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Issue #48
Posted June 19, 2009
Founded in 2007 by The Hillsdale Alliance
Also in This Issue
* $3000 lure nets ideas
* Book bounty for sale
* A Breakfast for Tony
* The Datebook
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Om Base Yoga
Commentary:

When everyone decides

Alissa at KorkageWhen I told Sylvia Bogart about my brilliant idea, she smiled a knowing Sylvia smile.

The executive director of Southwest Neighborhoods Inc. paused, letting her bemusement prepare me.

Then she said, "You know that you'll have to get everyone, and I mean EVERYONE affected by this, to agree."

The idea, which I blurted out at a Hillsdale Community Foundation forum (see story to the right), was simple: Shut down Capitol Highway between Sunset and Bertha Court for a single Sunday.

Sunday, July 25, 2010, to be precise - the day of next year's Hillsdale blueberry pancake breakfast and community book sale.

We'd move the farmers market to the middle of the highway. We'd have music and street theater and face-painting and a rummage sale and . . . and.

"I mean EVERYONE." Sylvia's words were as true as they were laughably intimidating.

She knew of what she spoke. After all, here was a leader who has helped guide Multnomah Village through shutting down the very same thoroughfare for Multnomah's annual, lovable parade.

So she was smiling, you see, because she also knew the Great Hillsdale Capitol Highway Shutdown could be done.

I was smiling too, but only partly because of Sylvia and the Multnomah parade. I was thinking, as I often do in absurd moments like this, of  "Running Fence."

In the early '70s I'd dropped out of journalism and teaching to raise goats in rural, rolling Sonoma County, about an hour north of San Francisco.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a seemingly mad conceptual artist named Christo and his equally zany wife, Jeanne-Claude, proposed stringing an 18-foot-high white nylon fence across the landscape. It would wander over 24 and a half miles of private pasture land owned by 59 ranchers. "Running Fence" would cross 14 roads. Gaps would be left for cars, trucks, cows, goats and stray human beings.

Here I quote from Christo and Jeanne-Claude's web page: "The art project consisted of  42 months of collaborative efforts, the ranchers' participation, 18 public hearings, three sessions at the Superior Courts of California, the drafting of a 450-page Environmental Impact Report and the temporary use of hills, the sky and the Ocean."

The project paid for itself. But that's another story.

Now here's the strange part. While "Running Fence" was a delight to thousands, the primary reason Christo and Jeanne-Claude did it was to involve communities, bureaucrats, property owners, the Press, judges, ranchers and curious on-lookers . . . in art.

They were delighted everyone had to agree. The endless civic, judicial, and deliberative processes were much of what "Running Fence" was about. The longer and more complex the public involvement, the better.

"Running Fence" was artwork as everyone's art work.

I don't know whether we'll shut down Capitol Highway for a day next July. But I do know that just thinking about it together and deciding whether to do it will be good for us.

If it actually happens, so much the better.

So how about it?

Rick Seifert
Editor
Click HERE for past newsletters
Links to Alliance Members

Speed "tables" on Capitol Hill Road

Neighbors cheer "bump" victory;
next step, raising money


Speed bump team
Mellani Calvin and Lisa Broten joined by their neighbor Barbie Scott surmounted a major bump in the road Tuesday, June 9, on their way to getting real bumps - speed bumps - placed along twisty Capitol Hill Road.

After three and a half years of lobbying, petitioning and cajoling, they satisfied  city requirements for installing the flattened bumps, which are called "speed tables."

(Mellani, Barbie and Lisa, left to right, in the photo, are signaling 25, the posted, but often neglected, speed limit on their street.)

Now the three bumpsters and their supporters need to pay for the bumps.

With no city funds available, the neighbors must raise $24,200 to install the 11 "speed tables" along the well-traveled stretch between Bertha Boulevard and Barbur.

They have two years to do it, and the clock is running.

At the June Multnomah Neighborhood Association meeting, where the proposal won 16 of 20 votes, Broten broke down in tears of joy. She began the campaign to slow down traffic on the street outside her house five years ago. SW Capitol Hills Road is used as a cut-trough from Bertha Boulevard to Barbur.

A decade ago, a similar speed calming effort failed when neighbors balked at establishing a small taxing district. That plan would have forced them to pay for the speed tables on the busy road that has no sidewalks and blind curves.

Three and a half years ago, Broten was joined by her neighbor Calvin. Together they explored other options. Reducing the speed limit to 25 worked for a couple weeks. Then motorists went back to their old habits. The two tried a city-loaned speed-reader board, which worked, but to obtain a permanent one meant being on a long waiting list, said Calvin.

