^Jortlanb (Observer
December 22, 2010
IN S ID E
el
This page
Sponsored by:
Page 3
Fred Meyer
What's on your list today?,
O bservador
Julio Rodriguez o f R&R
General C ontractors
w orks on the Civic
Drive MAX s ta tio n in
Gresham.
Success
Construction workforce set record
pages 10-13
C lassifieds
pages 15
pages 16-17
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page 19
C alendar
lier this month.
A m inority-ow ned com pany
based in W ilsonville, R&R won
the prime project contract o f $ 1.76
m illion o f the overall $3 million
project budget. R&R then sub­
c o n tracted out several station
project jobs to other D isadvan­
taged Business Enterprise firms,
including A2 Fabrication, Green
Art Landscaping, O ’Neil Electric
and W orkhorse Construction.
“What TriMet does to create
opportunities for DB E firms is amaz­
ing, especially in these tough eco­
nomic times,” said R&R President
Hats for the Homeless
O pinion
F o o d
A local construction contracting
firm has garnered the highest minor­
ity participation of any TriM et
project with its work on a new Max
station in Gresham.
R&R General Contractors hired a
project crew of disadvantaged and
minority business firms that ac­
counted for 77 percent of the con­
struction of the Civic Drive MAX
station.
R&R President Jesse Rodriguez
served as the prime contractor for
the project, and also hired several
other minority firms to complete con­
struction. The station opened ear-
Jesse Rodriguez. “They put a lot of
time and effort into getting local
minority contractors up to capacity.
R&R Constructors was founded
in July 2008 and currently employs
six people. The com pany has
worked on two other projects for
TriMet— rail improvements and sta­
tion improvements.
“We are com m itted to helping
local m inority contracting firms
succeed and expand their capac­
ity,” said TriM et G eneral M an­
ager Neil M cFarlane. “Reaching a
record DBE participation is a great
m ilestone, and we will continue to
help grow these small and em erg­
ing firm s.”
page 20
Knitting class
gives back to
help other youth
stay warm
Hats off to 10 young girls who’ve
spent fall afternoons knitting hats
to help homeless youth stay warm
during the chilly Portland weather.
What started as a knitting class
for youth at Friends of the Children
in northeast Portland turned into an
effort to help others. The group has
long since surpassed their goal of Friends o f the C hildren m e n to r K i’ila n i Viernes helps fit Chloe w ith
making 75 hats by hand and will a ha t th a t she a n d a group o f o th e r yo u n g g irls k n itte d to help
continued
on page 14
ho m e le ss yo u th s ta y warm this winter.