Sign Up for Public Alerts

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April is National Earthquake Preparedness Month, and in Portland, earthquakes are a constant and significant concern. The City of Portland, in close collaboration with partners in the region, state and federally, is always looking to be better prepared for such an event. Individuals, families, offices and places of business need to be prepared and know about the tools available to them in case of an earthquake or other emergency.

Portland’s Office of Emergency Management (PoEM) unveiled a new feature of the city’s coordinated information website, www.publicalerts.org, designed to rapidly get information out to residents in times of emergency.

You can now go to publicalerts.org, click on the Sign Up button, and register to get voicemail, email and text messages sent directly to your mobile phone in times of emergency. The information you provide is protected and confidential. It takes only a minute to sign up, so register yourself, and tell your friends, neighbors and coworkers about it. In the coming months, they will continue to add features and abilities to the site.

In the meantime, please take a moment to go online, visit www.publicalerts.org, and sign yourself up.

Be Counted!

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Take a Census 2010 Quiz. Choose the best answer.
Multnomah County census takers are which of the following:

a. Your neighbors
b. Your friends
c. Your loved ones
d. All of the above

If you chose “d. All of the above” congratulations. On May 1, 2010 your friends, neighbors and loved ones will be on the streets making sure the people of Multnomah County are accurately counted and receive their fair share of federal funding. Please help to insure their safety and yours. If you suspect fraud, call the police non-emergency line. Help inform your neighbors of some basic facts.

Census takers never ask for your social security number.
Census takers never ask for money.
Census takers never ask to enter your home.
Census takers always wear an identification badge.

When it comes to funding for schools and roads, it pays to be counted.

Clean Energy Upgrade Financing

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The City of Portland has developed a program to help homeowners save energy and improve the comfort of their home: Clean Energy Works Portland. Clean Energy Works Portland is a financing program designed to make upgrades to your home easy, with no upfront costs. Follow these four simple steps to take advantage of this unique opportunity:
1. Apply for the pilot program. Go to CleanEnergyWorksPortland.org and fill out the short application to see if you and your home qualify for the pilot.
2. Receive an in-depth home energy assessment. You will be paired with a certified Building Performance Institute contractor and an Energy Advocate, who will be with you every step of the way to answer questions, explain the recommended measures and financing options and help you through the installation process.
3. Install energy-saving improvements with qualified contractors. Once you decide which improvements you would like (weatherization is required), the contractor assigned to you will perform the work.
4. Repay through your heating utility bill. Thanks to federal stimulus funding, you will pay no upfront costs. The cost of the energy-efficient improvements will be financed through a low-cost, long-term loan that you can repay on your monthly heating bill. To date, participants have financed between $4,000 and $20,000 worth of energy upgrades to their home. The average loan amount is $11,000.

Apply here: http://www.cleanenergyworksportland.org/

Klickitat Greenway Project Public Meetings

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North – North East Klickitat Street NEIGHBORHOOD GREENWAY PROJECT

Portland is currently in the process of expanding the network of family-friendly bicycle streets. The segment of North and North East Klickitat Street between North Vancouver at North Cook Street and North East 67th Avenue at North East Klickitat Street is a low traffic street identified as a bicycle boulevard in the recently adopted Portland Bicycle Plan for 2030. It provides connections to routes around North and North East Portland, to three schools, one park, to key transit hubs, and to
commercial areas. Please join your neighbors in helping City staff identify the key improvements to increase safety for all modes and specifically improve bicycle and pedestrian access. The improvements will focus on reducing speed, reducing neighborhood cut-through traffic, and providing safe crossings at busy streets. The Bureau of Transportation is also partnering with the Bureau of Environmental Services and Friends of Trees in the Gray to Green initiative to expand neighborhood access to street trees. Information will be available at the public meeting. NOTE: Funding for the entire project will be provided by the Bureau of Transportation. The Bureau of Transportation has scheduled a public meeting to discuss the project with your neighbors. At the first meeting, Transportation staff will provide an overview of bicycle boulevards, review existing traffic conditions on North and North East Klickitat, and hear your feedback. City staff will return for a second meeting to present recommendations on specific improvements.

1ST MEETING: Thursday, April 8, 2010

2ND MEETING: Thursday, May 6, 2010

Place: Alameda Elementary (Cafeteria)
2732 NE Fremont Street
Time: 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Should you have any questions, please contact Kyle Chisek, Project Manager, at 503-823-7041.
For ADA Title II or Civil Rights Title VI accommodations, translation/interpretation services, complaints, or additional information, call 503-823-7041, or City TDD 503-823-6868.

Spiffin’ Up Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. April 17th

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Spiffin’ Up Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard
Saturday, April 17, 2010
9:00am-Noon Neighborhoods Work-Party
Noon-3pm Community Celebration

Every year on SOLV-It Day, the Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods and North/Northeast Business Association organize over 300 local volunteers to gather together on the Boulevard for a neighborhoods work-party to remove trash and debris along MLK Jr Blvd., from Broadway to Lombard and give back to the community in the spirit of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

This is the fourth annual 3 mile-long project to clean up trash and debris along MLK Jr Blvd. This year, there will be a community celebration with music, entertainment and food!

Join the support for Spiffin’ Up Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, a working partnership and collaboration between dozens of government agencies, business associations, community non-profits, neighborhood associations and faith-based groups.

Among our past accomplishments:
• More than ¼ ton of trash and debris was picked up along a 3-miles of NE MLK Blvd., Garfield St. and Grand Ave.
• Graffiti removed from buildings, poles, posts and benches.
• Spiffin volunteers provide 1500 volunteer hours.
• More than $25,000 in positive local media exposure for the MLK Blvd corridor

Click here to volunteer!