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Page 14 Business Directory c Lassifieds /B ids REQUEST FOR BIDS MWH-Kiewit Joint Venture (i.e., CM/GC) PORTLAND WATER BUREAU’S FILTRATION FACILITY PROJECT Subscribe ! 503-288-0033 Fill Out & Send To: MWH-Kiewit is currently accepting bids from prequalified sub- contractors for the following bid packages: • Package S-16 - Raw Water Pipelines. • Package S-17 – Concrete at Areas 20, 30, and 40. • Package S-19 - Balance of Buried Piping. • Package S-21 – Concrete at Clarifier, Gravity Thickener, Sludge Storage Tank, and Overflow • Pump Station. • Package S-22 – Buildings at Dewatering Building, Chemical Building, Ozone Building. • Package S-23 – Mechanical at Area 30 (Flocculation, Sedi- mentation, Filtration). • Package S-24 – Balance of Plant Mechanical. • Package S-25 – Plant Electrical. These packages will be awarded based on best-value criteria. Bids are due August 4, 2023, no later than 4:00PM PDT. Be advised that MWH-Kiewit, a member of the CM/GC Joint Venture, and/or Affiliate, intends to compete as a bidder on the S-16, S-17, S-19, S-21, S-22, and S-25 packages. ERNEST J, HILL, JR. Agent 311 NE Killingsworth St, Portland, OR 503-286-1103 • Fax 503-286-1146 Providing Insurance and Financial Services 4106 NE Fremont St. Portland, OR 97212 (503) 327-8885 DouglasLambTattoo@ya h oo.com DougLifeTattoos Theotis Cason 503-287-0855 $5.00 TEES CLUBS FAMILY REUNIONS SCHOOL CLUBS BUSINESSES SCREEN PRINTING 971-570-8214 5015 NE MLK Blvd. Portland, OR 97211 Catering Available If interested in receiving a list of prequalified bidders, please contact MWH-Kiewit’s Preconstruction Manager Ben McGeachy at ben.mcgeachy@mwhconstructors.com Attn: Subscriptions, PO Box 3137, Portland OR 97208 $45.00 for 3 months $80.00 for 6 mo. $125.00 for 1 year (please include check with this subscription form) Name: Telephone: Address: or email subscriptions@ portlandobserver.com Is Education Taking a Back Seat? (AP) — Funding for schools, literacy programs and special ed- ucation teachers in Oregon — a state where 60% of third graders can’t read at grade level — could be jeopardized by a Republican walkout that has stalled hundreds of bills and derailed the Legisla- ture for nearly six weeks. The standoff over a bill that would expand access to abortion and gender-affirming health care could scuttle much-needed ed- ucation funding in a year when the stars seemed to align for Ore- gon’s budget. Tax revenues have exceeded state economists’ projections, al- lowing lawmakers to approve a record K-12 budget of $10.2 bil- lion. But the education spending legislation needs a vote from the Senate, which hasn’t been able to conduct business since May 3 because of the GOP boycott, and time is running out, with just two weeks left until the legislative session ends. “Supporting strong schools and improving student outcomes should be enough to make anyone show up for work,” Democratic state Rep. Courtney Neron, the House Committee on Education chair, said at a recent rally against the walkout. “From early child- hood through higher education, our schools and students need us to respond to serious challenges.” Attendees chant during a rally calling for an end to the Senate Republican walkout at the Oregon State Capitol in Salem, Ore., May 11, 2023.. (AP Photo/Amanda Loman,File) Oregon’s Senate Republican office said in an email that “it is critically important that we make sure education is fully funded.” Republican minority leader Sen. Tim Knopp also said in an email his caucus will return by June 25 to pass “substantially bipartisan” bills and budgets. But Democrats say waiting un- til the session’s last day to pass budgets isn’t feasible and school districts need a sense of potential funding by early July to begin planning for the next school year. “There’s no way that we can pass all the budget bills on June 25,” Democratic state Sen. Michael Dembrow, the Senate Committee on Education chair, said in an email. “Just doing budget bills in both chambers will take several days.” If lawmakers don’t return soon, Dembrow said he suspects Demo- cratic Gov. Tina Kotek “will need to convene a special session at some point to do the budgets.” As in other states nationwide, reading and math scores plum- meted in Oregon following the pandemic. School closures hit young children particularly hard, depriving them of critical in-per- son instruction on how to read. About 60% of third graders in Or- egon are not proficient in reading or math, according to the latest state assessment results. “This should be an emergency, a wake-up call,” said Gini Pu- po-Walker, an executive director of nonprofit advocacy group The Education Trust. “It’s unfortu- nate that those really important bills that could really reshape the way reading is taught and could really transform student experi- ences with learning are ... now being held hostage to a totally separate issue.”