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About The Southwest Portland Post. (Portland, Oregon) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (July 1, 2008)
4 • The Southwest Portland Post NEIGhboRhooD NEwS By Lee Perlman The Southwest Portland Post OHSU nursing students study Hillsdale community For the second straight year a class from the Oregon Health and Sciences University School of Nurs- ing has been studying southwest Portland for the mutual benefit of itself and the community. Last year the class, under Launa Rae Mathews, studied institutions in Multnomah Village. This year they worked with low-income families in the Hillsdale Terrace and Ruth Haefner Plaza, as well as Loaves and Fishes. As one student told the Southwest Neighborhoods, Inc. board at their May meeting, “The best interven- tion is the services that people are asking for.” For families in southwest, the issues are as follows: Most are low- income families in this part of town are “hiding or hidden.” They need access to preventative health care, dental care, and case management. A second group studied and worked mainly with seniors. Their main issues, spokesperson Ryiah Nero told the SWNI board, are nu- trition and hunger, social isolation, and lack of physical exercise. “One of the myths is that seniors in this part of town don’t have needs that July 2008 NEwS aren’t met,” she said. According to Nero, “When social and health needs aren’t met, seniors rely on emergency health care. Na- tionwide, they generate 1 million ambulance calls a year.” As in previous years, students conducted free clinics for the com- munities they studied. Hillsdale neighborhood repre- sentative Janet Hawkins gave the OHSU nursing program enthusi- astic praise. “I complement you on an excellent job,” she told the class. “People are really drawn to services that they identify.” Environmental issues dominate Southwest planning meeting Perhaps remembering their ex- perience with the South Portland Community Plan, and wary of city intentions, area community activists were well-represented at early meetings of the Portland Plan process. An early “listening post” meet- ing at St. Barnabas Church drew 50 people where similar gatherings in other parts of town attracted 10 or fewer. At a kickoff meeting during the day on June 6, (a Friday), those in attendance included Southwest Neighborhoods Inc. land use spe- cialist Leonard Gard, SWNI land use chair John Gibbon, Don Baack of Hillsdale, Bill Danneman of South Portland, and Susan Egnor of Homestead. The process is an update of the Portland Comprehensive Plan, which sets city policy, and the zon- ing and other regulations to carry it out, for public and private activities and projects. Completed in 1980, the plan was intended to be updated or superceded after 20 years. Environmental issues dominated the discussion at the June 6 meet- ing. Sven Auken of Denmark, the keynote speaker, discussed the poli- cies discussed the policies that have turned his country from being de- pendent on foreign oil to an energy and energy technology exporter. Other speakers discussed the concept of the “20 minute neighbor- hood, in which most resources and commercial services are available via a 20-minute walk, or at least such a walk and a transit ride. Dennis Wilde of the Gerding- Edlen development company, a former senior city planner under the administration of former mayor Neil Goldschmidt, said that the hu- man race had at most seven more years to transform its ways of do- ing business before the harm to the environment becomes irreparable. Bridger steps down as SWNI chair, Russell elected Glenn Bridger of Hillsdale stepped down after five years as chair of Southwest Neighborhoods, Inc. and Brian Russell of Multnomah was elected to replace him, at the May meeting of the neighborhood coalition. In assessing his five years as president, Bridger mentioned as highlights a well-attended rally at Multnomah Arts Center to counter an expected push by racist orga- nizations to publicize their brand of bigotry; resolving issues with the independent Southwest Hills Residential League, and welcoming them into the coalition; expansion of and improvements to the coali- tion newsletter; and the burgeoning of a new community in the South Waterfront. The biggest unmet need, he said, was transportation improvements, particularly those related to pedes- trian safety, and particularly in the face of the apparent failure of the “halo” local improvement district experiment. “When we ask for things, we’re told ‘We don’t have the money,’” Bridger said. “My biggest complaint is our form of government. We elect administrators, but there’s no one to go to bat for us. We need more people like (SWNI board members) Don Baack and Dorothy Gage to get on the city’s case.” Bridger said he had enjoyed his time as chair, but that it was time to give another volunteer a chance to exercise leadership. He told the board, “Support your new president as well as you did me.” Celebrate Multnomah's Centennial! Advertise in our Multnomah Days Special Edition in August. Includes "Meet the Merchants" Special Section. Contact Don or Harry at 503-244-6933 for details. Deadline for space reservations is Tuesday, July 15. Deeper Sedation Dentistry... Dr. Little at West Hills Family Dental Center now offers DEEP SEDATION DENTISTRY. It’s MORE EFFECTIVE than just a pill. Call and find out why West Hills Family Dental Center is different. 503-291-0000 • www.fearfreedental.com