Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current, November 11, 2009, Page 5, Image 5

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    Page A5
November II. 2009
Bicycle Commuting Grows at Cascade
College responds to increased demand
If you were at the Cascade Cam pus
o f Portland C om m unity C ollege on
the first day o f fall classes the sight
was unavoidable - bike racks, jam
packed with, well, bicycles.
And the racks have been jam m ed
every day since.
K rystyna S olodenko is a student
at the north Portland cam pus who
rides to school and has been a par­
ticipant in these daily jam s.
"It was terrible finding a spot," she
said. "1 had to use a tree to lock my
bike. 1 have never seen so many bikes
on cam pus. It m ade me pretty happy
at the same time. It was aw esom e."
S olodenko, w ho recently im m i­
g rate d to the U n ite d S ta te s from
Ukraine, just got her citizenship in the
sum m er and is a student governm ent
outreach coordinator. T he psychol­
ogy m ajor said that riding bikes is
more normal back hom e in Ukraine
than driving a car so it was second
nature for her here to cycle to class.
"And it's a lot faster than taking
the bus," she said.
Cascade is by far the most bike-ori­
ented cam pus because o f its inner city
Ask Deannal
Real People,
Real Advice
Dear Deanna!
The last time I had a relationship
was almost two years ago. 1 had
a bad experience with a man that
crushed my heart and I’ve had a
hard tim e trusting again. I look
at every guy as if th ey’ll do the
same thing. I was lied to, cheated
on, used and everything else in
between. I have m yself together
and I’m ready to get back into
the dating scene but feel no man
will w ant me. -P au lette; W in­
ston Salem, N.C.
Dear Paulette;
location and proximity to TriM et bus
and Max line routes. According to a
PCC parking and transportation sur­
vey, 10 percent o f students at the cam ­
pus bike to class and 7 percent o f staff
and faculty bike. O verall, across the
entire district, 3 percent o f students
and staff bike to PCC locations.
T he crush o f bikers has been so
overw helm ing that the Cascade C am ­
pus installed a line o f new bike racks
betw een Terrell Hall and the Student
Services Building. The new rack has
increased the bike-parking capacity
by 4 0 b ic y cle s and alle v ia te s the
shortage o f spaces.
And if it isn't biking, it's the PCC
Shuttle. A ccording to fall term, year-
over-year num bers, shuttle ridership
has grown by 21 percent. The Rock
Creek Cam pus in northw est Portland
has surged the most - 48 percent.
At the S ylvania C am pus in so u th ­
w est P ortland, sta ff and facu lty e n ­
te r b ik in g c o m p e titio n s to b o n d ,
have som e fun and spread the w ord
about com m u tin g on a bike. K irke
Jo h n so n , a T ech n o lo g y S o lu tio n s
S erv ices sp e cia list, is the ca p ta in
Dear Deanna!
W hen is it time to talk to a teen­
ager about sex? I have a teen
son and I wan, to talk with him
about the birds and bees before
he learns the wrong way from
his friends and in the street. I
don' t know if 1 should try t o ,el 1
him a story, show him pictures
or what. How can I do this
without embarrassing him bu,
make sure he gets the point ? --
Stephanie; Chicago
Dear Stephanie:
If you have cable or a radio in
your house, you son knows more
than you think. D on’t beat
around the bush. Verbally break
it down and let him know the
function o f the genitalia, how it
works and how to stay safe from
diseases and unplanned preg­
nancy. Teach him that true love
waits until marriage to avoid
fornication and if he has to go
there, have plenty o f condoms.
So what if h e's embarrassed.
It’s better to be embarrassed
and educated than dum b with a
bunch of babies or a sexually
transmitted disease.
Prepare yourself to be a wife look­
ing for a husband instead o f just
another woman looking foradate.
Elevate your morals, your faith
and your confidence by looking
in the mirror and seeing a woman
that’s special and deserves the
best in life. You need to be patient
Ask Deanna is written by Deanna M
and pray for what you want. You Write Ask Deanna! at the email
d o n't have to settle for less and askdeanruil@yahoo.com o r264 S.
you can do bad by yourself. It’s LaCienegaBlvd. Suite 1283Beverly
best to be alone and happy than H ills. CA 90211. W ebsite:
www.askdeanna.com
involved and miserable.
Bike racks are filled to capacity on the Cascade Campus of Portland
Community College. The north Portland school has been installing
more racks in recent days to meet a growing population of bicycle
commuters.
Managing Yo
Money
Preparing for your Estate
M any o f us know than one of
the truly great African American
NFL quarterbacks; Steve McNair
was shot and killed last summer
in Nashville, Tenn. While this is
a tragedy in its self, the tragedy
behind the tragedy is that, ac­
cording to the information 1 have
b ee n a b le to o b ta in , S tev e
McNair died without having pre­
pared before time his estate.
