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COMMUNITY NEWS
Grimm again fi nds St. Johns is
the perfect backdrop
The popular show is fi lming its fi fth season here
By Jackie Larson
Review Reporter
“We’ve done
a lot of fi lming
in St. Johns in
the last four
years,” empha-
sizes key assis-
tant shooting
location manag-
er Shaun Gavin.
“We really like
the bridge and
down by the
river, when we
are
looking
for that kind
of stuff. When we need a forest
scene, Pier Park works really
well.”
Local residents have become
quite familiar with the hit TV
show cast and crew and settling
in with cameras, crew, and casts
for multi-day fi lming sessions. To
many it appears to be a partner-
ship that works. Onlookers like
to see the cameras in action in
their neighborhoods and get be-
hind-the-scenes glimpses, while
vendors benefi t from a bit of foot
traffi c. Overall, 200 local people
are employed thanks to the show
being fi lmed entirely in the Port-
land and surrounding area.
During the fi rst week of Au-
gust, scenes for season fi ve
were fi lmed here. “We were at
Pier Park for three days straight.
Mostly at night so thankfully it
had cooled down a bit.
That park works for
spooky night scenes,”
Shaun said.
Where else would
the descendant of
a group of hunters
known as Grimms
fi ght to save humanity
from sinister supernat-
ural storybook charac-
ters who have infi ltrat-
ed the real world and
who roam present-day
Portland, Oregon?
Gavin adds that St.
Johns has always been welcom-
ing to the crew, and that there
is plenty of both old homes and
trees. “We tend to gravitate to-
ward older architecture.”
When will fi lming happen in St.
Johns again? As this issue goes to
print, the location managers ar-
en’t sure yet. They get about one
to two weeks’ notice; whenever
they receive a script. Notifi cation
is always provided in advance
to St. Johns Main Street and
through social media notices re-
garding when and where parking
will blocked.
According to the NBC website,
the fi rst episode of this season
airs October 30. Will you be tun-
ing in to look for a few familiar
landmarks?
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Keep our unique landmark
Dear Editor,
I am writing to request the pow-
ers that be save Ivy Island. (The
one people have worked so hard
to get and maintain.) It is located
close to that “ blind corner” at the
approach of St. Johns. It’s funny
to me, and I think the majority of
people that grew up in St. Johns,
don’t think it is a “blind corner” at
all.
Growing up in St. Johns, and still
a member of the community, I am
hoping that beautiful island that
is so welcoming to our communi-
ty stays put. With all the changes
and infl ux of new people moving
here, can’t we save some of our
last unique landmarks? St. Johns
is already not looking like the di-
amond in the rough it once was.
Please keep the island.
Rhonda Wittkopp
========================
Is it really in the St. Johns
Lombard Plan?
Dear Editor,
About the Lombard/Ivy Island/
Richmond development.
I keep hearing how the authority
for this project is the SJ/Lombard
Plan. But this project looks only
superfi cially like that plan.
In the drawing with the original
plan, essentially the Lombard slip
was blocked off and Ivy Island be-
comes a pleasant grassy knoll for
pedestrians. The only buildings in
the 2004 plan were the one-story
structures of the current Huk Lab
and the Hookah Lounge. The plan
is unassuming and almost cute
when compared to the current
proposal. It does little to radically
change the parking and traffi c pat-
Univ of Portland announces plans for new residence hall
University of Portland has an-
nounced plans to construct a new
residence hall with room for ap-
proximately 270 students. The hall
will be located on the UP campus
adjacent to the newly constructed
Beauchamp Recreation & Well-
ness Center. The University aims
to have the project begin this sum-
mer and be completed prior to the
start of the 2016-17 academic year.
The ground fl oor of the new res-
idence hall will include a spacious
lobby, a classroom, offi ce space,
a dining concession, and a chap-
el, while the top three fl oors will
house students. An architectural
rendering of the new building is at-
tached; more renderings are avail-
able here.
As a Catholic university, the Uni-
versity of Portland has been guid-
ed by the Congregation of Holy
Cross since its founding in 1901,
and central to the Holy Cross tra-
dition of educating the whole per-
son is providing opportunities for
students to experience life togeth-
er on campus living in communi-
ty. With the construction of Fields
and Schoenfeldt Halls, renova-
tions to existing dorms, and com-
pletion of the new residence hall,
the University will have increased
its on-campus student housing ca-
pacity by 53 percent since 2009.
