Please join us for the upcoming Race Talks program at
Kennedy School
5736 NE 33rd Ave., Portland.
Phone: 503.249-3983

Tuesday, February 12
Free/All Ages
7pm; Doors open at 6pm
**Come early to meet, network and eat dinner with friends.

“Race & The Housing Crisis”
A Presentation by

Ellen Rosenblum, State of Oregon Attorney General
Ron Silver, Civil Chief, US Attorney’s Office, State of Oregon
Jo Ann Hardesty, Board President, Coalition for a Livable Future

with Moderator, Cameron Whitten, former Portland Mayoral candidate and OCCUPY member
Following the presentation, the audience will break into small discussion groups to talk over the evening’s subject matter and more general topics of race and ethnicity. These discussion groups are facilitated by trained volunteers from Uniting to Understand Racism
http://www.understandracism.org/ and the City of Portland Intergroup Dialogue Program http://www.portlandonline.com/humanrelations/?c=54183

Please share this message and poster (click image to view large version) with to any group, business, school, class, and individual you feel might be interested. If you have questions or suggestions about the upcoming program (or the series in general), please contact us at the email addresses given below. And remember, Race Talks T-shirts are available for purchase at the program for $20; and there will be prizes raffled to raise funds for Race Talks.

Finally, please mark Tuesday, March 12 on your calendar for next month’s Race Talks: “Hate Crimes in Oregon”

Respectfully,

Donna Maxey,
Race Talks Director/UUR volunteer
donnamaxey49@comcast.net

Tim Hills,
McMenamins historian
timh@hq.mcmenamin.com

During the latest KNA meeting in January, concerns were voiced over safety in specific areas of our neighborhood.  There was a police representative present at the meeting, and the Portland Police have taken specific action in response to those concerns.  The KNA would like to thank the Portland Police and share with the community the update that we have received.

To the KNA:

I wanted to provide you all with an update regarding the property located at 432 NE Simpson St.  This house was a topic of discussion at the last general meeting.  Early in the morning on Tuesday, January 15^th officers from the North Precinct Neighborhood Response Team assisted with an effort to forcibly evict some “squatters” who had been trespassing on the property.  The police department was called upon by the person who owns that property to aid in clearing the house.  That property had been in a state of foreclosure for a period of time.  It is back in the owners possession and that individual intends to take responsibility for securing and maintaining the house.  Two people were arrested during the premise clear.

Currently we have a signed trespass agreement with the property owner which means he has given the police bureau authority to arrest anyone who remains unlawfully on that property or the empty lot next door.  The notice of trespass authority has been posted in the window and signs stating “No Trespassing” have been attached to the house.  The property was temporarily boarded up.  The house is in a state of disrepair and it is now vacant.  No one should be living in the house or remaining on the site for any reason without the owner’s consent.  The police will be conducting extra patrols in that area for a while.  I would ask those people in the neighborhood to help us keep watch over the property until the owner begins the process of renovation.  If you see any suspicious activity or if you observe people coming and going from the house and you believe they are there illegally then I would advise you to call the police non-emergency dispatch number 503-823-3333.

Thank you all for your cooperation and input.  We hope the owner will move quickly to begin cleaning up the property.  This notice is public information and you are free to share it with the rest of the neighborhood association.

Ofc Ryan Bren

North Precinct – Patrol

Afternoon shift