The estate tax in the United
States is a tax imposed on the
transfer o f the "taxable estate"
o f a deceased person, whether
such property is transferred via
a will or according to the state
laws o f intestacy. The estate tax
is one part of the Unified Gift and
Estate Tax system in the United
States. The other part o f the sys­
tem, the gift tax, imposes a tax on
transfers o f property during a
person's life; the gift tax prevents
a v o id a n c e o f th e e s ta te tax
should a person w ant to give
away his/her estate just before
dying. In addition to the federal
governm ent, many states also
impose an estate tax, with the
state version called either an es­
tate tax or an inheritance tax.
According to the current Uni-
o f the S y lv an ia C am p u s team that
participated in the Bicycle C om m ute
C h allen g e, a frien d ly co m p etitio n -
w o rk p lace ag a in st w o rk p lace - o r­
g an ized by the B icy cle T ra n sp o rta ­
tion A lliance.
Cascade C am pus C om m unity Re­
lations M anager Abe Proctor uses his
bike and the shuttle for his transpor­
tation needs.
"I get here pretty early on m ost
days, so I can usually find a place to
lock up my bike," said Proctor, who
has been a regular bike com m uter for
nearly three years. "But the spaces
fill up really fast. It seem s like more
and more people are biking to C as­
cade all the tim e, so the extra rack
space is really helpful."
P ro cto r said he appreciates bike
com m uting for a num ber o f reasons,
not the least o f w hich is the am ount
o f money he saves.
"W hen y o u b u rn z e ro g a so lin e
d u rin g the w eek, it really ad d s up,"
he said. "If y o u 're d riv in g y o u r ca r
less, y o u r m o n th ly in su ran c e bill
d e c re a se s as w ell. A nd it's m uch
ch e ap e r than a gym m em b ersh ip . 1
arriv e at cam p u s alert, fo cu sed and
ready to w ork."
fied Federal Estate and Gift Tax
Rates that would mean that if Mr.
M cN air's Estate were valued a,
$1.5 million or more, then he
would have to pay the highest
federal estate tax rate o f 45 per­
cent, which would not include
any possible state taxes.
W h ile Mr. M cN air e s ta b ­
lished a foundation and gave
generously to charities, he did
n o , establish a vehicle/estate
by which to eliminate or greatly
reduce his estate tax liability.
W hen it is our time to leave a
legacy, we have assets we ge,
to keep, or pass on to family
m em bers or friends, but there
are also assets that are going
to
th e
U n ite d
S ta te s
G overnm ent's social programs.
in
R ick L. L ee
i.e. M e d ic a re ,
Social Security,
etc. However, with a little plan­
ning, ahead o f tim e you get to
decide w hich social program s
those assets you have to give
away or be taxed are donated
to, i.e. local church, boys and
girls club, etc.
In estate planning, the sim ­
plest to co m p licated pro cess
goes in the following order, do­
ing nothing, a simple will, marital
deduction, trust, charitable plan­
ning, zero tax estate planning,
and income tax savings. Doing
nothing, simple will, marital de­
duction, and certain trusts are
less complicated bu, you do pay
more taxes, and are perceived to
have more control. While, cer­
tain trusts, charitable planning,
zero tax estate planning, and in­
come tax savings are m ore com ­
plicated, however you pay less
taxes and there’s a perception of
having less control.
In contrast, when the late en­
tertainer Michael Jackson’s will
was read in court, he left every­
thing to the “Jackson Fam ily
Trust”. With a little knowledge
and planning much fighting and
ill feeling among family members
will be avoided.
Professional & Wealth M an­
agement. LLC has a team o f E s­
tate Tax CPA’s and Estate Attor­
neys to structure the estate plan
that is right for you; after all, it is
your legacy. For a free financial
and/or estate plan consultation,
contact Rick L. Lee.
Financial Advisor Rick L. Lee,
CRPC, can be reached a, 503-
5 3 9 -8 9 9 4 o r v ia e m a il at
pro_wealthmgnt@ wvi.com.
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I’ve learned that peoi
The professional dance com pany known worldwide for their melding
of stepping and traditional African dance takes the stage for a dynamic and
entertaining performance to kick off PCC's Black History Month celebration.
Please join us for an unforgettable evening!
your passion ana appiy n,
because no matter w hat it is
Monday, January 25, 2010
Doors open at 7pm, Dolores Winningstad Theatre
1,11 SW Broadway St.. Portland
Tickets available at Ticketmaster and the
Portland Center for Performing Arts (PCPA)
Box Office for $25 and $35
Uzo C. Ukeagu
New York City; Lagos Nigeria
Philosophy, chemistry,
www.pcc.edu/black-history
international studies
P o rtla n d
C o m m u n ity
C o lle g e
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