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About Street roots. (Portland, OR) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (July 18, 2014)
street roots 2 July 18, 2014 E D I T O Get fired up for Street Roots annual Online Auction! R S T« X Short-term rental ta x m ust help offset need fo r housing r | ’Mie City of Portland is in the process of regulating short-term rentals. We know that by allowing short- term rentals to thrive in Portland, many Portlanders could have access to an additional income. It will also have a negative impact on the affordable housing market, a market that’s already short 20,000 units. Properly taxed, in the same manner as hotels, these short-term rentals provide a new revenue stream for a city in need. Housing advocates have asked the city to dedicate 100 percent of the revenue generated from the lodging tax toward a housing investment fund to maintain and create affordable housing. Unfortunately, getting a commitment from City Why should poor and Hall, specifically Mayor Charlie Hales and low-income people Commissioners Amanda support building a Fritz and Steve Novick, more beautiful Portland when they can has been anything but encouraging. All three . barely afford to live have communicated they here, and more so will don’t want to dedicate most likely be General Fund money ; gentrified out of the from the tax specifically very neighborhoods toward affordable being improved? housing, citing technical reasons. Residents, still feeling the sting from a hard recession are being asked to swallow a regressive ■tax for transportation and a parks bond for beautification and maintenance. Meanwhile, the job market continues to sputter and the housing market for renters and low-income families is being turned upside down. a Street Roots sixth annual Online Auction is live and running for fc 10 days, now until noon, Sunday. July 27. Join in at www.streetrootsuaction.org We’ve partnered with n fU V r> P A ll< € more tiran 100 local tfU U b V 1 V » » businesses to bring you morefood and beer than ever before. There’s also By Israel Bayer rafting, the Timbers, lots of ■■■ h h h summer events, the chance for a child to be a veterinarian for a day and a home concert with Portland greats Casey Neill and Jenny Conlee, to name a few. Supporting us through thè online auction is a great way to give to Street Roots, while getting something great in return. We’ve worked hard to provide items that readers will enjoy, in a way that’s easy and fun to be a part of. Your support this year will mean DBSk X Israel Bayer is the executive director o f Street Roots. You can reach him, at israel@streetroots.org or follow him on Twitter @israelbayer. ___ ‘ kArnnlacGnaoe experiencing homelessness and and n/w/a-ri poverty an immediate income to improve their quality of life. It will mean supporting the organization to go to a weekly publication schedule this December. Your support will mean helping make Street Roots strong. We’re proud to work with more than 11,000 readers and dozens of busihesses in the community every day. Street Roots vendors help stabilize Portland’s street corners and neighborhoods, while offering a safe place for people from all walks of life to engage with people experiencing poverty in a positive atmosphere. When you support Street Roots, you’re giving individuals and families a hand up. Being able to obtain an alternative income while helping foster community and giving people self- confidence and self-worth is invaluable. It’s your support that makes that dream Talk about leaving a bad taste in our mouths. The city-is boised to give developers a break in Old developers with the hopes of building rental units for middle class Portlanders. The downside is the developers only have to keep those apartments affordable for 10 years. After that, well, we know what’s next: $1,500 rents on individual units. We’re not sure what kind of memo we need to send to the city to let them know that we do believe our city deserves real infrastructure for things like transportation and nice parks, but displacement and gentrification for common Portlanders is real. It’s very real, and it’s happening at an alarming rate. Why should poor and low-income people support building a more beautiful Portland when they can barely afford to live here, and more so will most likely be gentrified out of tiie very neighborhoods being improved? That’s what happens when you don’t require affordable housing with new transportation projects, with more development, with a greener and healthier city. Street Roots believes that it is common sense to allocate the money generated from short-term rentals for affordable housing. City Hall should be sending a message to voters right now that the city’s agenda isn’t just about the future of Portland, but it’s about what’s happening right now. It’s about the livability of our city. It’s about actually practicing what we preach on equity. It’s about prioritizing people over short-term profits. Our mission Staff Street Roots creates income opportunities for people experiencing homelessness and poverty by produdng a newspaper and other media that are catalysts for individual and social change. - Street Roots publishes every two weeks, launching on Fridays, and is available exclusively through our street vendors or by subscription. W e are proud members of the Internationa! Network of Street : Papers. H I I 1 | | | | | B 1 ■ I J, 1 : 1 ! ' ! Street Roots 211 NW Davis $t Portland, OR 97209 503-228-5557 Fax:503-227-3117 streetroots.org news.streetrOots.org IN! a ferae! Bayer ' israel@streetroo&org Managing Editor Joanne Zuh! joanne@streetroots.org Vendor Coordinator Cole Merkel - cole@streetroots.org Operations D irector Sarah Beecroft Program Assistant Grace Badik, Jesuit Volunteer, grace@streetroots.org Development Director Sarah Cloud Office Assistant Am ber Bielman Reporters Jake Thomas, Alex Zielinski, Nathan Gilles, Sue Zalokar, Ann-Derrick G aillot Photographers Kristina Wright, Christopher On'stott, Adrienne Burkett THROUGH Ä 1 T STREETROOTSflUCTION.ORG TO SEE WHAT'S ON THE TBBtE! 3rd and A sh Old Town b y F a y K a y liu s A jumper climbs a tree High on adrenaline and speed The area blocked off Police broadcast a plea From The Jumper’s family “We love you And want you to come down And get some help” Passersby sick with indifference Yell: “Jump Jump Jump” Board of Oirectops s Bruce Anderson (Chairman), Michael Anderson (Vice- chairman), Heather Stadick (Treas.), Eddy Barbosa (Sec.), Rich Rodgers, Brad Taylor, Leo Rhodes, Nora Coon, Darren Alexander, Am ber Bielman ' ' ; Volunteers Street Roots vendors buy the newspapers for 25 cents each and sell them for $1, keeping the 75 cents in profit for themselves; In order to keep the cost low to our vendors, we receive additional support from donations and in-kind contributions. - ' Jan Bayer, Elizabeth Tierney, Rob Shiyock, Ann- 1 Derrick Gaillot, Stacey Heath, Vinnie Kinsella, Michelle Breslau, Paula Cracas, John Barker, Mary Locke, Lucas Manfield, Jessie Carver, Cherie Vedal, Sam Bouman, Isaac Hastings Hauss, Emily Green, Tom Ray, Sarah ' Hansell, Alana Kansaku-Sarmiento, Kyle Craven, Audrey Benison, Crystal Elinksi Street Roots Rose City Resource Street Roots publishes the Rose City Resource, a comprehensive-booklet o f services for people experiencing homelessness and poverty. To inquire about getting guides, call 503-228-5657. Resources are online at www.rosedtyresource.org. 75 goes directly to the vendor who sold you the paper 25< goes toward printing costs Vendor orientations are at 1 p.m. every Monday, W ednesday and Friday at the Street Roots office'. '
