 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
 |
MEMO BLOG | |
Memo Calendar | Memo Pad | Business Memos | Loaves & Fishes | Letters | Home |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Publisher's note: Welcome to Perlman's Potpourri for August, a roundup of news items from the Gateway and Parkrose neighborhoods of mid-Multnomah County from veteran Beat Reporter Lee Perlman.
Coming up, Goodwill purchased the vacant site of the former Albertson's store at the corner of 122nd and Northeast Halsey St.
The first pedestrian, bicycle-friendly city-sponsored Sunday Parkways event hit the streets of the outer Southeast along a 4.5-mile route of traffic-free streets.
The effort to add household food-waste composting to residential curbside waste pickup service in Portland has begun in earnest. A pilot program in parts of the Hazelwood and Mill Park neighborhoods gets a review.
The Gateway Urban Renewal District Program Advisory Committee elected, or I should say, re-elected last year's citizen chairs of the PAC.
Also in Perlman's Potpourri, the grand opening of the new Gateway Center for Domestic Violence Services on N.E. 102nd Avenue has again been rescheduled.
Ventura Park is the site for three free concerts in August brought to you by Portland Parks & Recreation and the Hazelwood Neighborhood Association
And finally, Spirit of Portland Award nominations are due this month.
But first, to the news about Goodwill's purchase and plans for the old Albertson's store .…
LEE PERLMAN
THE MID-COUNTY MEMO
Goodwill buys Albertson's site
Goodwill Industries of the Columbia Willamette has purchased the long-vacant Albertson's property on Northeast Halsey Street and 122nd Avenue, and plans to build a retail outlet there.
Peter Collins, Goodwill Director of Operations, and spokesperson Dale Emanuel told the Memo that demolition of the old Albertson's building should begin the first week in August. The nonprofit will submit plans for City review by mid-August, Collins says. Construction of the 24,000 square foot building should begin by early November, Emanuel said, with the grand opening tentatively slated for “early 2011.”
The proposed store will replace an existing one immediately to the north in the San Rafael Shopping Center. The new store's location will provide higher visibility, Emanuel says. In addition, she says, “We make every effort to own our stores. It provides greater stability.”
The new store will have about 14,000 square feet of retail space, she says, with most of the rest devoted to the receipt and processing of donated items.
East Portland Sunday Parkways a success
 |
| The Northwest Trail Alliance built an obstacle course for bicyclists on Southeast Bush Street in Ed Benedict Park during the East Portland Sunday Parkways event held last month. The course was one of many events during the bicycle and pedestrian-friendly event. Portland Sunday Parkways is a city-sponsored event meant to connect neighborhoods and people in a traffic-free environment. Submitted Photo |
Pilot composting may become universal
Parts of the Hazelwood and Mill Park neighborhoods, between Southeast Stark and Mill Streets and 130th and 148th Avenues are part of a city pilot program to introduce food-waste composting into the residential curbside waste pickup service. Eventually, Residential Recycling Outreach Coordinator Alicia Polacok of the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability says, it should be common practice for all Portlanders.
During the pilot program, residents within the program area are asked to separate out their food waste and food-stained paper products from the rest of the waste stream, keeping the compostable materials in a plastic container supplied by the franchised hauler-in this case, Waste Management-and eventually dumping them into the green roll carts hitherto reserved for yard waste. Part of an ongoing effort by the city to increase the rate of recycling and reduce the material sent to the Arlington landfill, the food waste will be separated and then turned into commercial fertilizer.
As part of the effort, Polacok said, “We're switching the frequency of garbage and recycling pickup.”
For participating households, recycling and compost pickup occurs every week, while conventional garbage pickup is reduced to every other week. It is hoped that separating out food waste will reduce the waste stream to a point where weekly pickup is unnecessary, she said. Those who feel they need a larger container can get one for an increased monthly fee. Those who insist they must have weekly refuse pickup can get it-for double the old fee. Polacok said that in the pilot program “maybe five” people have called for this.
“We don't want people to do that, and the haulers really don't want people to do that,” she said. “It means that they have to make a special trip with their trucks.”
