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Neighborhood Clean-up nets $2,643.53
MTNA partnered with the North Tabor
Neighborhood Association for the May
22 event. The annual clean-up is the
principle fund-raiser for the NA's,
and proceeds will be split between
the two. A total of 147 people
brought stuff they wanted to get rid
of to
Mt. Tabor Middle School, for which
they were charged $15 to $35
depending on the size and nature of
their loads.
A four-member clean-up committee,
consisting of Candice Jordan and
Lori Kennedy from North Tabor and
Deb Scott and Bruce Treat from Mt.
Tabor put in about 200 volunteer
hours to plan and conduct the
clean-up. Another 36
volunteers toiled the equivalent of
more than 150 hours on the day of
the event, much of it spent
unloading heavy debris -- and some
reusable stuff -- from arriving
vehicles. Volunteers put in another
20 hours collecting signs following
the 4 1/2-hour event.
The weather did not cooperate, and
participation probably would have
been higher had it been a nicer day.
Still organizers collected $2,689 in
user fees, $127.25 from a resale
area and $367.20 from the sale of
recyclable metals. Major expenses
included renting six large drop
boxes and recycling preparations.
Pictured above left are unloaders
Heidi Kohne and Wayne Dietz and
above right, debris depositors
Charles Shaw and Catherine Schiedler,
who hauled their load in a
wheelbarrow.
And while you're
here, you can
read our current MTNA newsletter
(Previous editions of the
newsletter can be read in the "About
MTNA" Section of the website)
Café au Play grand opening
was a grand success
Hundreds of people
turned out on a beautiful day July 17 to
celebrate the grand opening of Café au Play at
Tabor Commons, at 5633 SE
Division St. Games, musical performances, BJ the
Clown, a variety of ethnic foods for purchase, a
bike parade, and other events were all crowd
pleasers. A former drug house, the brightly
painted coffee shop was created over four years
of hard work by 150 volunteers, and the MTNA
was one of the sponsoring organizations. MTNA
board member Paul Leistner helped acquire the
site and was a leader in the restoration. He is
shown in photo at right addressing the crowd. To
learn more, go to
www.cafeauplay.org.
MTNA asks City to spare Graffiti
Abatement program
President Bruce Treat has written
city officials to urge continued
funding of the one employee
responsible for graffiti control.
The position is threatened with
elimination by a budget cut. "I can
tell you that I now notice much more
graffiti driving around our
beautiful city and can't imagine
what it would be like without Ms.
Dennis' contributions," Treat said
in his message to Mayor Sam Adams
and Commissioner Amanda Fritz. Click
here to read Treat's appeal and
Fritz's response.
Mt. Tabor Theater
revival underway
The Mt. Tabor Theater is having a
rebirth under its new owner, Dave
Peroff, who is transforming what had
been a murky dive on upper Hawthorne
into a gathering place for the
entire community. For example, on
June 21 the theater hosted a
community meeting on land
disposition policies of Portland
Public Schools and the City of
Portland.
Peroff, a mosaic artist and
manager of a classic rock band,
Papagaiyo, took over the theater in
July 2009 and reopened it three
months later under a new business
plan that continues to offer
concerts and shows but with an added
element of civic engagement. He has
appeared twice before the Sunnyside
and Richmond Neighborhood
Associations, as well as the Mt.
Tabor NA, to discuss his plans.
(Click
here
to read more)
MTNA members key in fight to save
open reservoirs
From the Southeast Examiner
Open reservoir backers are
regrouping for a vigorous campaign
to keep the reservoirs as they are,
safe and scenic repositories for
much of Portland’s drinking water.
Two advocacy groups, the
longstanding Friends of the
Reservoirs (FOR) and the recently
formed Citizens for Portland's Water
(CPW) have joined to work on behalf
of the reservoirs.
