KNA Urges City to Protect Livability on Last Thursdays

The King Neighborhood Association has delivered a letter to the mayor and city council urging that the Last Thursday events be managed by a responsible entity that is accountable to the neighborhoods along Alberta. As many as 10,000 visitors come to Alberta Street on some summer months. The impact of such a large street fair occuring monthly in a dense residential neighborhood had brought chronic complaints of noise, disruptive behavior, and illegal parking. KNA believes that the benefits to the Alberta business community should not come at a cost to residents’ livability.
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Art Hop Call for Artists and Vendors

On Saturday, May 15, 2010 from 11am to 6pm, Art on Alberta will hold its 11th Annual Art Hop with the theme, “ABC: Art Builds Community.” Over 15 blocks of NE Alberta Street will be closed to car traffic to accommodate over 150 artists, craftspeople, music, dance and theater performances, interactive art events along with food and other vendors. This is a free arts event for kids of all ages.

Registration for artists, craftspeople, music, dance and theater performers, interactive art events, food and other vendors is open. For information about registering your vending space, please contact Combustible Media, 503-235-5025 or carrie.locke@combustiblemedia.com.

This year, Art Hop accomplishes a major murals project on NE Alberta Street. Three murals will be painted by area youth groups including House of Umoja, Girls Inc. and the George School under the direction of Skidmore Prize winner Rodolpho Serna. A fourth mural will be painted by the attending public on the day of Art Hop, designed and supervised by Esteban Camacho. Art on Alberta has been facilitating these murals as a gift to two other nonprofits who serve this neighborhood: Sabin CDC and Community Energy Project. Art on Alberta is a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote the Alberta Art District’s distinct identity through art and educational activities. For more information about Art on Alberta, please visit www.artonalberta.org.

http://artonalberta.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/AH10_PressPack.pdf

Community Meeting on Last Thursday

Mayor Adams and Commissioner Amanda Fritz will take public testimony from stakeholders of Last Thursday on Alberta, including residents, business people, neighborhood activists, vendors, performers, and attendees. The Mayor & Commissioner are considering options for Last Thursday, including:

• Continue the event as is
• Continue the event with significant changes
• End Last Thursday on Alberta

They would like to hear your opinion on these or other options. Please attend and bring your neighbors and co-workers with you. Your opinion is important and needs to be heard!

Monday, February 8th, 2010, 6:00 – 8:00 pm
Acadian Ballroom, 1829 NE Alberta

For more information, contact: Stephanie Reynolds, Crime Prevention Program Manager
Office of Neighborhood Involvement
503-823-2030
sreynolds@ci.portland.or.us
www.portlandonline.com/oni/cp

PPS Students to Operate Waffle Cart on Alberta

News from Portland Public Schools:

Students helped design and will help manage Solar Waffle Works, a new food cart located at N.E. Alberta St. and 23rd Ave.
A new solar-powered food cart in northeast Portland serves up more than waffles.

Located at N.E. Alberta St. and 23rd Ave. and set to open this month, the small blue trailer housing “Solar Waffle Works” is a nonprofit project that helps high school graduates gain independent living skills and vocational training.

Read the full story at: http://www.pps.k12.or.us/news/1575.htm

Sweet Thing Bakehouse and Coffee Bar Open on Alberta/MLK

SweetThingIf you’ve been wondering just what is going on at Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd and Alberta, the Sweet Thing Bakehouse has finally opened in the downstairs space on the southwest corner.

From the Press Release:

“Local Beanery and Bakery Combo Opens With A Conscience

Like a little ambiance with your Americano? A little panache with your pastry? A little social consciousness with your sweet tea?

Sweet Thing Bakehouse & Coffee Bar® is all that and more. Locally owned and operated, Sweet Thing® (http://www.sweetthingpdx.com/) brings together a unique blend of that good old neighborhood hangout feel, baking talent and innovation, and the finest of the world’s coffee beans — all in a setting that invites friends to linger in comfortable conversation.

Built on a foundation of support of local and global community, Sweet Thing® is dedicated to values rooted in an “act locally, think globally” line of thought. Visitors to the bakery will immediately be taken with the architecture of the “conversation space”, purposefully arranged to encourage conversation, either tête-à-tête or on a grander scale. Or just pull down their free Wi-Fi and surf, share photos, movies or music with friends.

Owner Shawna Marshall is realizing a dream of being able to aid the community, serve neighborhood dwellers, and support a worthy cause by opening this well-appointed, family-owned and operated, full-service coffee bar and bakery. The fare is full and varied featuring coffees, teas, smoothies, fruit parfaits, soups, salads, paninis, specialty cakes and more.

As many products as possible are sourced locally. Some of the products used in crafting a variety of delicious paninis are taken straight from a local, hand-kept garden. With an eye toward sustainability, the drink cups, plastic ware and straws are all 100% bio-degradable. All coffee beans are organically grown, fair traded, and a percentage of profits from coffee sales returns to the Café Feminino foundation (http://cupoftheworld.com/html/cafe_feminino.html) to help support women and children in coffee-growing communities of South America.

All in all, Sweet Thing Bakehouse and Coffee Bar® is the kind of place you can hang with friends, or just enjoy your own personal space knowing you’re part of local and global community.”

So there you have it!