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(The ;)(3nrilanit (Observer
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Coyote
Hitches
Ride at
Airport
ZiTn nun n n i tu
V ita I e n h a r
Motivational Talk for Teens
Portland State University is hosting
the second annual Bridges open house
on Thursday, Feb. 21, from 9 a.m. - 1 :30
p.m. at Smith Memorial Center, 1825
SW. Broadway. Hundreds of high
school students are expected to at
tend. A motivational speech will be
given by Kevin Fuller, founder of
“Bridge Builders.” Call 725-5511.
Vera Katz’s Address
An unexpected rider is
spotted on a Tri-Met Airport
Max light rail train. The small
coyote surprised everyone
when it boarded the train at
the Airport Terminal Station
Feb. 13 at 11:30 a.m.
Usually coyotes go out of
their way to avoid humans
and are more likely to be
afraid of people than vice
versa. Port of Portland
operations and wildlife staff
were able to capture the
animal and release it back
into the wild.
Vera Katz, the mayor of Portland will be
giving the “State of the City Address”
on Friday, Feb. 22 at the City Club,
locatedat317SW . AlderSt., Suite 1050.
doors open at 11:30 a.m. To make lun
cheon reservations, members call 241 -
9242, non-members call 228-7231, or go
o n lin e to w w w .p d x c ity c lu b .o rg /
forunts.html.
Friends of Trees Planting
On Sunday, Feb. 24, the Friends of
Trees nonprofit agency will plant 400
street trees in the Boise, Eliot, King,
Vernon and Sabin neighborhoods.
Volunteers interested in assisting are
asked to show up at Friends of Trees,
3117 NE. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Equipment and gloves will be provided.
History of the Columbia Slough
Interested in learning about the Colum
bia Slough? An overview that covers
the watershed history, hydrology, land
use, fish and more will be given at the
Pacific Power Metro Operations Cen
ter, 7544 NE. 33rd Drive on Saturday,
March 2, from 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. Call 281-
1132 to pre-register.
Cultural & Community
Appreciation Night
The Muslim Community Center of Port
land will be having a cultural and com
munity appreciation night on Satur
day, March 2, from 6 p.m. - 9 p.m. at the
Lutheran Inner-City Ministries, 4219
NE. MLK and Skidmore. The event will
have live jazz music with appearances
by KBOO’s Shaheed Haamid. For tick
ets, call 281-7691.
photo by D ennis M axweli V
P ort of P ortland
Mayor Supports OHSU Expansion With Tram
(AP) — Mayor Vera Katz has an
nounced plans to turn a section of the city
into a center for biological science and
technology development.
A proposed tram would help ferry
w o rk ers and re se a rc h ers from the
riverfront area up to the OHSU campus
but the plan has drawn criticism from
neighborhood groups.
Katz said the city must get started on
development to stay competitive with
other cities trying to lure biotech.
“The national competition to attract
this industry is fierce because bioscience
is clean, innovative, and creative and
produces direct benefits for human life,”
the mayor said.
The three reports were produced by
specialists in bioscience economic devel
opment, transportation planning and traf
fic engineering and land availability.
The goal was to determine whether
Portland has the potential to compete
with other cities in attracting a critical
mass of private spin-off companies to
develop biotech.
The key is the 30-year expansion plan
for the OHSU campus, Katz said, which
includes the aerial tram.
“It is the foundation for business
growth in biotechnology, medical tech
nology, cancer research and specialized
medicine,” the mayor said. “If we make the
right decisions it will be our next Silicon
Forest.”
Katz said developm ent will attract
com panies that produce high-w age
jobs, strengthen central city neighbor
hoods and help reclaim riverfront a r
eas.
But OHSU, perched on the side of the
W est Hills, can develop only about
650,000 to 1 million square feet for new
facilities. The university has identified an
additional 1.2 million to 1.5 million square
feet needed for growth, most of it in the
North Macadam area between the cam
pus and the Willamette River.
