OCTOBER 11, 2017
25
CENTS
Portland and Seattle Volume XL No. 2
News .............................. 3,8-10 A & E .....................................6-7
Opinion ...................................2 Breast Cancer Awareness ...9
Calendars ........................... 4-5 Bids/Classifieds ....................11
CHALLENGING PEOPLE TO SHAPE A BETTER FUTURE NOW
PHOTO BY CHRISTEN MCCURDY
INDIGENOUS PEOPLE DAY
Reworked
‘In Our
America’
Sticker
Appears
Metro area residents
reporting more
anonymous, harassing
stickers and flyers
PHOTO BY SUSAN FRIED
Karen Wells stands next to her mailbox on the
front porch of her home in Portland’s Alameda
neighborhood
Several hundred people celebrated Indigenous Peoples Day Oct. 9 by gathering at Westlake Park and then marching to City Hall for a traditional meal,
indigenous singing and dancing and speeches by community leaders.
Tenants Sought for Alberta Commons
A
t the end of August, Karen Wells
looked in her mailbox and found
a sticker, without an envelope,
address or stamp.
It looked a lot like the signs that have
become a common sight in many Port-
AP PHOTO/JOHN LOCHER
See STICKER on page 3
Flowers, candles and other items surround the
famous Las Vegas sign at a makeshift memorial for
victims of the mass shooting in Las Vegas. Stephen
Paddock opened fire on an outdoor country music
concert killing dozens and injuring hundreds.
World News
Briefs
California Fires, Las
Vegas Masacre, and more
page 8
Kam Reviews
‘A Question of Faith’
page 6
Successful applicants are offered reduced rent at the new development
By Melanie Sevcenko
Of The Skanner News
A
fter
contentious
community debate
and a shifting of an-
chor tenants, con-
struction began last fall on
the long-vacant parcel of
land at Northeast Martin
Luther King, Jr. Blvd. and
Northeast Alberta Street.
The 20,000-square-foot
site, called Alberta Com-
mons, is being developed
by Majestic Realty and
African American, fami-
ly-owned Colas Construc-
tion as the general contrac-
tor. Completion is slotted
for next month.
With
Colorado-based
Natural Grocers at the
helm, the development is
dedicating 50 percent of
the lot’s commercial space
as affordable for local busi-
nesses from underserved
communities.
To help fill those spots,
Alberta Commons is par-
ticipating in Prosper Port-
land’s Affordable Commer-
cial Tenanting Program,
which will secure busi-
ness space for four to five
successful applicants at
reduced rent through its
master lease with Majestic.
In addition, the selected
businesses will be offered
a tenant improvement
package to fund construc-
tion costs, as well as tech-
nical assistance provided
by Micro Enterprise Ser-
vices of Oregon (MESO),
a nonprofit which grants
micro-loans to minority
entrepreneurs.
“We’re looking for busi-
nesses that are going to
be a great fit for Alberta
Commons and be a great
fit together,” said Prosper
Portland program man-
ager Alison Wicks. “But
businesses that don’t end
up in these retail spaces,
there’s definitely more op-
portunities within North
and Northeast Portland, so
we’ll be continuing to work
with them.”
Prosper Portland is set to
begin reviewing prospec-
tive tenants on Oct. 13. Af-
terwards, additional appli-
cations will be accepted on
a rolling, first-come first-
serve basis until all spaces
are filled. The development
agency is also working
with a retail tenanting sub-
committee to help steer the
selection process.
Created to address Port-
land’s dramatic uptick in
retail rents — exacerbated
by a decrease in vacancies
— the tenanting program
is an attempt to compen-
sate for the loss of several
vulnerable businesses that
had fallen prey to gentrifi-
cation in the area.
Its focus, in particular, is
to boost businesses from
underrepresented
com-
munities — mainly those
See ALBERTA on page 3
Community Rallies Around KairosPDX
The majority-Black charter school is in danger of
displacement if new PPS policy passes
By Melanie Sevcenko
Of The Skanner News
W
hile KariosPDX is faced
with losing its building
next year, community
members and elected offi-
cials have rallied around the charter
school to demand it stay put.
The Portland Public School board
is currently tasked with deciding
whether or not to pass a policy which
would open two new middle schools
and convert several existing K-8
schools to K-5.
The district’s proposal is aimed at
providing richer and more focused
curriculum to all students, while
addressing under-enrollment at the
middle grade level.
Among the changes, the histori-
cally Black Harriet Tubman Middle
School would re-open and ACCESS
See KAIROSPDX on page 3
PHOTO COURTESY OF KAIROSPDX
By Christen McCurdy
Of The Skanner News
KairosPDX students
