Page 4 The Skanner Portland & Seattle September 25, 2019
Events & Announcements
News
Community
Calendar 2019
Portland Metro
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 26
PERSPECTIVES ON QATAR: A PANEL DISCUSSION: WorldOregon
will host a discussion on politics, culture, and education in
Qatar and the road ahead from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at WorldOregon,
1207 SW Broadway, Suite 300. To buy tickets, visit https://cutt.
ly/twGthRy.
FRIDAY & SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 27-28
PHOTO BY SUSAN FRIED
FLORENCE FESTIVAL OF BOOKS: About 75 authors and 10 publish-
ers are expected at the Festival of Books. All events will be held
at Florence Event Center, 715 Quince. Award-winning author Bob
Welch will deliver the keynote Friday night and the book fair
will take place 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. For more information,
check FFOB website at www.florencefestivalofbooks.org.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 28
Project Pilgrimage
A panel discussion with director Andrew Elizaga, Jessica Howard, Rev. Gregory Staten, Pastor Patrinell “Pat” Staten Wright, Robert
Stephens, producer and co-director Tia Young, and Project Pilgrimage Executive Director Felicia Ishino followed the screening of the
film Patrinell: The Total Experience!, Sept. 18 at McCaw Hall. The film which was presented by Project Pilgrimage and Seattle Center
chronicles the history of Seattle’s Total Experience Gospel Choir and its acclaimed director Pat Wright through the 45 years she led the
choir.
Portland & Seattle
News Briefs
Grocery Worker Union Calls for
Fred Meyer Boycott
SALEM (AP) — A local union representing grocery
workers from across Oregon and southwest Wash-
ington has called for a boycott of Fred Meyer stores
and departments in the region.
Union officials say the move comes after recent al-
leged harassment of unionized employees.
Oregon Public Broadcasting reports that United
Food and Commercial Workers Local 555 is in con-
tract negotiations with some of the region’s biggest
supermarkets, including Fred Meyer, Albertsons
and Safeway. The contract termination freed up the
union to call for a boycott starting Sunday.
Kelley McAllister, with UFCW Local 555, said the
union was targeting Fred Meyer due to recent alle-
gations that managers at the stores had called union-
ized employees into their offices and berated them.
In a statement, Fred Meyer said recent allegations
that painted the company as “an unfair or uncaring
employer” were an “unfortunate misrepresentation
of the reality for our great associates.”
Sickle Cell Anemia Foundation of
Oregon to Host Dinner Sept. 28
The Sickle Cell Anemia Foundation of Oregon will
host a dinner from 6 to 9 p.m. Sept. 28 the Church of
the Good Shepherd, located at 4566 NE 87th Avenue.
Tickets are $20 and clients come free of charge. Dona-
tions are welcome and volunteers are needed.
This year’s dinner will feature Beverly Francis-Gib-
son, President and CEO of Sickle Cell Disease Associ-
ation of America, Inc., coming to Oregon to show the
sickle cell community that those in Washington Area
headquarters care about them and are fighting to im-
prove the quality of life for them just as we are.
For more information, visit www.sicklecellport-
land.org or contact marcia@sicklecelloregon.org.
Multnomah County to Hold Special
Election Nov. 5
The next election in Multnomah County is a local
special election to be held Nov. 5. There are local bal-
lot measures on the ballot and there will be no can-
didate races. Only eligible voters that live within the
boundaries of the local districts holding elections
will receive a ballot. The districts on the ballot are the
City of Portland, City of Troutdale, Metro, Portland
Public School District and Sauvie Island Fire District. 
October 15 is the voter registration deadline for the
November 5 Special Election. Oregon voters can reg-
ister online at  www.oregonvotes.gov/register  or fill
out a paper Oregon Voter Registration Card available
at the elections office, public library, Oregon Depart-
ment of Motor Vehicles, or post office. 
For more information visit the Multnomah Coun-
ty Elections main office (Multnomah County Dun-
iway-Lovejoy Elections Building, 1040 SE Morri-
son Street), the Voting Center Express in Gresham
(Multnomah County East Building, 600 NE 8th Street,
Gresham) or call 503-988-VOTE, Email: elections@
multco.us, www.mcelections.org.
Durkan Announces $25 Million to
Advance New Affordable Housing
Across Seattle Using Existing
Revenues 
Seattle Mayor Jenny A. Durkan today announced
$25 million in new funds available for affordable
housing investments for the City of Seattle by using
existing revenues from the Real Estate Excise Taxes
(REET) II. 
This step allows the City to take advantage of a
change made during the 2019 state legislative session
that gives cities the flexibility to use REET II funds for
capital investments to build new affordable housing
without new taxes.  
