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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (May 21, 2025)
May 21, 2025 The Skanner Portland & Seattle Page 7 Bids & Classi ed To place your ad, email advertising@theskanner.com or go to www.TheSkanner.com and click on the “Ads” menu. Prosper cont’d from pg 3 time it was intended to take some pressure – from the increased cost to deliver programs – off of future general fund increases,” he said. “SIF allowed us to fare better.” “Many councils in the past have asked agencies and bureaus to consid- er diversifying revenue models to be less reliant on the general fund,” Vickers said. “So Prosper put together a financial sustainability plan that really looked at our in- vestment opportunities and that’s what (SIF) is built from.” Prosper Portland re- ported that SIF has al- lowed them to fund $12 million in loans since 2023. Those 22 loans have largely been to small businesses that struggled to find fi- nancing, and include McTavish Shortbread, women’s sports-focused venue The Sports Bra, Pan’s Mushroom Jerky, Vitalidad Movement Arts Center and Javelina Restaurant, an indige- nous cuisine restaurant. Prosper Portland also reported that 64% of loans supported BIPOC business owners. Eyeing An Overhaul? Alongside concerns about balancing the bud- get, Dunphy and Green criticized Prosper Port- land’s somewhat unique structure: the former de- velopment commission is run by an executive director who reports not directly to the city but to a volunteer board of five local citizens who are ap- pointed by the mayor and who must be approved by city council. “Prosper Portland is not our government,” Dunphy said. “That is a separate legal govern- ment with their own volunteer, appointed board and their own gov- ernance structure, and they have told us they do not listen to us. It’s the same as if we were trying to prioritize a $13 million grant for Portland Pub- lic Schools, or to Mult- nomah County.” Vickers would dis- agree. “I grew up in inner Northeast Portland; my family too was impacted by what the former (Port- land Development Com- mission) and the process- es that used to occur,” Vickers said. “One thing I think is really great about our model and our board is they are in fact volunteer communi- ty members. Across the state TIF is (often) admin- istered behind the elect- ed mayor and/or city council. And we’ve seen, time and again, commu- nity members mention that feels incredibly opaque. And so we have, right now, a board filled with diverse folks – with regard to expertise, ex- perience, perspective, lived experience – who are involved in econom- ic development or small business, who are sitting on our board. They’re Portlanders who care about our city and they help make decisions, alongside council and many different efforts.” She added, “TIF dis- tricts action plans get vetted and approved by city council. We see it as working alongside coun- cil.” Green explained his frustration with Prosper Portland, citing Dun- phy’s assessment that the agency maintained an “arm’s length relation- ship” with the city. “I tend to refer to it as a ‘lack of democratic oversight’ relationship,” Green said. “The only Nike to Start Selling Its Products Directly on Amazon’s US Website Again Advertising deadlines 12:00 Noon Monday touchpoint I have as an elected leader to bring forth questions of ac- countability and over- sight that my constitu- ents raise, is through the budget-setting process, so I think that’s a prob- lem.” Programs At Risk During a May 8 city council session, the council heard from a number of Prosper Port- land supporters who had benefited from their range of programming or their support of part- ner organizations’ pro- grams. Elena Dubrovsk, a Ukrainian refugee, talked about resettling in Portland and trying to re-establish her career in ophthalmology. Through Prosper Portland-sup- ported programs she was able to study English, ob- tain textbooks and study materials for a licensing exam, pay for the exam and obtain references from her native country, she said, then quickly landed a job in her field. Ernesto Fonseca, CEO of Hacienda Communi- ty Development Corp., told The Skanner that the proposed cuts to Prosper Portland would mean the end of one of his organi- zation’s successful small business programs. “For communities of color, many of us don’t choose the path of col- lege. So either you can be a blue collar worker, or you can start your own business,” he said. “Right now, we are serving at maximum capacity, about 53 small business owners that are graduat- ing this year. They have been incorporated, they are doing business, they are just pulling through. (What the cut would mean to us) is that we won’t be able to welcome anybody else within the community. What