So they worked through the city's checklist to get permission to buy and install speed tables. The city approval process called for support from Hillsdale and Multnomah neighborhood associations and from two-thirds of the property owners on Capitol Hill Road. The first requirement meant attending eight neighborhood meetings to explain the program. Hillsdale unanimously approved the speed tables earlier this year.

After an estimated 500 phone calls, and repeat phone calls, plus plenty of shoe leather, the campaigners got 53 of 71 property owners to agree, after they were assured they wouldn't be taxed. The campaigners were also heartened by support from Portland Parks and Recreation, whose Custer Park fronts on the street. The City of Portland came forward with "Slow Down" signs. The West Hills Christian School also backed the bumps.

After the Multnomah vote, Lisa said she could at last look out at the street and not be afraid. And she's hopeful that the speed bump campaign will bring the neighborhood together in "a little community."

"We'll all watch out for each other," she said.

Next on the to-do list is establishing an account for contributions. One idea is to auction off naming rights to each of the eleven speed tables. "I love the idea," says Calvin.

After the account is established at Southwest Neighborhoods Inc., it's time to get people to take out their checkbooks and to write those tax-deductible checks, she says.

Will Stevens, from the Portland Bureau of Transportation Department, helped guide the three through the approval process. He called the women's effort "nothing short of amazing." He said, "It's the best example I know of for going above and beyond to improve neighborhood livability."
Forum persentation

Dianna Ponder shares ideas generated by her group at the Hillsdale Foundation forum.

Foundation's "$3,000 forum" gushes
with ideas to improve Hillsdale



How would you spend $3,000 on Hillsdale?

That's the question 17 Hillsdale community members pondered recently at an open forum convened by the new Hillsdale Community Foundation.

The hour-and-a-half session exploded with ideas.

Making Hillsdale a biking hub emerged as a strong theme. How about providing bike storage at the entrance to Wilson High School so bikers can stow their bikes before heading downtown on the bus?

Or what about some simple bike racks in the Hillsdale Shopping Center at Food Front or Starbucks? Once a biker has made it to the top of the pass, Hillsdale should be inviting to two-wheelers, said participants like Dave Johnson, an avid biker.

Or consider shutting down Capitol Highway between Sunset and Bertha Court for just one Sunday a year. The Sunday could bolster the Blueberry Pancake Breakfast and the community book sale. For the car-free day, The Hillsdale Farmers' Market might be transferred to the middle of the road. Pedestrians would take over the town center.

The biking hub idea and the one-day Capitol closure vision drew the most non-binding votes when participants were asked to choose their favorites. The final decision on how to spend the money belongs to the seven-person board.

A bocce court in DeWitt Park, a "named brick" plaza program to raise more money, and a "green" bus shelter also attracted votes.

The foundation's board used the $3,000 figure because that's the amount of money the foundation expects to raise at its July 26 used book sale. (See story below.)  Other money, raised at previous book sales could be available.

The foundation is a non-profit organization so that contributions to it are tax-deductible.

The board will meet Monday, June 22, to consider the ideas generated at the forum. Everyone is welcome at the meeting, which is at 5 p.m. at the Watershed building, Bertha Court and Capitol Highway.

Among other forum ideas were concerts, a community composter, history plaques, an art trail, invasive flora removal, community gardens, a community bulletin board, a multi-use plaza, a Hillsdale commons, apple tree planting and a community scrip program, 
2008 book sale browsers

Intent browsers at last year's book sale bought $3,500 in donated books.

Donated books cascade in for July 26 sale


Even before the official June 21 start for collection, books in boxes, paper bags and satchels, have begun flowing in for the big Hillsdale Community Book Sale.

"People just seem to know that it's time to donate their books," said Les Jevning, sale organizer.

He estimates that nearly a thousand books have already been donated.

The third annual sale will be held Sunday, July 26, in conjunction with Hillsdale's annual blueberry pancake breakfast (see story below).

Tax-deductible donations of books, CDs and DVDs are accepted at the Hillsdale Farmers Market through Sunday, July 19. (Jevning emphasized that no textbooks or other dated manuals or guides will be accepted)

The sale will be from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the back of the parking lot between Key Bank and Casa Colima. A special "pre-sale" will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. for book sellers and motivated book lovers willing to pay for a first crack at the thousands of books. Admission to the "pre-sale" is $20.

Proceeds from the sale go to the new Hillsdale Community Foundation, which supports innovative projects in the Hillsdale Community.

