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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 26, 2009)
^Jortlanò (Observer___________________________ PaseA7 August26,2009 Pandemic! Business ow ners were ad pen. The federal government has vised to develop a plan to keep A key co m p o n en t o f the purchased the H1N1 vaccine afloat during the pandem ic, state’s plan is the distribution and will distribute it through which might involve flex time of a H 1N 1 flu vaccine that will local health departments. The or telecommuting. Sandra M cDonough o f the lik ely be ap p ro v ed by the state will monitor the vaccine Portland B usiness A lliance, FDA this fall. It will be dis for any side effects. Throughout the summit, of citing figures from the Mexico tributed to an unprecedented City Cham ber of Com m erce, said that the city lost $58 m il lion dollars a day last spring when it had to shut down over fears of H1N1 virus spread ing. State Superintendent of Pub lic Education Susan Castillo, said that schools will also be a -S ta te Superintendent of place where the virus is spread, Public Education Susan Castillo and stressed that sick children two million people through ficials stressed that people who should stay hom e, and that out the state. It w ill targ et experience flu-like symptoms public schools would be work pregnant women, people who should not come into work or ing closely with local health departments. live with or care for infants, school. “Our schools have a vital role Keeping sick people at home h e a lth c a re w o rk e rs , and in helping prevent the spread people betw een six m onths is considered one of the most o f the d is e a s e ,” she said. difficult parts of preventing the through 64 years of age. “That’s where the kids are and spread of the virus since work “T h is is u n p re c e d e n ted ,” we know how good kids are at ers and em ployers alike will said Paul Cieslak, medical direc tor for the state’s immunization likely be reluctant to slow down spreading germs.” The state’s biggest challenge program. “We’ll really need all w ork d u rin g a stru g g lin g may come in preparing the most hands on deck to make it hap economy. continued ^ ^ f r o m Front Our schools have a vital role in helping prevent the spread o f the disease. That's where the kids are and we know how good kids are at Spreading germs. PHOTO BY J a K e T h OMAS/T h E PORTLAND OBSERVER Gov. Ted Kulongoski announces a statewide strategy to deal with the H1N1 virus to a crowd o f health professionals from across the state. He holds a copy o f John M. Barry's "The Great Influenza," a book about the 1918 flu pandemic that killed millions. vulnerable and disadvantaged quired to meet the needs of these populations. for the pandemic. At one point during the sum A 2008 state report on pan dem ic p re p a re d n e s s sta te s mit, officials were asked during that people in group homes a question period about plans and assisted-living facilities to help prepare the poor and are at a greater risk, and addi m inorities. Kohn responded tional planning might be re that most local health depart ments would be handling this issue. But throughout the summit officials stressed a simple, yet effective, strategy in prevent ing the spread of the virus: wash your hands and cover your mouth when you cough. Fight for Equity continued ¿ ^ f r o m Front seven com m unity schools that will serve 1,100 to 1,400 students in ad dition to m agnet and alternative program s. Course offerings will be largely consistent at each n eig h borhood school. The open transfer policy will also become a thing of the past. A lso in clu d ed in the p lan are three to six m agnet schools. Their sizes will range from 300 to 1,000 students, and will be open to en rollm ent from across the district. "Some students really do truly benefit from sm aller schools,” said Singer o f why sm aller schools were included as an option. Carlin Ames also noted that the redesign isn ’t aim ed solely at solv ing the problem s of sm aller strug gling schools, but also some o f the inadequacies at better-perform ing schools. "The g rad u atio n rates are not what they should be at any of our high schools," she said. As p ro p o se d , b etw een one to three neighborhoods w ould have its high school converted into m ag nets or face closure, which will cer tainly face com m unity backlash. Carlin Ames is quick to point out that sm aller schools that have dras tically lost their student population w on’t be the first on the cutting block. Instead, a holistic set of fac- tors will be taken into account, like the school’s proximity to pub lic transportation, and others that are still being determ ined. She also stressed that PPS will be co n d u ctin g com m unity out- reach to get a sense of what the c o n v e rsio n o f a n eig h b o rh o o d school to a m agnet m ight mean. PPS h as y e t to h a m m e r out many o f the details involved with the redesign, like what the themes o f each m agnet school will be, how program s at existing schools will be affected, and long range planning for facilities. These is sues will be resolved in the fall, after soliciting public input, which could cause some hiccups for the process. C arlin A m es adm its that PPS h as h a s tily im p le m e n te d top- down changes in the past, such as the reconfiguration o f some m iddle schools to K indergarten through 8th Grade program s, and those actions have bred com m u nity distrust. "There have been a lot o f things done to the com m unity and not done w ith the com m unity over time," she said. "There is nothing p e o p le c a re a b o u t m o re th an schools." ! 1 ] I photo by M ark W ashington /T he P or i land O bserver A $2.85 million renovation is coming to North Denver Avenue, the Kenton Neighborhood's historic Main Street. Kenton Street to Get Makeover A streetscape makeover is coming to the Kenton Neighborhood of north Portland as a full range of improve ments begin on North Denver Av enue, the historic community’s main street. Construction is expected to be gin early next m onth on renovating a 4.5-block stretch of D enver from Interstate Avenue south to W atts Street. The improvements include wider sidewalks, new street trees, storm I water planters, pedestrian lighting, concrete street resurfacing, a granite public art sculpture and seven carved stone benches. The $2.85 million North Denver Avenue Streetscape Improvem ent Project is funded by the Portland De velopment Commission in coordina tion with the Portland Bureau of Transportation. The city has been working with lo cal businesses, community represen tatives, and technical experts since 2006 to plan the right mix of attrac tive, functional improvements. The project exemplifies the vision of 20-minute neighborhoods called out as a key element of the city's new economic development strategy. Related revitalization projects in clude Multnomah County’s remodel ing of commercial space at 8226 N. Denver for a new library branch; reno vation o f the iconic Paul Bunyan statue; and the opening of new busi nesses in the neighborhood.