^lortlanò (Obstruer
Page 14
Iuly3l. 2013
New Prices
Effective
May 1,2010
Martin
Cleaning
Service
Carpet & Upholstery
Cleaning
Residential &
Commercial Services
Minimum Service CHG.
$45.00
A sm all distance/travel charge
m ay be applied
CARPET CLEANING
2 Cleaning Areas or
more $30.00 Each Area
Pre-Spray Traffic Areas
(Includes: I sm all H allw ay)
1 Cleaning Area (only)
$40.00
Includes Pre-Spray Traffic Area
(Hallway Extra)
Stairs (12-16 stairs - With
Other Services): $25.00
Area/Oriental Rugs:
$25.00Minimum
Area/Oriental Rugs (Wool):
$40.00Minimum
Heavily Soiled Area:
Additional $10.00 each area
(Requiring Extensive Pie-Spraying)
UPHOLSTERY
CLEANING
Sofa: $69.00
Loveseat: $49.00
Sectional: $109 - $139
Chair or Recliner:
$25 - $49
Throw Pillows (With
Other Services)'. $5.00
%
ADDITIONAL
SERVICES
• Area & Oriental Rug
Cleaning
• Auto/Boat/RV Cleaning
• Deodorizing & Pet
Odor Treatment
• Spot & Stain
Removal Service
• Scotchguard Protection
• Minor Water Damage
Services
SEE CURRENT FLYER
FOR ADDITIONAL
PRICES & SERVICES
Call for Appointment
(503) 281-3949
No Support for Slicing Off Water Utilities
Be careful what
you wish for
by A manda
F ritz
As the m em ber
o f the Portland C ity
C ouncil w ho voted
a g a in s t th e P o rt­
land W ater B ureau
rate increases the
past three years, and
w ho op p o sed the B ureau o f E nvi­
ronm ental Services budget this year,
som e P ortlanders m ay assum e I ‘d
fav o r the pro p o sed utility district.
N othing co u ld be further from the
truth.
I do not support the creation o f a
new experim ental body which would
take control o f o ur precious Bull
R un w atershed, and o f o ur w ater
an d e n v iro n m e n ta l m an ag em en t
system s that are the envy o f the
nation.
A utility district w ould d isco n ­
nect vital public services from other
interconnected functions o f the city,
such as parks m anagem ent, urban
forestry, assistan ce to struggling
residents, regulatory com pliance,
and m aking sure taxes and fees for
b u sin esses and h o m eo w n ers are
apportioned appropriately.
C om m issioner Fish is the first
m em ber o f the council for m any
years to be assigned to be in
charge o f both utilities. H e d e­
serves a fair opportunity to im ­
p ro v e tra n s p a re n c y an d a c ­
countability, and stabilize rates.
A s the com m issioner-in-charge
o f parks and also o f developm ent
services, I w ill be w orking w ith him
on issues such as the ongoing p ro­
tection o f the Bull R un w atershed,
and o f the historic reservoirs.
W e will w ork w ith Portland resi­
dents and ratepayers to discuss the
future o f program s such as Friends
o f T rees p la n tin g s, C o m m u n ity
W atershed S tew ardship Projects,
and m anagem ent o f natural areas
protected for storm w ater storage
and fish/w ildlife habitat, such as
Forest Park. H e and I have already
d iscu ssed sy stem im p ro v em e n ts
such as hiring utility experts as­
signed to the city budget office to
m o n ito r the w ater bureau and envi-
ronm ental services year-round, and
also a potential ch arter referral e n ­
shrining the adopted binding city
policy that the Bull Run system never
be privatized.
C ollaboration is necessary and
possible in o u r com m ission form o f
governm ent, established by the C ity
C h arter. N eig h b o rh o o d in v o lv e ­
m ent and equity are core resp o n si­
bilities o f the C ity C ouncil, along
w ith provision o f safe drinking w a­
ter and m anagem ent o f environm en­
tal protection.
A s ta n d -a lo n e u tility d istric t
w o u ld sev e r th o se c o n n e c tio n s,
separating ratepayers from im prove­
m ents in com m unity engagem ent
and em pow erm ent o f underserved
n eig h b o rh o o d s that the city has
m ade o v er the past four years.
P o rtlan d ’s residents and b u si­
nesses already battle the challenges
o f being under m ultiple different
lo c a lju ris d ic tio n s-th e C ity o f P ort­
land, M ultnom ah C ounty, M etro,
five different school districts, tw o
Soil and W ater C onservation D is­
tricts, dozens o f political precincts,
and m ore.
Slicing o ff the utilities to be ruled
by yet another independent g o v ­
ernm ent is unlikely to im prove effi­
ciency, or the long term public good.
A dding another bureaucracy w ould
be costly and inefficient.
P o rtlan d ’s w ater supply, rivers,
and w aste m an ag em en t sy stem s
have been en tru sted to elected o ffi­
cials on the City C ouncil for over 100
years. W hile m any o f us som etim es
disagreed w ith choices m ade by the
council o v er the past decade, there
is a new com m issio n er-in -ch arg e o f
w ater and environm ental services.
N ow is the tim e to discuss new
directions under new leadership,
rather than hoping for d ifferen t d e ­
cisions to be m ade by unknow n,
untested future utility d istrict p o li­
ticians prom oting their ow n particu­
lar agendas.
