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About The Southwest Portland Post. (Portland, Oregon) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (May 1, 2011)
SERVING Burlingame • Capitol Hill • Garden Home • Glen Cullen • Hillsdale • South Portland • Multnomah Village • Raleigh Hills • Vermont Hills • West Portland INSIDE: Lake Oswego to Portland streetcar route passed by both city councils Southwest Portland’s Independent Neighborhood Newspaper Volume No. 19, Issue No. 7 www.swportlandpost.com Portland, Oregon Complimentary – Page 3 May 2011 Oregon Humane Society opens adoption center on Macadam Avenue friend. The Dennises arrived early for the grand opening of the Oregon Humane Society’s westside adoption center. Lola waited along with dogs and cats that When Rob and Nanci Dennis spot- will help end petlessness forever. ted Lola, their sorrow turned to joy. In The new facility is located at 6100 fact, nobody could stay sad around this SW Macadam Ave., next to Starbucks, spunky Terrier mix. And, they didn’t inside LexiDog Boutique & Social have to drive far to find their new small Club. It provides animals waiting for new homes a taste of paradise. The dogs play at daycare all day be- fore a warm dip in the therapy pool. Vol- unteers walk them. They eat only the finest. Meanwhile cats, like Hermione, find homelike rooms with nooks, crannies and everyplace to climb. “In 26 years of m a r r i a g e , we ’ ve Nate Zoucha and Nancy Tonkin stopped to admire Boss, had a total of four a three year old Chihuahua who is looking for a forever days without a dog,” home. (Post photo by Polina Olsen) Nanci Dennis said as By Polina Olsen The Southwest Portland Post Nanci and Ron Dennis with their new family member Lola. (Post photo by Polina Olsen) she pulled a sweatshirt hood around Lola’s head. The pink showed off the dog’s licorice nose. “We just lost a dog Tuesday. Our hearts broke but in her honor, we want- ed to adopt again,” said Dennis. Like other pet humans, they found perfect accessories out in the lobby boutique. “We bought everything in pink. She looks like Anna Nicole.” Hundreds of people and a dozen dogs milled around as volunteers passed out lemonade and cake. David Lytle, the OHS Public Affairs Manager strolled among the crowd. “For a long time, we wanted to ex- pand to a location in the Southwest,” Lytle said. “Here, the dogs get in this social area with lots of other dogs , and their personalities blossom.” Lytle emphasized adopters receive the same services they would find in the Northeast Portland OHS facility. (Continued on Page 6) School tax measures debated at Multnomah Center forum By Lee Perlman The Southwest Portland Post At a forum last month, two speakers said Portland couldn’t afford the Port- land School District’s proposed $548 million bond measure. Two others said we can’t afford not to pass it. The debate took place last month at a forum sponsored by Southwest Neighborhoods, Inc. About 30 people attended the event, held on April 15 at the Multnomah Center. The District is proposing two mea- sures with different purposes. A five- year, $250 million levy will be used to maintain staff at the district, reducing (but not eliminating) the need for laying off teachers and increasing class sizes. The bond measure, spread over 20 years but with the heaviest assessments coming in the first six, would be used to rebuild nine particularly deteriorated school buildings and upgrade 86 others. The levy will cost property owners $.74 per $1,000 of assessed value (in addition to a $1.25 per $1,000 levy still in effect) for the first year, and $1.99 per thousand for four years after this. The bond measure would cost $1.99 per thousand for the first six years, $.15 per $1,000 for the next 20. It would be the largest tax measure in Oregon’s history. Barbara Smith Warner, parent of two children in northeast Portland’s Beverly Cleary School, said she favored both measures. Because of the economic downturn and reduced state funding, PPS stands to lose $350 per student, she said. “Will the bond measure fix this?” She asked. “No, it won’t, but it’s the best option we have now, and we need it. None of this will go to administration. The school board has determined that we can’t afford not to do this. Our aging schools are continuing to deteriorate. “This is an investment in our future, and like all investments it will generate returns,” Warner said. “It will keep us competitive with other districts. It will give us stronger neighborhoods with higher property values.” According to Warner, “Businesses will come and stay in Portland because of our commitment to our schools. Don’t forget to renew your subscription. Form on Page 2. The Southwest Portland Post 4207 SE Woodstock Blvd #509 Portland, OR 97206 Will Fuller, SWNI Schools Committee chair, at the School Tax Measures Forum at the Multnomah Center, April 15. (Post photo by Lee Perlman) This is Portland, where we believe in studying problems, and coming to conclusions.” Lindsay Breshauer, a former con- struction company owner, came to a different conclusion about the bond. “I know what happens when you try to build with inadequate funds,” she said. “When you take on a project of this magnitude, you need a 20 percent contingency. By the time you’re ready to break ground, you’re lucky to have five percent contingency left,” said Breshaur. “The district is starting with a 12 percent contingency, and by the time you go through public involvement, you will have zero.” “These are old schools,” Breshauer continued. “Where will funding for the inevitable changes come from? You’ll have to take some proposals off the table. Imagine how you’ll feel when you’re paying $300 to $400 more (in taxes), yet see your school swiped off the list.” As to the levy, Breshauer said, “I op- pose it on principle. When you have a $19 million budget hole and you have to lay off 350 teachers, you don’t go around and write pay increases for the rest. It’s bad policy.” Mike Roach, Hillsdale activist, owner of Paloma Clothing and father of a Lin- coln High School graduate, said, “This is our opportunity to give back, as our parents and grandparents did. There are real safety issues, and the bond will address them.” The Seattle School District recently went through a similar process, and Portland can learn from its successes and failures, Roach said. Eric Fruits, an economist, Laurelhurst resident and father of four, is part of the (Continued on Page 7)