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About The Southwest Portland Post. (Portland, Oregon) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 2013)
November 2013 EDITORIAL/NEWS tional program and help guarantee college affordability for all students. It is time to stop governing from crisis to crisis and get back to the real work of helping Oregonians. The Southwest Portland Post 4207 SE Woodstock Blvd #509 Portland, OR 97206 Fax: (866) 727-5336 email: editor@multnomahpost.com Jeffrey A. Merkley United States Senator Maplewood Bike + Walk to School (Continued from Page 1) Government shutdown is over; let’s get back to the real work Congress has finally agreed on a deal to reopen the government and pay our bills. Although I am glad that after two and a half long weeks we are putting this crisis behind us, it is unaccept- able that we ended up here in the first place. Keeping the government open and paying our bills should not be cause for celebration, it should be business as usual. We have seen the effects of D.C.’s dysfunction across our state, hurt- ing Oregon’s business and families. During this shutdown, small busi- nesses had loans and permits de- layed. Thousands of families went without paychecks. Recreation sites were closed, hurting the communi- ties around them. We must end the cycle of brinks- manship that has us governing from one manufactured crisis to another, and get back to the real work of building a country that works for the middle class. Instead of spending all its time lurching from crisis to crisis, Con- gress should be focusing on legisla- tion that will grow the economy and create good, middle class jobs. That’s why I am working on find- ing solutions that will help boost manufacturing around America and here in Oregon. Last year, I went on a Made in Oregon tour to hear directly from Oregon manufacturers about the opportunities and challenges they face. I have been working with a group of my colleagues to move forward on promoting manufacturing, and in the next few weeks we will be unveiling a plan to help boost American manufacturing and create good, living-wage jobs. As the first in my family to go to college, I know that an affordable college education can mean every- thing to a middle class family. That’s why it’s so important to me to take on the student loan debt crisis and lead the national efforts to explore Oregon’s innovative Pay It Forward model. This new approach would guar- antee affordability for students who choose to participate by replacing the huge loans weighing students down with a simple promise to pay a fixed small percentage of their fu- ture earnings into a Pay it Forward fund. In the coming weeks, I will be of- ficially introducing the first bill that would make Pay It Forward a na- epidemic is a crisis that, in the long run, affects all of us,” said Dr. Jimmy Unger, a Portland pediatrician with Kaiser Permanente. “As one who spends much of my day encouraging families to be more active for the sake of their children’s health, I know that efforts such as these at Maplewood make it easier for families to make healthy choices,” said Unger. Maplewood Elementary joined the program in 2008. “When I moved to Portland with my kids, I immediately recognized the trans- portation challenges.” said South- west Portland resident Ronda Zakocs. “As a parent, I’d like to thank SW Trails, Southwest Neighborhoods, Inc., and the bureaus of transpor- tation and environmental services for their work on improving the shoulders near Maplewood,” said Zakocs. Wilson College and Career Center (Continued from Page 1) weekly,” said Meyers. College and Career Center vol- unteers will receive training on Na- viance planning software, the college application process, financial aid, career-related learning, graduation re- quirements, college visits, and more. “This is a great opportunity to work with Wilson students and counsel- ors,” Meyers said. Please contact Sue Stahl (sstahl@ pps.net), or Kate Morgan (kmorgan@ pps.net) to make donations to the Wilson College and Career Center. To volunteer, please contact Erica Mey- ers at emeyers@pps.net. “15 Years of Responsible Mortgage Lending” Serving my SW Portland Neighbors Residential • Investment • Vacation Home Small Commercial The Southwest Portland Post • 3 Freeman Water Tank property controversy continues to boil By Melinda Hasting The Southwest Portland Post The Freeman Water Tank property sale controversy continues to boil as neighbors organize in opposition. Jeremy Solomon, a neighbor who lives near the property, spoke at a recent meeting of the Multnomah Neighborhood Association about his activities to halt the sale, or at the least, to eventually improve the public notification process related to sale of public land in the future. The 0.72 acre property, located at 8625 SW 42nd Ave, was contracted for sale by the Portland Water Bu- reau to local developer Renaissance Homes for infill development last year. Though the property’s fair market value was a considerably higher amount, the contract for sale was $140,000. Solomon says another prop- erty just around the corner with a smaller (0.22 acre) footprint sold for close to $200,000. The Water Bureau is required to sell public property for fair market value, and neighbors in opposition to the contract for sale to Renaissance say they believe this requirement was breached. Portland Maps, a widely-used website to determine local fair mar- ket value of commercial and resi- dential properties, listed the site’s value at approximately $416,000 last (Photo courtesy of Jeremy Solomon) year at around the time the Water Bureau entered into contract for sale of the property to Renaissance. The property abuts the Woods Memorial Natural Area, a city park that is widely used by neighbors who hike, jog, and enjoy its con- siderable wildlife, which includes owls, foxes and woodpeckers. Solomon claims the Freeman property has been considered an informal park itself due to its inher- ent natural qualities and that neigh- bors have consistently appealed to the Water Bureau over the years to make the space a public park if it was ever decommissioned. Claims that the Water Bureau failed to exercise good faith in noti- fying the public about the plans to sell the land abound. In March 2012 the Water Bureau posted a vague notice on Craigslist advertising the property for $187,000. Neighbor Carole McCarthy said the property (Continued on Page 5) PoSt ClaSSifiedS adS Advertise in Post Classifieds! Just $2 per word or $39 per column inch. Email your ad to Don Snedecor at don@ multnomahpost.com or call 503-244-6933. All major credit and debit cards accepted. Deadline is the 20th of the month prior to publication. There is more info at www.SWPortlandPost.com. Help Wanted Freelance Customer Service Rep. The Post is seeking a customer service representative. E-mail cover letter and current resume to: Don Snedecor, Publisher, The Southwest Portland Post, don@multnomahpost.com. Snail mail or fax OK. No phone calls, please. Massage Office for Lease Jeffrey B. 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