Be careful w hat you w ish for:
C reation o f a Public U tility D istrict
co u ld very w ell be m ore costly, less
equitable, and less responsive to
P o rtlan d ’s needs.
City Commissioner Amanda Fritz
is a member o f the Portland City
Council.
Let’s Not Shut the Door on Our Neighbors
Stop the massive militarization of our southern border
M ari C astellanos
“ Seal the B order!” is
a m antra often repeated
by those co n cern ed by
unlaw ful im m igration.
T h e y a re w illin g to
spend som e $47 billion
in addition to w hat w e have already
spent in w hat seem to be pretty
s u b s ta n tia l b a rrie rs a c ro s s o u r
southern border.
T h is m a ss iv e m ilita riz a tio n o f
th e b o rd e r in c lu d e s: 2 0 ,0 0 0 a d d i­
tio n a l b o rd e r p a tro l a g e n ts fo r a
to ta l o f 4 1 ,0 0 0 a g e n ts; 7 0 0 a d d i­
tional m iles o f trip le w alls; 85 fixed
w a tc h to w e rs; 4 8 8 re m o te
v id e o su rv e illa n c e sy ste m s;
2 32 m o b ile su rv eillan ce sy s­
te m s; 4 ,4 2 5 g ro u n d sen so rs;
8 20 th e rm a l an d n ig h t v isio n
g o g g le s; 6 ra d a r sy ste m s;
17 U H -1N h elico p ters; 8 A S-
3 5 0 lig h t e n fo rc em en t h e lic o p ters;
15 B la c k h a w k h e lic o p te rs; 3 0 m a ­
rin e v e sse ls an d 18 d ro n e s.
d a n g e ro u s a re a. In fa c t tw o b o r­
d e r c itie s, E l P a so , T e x a s a n d S an
D iego, C alif, w ere resp ec tiv e ly the
first an d se c o n d s a fe s t c itie s in
th e U . S. in 2 0 1 2 .
T h e sev e n m illio n p e o p le w h o
liv e in th e b o rd e r — A m e ric a n s,
M e x ic a n s an d N a tiv e A m e ric a n s
alik e — are b e in g sac rific e d fo r th e
sak e o f an illu s io n o f sa fe ty to b e
fo u n d in b u ild in g y et a n o th e r w all.
A lso b ein g sa c rific e d a re th e o th e r
d w e lle rs o f th e b o rd e r: th e m an y
a n im a ls th a t m ig ra te fre e ly fro m
o n e n a tio n to a n o th e r to fin d fo o d
an d to b re e d , in c lu d in g e n d a n ­
g e re d sp ec ie s lik e m o u n ta in lio n s,
o c e lo ts a n d ja g u a ro n d is .
H u m a n d w e lle rs o f th e b o rd e r­
la n d s can b e n e g a tiv e ly im p a c te d
b y th e w all a lso . A fe w y e ars a g o ,
th e b o rd e r w all in N o g a le s c a u s e d
sev e re flo o d in g th a t b u rie d d o w n ­
to w n h o m e s an d b u s in e s s e s u n ­
d e rn e a th six fe e t o f w a ter, d ro w n ­
ing tw o p e o p le an d c o stin g m il­
lio n s o f d o lla rs in d a m a g e s.
L e t’s n o t sh u t th e d o o r o n o u r
n e ig h b o rs ’ fa c es. O u r so u th e rn
b o rd e r is su ffic ie n tly sec u re . W e
n e ed th o se e n o rm o u s fin a n c ia l re ­
so u rc es fo r m o re im p o rta n t n e ed s
lik e e d u c a tio n an d h e a lth c a re .
it m ay b e a ro u n d $25 b illio n .
W h a t u se d to b e a re g io n o f
sh a re d c lim a te an d b i-n a tio n a l
c u ltu re s an d c o m m e rc e h a s b e ­
c o m e a n o o n e ’s c o rrid o r an d a
c o m p le te ly iso la te d , a lie n e n v i­
ro n m e n t. W h ile tra d e w ith o u r
so u th e rn n e ig h b o rs h a s so ared ,
th e o p p o rtu n ity to w a lk a c ro ss to
e ac h o th e r’s n e ig h b o rh o o d s has
b e e n p ra c tic a lly e lim in a te d .
T h is new w all w ill all be b u ilt by
T h o se w ho c lam o r fo r m o re b o r­
o u tsid e c o n tra c to rs o v e rse e n by d e r s e c u rity h a v e p ro b a b ly no t
th e A rm y C o rp o f E n g in e e rs. N o b e en th e re re c e n tly . A m e ric a n s
co st estim ate fo r this w all is read ily c a n n o t ju s t w a lk a cro ss lik e w e
a v a ila b le , b u t it is su g g e s te d th a t u se d to fo r a g o o d p la te o f e n c h i­
la d as. B o rd e r c ro s sin g s are lim ­
ite d to c e rta in a re as an d ta k e se v ­
e ra l h o u rs now .
T h e c o n s tru c tio n o f e n d le s s
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elephone
T h is is a g re a t a sse t in a g lo b al
M ari Castellanos is a policy
ddress
e co n o m y .
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U n ite d S ta te s is fre q u e n tly p re ­ Justice M inistries fo r the United
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