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!

U of P Reading Fair April 3rd

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The University of Portland’s 17th annual Reading Fair is set for Sunday, April 3 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Chiles Center on campus, 5000 N. Willamette Blvd. The event is free and open to the public, and hosted by Kappa Delta Pi, the education honor society.

Every student will receive a free, new book of their choice for attending.

The fair’s theme, “Reading Around the World,” is designed to be a multicultural approach to literacy that will engage students from pre-kindergarten to middle school. Events throughout the day include arts, crafts and games that focus on reading as well as an obstacle course and storytelling performances.

Funding for the event is provided by Associated Students of the University of Portland (ASUP), the University Bookstore, and Bon Appétit Management Co. For more information, please contact the School of Education at 503-943-7135 student organizers Kati McConn at mcconn12@up.edu and Sarah Moran at moran12@up.edu, or professor Hillary Merk at merk@up.edu.

City Holds Alberta Bar Summit to Address Issues

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In an attempt to find solutions to conflicts between bar patrons and neighborhood livability on Alberta and city wide, the mayor’s office is holding a series of bar summits between bar owners, police, OLCC, and other city officials to find solutions to persistent problems.

The summit concerning Alberta Street was held on March 16th at St. Andrew. Numerous alcohol-related concerns were the focus of a letter from KNA to the Mayor and City Council regarding Last Thursday.

According to Oregon Liquor Control Commission Regulatory Services Director Linda Ignowski, there are 53 liquor licenses from 9th to 39th and Alberta Street, which includes both 46 on and seven off premise licenses.

Read the press release and leave a comment here.

As we learn more about the outcome of this process, we will keep you updated.