For more information, call Jevning, (503) 244-7685

2009 Pancake breakfast dedicated to Scuito

Thirty-three years ago, Tony Scuito, then owner of the Hillsdale Shoe Repair, suggested that Hillsdale businesses thank their customers by organizing a pancake breakfast.

And so they did - and are again this year. The breakfast will be Sunday, July 26, 8:30 a.m. to noon between the Key Bank and Casa Colima restaurant.

Because of Tony's shared intention for the breakfast, the event has a name that is as much a mouthful to say as its pancakes are to eat: "The Hillsdale Business and Professional Association Customer-Appreciation Blueberry Pancake Breakfast."

Tony died on April 25 at age 87. This year's breakfast is being dedicated to him, said Hillsdale Business and Professional Association president Mike Roach.

Long after his retirement, Tony still would regularly come to the breakfasts and take his turn behind the griddle. "Tony was proud the breakfast survived and thrived over the years," Roach said.


The Date Book

Sundays through July 19, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. - Used book collection

Drop off of used book donations begins Sunday, June 21, at the Hillsdale Farmers Market. The books will be sold at the July 26 Hillsdale Used Book Sale during the annual HBPA blueberry pancake breakfast. Proceeds will go to the Hillsdale Community Foundation. See above "$3,000 Question" story.

Monday, June 22, 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. - Climate Action Town Hall

Sponsored by the City of Portland and Multnomah County, the town hall meeting will be at Fulton Park Community Center, 68 SW Miles Street. The meeting is being held to discuss the draft 2009 Climate Action Plan, a strategy to decrease local carbon emissions 80 percent by 2050. To see the draft plan go to this web site.

Thursday, June 25, 6 p.m. - Fast-paced walk in SW Portland

Take a two-hour, fast-paced walk with Mazama leader Jane Roberts. Meet inside the SW Community Center at SW 45th and Vermont. The group will cover 6 to 7.5 miles in two hours. The cost is $2 per person or $1 per person 55  and older. Mazamas is a non-profit mountaineering organization. For more information go to www.mazamas.org

Wednesday, July 1, 7 p.m. - Hillsdale Neighborhood Association

At St. Barnabas Episcopal Church, 2201 Vermont St. The agenda includes an update on Food Front and discussion about a cinema in Hillsdale, a SW Trails proposed use of Iowa Structure trails mitigation money, and Burlingame Fred Meyer remodeling and expansion plans.

Thursdays in July,  5:35 p.m. - "Thursdays Together" Dinners/activity

Every Thursday in July at Hillsdale Community Church United Church of Christ (6948 SW Capitol Hwy) neighbors are invited for dinner, activity stations around animal themes for families to enjoy together, and a short time of worship for all ages.  Dinner 5:45 p.m. activity stations 6:30-7:00, closing worship 7:00-7:15
 
Sunday, July 12, 10:30 - Blessing of the Animals

Bring your (leashed or crated) family pet or a photo of a fur friend, to Hillsdale Community Church United Church of Christ, 6948 SW Capitol Hwy, on Sunday July 12 for a celebratory worship service at 10:30 am in the sanctuary and a service of blessing at 11:45 a.m..


Sunday, July 19, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. - Shoreshim Picnic & Play

Neveh Shalom invites young Jewish families to picnic
in Gabriel Park. The picnic is a chance for young families to connect with the organized Jewish community and meet other young Jewish families. Bring a dairy/vegetarian picnic lunch.  The congregation will provide the dessert and drinks. For more information, e-mail Sarah at [email protected] or Rachel at [email protected]. RSVP to [email protected]. Congregation Neveh Shalom is a Conservative Jewish Synagogue located in SW Portland.

Sunday, July 26, 8:30 a.m. - Noon
HBPA Blueberry Pancake Breakfast

The 33rd annual HBPA Customer-appreciation Blueberry Pancake Breakfast will be held in the parking lot between the Key Bank and Casa Colima restaurant. $5 adults, $4 children. All you can eat.
 
Mutual Benefit

Short notices of ways businesses are benefiting the community are listed here. The businesses themselves benefit from resulting good will. Hence the title "Mutual Benefit."

Haircolor Salon Dirk, 1517 SW Sunset, will give a percent of one day's new business proceeds to the Oregon Food Bank. The proceeds will come from new customers seeking hair cutting and coloring services, skin care services, and waxing services on June 22. Clients name their price for services. Call (503) 244-4242 for an appointment to participate.The salon will also collect non-perishable food items and cash donations until June 22.

Om Base is offering free classes to interested students on Sunday, June 28. 2 p.m.-3:30 p.m.
Rick Seifert
Editor, Hillsdale News
(503) 245-7821
[email protected]