Besides influencing state and
local lawmakers and rallying the
public, advocates also hope to gain
the attention of the news media,
which they feel have been more
inclined to listen to fatuous claims
that the open reservoirs pose a
health hazard. Rate payers are
sufficiently burdened, they say,
without having to pick up an
expected near billion-dollar tab for
shifting drinking water storage from
the reservoirs to underground tanks
and building an unneeded treatment
plant, as required by the federal
LT2 rule.
(Click
here
to read more)
(And click
here to see an MTNA message
urging the City Council to "press
on" in the fight to keep the
reservoirs as they are and
here
for a lucid historical look at the
controversy by MTNA board member Paul
Leistner.)
News of MTNA Board members
Jim Blackwood has been
named policy director on the staff
of the Portland City Commissioner
Nick Fish. One of the more activist
board members, Blackwood led a
successful campaign to install a
memorial bench in Mt. Tabor Park.
The bench honors Howard V. Ramsey, a
longtime Mt. Tabor resident who was
the last surviving American combat
veteran of World War I. Ramsey was
108 when he died in 2007.
MTNA throws cold water on gun-toting
guard proposal
Portland City Commissioner Randy
Leonard has proposed arming the
guards at the Mt. Tabor reservoirs
and other sites to protect the
area's drinking water. The plan is
opposed by many who say sufficient
protection already, and few can
recall incidents at the reservoirs
justifying armed intervention.
See MTNA President Bruce Treat's
letter
to the Mayor and City Council
opposing the scheme.
100th Birthday Party for Mt. Tabor
Park
 The
celebrated Get A Life Marching Band
brought a rousing conclusion to the
Mount Tabor Park Centennial
Celebration August 1-2. Dave
Hillman, longtime MTNA stalwart and
a founder of the Friends of Mt.
Tabor Park, was a primary
organizer of the festivities, which
drew thousands of spectators,
participants and volunteers to the
park.
Click
here to read an account from the
Oregonian. And click
here for a photo page.
TriMet overrides MTNA objection to 2-way bus
service on Lincoln Street
TriMet will resume both-way Line
71 bus service on Lincoln Street
over the opposition of the MTNA. A
neighborhood consensus on the issue
is lacking, TriMet said, even though
the association voted 26-10 at its
April meeting in favor of a
"couplet" rerouting of the bus line
when the buses return to Lincoln and
proponents had collected 250
signatures in favor of the move.
(Check out the MTNA's letter to
TriMet
here)
Line 71 buses were rerouted from
Lincoln about two years ago to
accommodate city Water Bureau work
at the east end of Lincoln. Under a
"couplet" proposal backed by the
MTNA, eastbound buses would have
been shifted off Lincoln to Division
Street, a move that proponents said
would make Lincoln safer for
bicyclists and pedestrians.
Despite the MTNA vote, TriMet
said, there is still no neighborhood
consensus on the bus routing issue..
"Given this lack of consensus and
TriMet’s strong concerns about the
significant difficulties of
communicating with riders when
inbound and outbound bus stops are
on different streets, TriMet has
decided against pursuing the couplet
idea and does not intend to further
review this matter," Jon L. Joseph,
TriMet Marketing Programs
Coordinator, said in a letter to
MTNA President Bruce Treat.
Treat said the TriMet response
was "disheartening," adding, "I'm
glad that other organizations don't
so easily disregard positions taken
by MTNA like TriMet does or we would
be in trouble."
Joseph said the resumption of
full Line 71 service on Lincoln was
tentatively scheduled to start June
21.
Help plan the
routes of an expanded streetcar
system
Portland’s Streetcar System Plan
wants to hear from the Mt. Tabor
Neighborhood Association about
potential streetcar corridors in our
neighborhood. Position letters are
due by the end of year. The
potential streetcar corridors that
would potentially affect our
neighborhood include:
o SE Hawthorne Blvd./SE 50th Ave.
o SE Belmont St.
o E Burnside St.
