INA Market to Open in Cascade Square

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Chong Ball, the new owner of the Cascade Square storefronts at 8th and Killingsworth, contacted the King Neighborhood Association recently to introduce herself, solicit neighbor concerns, and assure that under her ownership the strip will be much improved. She detailed the investments she is making in the building such as addressing maintenance items that had been deferred for many years, upgrading the electrical systems, adding security cameras and removing bars from the windows in favor of roll down security doors to be used at night. There will be new lighting and signage.

Cascade Square was the former location of the infamous Boston Market corner store which Ms. Ball said she evicted for non-payment of rent. She is opening her own store, the INA Market in the former Boston Market space. She explained that she has run a successful market in the SW suburbs and has recently sold that business to invest in NE. A few years ago she would not have purchased there, she said, but now the area appears to her to have potential. That potential is also apparent to Rodney Muirhead who moved his popular Podnah’s Pit restaurant to a large space just eight blocks east.

City Club Education Forum in N. Portland

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Many Left Behind or All Out in Front: What WE Can Do to Assure Excellence and Equity for All Students

Date: April 5, 2011 – 5:30pm – 7:45pm
North Portland Public Library, 512 N Killingsworth Street, Portland, OR 97219

Join City Club to discuss how we can achieve excellence and equity for all students in our public education system. What are the features of schools and classrooms that are closing the achievement gap while increasing all students’ chances for success, excellence, and engagement? What works? What are the challenges? What can each of us here tonight do to assure that all schools provide all children the opportunity to realize these goals? We will discuss segments from Waiting for Superman, Race to Nowhere and an Edutopia film on project learning as a way of addressing these questions. Panelists will include two high school students, two teachers, a principal and a member of Governor Kitzhaber’s education team.

RSVP recommended to amy@pdxcityclub.org or 503-228-7231 x110.
5:30: Meet, Greet, & Eats (snacks provided; please bring your own water); 6:00: Program Begins

Friends of Last Thursday Prepares to Take Reins

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Town Hall Meeting on Last Thursday | hosted by Friends of Last Thursday
From the Office of Neighborhood Involvement:

In partnership with Portland’s Office of Neighborhood Involvement, a group of dedicated volunteers has spent the last year preparing to assume a stewardship role of the popular arts festival, Last Thursday on Alberta. Friends of Last Thursday’s (FOLT) mission states, “FOLT is committed to facilitating a fun, safe, and sustainable monthly public arts festival that culturally enriches the community while fostering neighborhood respect.”

FOLT will be hosting a Town Hall Meeting Saturday, April 2, 2011, 2-4 PM, at St. Andrews Church Community Hall, NE 9th and Alberta Street, to formally unveil the proposed strategy, the most vital component of which will be the participation of the larger community.

FOLT has a website at: http://www.lastthursdayonalberta.com/and a Facebook page at: http://www.facebook.com/LastThursday

As for who the members of FoLT are and what their leadership structure is, their information on the web and the staff at NECN could not provide this answer. Hopefully this will be cleared up at the meeting.

More Changes on N. Williams, Open House April 16th

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Come take a look at potential N. Williams transportation improvements – to the bike lane, auto lanes, bus stops and crosswalks – on Saturday, April 16th, from 1:30 – 4:00 pm, 2910 N Williams Ave. The City wants to know which changes will and won’t work for you.

This will be a drop-in open house meeting, with:

  • Real live traffic engineers
  • Big colorful maps and drawings
  • Snacks
  • Childcare and playground
  • Handouts and feedback forms to take for others who can’t attend

From the PBoT website:

The City of Portland wants to make N Williams a safer and more comfortable place to bike, drive, ride transit and walk. With the advice of a Stakeholder Advisory Committee formed for this project, City staff have prepared some alternative designs for your consideration. Come take a look and tell us what you think.
The current traffic operations/bikeway project is just the most recent change for the North Williams corridor in inner North Portland. This project builds on the work done beginning in 2006 as part of the Vancouver-Williams Transportation Project that recommended pedestrian safety improvements (many of which have since been constructed with funding from the Portland Development Commission).

Historically, this area includes one of Portland’s oldest commercial districts and was a main street for Portland’s African-American community. With its distinguished history, emerging bicycle-oriented business community and more than 3,000 bicycle riders every day, the North Williams Bikeway project area has many stakeholders who should be involved in discussions about the future cross-section of the street. A Stakeholder Advisory Committee (SAC) has been formed and met for the first time on February 1, 2011.

For more information on the North Williams project, or to be added to the interest list to receive updates, contact project manager Ellen Vanderslice: ellen.vanderslice@portlandoregon.gov, or call 503-823-4638.

Immaculate Heart Church, 2910 N Williams Ave
Come by #4 TriMet bus; bike via Williams/Vancouver; or drive and park in the church lot off of NE Stanton.
Licensed childcare and on-site playground
Translation services available upon request at least 3 days prior to the meeting
Light snacks will be provided

Safeway Remodel Nearing Completion

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Safeway’s investment in upgrading their Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. store is a vote of confidence in the store’s potential to attract shoppers who desire more organic items at a decent price and want to shop locally without having to travel out of the King Neighborhood. At the King Neighborhood Association’s request, Safeway has improved bike parking at the store and will make a donation to Friends of Trees to help lower income homeowners plant street trees. The landscaping at the store will be restored and the variety of products will be adjusted to offer more organic and “natural” items. The MLK store which has historically lagged behind other Safeways in Portland in being updated now seems to be on track to keep pace. I’ll see you there on shopping day!