P age A6 N ovember 16, 1994 • T he P ortland O bserver anh bserüer Kafoury Announces Community Grant Recipients • *• . / z • •’ C o m m is s io n e r G re tc h e n Kafoury announced today the C om m unity In itia tiv e s G rant P ro g ram re c ip ie n ts for Fall 1994, offered through the Bu­ reau o f H ousing and C om m uni­ ty D evelopm ent. She also an ­ nounced the opening o f the next round o f funding through the Initiatives Program . Fourteen projects were chosen through the Community Initiatives Grant Program, which receives its funds from federal Community De­ velopment block Grant dollars re­ ceived by the City Projects select­ ed include: • Buckman Neighborhood Devel­ opm ent Corp. Target area plan­ ning project. S3,700 • C u lly Assn, o f N eig h b o rs. Neighborhood Health Care Out­ reach Workers. $11.000. • F ran ciscan E n te rp rise , Inc. Community Child C are O u t­ reach project. $5,000. • Friends of Trees. Neighborhood street tree planting project. $5,000. • Independent Living Resourc­ es. Accessible Housing Survey . $6.000. • JO IN : A Center for Involvement. Connections. Skill development program for homeless people. $7,390. • K im b ro K idds. K idpreneur Training Program. $12,000. • Neighborhood Health Clinics. Child im m unization project. $8,000. • Oregon Housing Now.Commu- nity organizing at Piedmont Pla­ za housing facility. $10,000. • Oregon Latina Association. La Linea de Crisis. A domestic vio­ lence hotline in Spanish. $ 12,000. • P aragello P layers. C angbusters. A multi-cultural outreach performing arts program for at-risk youth. $12,000. • Portland Impact. Helping the Homeless Business Venture fea­ sibility study. $9,819. • ROSE CDC. Harney Park com­ m unity organizing project. $17,925 • YWCA of Portland. Operation SMART. An after school science and technology project for girls. $6,728. Kafoury also announced that application materials for the next cycle o f Community Initiatives will be available beginning November 1,1994. Applications for this round will be due in late January and project selections will take place in March 1995. The Community Initi­ atives Grant Program makes one time only grants o f up to $20,000 to non-profit organizations to carry out activities which benefit low and moderate income people. Projects are required to provide matching resources of cash or in-kind and volunteer support. For further inform ation or a copy o f the application packet, contact the Bureau o f H ousing & Com m unity D evelopm ent at 823-2375. Cold Season Care For Geraniums • * • / • ?.r • . 1 < n ‘ * ■ * 5" ' . ' • ; /A ' ' • • • «**- •* •/<. ‘r * * ? ♦ , t * : »V r < fL « '! » ■ y k* > • r • < ' * f- - • • e •>* ?7 .¡1 «X A little plant doctoring will help your geraniums through the winter to bloom again next year. “There are several ways to save geraniums through the winter,’’ says Ray McNeilan. Oregon State Uni­ versity Extension home gardening agent. “ Propagating hardy new plants from stem cuttings is the eas­ iest way.” Take stem cuttings from vigor­ ous plants. Firm stems are hardier than soft, succulent growth. Make the cuttings two to four inches long. Strip off halfthe leaves, and insert the cuttings firmly into a potofsand. Then, waterthe cuttings thoroughly. Keep the cuttings light­ ly shaded for two to three weeks. After root growth starts, give the cuttings full sunlight and move them into a pot containing loamy soil where the cuttings will be per­ manently planted. It’s also possible to nurse gera­ niums through the winter as house plants, says McNeilan. Simply dig the plant up, place it in a pot and move it indoors. When digging, save as many roots as possible. Then prune back the top of the plant about half way. Remove all dead, diseased and dam­ aged plant parts to avoid rot. De­ stroy any insects on the plant by dusting or spraying. Plan the geranium in as small a pot as will hold the root ball. Consumer Attitudes Positive That Now Is A Good Time To Sell Or Buy A Home Bv S teve C arter , D irector of S pecial S ervices , C entury 21 N orthwest R egion Good time to sell a home? Yes! Good time to buy a home? Yes again! Two surveys conducted by the Sur­ vey Research C enter of the U niversi- ty o f Michigan found that U.S. homeowners are positive that now is a good time to do both. QUESTION: Generally speaking, do you think that now is a good time or a bad time to buy a house? ANSWER: Seven out of eight U.S. homeowners say now is a good time to buy a house. SOURCE: Survey Center, University ol M i c h i g a n QUESTION: Generally speaking, do you think that now is a good time or a bad time to sell a house? ANSWER: Three out of five U.S. homeowners say now is a good time to sell a haouse. SOURCE: Survey Center, University ol Michigan Administration on Aging grant. A S.A .F.E. phone line has been established and is o pera­ tional to accept calls from peo­ ple with questions about the p ro ­ gram and those with concerns about subsidized housing for se­ niors. The S.A .F.E. phone line num ber is (503) 823-5889. 