Co in So Fo Po

Hello Foster-Powell Lovers! As you can probably tell from my long absence, I can no longer maintain this website. As of now, I have moved out of the neighborhood. However, I know there's plenty of enthusiastic FoPo neighbors...maybe one of you is interested in taking on this blog? Ideally, it requires about a half hour of checking and story writing per day. The domain fee is paid for this year, and costs about $15. The people who help program this site are awesome-- the (very small) company is called Neighborlogs. One of their flagship websites is for Capitol Hill in Seattle-- that website is http://www.capitolhillseattle.com/.  It pays writers, and the full salaries of the people who maintain it. The dream for FosterPowellPDX.com is that advertisers will fund the site, like any other online publication. Some legwork is required to make that happen, but the readership is possible--when I was consistent, the site was getting 1000 hits/day! If you are interested in spearheading this awesome neighborhood resource, please contact me at ColleenWelch at gmail dot com.  Thanks, and keep up the excitement in FoPo!

I'm neck deep in finals at PSU, but this story floated across my desk and I thought FoPo neighbors might be interested.  Abernathy Elementary School's chef, Nicole Hoffman, was professionally trained at The Western Culinary Institute. As one might guess, she does not serve the rubbery pizza and overdone tater tots I remember from the elementary school lunchroom. Instead, she serves up curries, brussel sprouts... whatever tickles her culinary fancy. Abernathy students also learn about the food cycle in their school garden. This unusual arrangement has not gone unnoticed--Michelle Obama has invited Hoffman to the White House to help kick off the "Chefs Move to Schools" program, which will partner professional chefs with schools for meal planning. You can read the full KGW story here, and view a video straight from the lunchroom here. I would love to hear your comments on this program-- are you already seeing similar happenings at other local schools? What do you think about this new approach?

I'm amazed that this year's rain has lasted so long. Then again, it isn't unheard of that the rose festival is held under gray, stormy skies. Our yard used to turn into a bog under the kind of hail and hard rain we've seen this weekend, but then my gardening master of a housemate created a simple rain garden. He dug a hole in a low part of the yard, away from the house and in the berry garden. Then he lined the bottom with some rocks and a little concrete. Now the rain all gathers there, and it turns into a lovely mini pond.  If you're looking for a little more information on rain gardens, check out this series of free workshops from East Multnomah Soil & Water Conservation District:

Don’t miss the last of this season’s FREE Rain Garden Workshops! Rain Gardens 101: Learn about rain gardens, the critical role can play in urban stream restoration, and how to construct your own. You will learn the how to decide appropriate location and size, calculate impervious surfaces, determine soil suitability, choose appropriate plants, and more. Includes field trip to a nearby rain garden.

View the full spring schedule and register online at www.emswcd.org/workshops-events. Workshops are filling quickly, so register now while spaces are still available. Advanced registration is required. Information: (503)935-5383

·         Wednesday, May 26th,  6-9pm at East Multnomah SWCD

·         Saturday, June 5th, 9am-1pm at Portland Nursery (at 90th & Division)

·         Sunday, June 6, 1-5pm at Kenton Historic Firehouse.

via CNRG.

Top photo by Rachel "RC Designer"

Portland: Land of the Artisans. We make our own beer, we plant our own food, and we create our own art, thankyouverymuch.  If you're into all things handmade, check out the Rebel Craft Rumble at Imago Theater tomorrow night! Here's the 411 from CNRG:

This week’s Foster-Powell neighborhood association meeting was jam-packed. The session opened with the board election. Co-chairpersons Erica and Christian, like most of those running for positions, ran unopposed and will therefore keep their positions. One newbie, Ali, was voted into the transportation representative position.

After the elections came updates on neighborhood projects and concerns. An officer talked about the crime in Foster-Powell. He said there had been five car thefts in the past month, and encouraged neighbors to keep valuables out of sight.  Apparently, most car thefts are crimes of opportunity—a perp sees your GPS system and breaks in to steal it. To avoid having your car broken into, remove valuables from sight, preferably before you leave the house. (The officer mentioned that some burglars monitor parking lots, watching for people moving valuables to the trunk, for instance. They then break into the trunk, and immediately find the treasure, having seen it placed.)