it means to those individu- als is that about 53 fami- lies at least, in only that one program, won’t have a chance to get that kind of help.” He added, “I would rather see a couple of pot holes here and there than not see investment in economic development. It is one of the biggest things that we need to double down on support- ing.” PROJECT ENGINEER Abbott Construction seeks Project Eng in Seattle WA to anal proj plans, srvys, reps. M.S. in Const Mgmt or rltd & 3 yrs proj eng exp. Must also possess: Wrk on bldg systs & comps; read proj sched in GNATT frmat; MS offce; take notes & work on cmplx const isss; Walk on jobsite & id OSHA / WISHA violtns & needs; constr cash flow; proj budgtng prcss & chg ordr prcss; bld envlp systms, compatblty bt components, analz dsgns; Rev mtls sub- mttls & shop drawngs on proj; Solve const coord iss re sitework, bldg envlp & int finishes; Mg sw incl earthwork, util subs & eval soil conds & cost impacts; Coord site logs. $94,000. Freq trvl to local const sites rqd. To apply send resume to ashlee.kenner@laytoncon- struction.com & ref this ad in cover. 5-21-25 SUB-BIDS REQUESTED Colonia Libertad 1 Rehab Project A man walks with his purchased goods as he shops at a Nike store outside a shopping mall in Beijing, Sunday, May 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong) By MICHELLE CHAPMAN AP Business Writer N ike is going to start selling its products directly on Am- azon’s U.S. website for the first time since 2019 as the company looks for more ways to bring goods to customers and boost sales. Nike, which sells footwear, clothing and other items, cut ties with Amazon at a time when the online retailer was trying to lure big brands to its website. While Nike stopped selling its sneakers and athletic gear directly to Ama- zon in 2019, Nike’s goods were still available on Amazon.com, sold by independent sellers that list their merchandise directly on Amazon’s marketplace. Now Nike is resuming its direct relationship with Amazon. “Nike is investing in our market- place to ensure we’re offering the right products, best services, and tailored experiences to consum- ers wherever and however they choose to shop,” the company said in a statement. “This includes ex- panding to new digital accounts, including Amazon in the U.S., new physical partners like Printemps (a French luxury department store chain), elevating retail ex- periences across the marketplace, and launching Nike’s AI powered conversational search to improve our online services.” Amazon is navigating its way through bringing Nike back on board. “While independent sellers have listed some Nike inventory in our store for many years, Amazon will soon begin sourcing a much wider range of Nike products directly to expand our selection for U.S. cus- tomers,” an Amazon spokesperson said in a statement. “We value in- dependent sellers, and we’re pro- viding an extended period of time for the small number of sellers af- fected to sell through their inven- tory of overlapping items.” When Nike announced the pi- lot program with Amazon.com in 2017, it hoped that it would have more control over the brand. Am- azon acknowledged at the time that there were problematic sales of counterfeit goods on its site and implemented some tools to try to stop them. Nike is reestablishing a more di- rect relationship with Amazon at a time when its sales are weakening. In March the Beaverton, Ore- gon, company reported that its third-quarter sales fell 9% to $11.27 billion as revenue declined for the Nike brand and Converse. Jefferies’ Randal Konik is sup- portive of Nike reconnecting with Amazon. “We like this move by Nike plain and simple,” he wrote in a note to clients. “Amazon is the largest e-commerce platform and the move further cements Nike’s brand ubiquity.” Shares of Nike rose more than 2% in Thursday afternoon trading. 2911 Saddle Club Street SE Salem, OR 97317 Bids Due: June 3rd, 2025, at 2:00 pm This is an occupied phased renovation -The existing site consists of 9 existing buildings with 48 dwelling units (mix of 1,2,3 and 4 bedroom units), community support spaces, associated parking, open spaces and site infrastructure. The scope of this project is to replace all exterior envelope components, select interior unit finishes, and make modifications and upgrades to MEPF systems. Please review the drawings and see the unit matrix on sheet A3.00. Bid Document Link: https://bids.lmcconstruction.com/ColoniaLibertad1 Bid Submissions and Project Contact: bids.ColoniaLibertad1@lmcconstruction.com 19200 SW Teton Ave Tualatin, OR 97062 P: (503) 646-0521 | F: (503) 646-6823 CCB # 161282 LMC Construction is an Equal Opportunity Employer and requests sub-bids from Disadvantaged, Minority, Women, Emerging, and Service-Disabled Veteran businesses. 5-14-21-2025