85% 80% 85% 84% In the first quarter of 1993, only two out o f five U.S. homeowners said they believed that it was a good time to sell a home. By mid-1994, that ratio had jumped to three out of five - a m ajor improvement in homeowner attitudes in the last five quarters, according to the latest sur­ vey o f consumers conducted by the Survey Research Center o f the Uni­ versity of Michigan. Percentage-wise, the increase from 39% in the first quarter of 1993 to 61 % in the second quarter is a gain of more than 50%. The reasons most frequently giv­ en: low mortgage interest rates, 31 %; and “times are good,” 23%. This quarter-by-quarter positive attitude trend is expected to continue in the fourth quarter of 1994, barring dramatic increases in mortgage in­ terest rates or a major change in the national economic recovery. Additionally, this positive out­ look for housing activity is height­ ened by the extremely positive atti­ tude among seven o f every eight U.S. homeowners that now is a good time to buy a home. The National Association of Realtors is predicting that existing single-family home sales will total 3.94 million units in 1994, represent­ ing a 3.6% increase over last year and 87% 86% ■ : : A G o o d T im e T o S e ll A H o m e • • • • • • • • 1 < • • • • .fe - • i 70% 60% 50% 2 7 « •/: ■ 30% » ♦ • < ■ : ■ ' .<■ I • • 1 • • • • • • • • • « • • • 4 0% 'E '-rf - ' • • • > • • « »? ■ Mí ■ » • • I • • • • • • • • 1 « • • • ■ . s ft;' 2 0% • • • < ■ • 10% 0% the highest total recorded since 1978, when 3.98 million units were sold in the U.S. A G o o d T im e T o B u y A H o m e One o f the m ost active U.S. housing markets, on record is be­ ing fueled by 1) a high level o f consum er confidence in the econ­ omy; 2) affordable m ortgage in­ terest rates; and 3), an extrem ely p o s itiv e a ttitu d e am o n g hom eow ners that “now is a good tim e to buy a hom e.” The most recent survey o f con­ sumers by the Survey Research Cen­ > • • f • • • • • • • • • « • • • 4th ¡ 2nd 1st 3rd Q tr. Q tr. Q tr. Q tr, ter of the University o f Michigan, done in the second quarter of 1994, found that seven out o f eight U.S. homeowners (86%) agree on the “good time to buy” question. Homeowners w ere even more positive in the first quarter o f this year, when 90% answ ered a ffirm a tiv e ly , su rv ey v iew ers found. Their positive responses to the Qtr, “good time to buy’ question were in the 84% to 87% range during each of the four quarters o f 1993. This attitude, coupled with a dram atically more p ositive a tti­ tude am ong U.S. hom eow ners that “ now is a good to sell a hom e,” is triggering forecasts o f near-record existing home sales this fall and w inter, and for all o f 1994. NORW esr .‘.M.fc.'iV: LISCENSED IN OREGON SINCE 1975 H. Francene Crewe Branch Manager Sales Representative Singles & Seniors, I can help you! “ 1st Class Gaurantee" A-ZEBRA H. rmls G e o rg e A . H e n d rix MBA, GRI, Broker Ô Norwest Mortgage, Inc. 825 NE Multnomaht Portland, OR 972II Realty Inc. Office 503-235-1940 FAX 503-235-1948 Pager 503-635-1622 300 NE Multnomah, Suite #16 Portland, Oregon 97232 (503) 230-1390 • (Res.) 287-6837 S.A.F.E. Housing Program Kicked Off A program developed to active­ ly address the needs and concerns of older tenants living in subsidized housing in Multnomah County was unveiled at a kick off event on No­ vember 4, 1994. The Special A dvocates For S en io rs (S .A .F .E ) su b sid iz e d housing om budsm an program , o n e o f fiv e d e m o n s tr a tio n projects in the country, recruits and trains volunteers to serve as advocates for low-income seniors who reside in or seek residence in publicly subsidized housing. The first 20 volunteer om buds­ men have been trained and will begin their work this month in 15 subsidized housing properties in M ultnom ah County. S A F E., sponsored by the P o rtlan d /M u ltn o m ah C om m is­ sion on Aging (PM C oA ), is a collab o rative venture involving volunteers, tenants and building m anagers who work together to create a safe, high-quality living environm ent for older people. U.S. Congressman Ron Wyden, Mayor Vera Katz and senior advo­ cates and community leaders spoke briefly to voice their support and help kick off the program. O m b u dsm en w ill p ro v id e such services as assistance with problem s related to housing, in­ form ation regarding housing pro­ gram s, eligibility requirem ents and ap p lications processes, re­ ferral to social services, and ad­ vocacy related to the rights o f older individuals residing in pub­ licly subsidized housing. PMCoA funded the S A F E, program through a two-year federal 90% 90% Painter 249-1719 or 778-9360 4712 NE 66th Ave Portland OR 97218 J.L.S. Lawn Service office: 503-335-0263 pager: 503-940-7721 Estimates A N N IV E R S A R Y Beginning With Our Martin Luther King Jr. Issue On Jan, 11, 1995 S ÎÇ , <• * A * »