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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 11, 2010)
Page 4 <rin' •jjnrtlanb (Observer August II, 2010 c,!‘ |Jnrtlaith (©bserver Sustainability , Plans Drawn for Sustainability Center Facility would target green economy T he Portland C ity C ouncil has directed the Portland Bureau o f Plan ning and S u stain ab ility and the Portland Developm ent C om m ission to initiate schem atic design for the O regon Sustainability C enter, a p ro posed facility to grow the green econom y and m ake O regon a w orld- class leader in sustainability. "The O regon Sustainability C en ter is a pioneering project. W e're doing som ething here that's never been done before at this scale,” said Portland M ayor Sam Adam s. “ W e're seizing an opportunity to show the w orld that Portland's engineers, a r ch itects, d e v elo p ers, c o n tra cto rs and building professionals are at the forefront o f green-building in n o v atio n .” T he O regon C ongressional d el egation also announced W ednes d ay th a t th e y h a v e s e c u re d a $300,000 appropriation to help d e sign the center. As one o f the highest perform ing com m ercial buildings in the w orld, the proposed cen ter w ould achieve triple net-zero perform ance in e n ergy and w ater use and carbon em is sions. It is designed to m eet the w o rld ’s m ost stringent green b u ild ing criteria: the C ascadia R egion G reen B uilding C o u n cil’s Living B uildingC hallenge. The design team , led by Sera A rchitects, G erding Edlen D evel opm ent and G B D A rchitects, e x pects to com m ence schem atic d e sign in m id-Septem ber. T estim ony by rep resen tativ es o f SolarW orld, Intel and G eneral E lec tric em phasized the private sec to r’s enthusiasm for the p ro ject’s jo b cre ation potential as well as its cap ac ity to create an im m ediate m arket for O regon products and services and incubate the co m m ercialization o f new products. Officials say the design and con struction o f the center will create more than 1,300jobs in the near term , with workers gaining unique experience in innovative prototype building that will accommodate a growing dem and for green construction. L ocated on the edge o f the P ort land State U niversity cam pus in d o w n to w n P o rtla n d , th e c e n te r w o u ld bring to g eth er acad em ic, g overnm ent, nonprofit and b u si ness sectors to advance the re g io n ’s innovation in sustainability. An a rtis t’s rendering shows the proposed Oregon Sustainability Center at Portland State University, a facility that would grow the green economy and make Oregon a world-class leader in sustainability. Oregon Department of Transportation Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Goals for Federal Fiscal Years 2011-2013 This will serve as notice of the Oregon Department of Transportation’s proposed overall Disadvantaged Business Enterprise goal of 11.50% for Federal Highway Administration. As a result of the statewide Disparity Study, ODOT has received a waiver from FHWA to allow contract goals for specific groups identified as having a significant contracting disparity. The annual goal has been calculated as 11.5%, of which 1% would be a race-conscious goal for Black American owned DBF firms and Asian American owned DBF. firms. The remainder of the annual goal, 10.5%, would con tinue to be race- and gender-neutral. The 2011 Goal is 1.0% for Federal Transit Administration contracts and grants, and will be entirely race- and gender-neutral. This calculation is made in accordance with 49 CFR Part 26 to comply with U.S. DOT requirements. ODOT invites all interested parties to a public meeting to discuss the proposed FFY 2011-2013 Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Goal. We’ll review the pro posed Goal and hear comments from the public. When: August 23, 2010,1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Where: ODOT Headquarters, 3 55 Capitol St. NE, Room 122, Salem Written comments may be submitted, by mail or fax, to: ODOT, Office of Civil Rights Attn: C Jill Miller 355 Capitol St. NE, Salem, OR 97301 Fax: (503) 986-6382 ODOT will consider all comments and quantitative and anecdotal data in de termining its final DBE goals, and will post its analysis and final goals at www.oregon.gov/ODOT/CS/CIVILRIGHTS/. For more information, contact the ODOT Office of Civil Rights at 503-986-4350. MNMI Appliance Rebate Offer Expands for Homeowners O r e g o n ’s A p p lia n c e R e b a te p ro g ra m h a s p ro v id e d e lig ib le lo w -in c o m e h o m e o w n e rs w ith a 70 p e rc e n t re im b u rse m e n t, up to $ 2 ,0 0 0 , fo r E N E R G Y S T A R h eat p u m p s and fu rn ac es. N ow the p ro g ra m has b een e x p a n d e d to in c lu d e e lig ib le low - in c o m e h o m e o w n e rs w h o p u r ch ase E N E R G Y ST A R w ater h eat ers, refrig era to rs, d ish w ash e rs and c lo th e s w ash ers. A v a ila b le re b a te v o u c h e rs are d is trib u te d on a “ first-c o m e , first- s e rv e d ” b a sis. In te re ste d O re g o n h o m e o w n e rs can call 1 -8 0 0 -4 5 3 - 5511 to le arn a b o u t th e p ro g ra m a n d a p p ly fo r a re b a te v o u c h er. A fte r p u rc h a se an d in s ta lla tio n o f e lig ib le E N E R G Y S T A R a p p li an ces, q u a lifie d h o m e o w n ers m ay re d e e m v o u c h ers fo r 7 0 p e rc e n t o f th e p u rc h a se p ric e , up to a s p e c i fied m axim um . O ld appliances m ust be le g a lly re c y c le d , n o t re -s o ld o r re -u se d , in o rd e r to re c e iv e re b a te fu n d s . T h e p ro g ra m is fu n d e d by $ 3 .6 m illio n o f fe d e ral R e c o v e ry A ct (s tim u lu s) fu n d s. r I ¡S u b s c rib e ï 3;288^0” ■ . . I JUSÎ $60 p e r yea r I N J T I A j (please include check) Attn: Subscriptions, The Portland Observer, PO Box 3137, Portland OR 97208. ame : ____________ elephone : ddress : _ l _ ____________________________________ ___ I or email subscriptions@portlandobserver.com