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July IO. 2013
Progress and Gaps in Workforce Diversity
Bicyclists are squeezed to the curb before the realignment o f lanes
on the southbound ramp from the Broadway Bridge, downtown.
Bridge Safety Improvements
In an effort to im prove safety
for all travelers, the Portland Bu­
reau o f Transportation is m aking
some m ajor changes to a B road­
way Bridge off ramp.
Five feet is being added to a
bicycle lane on the southbound
ramp to downtown, with three feet
o f striped pavem ent separating
bicycles from motor traffic. Freight
access will also eased up with
travel lanes in both directions in ­
creasing from 9 */2 feet to 11 feet.
One lane o f m otorized traffic was
elim inated to m ake room for the
im provem ents.
As a m ajor entry point into
dow ntow n and the Pearl District,
the bridge has seen the num ber of
bicycle trips m ore than double
since 2005 from 2,081 daily trips to
more than 4,400 trips in 2012.
D espite a difficult econom y, a
new report from the Oregon Bu­
reau o f Labor and Industries
show s that m inority participa­
tion rates in apprenticeship pro­
g ra m s a re h o ld in g s te a d y .
Though the report show s some
prom ise it also show ed that A f­
rican-A m erican m en ’s registra­
tion into the trades and reten­
tion levels lagged behind those
o f white men.
In a statem ent responding to
the report’s findings, Oregon La­
bor and In d u stries C o m m is­
sioner Brand Avakian said, “Our Brad Avakian
s ta te c a n c re a te a h e a lth ie r
econom y by investing in a stron­
ger, more diverse workforce. While
it’s encouraging to see women
and m inorities participate in con­
stru c tio n a p p re n tic e s h ip p ro ­
gram s at higher levels, especially
during a difficult economy, there’s
still a lot more work to be done.
On Sunday, the Oregon House
o f Representatives voted 59-0 to
expand a Career Technical Educa­
tion Revitalization Grant Fund with
$7.5 m illion, in part with the hope
to better close the m inority gap in
these professions, officials said.
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Your
Family is
Exceptional!
U of O Police to Carry Guns
Armed police officers will be on
the University of Oregon campus
when students return to Eugene in
the fall.
The state Board of Higher Educa­
tion voted unanimously last month
to allow officers with the newly
formed University of Oregon Police
Department to carry guns.
U n iv e rs ity p re s id e n t M ike
G ottfredson said arm ed officers
are needed to ensure the safety of
students and em ployees.
U niversity officers now carry
b a to n s, p e p p er spray and re ­
straints, and call city of Eugene
police if more pow erful weapons
are needed.
School officials say officers must
have guns to confront an active
shooter and to safely perform rou­
tine police tasks, such as conduct­
ing traffic stops and transporting
suspects to jail.
The department has already pur­
chased 20 Glock handguns.
Share your life with an AFS Exchange Student
Welcome an international high schooler from one of 90 countries into your
home for an academic year, semester, or 6-12 weeks. Create lifelong
connections while learning about a new culture.
For More info:
www.afsusa.org
1-800-AFS-INFO
Foreclosure to Opportunity
c o n t i n u e d f r o m page 3
About a year ago, tax problem s
forced the previous residents out
o f the hom e; Com m unity Visions
worked with that fam ily and got
them placed in affordable hous­
ing.
A ro u n d th at sam e tim e,
Multnomah County was working
with eight different families living in
substandard housing. All of the
houses had been foreclosed on, and
Wycowski reports that even the
utilities didn’t work in some of the
homes.
The county reached out to Com ­
munity Visions in an effort to do two
things: Relocate these families to
safer housing, and to rehab the resi­
dences into livable spaces again.
For the house on 28thAvenue,
the logistics of the project took
about a year, costing $ 190,000, not
including labor costs.
Though a family has not yet been
chosen to occupy the revamped
space, criteria for choosing the next
homeowner requires a family of four
with a household income of less
than $54,000.
Should the new owners move in
the future, they will be required to
sell the home to another low income
fa m ily . T o g e th e r M u ltn o m ah
County and Community Visions
have ensured the property will pro­
vide affordable housing for the next
30 years.
M ultnom ah County C om m is­
sioner L oretta Sm ith was excited
to see the final product during a
recent public event, even pro­
claim ing she w ould not mind liv­
ing in the house, adding that in
1992, a project sim ilar to this al­
lowed her to purchase her first
hom e in the same neighborhood
as a single mother.
Smith realizes the significance of
limiting the program to low-income
families in order to offset a housing
market that is pricing folks out of
inner north and northeast Portland.
“We have families here that can
take advantage of our schools, the
closeness to activities, and live
affordably,” Smith said.
To see if you qualify for being
housed in the home, visit the Com ­
munity Visionswebsitecvision.org
or give them a call at 503-292-4964.
C o n n e ctin g Lives, ó h o rin g C u ltu re s
Intercultural
Programs USA
AFS-USA is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.
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