Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current, January 15, 2014, 2014 special edition, Page 30, Image 30

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    k © b 2014
1 M a r t in L u t h e r K in g J r .
Page 30
s p e c ia l ed itio n
January 15, 2014
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: 1 sm all H allw ay)
1 Cleaning Area (only)
$40.00
Includes Pre-Spray Traffic Area
(Hallway Extra)
Stairs (12-16 stairs - With
O ther Services)-. $25.00
Area/Oriental Rugs:
$25.00 Minimum
Area/Oriental Rugs (Wool):
$40.00Minimum
Heavily Soiled Area:
Additional $10.00 each area
(Requiring Extensive Pre-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
Make the Convention Center Hotel a Reality
Project would
bring good jobs
and grow local
businesses
R oy J ay
F o r th e p ast
2 0 p lu s y e a rs ,
th e re has been
ta lk a b o u t th e
need for Portland
to have a c o n ­
v e n tio n c e n te r
h eadquarter h o ­
tel . Lack o f political leadership in the
past kept us on square one. V oters
approved a beautiful m ultim illion
d o lla r c o n v e n tio n c e n te r th a t
opened in 1990 that w ould be the
ep icen ter o f m any future national
m eetings, co n feren ces and co n v en ­
tions.
Portland now has a real chance to
m ake this headquarter hotel becom e
a reality on the east side o f the
Wi 1 lamette, but there is a small group
o f hotels, well financed (only 7) that
have launched a cam paign to stop
the efforts. T hey did not object when
tax p ay er dollars w ere used to build
T he N ines hotel, the O H SU T ram or
Jeld W en Field.
T h e p r o p o s e d h o te l w o u ld
by
co m p lem en t not only the co n v en ­
tion cen ter but also the M oda C en­
ter w hich attracts m any people from
ou t o f tow n. D evelopm ent o f the
clo se-in east side w ill spur even
m ore jo b s, b usinesses and visitors
to o u r city. But opponents w ant to
take the m atter to the voters in an
effort to keep all o f the business in
dow ntow n Portland.
O p p o n e n ts o ffe r n o th in g o th e r
th an se lf-se rv in g in terest. T h e fact
th a t th is h o te l w ill p ro v id e h ig h e r
p a y in g jo b s b e c a u se it w ill be
u n io n -b u ilt and o p e ra te d , w ill be a
p lu s fo r P o rtla n d ’s m a rk e tin g e f ­
forts. P o rtlan d has o n ly tw o union-
o p e ra te d h o te ls, b o th d o w n to w n .
O n e o f w h ic h is m o re h is to ric an d
n o t o rie n ta te d to w a rd c o n v e n ­
tio n s. W e lo se so m e g o v e rn m e n t
g ro u p s a n d u n io n c o n v e n tio n s
b e c a u se w e d o n o t h a v e e n o u g h
u n io n h o te ls. T h e re is a re a so n
w hy g o v e rn m e n t o ffic ia ls in c lu d ­
in g P re sid e n ts can o n ly stay aj
tw o h o te ls in P o rtla n d .
T h e o ld say in g “ if w e b u ild it,
th e y w ill c o m e ” is so tru e in th is
c ase . W e n o lo n g e r h a v e tim e to
be so p o litic a lly c o rre c t th a t w e
lo se fu tu re o p p o rtu n itie s . A fte r
all, th e p e o p le th a t are scre a m in g
th e lo u d e st are p a y in g th e ir e m ­
p lo y e es the least am o u n t o f m oney
w h ile th e ir o w n e rs fly p riv a te je ts
an d sp en d m o re tim e o n th e g o lf
c o u rs e .
W e need to be team players and
w ork fo r the g reater good o f our
entire city not ju s t a select few . I ’m
not ju s t blow ing in the w ind, you
see I have been one o f the m any
hard w orking soldiers selling P ort­
land to out o f tow n associations,
organizations and individuals for
the past 20 plus years.
W e know how tough it is to co m ­
pete w hen w e are going to a gun
fight w ith a knife (not literally). Spo­
kane has now becom e a co m p etito r
to P ortland and recently announced
a 700 room convention cen ter hotel.
Y es, this is not a m isprint. 1 said
Spokane. In the m eantim e, local
opponents w ant to take this m atter
to the public fo r a vo ter referendum
and throw the baby out w ith the
bath. All the reports from their so-
called experts are gibberish. T hey
do not live in Portland and their data
focuses on recession and 9-11 eco ­
nom ic scenarios. W e are unique.
So if you happen to see a paid
petitio n er at the m all, dow ntow n or
at your front d o o r w anting you to
sign up to kill the h ead q u arter hotel,
sim ply ask them if this project will
increase your taxes. (R em em ber $ 10
p er hour petitions w ill tell you any­
thing to get y o u r signature). In real­
ity, this p roject will not cost local
taxpayers a single dim e.
T he bonds that are used to pay
fo r a portion o f the financing differ­
ence are paid back through room
taxes that out o f tow n guests w ill be
paying, not you and I. T his is not
like the situation w here we, as tax ­
payers w ere holding the bag on PG E
Park and the d elinquent debts o f
T he N ines hotel. W e can no longer
allow a sm all group o f individuals
and businesses to m ake a decision
fo r an entire com m unity.
Finally, for those o f you that travel
to other m ajor cities for conferences,
m eetings o r conventions have you
ever noticed that m ostly all o f those
cities have at least one m ajor hotel
w ithin one or tw o blocks o f their
convention center? C an the P ort­
land area afford to lose a potential
2,000 construction jo b s, 900 to u r­
ism and hospitality jo b s, and $120
m illion annually in new custom er
spending at local retailers, restau­
rants and other hotels - all as a
result o f people that do not even live
here!
Roy Jay is president o f the Or­
egon Convention & Visitor Ser­
vices Network. He is a Spirit o f
Portland Award Winner and long­
time business entrepreneur that has
invested nearly 40 years in promot­
ing Portland and paying employ­
ees livable wages.