Cancer Society’s Daffodil Days
Volunteers are needed for the Ameri
can Cancer Society's Daffodil Days,
which is held in Mid-March. This is an
opportunity to serve for several hours
a week to take orders and payments for
bouquets of daffodils from co-work-
ers, friends and family. Anyone wish
ing to participate, call 1-800-577-6552.
Portland Home and Garden Show
The GMC Portland Home & Garden
Show is one of the largest shows in the
country and the top show in the North
west. Featuring the number one state
flower show in the nation, 22 Showcase
Gardens, hundreds of home and gar
den booths and a new feature Decorat
ing with Antiques. The show will be at
the Portland Expo Center until Feb.24.
For more information, call 246-8291 or
go o n lin e to th e w e b site at
www.oloughlintradcshows.com.
Historical Tour of Old Town
The Old Town History Project presents
a45-minute walking tour of Old Town’s
Skid Row. Serving as tour guide will be
Richard Harris, Executive Director of
Central City Concern. The event begins
on Friday, Feb. 22 at 12:15 p.m. at 612
NW. Davis Street and end in a local
restaurant for an informal group discus
sion and no-host lunch. To reserve tour
and lunch table space, call 225-0198.
Convention Center Kids Auction
“Planting Seeds for the Future...Help
Our Kids Grow" has been selected as the
theme for this year’s auction for Boys &
Girls Clubs of Portland. The March 2
event is the biggest fundraiser of the
year for the organization. Over 600 auc
tion items are expected to fill the ballroom
at the Oregon Convention Center. Luxury
items include jewelry, a sea cruise and
hotel stay in Hawaii. Silent auction be
gins at 5 p.m. and oral auction begins at
7:15p.m. Call232-0077.
1-5
Upgrade
Supported;
4-Lanes
Out
A plan to address growing congestion
on the Interstate 5 corridor from The Rose
Quarter to Vancouver has been adopted
by a bi-state task force.
The Portland/VancouverI-5 Transpor
tation and Trade Partnership discussed -
but did not recommend - widening 1-5 to
four lanes.
Specific plan elements include three
through-lanes in both directions at Delta
Park; a phased light rail loop in Clark
County; additional 1-5 capacity across
the Columbia River; and interchange im
provements at Columbia Boulevard.
The draft recommendations also call
for the study o f a new road to Hayden
Island, west o f 1-5, in the vicinity of the
railroad bridge.
The task force listened to extensive
public comment and reviewed the results
of more than 1,500 responses to question
naires about transportation issues in the
corridor.
“I’m really proud of what has been
accomplished so far. With the help of the
many, many members of the public who
have come to our meetings and shared
their thoughts and ideas, w e’ve been able
to make significant progress in crafting a
vision for the corridor,” said Ed Barnes,
task force co-chair.
I
New Development Wanted for Speedway
The owners of the Portland Speedway, a 25-acre parcel adjacent to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, have put the
site up for sale. Development rights were recently sold to former Portland movie mogul Tom Moyer. The track,
which opened in 1925, will not hold races this year and probably will be closed for good.
photo by M ark W ashington /T hf P ortland O bserver
City Sends Out Water Shut-off Notices
The City of Portland Bureau of Water
Works has resumed sending notices to
non-paying customers notifying them of
impending water shut-off should their bill
remain unpaid.
“This achieves a milestone function
we have been missing in our new billing
system," said Interim Administrator Mort
Anouchiravani. “We expect it will make
substantial difference in our rate of col
lections.
The city has not had an automated debt
recovery system in place for two years.
While most of our customers receive
bills, some of those customers don’t pay
unless they face losing their water service.
“Now that we have the automated sup
port for shut-off notices, we expect most
of our past-due accounts will pay rather
than lose service,” Anouchiravani said.
At any point in the series of notifica
tions leading to shut-off, the custom er
may make payment arrangements to avoid
losing water service, city officials said.