The University is also commit-
ted to providing more on-campus
activities for students with the
new Beauchamp Recreation &
Wellness Center, a renovated and
expanded student lounge, and in-
creased weekend and evening
events via the Pilots After Dark
program.
University of Portland’s Presi-
dent, Fr. Mark L. Poorman, C.S.C.
notes, “One of the hallmarks of the
UP experience is living and learn-
ing on the campus. A greater num-
ber of our students wish to remain
in our residence halls throughout
their college years and this new
hall allows us to meet the demand
for more on-campus living.”
The announcement of the new
dormitory marks the latest achieve-
ment in a remarkable period of
success for the University. It will
be the 12th new or renovated cam-
pus facility to be completed since
2009, joining the new recreation
and wellness center (Beauchamp
Center); a completely renovated
library (Clark Library); a state-
of-the-art engineering hall (Shiley
Hall); two new dormitories (Fields
and Schoenfeldt Halls); a remod-
eled and vastly expanded dining
The St. Johns Review * #17 - Aug. 21, 2015 * Page 3
facility (Bauccio Commons); a
bell tower; a renovated and ex-
panded student lounge and dining
facility (Pilot House – to be com-
pleted in Fall 2015); a renovat-
ed science building (Romanaggi
Hall); an expanded and renovated
multipurpose athletic and events
facility (Chiles Center); and an up-
graded baseball stadium (Joe Etzel
Field).
In recent years UP has welcomed
several record freshman classes –
in size, academic achievement, and
diversity; set a new record every
year for the number of freshman
applications; and been recognized
both regionally and nationwide for
its academic quality, number of
competitive scholarships won by
students and alumni, and its return
on investment. In addition to cam-
pus improvements and garnering
institutional recognition, the Uni-
versity has increased scholarships
for students, established endowed
chairs and professorships, and ex-
panded faculty research opportu-
nities.
terns of St. Johns (except for the
right turn lane,) and had no impact
on James John Elementary School.
It DID NOT involve a four-story
mega structure, apartments, restau-
rants, retail stores and all the prob-
lems that we are discovering with
that.
So, what are some of the prob-
lems?
1) Parking by James John Elemen-
tary will be non-existent. Using
the Marvel 29 as an example of
what’s to come, parking on Alta
and under the bridge is becoming
non-existent, as it’s becoming on
Baltimore and as it’s rippling out
towards Chicago. Ask anyone in
these neighborhoods. I think we
can expect a similar parking situ-
ation to happen from this new de-
velopment on Lombard, John St,
Charleston, and Richmond.
2) Increased traffi c on Charleston
and Smith. A good route for our
new tenants to take to go to I-5 and
Vancouver. Also those of us who
live on the east end of SJ will now
use Smith Street coming into SJ,
rather than Lombard. We would
do this to avoid the right turn con-
gestion on Lombard, and also for
the same reason, we won’t be us-
ing Oswego ( and probably go two
blocks down and use Charleston).
3) Increased traffi c on Mohawk to
avoid the right turn congestion on
Lombard.
4) Lombard right turn congestion
entering the SJ Business district.
5) A parking garage that will have
its in and out traffi c fl ow facing di-
rectly into James John Elementary
School.
6) How is food and merchandise
going to be delivered to the retail
stores and restaurants? Where are
the 20 ft. to 40 ft. delivery trucks
going to park as they make their
deliveries? On Charleston? Lom-
bard? And if they can’t fi nd a park-
ing spot, as they do every place
else, they’ll just park it in the mid-
dle of the street until they’re done.
7) Loss of Ivy Island. A charming
and original segue into St Johns.
Why are we not asking for a
smaller project? If the city de-
clined to vacate its property and
NOT give it to the developer, he
would need to downsize. Smaller
is more in tune with Downtown St
Johns, Why not ask the city NOT
to vacate its property? What’s
wrong with that? A smaller proj-
ect would lessen or completely
dissolve the problems listed here.
It also would be more in character
with St Johns.
If you want to compare the
original plan, it’s in the St Johns
Library or just Google “St Johns/
Lombard Plan” (that’s it! Easy-
peasy,) 2nd or 3rd entry down.
Then go to page 38 to see the orig-
inal plan for Lombard/Ivy Island/
Richmond.
John Teply Atelier Gallery
========================
Protesters = money
Dear Editor,
Sometimes I don’t’ mind protest-
ers but when it comes down to
costing the taxpayers of St. Johns
money, then I think Greenpeace
should pay for the police/coast
guard and whoever had to get paid
to handle this incident.
CM Hinkle
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