Martin Luther King Jr.
2022 Special Edition
January 12, 2022
Page 3
INSIDE l OCal n ews
More Schools Impacted
Surge in COVID
brings back
distant learning
Arts &
ENTERTAINMENT
page 13-16
C lassified /B ids
O piniOn
pages 10
page 19
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A growing number of schools
in Portland and Vancouver re-
turned to distance learning this
week because of COVID-relat-
ed staffing issues impacting the
number of teachers available for
classroom instruction. Officials
say more schools may temporarily
move to online instruction as the
surge tied to the Omicron variant
of the coronavirus continues.
Officials said absences and the
lack of substitutes continues to
cause shortages of teachers, staff,
administrators and bus drivers.
In the Portland Public School
District, Roosevelt, McDan-
iel and Cleveland high schools,
serving north, northeast and
southeast Portland started the
week in distance learning. Ock-
ley Green Middle School in
north Portland and Faubion PK-8
School in northeast Portland also
closed on Tuesday to prepare for
online instruction for at least the
rest of the week.
The Parkrose School District
said temporary distance learn-
A nurse cares for a critically ill patient in the Intensive Care Unit
at Oregon Health and Science University. The number of people
hospitalized with COVID-19 increased to 692 statewide this week,
but hospitalizations were still about 40% below their peak during a
summer surge.
ing would begin for all students
on Wednesday. Parkrose High,
Parkrose Middle, plus Prescott,
Russell, Sacramento and Shaver
elementary schools were impact-
ed. Late Monday afternoon, the
Vancouver School District also
announced some of their schools
would include remote learning
four days a week for the next
three weeks.
Oregon health authorities
reported Monday that 18,538
new confirmed or presumptive
COVID-19 cases were identified
over the weekend.
The state has a positive test rate
of just over 22% as the highly con-
tagious omicron variant spreads.
The number of people hospital-
ized with COVID-19 increased
to 692, but hospitalizations were
still about 40% below their peak
during the summer surge of the
delta variant.
Eighteen new deaths were an-
nounced Monday.
With breakthrough infections
spreading, healthcare officials said
vaccinated Oregonians can flatten
the curve by masking and refrain-
ing from indoor gatherings.
Michael Leighton
Office Mngr/Clasfds: Lucinda Baldwin
Admin.Coord.: Quayuana Washington
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Biketown Expands Bicycle Sharing
Larger service
area means
more people
will be served
Designed to be affordable and
accessible, Biketown has expanded
its bicycling sharing service area
to now include St. Johns in north
Portland and far parts of east Port-
land, growing operations by nine
square miles or by 25 percent.
Known for its ubiquitous orange
bikes, Monday’s expansion came
as Biketown continues to embark
on a goal of expanding into areas
with a high percentage of commu-
nities of color that have been un-
derserved by transportation, said
officials with Lyft, the operator of
the service and the Portland Bureau
of Transportation.
Biketown’s service area now
includes portions or all of Hazel-
wood, Mill Park, Parkrose and
Parkrose Heights. In North Port-
land, the expanded service area
brings in the University of Portland
and downtown St. Johns. It also
includes all or large sections of
Portland Transportation Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty announc-
es the expansion of the Biketown bicycle sharing service area at a
news conference at Knott Park.
the Arbor Lodge, Cathedral Park,
Kenton, Portsmouth, and Universi-
ty Park neighborhoods, providing a
much-needed sustainable transpor-
tation option for residents, students
and visitors.
Transportation Commissioner
Jo Ann Hardesty announced the ex-
pansion at a news conference Mon-
day at Knott Park, an east Portland
gathering space in the Parkrose
Heights neighborhood that is now
part of the Biketown service area.
“This is an exciting milestone in
our efforts to ensure everyone has
safe, convenient access to biking in
Portland,” Hardesty said. “For too
long, our East Portland and North
Portland neighborhoods have been
lacking the city services and con-
venient transportation access that
the rest of Portland takes for grant-
ed. I’m so glad to see PBOT prior-
itizing racial equity in expanding
access to our bike share system.
With the collaboration with pri-
vate sector partners like Nike and
Lyft, we can continue our efforts
to reduce our carbon emissions
and make sure everyone has an
opportunity to enjoy sustainable
transportation options.”
For more information, visit
biketownpdx.com.