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Closures Coming to Broadway Bridge
Free Vehicle Law Class
A class on Oregon’s vehicle laws
fromabicyclist’sperspective with Bike
Lawyer Ray Thomas will be given on
Wednesday, Nov. 14, from 6 p.m. -
7:30p.m. at the Bicycle Transportation
Alliance, located at 717 SW. 12*, This
is a free class. To pre-register, call 503-
226-0676.
Transportation officials are
preparing area residents for
a 26-day closure o f the
Broadway Bridge to start
early next year. This is so
crews can repair mechanical
parts that open and close
the bridge. In addition,
Multnomah County wants to
hear from the public
regarding repair plans for
2003. Officials sayan
important choice needs to
be made soon whether to
close the bridge during
those repairs, or keep it
partiallyopen, extendingthe
length o f the project. Call
503-988-5465 for more
information.
Boosting Minority
Representation
On Thursday, Nov. 15, Detroit
Mayor and national leader Dennis
Archer will join the leaders of Oregon’s
legal community in a Convocation on
Equality from 7:30 p.m. - noon at the
Portland Hilton. The topic will be what
Oregon can do to improve diversity
among the legal profession.
Assistance with Utility Bills
Utilities and social service agen­
cies have planned an event to help
low-income families pay their utility
bills this winter. In an effort to prevent
emergencies later on in the heating
season, utilities and social service
agencies are co-sponsoring the En­
ergy Fair 2001 on Saturday, Nov. 17 at
the Memorial Coliseum, from 10a.m. -
4p.m.Call503-612-3790orgoonlineto I
P hoto by M ark W ashington /
T he P ortland O bserver
www.oregonheat.org.
Thanksgiving Dinner
Brothers on the Move will be hav­
ing their 4'*’ annual Thanksgiving Din­
ner on Saturday, Nov. 17,from 11 a.m.
-3 :3 0 p.m. Free rides are available for
the dinner. Everyone is invited to at­
tend at the Cornerstone Community
C .O .G .I.C ., located at 2216 NE.
Killingsworth St. Call 503-281-4587.
Auction & Fashion Show
Diana’s Fashion Boutique, located
next to Billy Reed’s Restaurant at 2808
NE. MLK B1 vd., will host a Gala Auc­
tion & Fashion Show on Saturday,
Nov. 17,from 7p.m .-10p.m . tobenefit
victims of the September 11“’tragedy.
Clothing for the holidays, ethnic jew ­
elry, African artifiacts and other fine
gifts will be offered during a silent
auction starting at 7:30 p.m.
FIx-lt-Falr
The 15'*’annual Fix-it-Fair is a City
of Portland sponsored neighborhood
event presented to help residents
solve common household problems.
It features many free services like free
insulation forqualified homes, how-to
classes and more. The fair will be held I
at the Land Middle School, located at I
7200 SE. 6O'h on Saturday, Nov. 1 7 , 1
from 8:30p.m .- 2 p.m. Call 503-823- 1
7590.
Neighbors Demand Clean, Safe Bus Stops
by M ichael L eighton
T he P ortland O bserver
Tri-Met officials are respond­
ing to complaints that litter, graffiti
and broken glass are common
sights at many neighborhood bus
stops.
Last week, the Association of
Community Organizations for Re­
form Now, held an accountability
session with a Tri-Met represen­
tative to demand that cleanliness
and safety be a priority at all bus
and Max light rail stops.
Monday, Tri-Met General Man­
ager Fred Hansen admitted that
more needs to be done, but denied
an allegation by the reform group
that the transportation agency
spent more money on maintenance
in more affluent neighborhoods.
Hansen said “transit equity” was
one o f Tri-M et’s highest priorities.
T ri-M et spokesperson M ary
Fetsch added that the agency has
cleanup crews in north and north­
east Portland daily, but that it’s diffi­
cult to keep up with the problem.
Hanson says Tri-M et is also
working with SOLV to adopt bus
stops for garbage collection and
cleanup efforts.
