognized neighborhood associations are 501(c)3 non-profit corporations, able to offer tax deductions for donations. Most of the rest fall into a different non-profit status.

Because they handle relatively small amounts of money, they do not have to make yearly reports to the IRS — or did not until the year 2006, when the law was changed.

Editor’s note: Welcome to Perlman’s Potpourri, news items from across the Gateway and Parkrose neighborhoods of mid-Multnomah County from veteran Beat Reporter Lee Perlman.

Portland Immigrant Statue dedication
As Joe Rossi and friends dedicated the long-anticipated Portland Immigrant Statue at the traffic island at the intersection of Northeast 99th Avenue, Sandy Boulevard and Killingsworth Street Oct. 1, the message was that it symbolized not the Rossi clan (some have speculated it is a statue of Rossi’s great-grandfather, which Rossi has consistently denied), but our common heritage.

Tomorrow morning, in the Southeast corner of Ed Benedict Park, help prepare the Portland Memory Garden for another season of meaningful outdoor experience for individuals and caregivers coping with memory loss disorders, and make your own memories, too.

The Portland Memory Garden is in the Southeast corner of Ed Benedict Park in outer southeast Portland.

This is a great family friendly project. Garden tasks include weeding, grooming, sweeping and general cleanup. Most tools provided. Optional: bring your own pruners or other sharps. Rain or shine, please dress for the weather.

Members of the community are invited to the Parklane Neighborhood Fair, presented in part by Portland Parks & Recreation today,  beginning at 4 p.m. at Parklane Park, Southeast 155th and Main Street.

The fair celebrates the first project in the city’s E205 Initiative, the new equipment and upgrades at Parklane Park —  and will feature family activities, a dedication and remarks by City Parks Commissioner Nick Fish and Mayor Sam Adams. The event will conclude with a tour of the future park site, live music and a  free movie in the park “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse” at dusk.

Early this morning, around 1 a.m., a police officer was driving east on Division Street at about Southeast 85th when he was flagged down by a motorist who told him a bicyclist had just been hit and run by a black SUV.

The officer immediately requested medical personnel to the scene to treat the cyclist, but soon after medical help arrived, the bicyclist was pronounced dead.  The same officer was approached by a 17-year-old bicyclist who had also been struck by the SUV.  The 17-year-old was transported to an area hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

A news release from the Portland Police Bureau about a gun battle in outer southeast Portland follows. To see a photo of him, click here, or on his name.

“Early this morning, Tuesday May 17, 2011, at approximately 12:31 a.m., Portland Police officers from East Precinct responded to the report of  shots fired in the area of 15920 Southeast Division Street. While officers were enroute they received additional information that someone might have been shot and that several people were chasing the suspect.

кухненски диваниA news Release from Portland Police Bureau about the arrest of two men, one a minor, for holding up an outer Southeast Portland resident at gunpoint after meeting him on Craigslist for the ostensible purpose of buying the victim’s laptop.

This afternoon, Monday February 28, 2011, at approximately 4:02 p.m., Portland Police officers responded to a residence in the 11200 block of Southeast Insley Street on the report of an armed robbery. No injuries were reported and the victim told police that the suspects were both armed with handguns and stole his computer.

The unedited news release from the Portland Police Bureau about a reward offered in Tuesday’s fatal hit and run on Southeast Division Street follows:

The Portland Police Bureau, in cooperation with Crime Stoppers, is asking for your help in solving a fatal hit and run to a pedestrian in
Southeast Portland.

On Tuesday January 4, 2011, at approximatley (sic) 11:51 p.m., Portland Police officers responded to Southeast 126th and Division Street on the report of a pedestrian lying in the street after being struck by a passing car. Witnesses reported that the vehicle did not stop after hitting the pedestrian and continued westbound on Southeast Division.

Be advised: we received a traffic advisory about lane closures on Southeast Division St. at 109th Avenue beginning Monday.

“The Portland Bureau of Transportation advises the public that beginning Monday, April 12, SE Division Street at SE 109th Avenue will be reduced to one lane in each direction for street repairs due to a water main break. The public is advised to expect delays in the area for a week and a half and to choose alternate routes if possible.

“The hours of the lane closures are weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Lanes are expected to be re-opened Thursday, April 22. Work is weather dependent.”