This discussion dovetailed neatly into neighbors’ concerns over pedestrian deaths along Foster.  There has been a flurry of such deaths in recent months. The officer explained that the pedestrian most recently killed was drunk. The motorist was clearly not at fault, since the pedestrian walked right into traffic, and was not in a crosswalk. However, many neighbors felt that the speed of traffic along Foster and the lack of clear signage are also to blame for recent deaths. Erica then piped in enthusiastically to highlight a potential opportunity to have the Foster Streetscape funded. The Foster Streetscape is a plan to beautify and improve the pedestrian experience along Foster.

She explained that the “Perfect Storm” may be brewing as far as the Foster Streetscape is concerned. She explained that the mayor is giving out NTIP (I’m not sure what that stands for…) grants later this month. The city budget meeting at the end of the month presents an ideal opportunity to tell our city leaders how we feel about the traffic danger on Foster. With enough “sqeaky wheels” complaining about the unsafe conditions along Foster, Foster-Powell could win the mayor’s grant. This would be a more secure form of funding than the Lents URAC money, since we wouldn’t have to compete with Lents’ projects.

Erica envisions FoPo neighbors showing up in force to the budget meetings, toting emotionally powerful signs about the recent pedestrian deaths. She will be sending out updates via the NA listserv. Those updates, of course, will be posted here as well. In the meantime, passionate FoPo residents are encouraged to email city board members, especially the mayor, to voice their concerns. Additionally, the officer pointed out that residents can often get more traffic enforcement by calling traffic services to complain. (It gets back to the squeaky wheel analogy…)

On a more cheerful note, meeting attendees were updated on the Foster-Powell garden tour, which will be from 10am-2pm on June 19

Speaking of the library, it has just been outfitted with self check-out machines. Personally, I consider our library a jewel of the neighborhood. And I’m not alone. The Holgate library recently won an award for excellence. Part of that excellence is the branch’s robust roster of community classes. An upcoming class will be on beekeeping; that class will be on June 12 from 3:30-4:30.

That’s not all that happened—we also met our area’s DA, we learned that the NA will unveil a new website next month—but those are the highlights.

Just a quick head's up that tonight is the second Monday of May, and that means we have a Neighborhood Association Meeting from 6:30-8 at Sweetness Cafe, just off of Powell on 52nd.  I have heard that the recent fatality of a pedestrian on Foster will be discussed, so show up! Hope to see you there...

Walking around downtown, you often see city workers, picking up trash, "Keep Portland Clean and Safe" printed on their uniforms. And it's true--the less grafitti and trash, the safer an area is. This Broken Windows theory extends to our 'hood, too. If we keep it clean, we are sending the message to would-be criminals that this is not a good place to commit a crime. So, if you're interested in a clean, safe Foster-Powell, help out by taking part in the neighborhood cleanup this weekend.  Here's the 411 from the reminder email from the NA:

Foster Powell & Mt. Scott-Arleta Neighborhood Associations’ Neighborhood Clean-up
Saturday May 1, 2010
9:00am–2:30pm
Arleta Elementary School
SE 66th Ave and Mitchell St.

WE ACCEPT/RECYCLE
• Yard Debris
• Bulky waste
• Mattresses
• Furniture
• Scrap wood
• Tires (off rim only)
• Any other large discards
• Bikes & bike parts
• Block foam

SORRY, WE CAN’T ACCEPT:
• Computers/Electronics/TVs
• Concrete
• Hazardous waste
• Household garbage
• Curbside recyclables

FEES
Car: $8
Pickup: $15-20
Large load: $20-25

EXTRA CHARGES
Tires w/out rims: $2
Roofing materials: $10
Appliances with freon: $15 ea.

PLEASE SORT LOAD ACCORDING TO ITEM TYPE

For more information, please contact (503)771-4432.
Special thanks to Metro, SE Uplift, City of Portland– Office of Planning and Sustainable Development. This event is a joint project of the Foster-Powell and the Mt. Scott-Arleta Neighborhood Associations.

We are still looking for volunteers for the  Neighborhood Clean Up.  Folks can volunteer all day or part of the day.  Morning volunteers need to arrive at 8:30 AM for muffins, coffee and orientation.  Afternoon volunteers need to plan to stay until 3:00 PM to help with clean up of the space.  We will have sandwiches for lunch and volunteers get to unload for free.  

Call 503-771-4432 to volunteer.  

Let Jo Ann know what time you will arrive and how long you will stay.

Top photo by Adan Garcia.

via CNRG.