Litter across the sidewalk detracts from the
experience o f using the bus at a shelter at
Albina and Killingsworth.
photo by M ark
W ashington /
T he P ortland O bserver
Trees of Hope Honor 9-11 Victims
New Party Addresses Terrorism
The New Party will be having their
bi-monthly chapter meeting on Tues­
day. Nov. 20 at the Marie Smith Center,
4616N. Albina, from 6:30p.m .-8 :3 0
p.m. Zaher Wahab will be speaking on
“The War on Terrorism & Human
Rights, at Home and Abroad.” Other
topics will be discussed. Childcare
available. Call 503-281-3951.
Freightliner facility would jettison out 60
feet over Swan Island Lagoon
Turkey Trot
Join the Oregon Road Runner’s Club
on Nov. 22, from 8 a.m. -1 1 a.m. in their
annual Thanksgiving fun run through
the zoo. For registration information,
call the Oregon Zoo at 503-646-7867.
The Juvenile Rights Project
Parents and guardians o f school-
age children can receive training to
educate their own and their children ’ s
rights in Suspension and Expulsion
procedures and in Special Education
issues at the Matt Dishman Commu­
nity Center, located at 77 NE, Knott on
Tuesday, Nov. 27, from 6:30 p.m. - 8
p.m. Call503-823-3179.
Decorating the Oregon Way
The Oregon Garden offers “Home
for the Holidays: Decorating the O r­
egon W ay.” The class will be on
Tuesday, Nov. 27, from 5 - 8 :3 0 p.m.
Call503-874-8100.
City Council Approves
Freightliner Wind Tunnel
City Commissioner Jim Francesconi. Fire Bureau Operations Division Chief
Rich Grace, Urban Forestry Director Brian McNemey, staff from Friends of
Trees, and Jason Seivers, citizen, plant the first "Tree of Hope" at Fire
Station 14,1905 N.E. Killingsworth.
A “T rees o f Hope” project is giving
area residents an opportunity to come
together in an act o f healing after the
sadness, anxiety and helplessness that
follow ed the tragic events o f Sept. 11.
Portland resident Jason Seivers. whose
brother is an Alaskan firefighter, decided
to plant a tree in memory of all those who
lost their lives in the East Coast terrorist
attacks on Sept. 11 and as a way of “look­
ing forward to something positive in the
future." because “trees are a symbol of
hope.”
He approached City Commissioner Jim
Francesconi to see if his vision would
resonate with others, and the “Trees of
Hope" project was bom
continued y f on page B5
(AP) - The Portland City Council has
g iv e n
te n ta tiv e
ap p ro v a l
to
Freightliner’s effort to build a 2.2-acre
wind tunnel research laboratory along
the Swan Island Lagoon.
“It’s an important case not just be­
cause it’s a vote o f solidarity with
Freightliner, but because it calls the
question o f whether we’re going to
have an industrial waterfront." Com ­
missioner Charlie Hales said. “It’s nice
to say warm and fuzzy things about the
river, but we ’ ve got to figure out whether
there’s any place you can put a crane
and a loading dock anymore."
Freightliner officials say the tunnel
will help improve the aerodynamic drag
o f its trucks, leading to fuel savings.
W ednesday's vote gave the truck
manufacturer and city regulators three
weeks to work out some environmental
concerns.
Gregory Frank, a city land-use hear­
ings officer, had recommended that the
council deny Freightliner's application
to extend the wind tunnel 60 feet into
and over the W illamette River lagoon.
Frank said he w asn't convinced that a
wind tunnel was an appropriate use of
scarce waterfront property under state
and local land-use laws.
The tunnel would extend into the
Willamette River Greenway, an area pro­
tected from development by Oregon
land-use laws. The city ’ s land-use goals
allow industrial development in the
greenway as long as it doesn't reduce
land available for ri ver-dependent uses.
Freightliner officials say wind tun­
nels work most efficiently when they
are near water because they pick up less
dust and debris.
Freightliner has laid off about 1,850
employees locally and plans to cut 781
more jobs as demand for its trucks slows.
The company had considered closing
its Portland truck-manufacturing plant.
Instead, it announced a restructuring
plan last month that called for the shut­
down o f its parts plant in 2002.
Company officials say the wind tun­
nel won’t create many newjobs, but will
help make Freightliner’s trucks more
competitive.