Portland has been experimenting with food compost pickup for a number of years. Citywide, a commercial program for restaurants, hotels and institutions has 450 participants. The problem has been that until recently it had to be trucked to a processing plant in Everett, Washington, run by the Cedar Grove Corporation. An attempt to set up a processing operation in the Wilkes neighborhood several years ago was defeated by neighbors who feared the negative effects of such a facility near their homes. The compost is now shipped to an operation run by Allied Waste in Benton County, near Corvallis, and Polacok said there may soon be one online in North Plains in Washington County.
The City tried to start with a sample that contained a diverse selection of households and geographic diversity. In addition to the East Portland area, there are pilot projects in Northeast's Roseway neighborhood, Southeast's Richmond, and Southwest's Collins View. There was early concern that the waste would attract “critters” such as raccoons, but Polacok said that once the program commenced, “We haven't heard much about odors or vectors.”
The discussion at Hazelwood led to complaints by several people about another waste issue-the illegal dumping of household wastes in other people's containers or businesses' dumpsters. One resident said that in her apartment complex such dumping, including furniture, so overloads the dumpsters that there is no room for legitimate use. Board member Bob Earnest said that his business has taken to locking their dumpsters, only to have people dump garbage on the ground beside them.
Gateway U. R. re-elects officers
The Gateway Urban Renewal District's Program Advisory Committee last month re-elected Bob Earnest and Jackie Putnam as their co-chairs. The Committee reviews and advises the Portland Development Commission on activities in the district and the expenditure of its tax-increment funds.
In a related matter, PDC Project Manager Justin Douglas advises the Memo that the potential expansion of the district, reported on in our July issue (“Perlman's Potpourri: Gateway Urban Renewal Area to expand sooner rather than later”), is “by no means certain,” and likely to take up to a year if it does occur.
Domestic Violence Center opening delayed
Due to logistical problems, the opening of the new Gateway Center for Domestic Violence Services, scheduled for July, has been delayed. Executive Director Martha Strawn Morris says at least some of the facilities will be in place and available for use this month. The grand opening has been rescheduled for 2 p.m. September 9 on East Burnside Street at 103rd Avenue. The shelter will have a variety of programs that domestic violence victims can make use of to address their problems, including counseling, assistance in securing new living quarters, and a remote hookup that will allow victims to obtain restraining orders against abusers without going downtown.
Concerts, movies due
Next month the Portland Parks and Recreation, the Hazelwood Neighborhood Association and other contributors are co-sponsoring three free concerts in Ventura Park. The Parks Bureau will also show free movies, usually preceded by live entertainment, in local parks.
This year's Ventura Park concert series will feature performances by Joni Harms playing country and western music on August 11, Aaron Meyer and his rock violin August 18 and Conjunto Alegre's tropical dance music August 25. All three concerts start at 6 p.m.
The movie schedule is as follows: “Shorts,” with The River City Band, August 3 at Glenfair Park. The same film with The Sounds of Norman August 4 at Gilbert Heights Park. “Deathbowl to Downtown: The Evolution of Skateboarding in New York,” with The Cat Jugglers, August 13 at Glenhaven Park. “Alice in Wonderland” (2010), with The Sounds of Norman, August 19 at Parklane Park. “The Princess and the Frog,” with The Sound of Rayvis, August 20 at Wilkes Park. “That's Entertainment,” with The Sounds of Rayvis, August 24 at Ed Benedict Park Memory Garden. “The Tales of Despereaux,” with The River City Band, August 28 at Montavilla Park.
On August 25 the Montavilla Community Center will show “Up” for $5 in their pool-bring an inflatable raft, inner tube and bathing suits for this one.
Spirit nominations due
The deadline for 2010 Spirit of Portland Award nominations is 4 p.m. August 16. The awards, in a variety of categories, are awarded annually to individuals, groups and businesses who contribute to the city's livability. A citizen jury under the direction of the Portland Office of Neighborhood Involvement will select the winners from the nominations submitted. Nomination forms are available at the East Portland Neighborhood Office, 1017 N.E. 117th Ave. or by e-mailing brian.hoop@portlandoregon.gov. For more information, call 503-823-4519.
MEMO Advertising | MEMO Archives | MEMO Web Neighbors | MEMO Staff | Home