See the project website for more
information:
http://www.portlandonline.com/transportation/index.cfm?&c=46134
(A map showing potential routes is
on the second page of this two-page
document.)
The responses will be reviewed by
the System Advisory Committee, which
is gauging reaction from the
community.
New Seasons
coming to Hawthorne Blvd in 2010
New Seasons now hopes to open its
new Hawthorne Blvd. Store by October
2010, more than a year later than
originally planned
Under revised plans, the new market,
at SE 40th and SE Hawthorne, will
have about 17,000 square feet of
selling space and could occupy the
entire block. Some neighbors
doubted whether the new store will
have adequate parking, and the store
in its revised plan has increased
customer parking from 17 slots to 37
on the second story roof.
New Season executives say they are
pleased to kept this former site of
the Daily Grind, one of Portland’s
oldest natural food stores, under
local ownership.Daily Grind,
occupied the site for more than 20
years before it was closed in 2007.
New Seasons could face stern
competition from the upgraded Fred
Meyer a block and a half away on
Hawthorne.
City
Council Passes Resolution Regarding
Tabor Maintenance Yard
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED,
that the Portland City Council
supports the updating of
the Mt. Tabor Park Master Plan
to include the parcel commonly
referred to as the Mt. Tabor Park
Central Maintenance Yard, and
including the Nursery and Long
Block, in a process that follows
the Public Involvement proposal
brought forth by the Mt Tabor Joint
Committee; and re...
Updated Hawthorne Site Features
Business Search and Map
By David Wagner, HBBA
Volunteer Writer
The Hawthorne Boulevard Business
Association (HBBA) recently
completed their overhaul of the
ThinkHawthorne website. More
current than a phonebooklisting,
www.thinkhawthorne.com/explore
can provide you with information
for businesses all along the
boulevard.
Hungry? Visit the site and type
"restaurant" into the search
field to get a complete listing
of the wonderful eateries and
bistros on Hawthorne. Want more
information? Members of the HBBA
often have a description of
their fare, hours, a photo, and
an email contact in addition to
their phone number and address.
Can't remember the name, but
know roughly where it is? The
ThinkHawthorne site also boasts
an interactive map. Simply click
on a section of blocks, and see
all the businesses on that side
of the block. Check it out and
be amazed by the number of
businesses on Hawthorne.
Questions or corrections? Email:
think@thinkhawthorne.com.
Clean
River Rewards, the City's
stormwater discount program, is
now available.
Contain the rain and earn
stormwater discounts on your
City Utility Bill!! You may
qualify for Clean River Rewards
if you contain rainwater on your
property and prevent stormwater
runoff from polluting the City's
rivers and streams. Your
discount may be worth as much as
35% of your basic stormwater
management charge.
Register online at
www.CleanRiverRewards.com
and your utility account will be
updated immediately, and your
discount will appear on your
next utility bill. Or, if your
property is a single-family
residence, register by
touch-tone telephone by dialing
503-823-1371 and following
the instructions.
Visit
www.CleanRiverRewards.com to
learn more about ways to manage
stormwater runoff or to review a
schedule of stormwater
workshops and discount
registration classes. This web
site also provides information
about utility rates and charges
as well as ways to receive
financial assistance.
Call 503-823-1371 to order a
discount registration packet or
a packet of technical
information about ways to manage
stormwater runoff or send an
email to:
cleanrivers@bes.ci.portland.or.us
Citizens
Hold Meeting About Sale of Mt.
Tabor Park Land
At the Same Time City Says
Park for Lease, Not for Sale
Citizens gathered for an
informational meeting at the Mt.
Tabor
Presbyterian Church last
night, November 13, to share
what they had
learned about
the City's plan to sell a part
of Mt. Tabor Park to
Warner Pacific College.
The room overflowed with
over 50 people in attendance
even though the
meeting was quickly
organized and announced with
only a few days
notice. Some citizens found
out only a few hours before the
meeting..
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