Recognizing the need to address housing affordabil-
ity, the Washington State legislature passed EHB 1219,
to help provide cities and counties with the flexibility
to use REET II to invest in solutions that keep people
in stable homes and ensure affordable housing in ev-
ery community throughout the state.  
Building on the $45 million available through the
Housing Levy and Mandatory Housing Affordability
(MHA), the $25 million will be added to the Office of
Housing’s (OH) 2019 Notice of Funding Availability,
the annual competitive process that awards funds
for affordable housing development in December of
each year.  Instead of waiting to use the resources in
December 2020, Mayor Durkan is proposing the use
the  addition of REET II funds plus the Local Option
Housing bill in December 2019, which will mean ap-
proximately $90 million will be awarded for capital
this year to create affordable homes, addressing the
critical need for housing for people experiencing
homelessness, low-wage workers, and families in
Seattle. City funds for capital will be leveraged with
county, state and federal resources, magnifying the
impact of local funds. 
The Local Option Housing bill also provide ongoing
operating and maintenance support of new perma-
nent supportive housing units. 
In addition, as part of her Housing Seattle Now ini-
tiative, Mayor Durkan is proposing more than
$78.2  million in new housing and anti-displacement
investments in the 2020 budget, which will be funded
as part of her proposal to sell the under-utilized city-
owned Mercer Mega Block properties.
SICKLE CELL ANEMIA FOUNDATION OF OREGON DINNER: The Sick-
le Cell Anemia Foundation of Oregon will host a dinner from 6
to 9 p.m. Sept. 28 the Church of the Good Shepherd, located at
4566 NE 87th Avenue. Tickets are $20 and clients come free of
charge. Donations are welcome and volunteers are needed. For
more information, visit www.sicklecellportland.org.
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 1
JENNY BROWN READING AT BROADWAY BOOKS: Author, teacher,
and activist Jenny Brown will talk with Portland author Leni Zu-
mas about her book, “Birth Strike: The Hidden Fight over Wom-
en’s Work, at 7 p.m. at Broadway Books, 1714 NE Broadway. This
event is free, but a portion of the proceeds of this day’s sales
will be donated to Planned Parenthood Advocates of Oregon.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 4
TRANSPORTATION SEMINAR: As Vancouver embarks on an up-
date to the 15-year-old Transportation System Plan, learn about
how the City is striving to transform the existing transportation
system through more collaborative programs and more efficient
measures. Free and open to the public, 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m., Karl
Miller Center at PSU, 615 SW Harrison St., Room 465.
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 5
TUALITIN HILLS NATIVE PLANT SALE: The Tualatin Hills Nature
Center will host the Fall Native Plant Sale on from 10 a.m. to 2
p.m. 15655 SW Millikan Way, Beaverton.
TUESDAY & WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 8-9
PROTECTING YOUR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY: Miller Nash Gra-
ham & Dunn will host two complimentary roundtable discus-
sions about protecting your trademarks, copyrights, patents,
and trade secrets. Oct. 8, 7:45- 9:30 a.m., 500 Broadway Street,
Suite 400, Vancouver Oct. 9, 7:45-9:30 a.m. Oct. 9, 111 S.W. Fifth
Avenue, 34th Floor.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 9
LES AUCOIN READS AT BROADWAY BOOKS: Former US Congress-
man Les AuCoin will read from his memoir, “Catch and Release:
An Oregon Life in Politics” at 7 p.m. at Broadway Books, 1714 NE
Broadway.
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10
SHORT FILM SCREENING: Award-winning filmmaker Ifanyi Bell
will show two short films addressing the impact of Portland’s
ever-changing landscape on Black residents 7 p.m. Oct. 19 at
the Portland Baha’i Center, 8720 N. Ivanhoe Street, in St. Johns.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Free, light refreshments afterward.
Seattle Metro
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 27
LIVE MUSIC IN THE PARK: Downtown Seattle Association pres-
ents live music in the park! Come join other families at Occiden-
tal Square for a few hours of relaxing (and danceable!) enter-
tainment. Free and all ages are welcome from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. at
Occidental Square, Pioneer Square
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 28
SEATTLE CHILDREN’S BOOK FESTIVAL: The first ever Seattle Chil-
dren’s Book Festival will feature 49 award-winning children’s
book authors and illustrators under one roof. Meet your fave
authors and illustrators, purchase signed books, activities and
crafts and presentations throughout the day. 11 a.m.-3 p.m.,
Greenwood Elementary, 144 NW 80th St.
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 29
FREE ROBOTICS LESSON: Free trial lesson for kids in grades 1-8
(we’ll divide kids into groups based on their grade). Session fo-
cus: robotics, getting familiar with programming robots. Regis-
ter at https://itstep.us. Event is 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. at STEP Comput-
er Academy, 13208 NE 20th St #100, Bellevue.