THANK YOU to our sponsors: Coca Cola, Illume Day Spa, InnerGate Acupuncture, Laurelhurst Theater, The Mattress Lot, Norse Hall, Opal 28, Oregon Children's Theatre, Pairings Portland, Pie Spot, Portland Chiropractic Group, See See Coffee, Tapalaya, Triangle Productions, and Waves of Grain Bakery.

Kudos go to Steve Russell, the picnic committee chair. Great job putting the picnic together!

Thanks also to: GT for taking care of all the food, Jim Kautz for getting us a dumpster and Sean Brandon for making sure we had a grill to cook on and places to sit.

From the Bureau of Planning Services (BPS) website: "Together the Central City 2035 (CC2035) Steering Committee and BPS staff are proud to announce the release of the CC2035 Concept Plan. The plan comes after two years of stakeholder involvement and public outreach and charts a course for Portland's future over the coming decades. The CC2035 Concept Plan outlines policies and directions that provide high-level guidance for the city center's growth and development. It emphasizes the important role the city center plays for the region and is intended to guide development of four detailed quadrant plans within the Central City (N/NE, SE, NW and SW)."

The plan includes land use, urban design, transportation, environment, and economic development issues. It's a complex topic, and I'm really paraphrasing here, but basically the goal is to encourage flexibility, still encouraging the businesses and industry that are currently housed in the district while evolving some unused buildings into mixed use for smaller companies. The Central Eastside Reader has more details, it even includes a manufacturing breakdown, for those who are interested.

The Central City Concept Plan will be presented to the Portland Planning and Sustainability Commission at a hearing on September 11th after 12:30 p.m. The public is invited to submit testimony to the PSC in person or in writing. Tips for testifying are available online.

All of the committee meetings are open and allow public comment at the end. They also accept online comments.

Stay up to date on the project at facebook or twitter.

The plans are currently in the design review process for the City of Portland. This generally takes 7-8 months. Ground breaking could be Spring or Summer 2015. This means Club 21 will be torn down before their lease is up. Bloom, on the opposite corner, will also demolished. These businesses will be invited to lease space in the new building.

My grandmother's office was 2 blocks away from the Club 21 so I've been eating here since I was knee-high to a tadpole. During the July discussion of this project, I found out that the corner has an interesting history.

Originally there was a Russian Orthodox Church here. Someone mentioned that it had been listed on a historic register but has been removed.

According to Portlandmaps.com, the current Club 21 building was built in 1929 and finished 1930. It's been named Club 21 for 60 years.

Portland Maps "Historic Permits" show it's been a variety of restaurants over the years. Originally it was Jake's Crawfish Cafe. It's also been named Ray's Rendevouz. A variety of owners are shown on various permits over the years including: W.N. Daniels, Miss Dunagan, Joe Weiser, US Bank, Jack White Shadows/The Shadows, and Jantzen.

A prost to many happy moments spent at Club 21!

For more information about Grieg Lodge or Norse Hall visit the website.

Blackberry Yogurt Lounge is now open at 2137 E Burnside (in the same block as Ole Ole). They offer a variety of rotating frozen yogurt flavors, currently including a sorbet for those who might need dairy free, and toppings. They hope to soon offer some other treats, such as cupcakes, cookies and chocolates. The space is also available to rent for private events. Plus it has a really fun interior design!

The fence is gone and construction is winding down on the Burnside 26 building at 2625 E Burnside. They are hosting a "Grand Opening" party on Mon., Aug. 18 from 4-6 p.m. with live music, drinks and hor d'oeurves. Neighbors are invited.

True Measure Gallery has opened at 3022 E Burnside (the longtime home of the plant shop). It's the gallery and studio of Jesse Reno. The shop also offers portfolio services. Open daily from Noon-6 p.m.

Coming soon: Myoptic Optometry & modern eyewear shop opens Aug. 20 at 12 NE 28th Ave. They will be 6 days a week. Mon.-Fri. from 10-7 and Sat. from 10-5.

Portland Parks and Recreation sent out an update in July that they will be starting the Portland Tennis Center Air Structure project soon - sometime late summer. The first phase will be the construction of new access to the courts including an accessible ramp and a footing to anchor the air supported structure, plus new indirect court lighting and perimeter fencing. The second phase will be the installation of the air structure and the mechanical unit that will keep it inflated. See more information. Have any thoughts or questions? Contact Susan Meamber at susan.meamber@portlandoregon.gov.

There's paper up at the Old Wives Tales Restaurant building (12th & E Burnside). I asked Steve if he knew what was happening there. He said the building was purchased by the same Beaverton developer who did the 20th/Couch and 30th/Burnside apartment projects. It looks like the OWT building will be torn down and replaced with another multi-story apartment project.

I've seen a worker(s) working in the old car space on the corner of 24th & Sandy. We haven't been notified of anything going in or any leases signed. But I heard from a business owner down the street that it's going to be a PastaWorks. I'll keep you posted on news from this front.

Moving: Meat for Cats & Dogs is moving to 2244 E Burnside - across the street and 2 doors east. They hope to open this weekend in the new space.

Land Use News from Steve: On August 21st, there is a design review meeting for the Beam apartment project at the Burnside Bridehead, the meeting is at 1900 SW 4th Ave, Room 2500A and starts at 1:30pm. The public is allowed to attend and observe the meeting, but cannot speak or ask questions.

Steve reported at the July meeting that the 2 bungalows near 22nd on Glisan (2238 NE Glisan st; next to the Friends of Seasonal Services Workers) will be torn down to build a 4-5 story apartment building. In August, he received notice that the adjustment to add an extra half story to the building was approved. KNA had written a letter opposing it and asking that this adjustment be denied based on its scale, as it did not contribute to the livability of the neighborhood. After speaking with people at the City and reviewing the approval documents, it appears we probably did not have much of a chance at succeeding with an appeal. Due to the time and effort required to research, write and pursue the appeal the Neighborhood Association did not appeal the approval. The appeal was due by Aug. 5.

Larry Porter, a land use consultant for Joe Weston, sent me an email that they are preparing a street vacation application to the City of Portland. The application is to officially vacate the portions of Sandy Blvd. that were eliminated when they created the Couch couplet.

Know some news? See something changing in the neighborhood? Please email and let us know.

If you live between NE 15th-32nd and E Burnside - NE Sandy and NE Glisan, join Nextdoor NE Kerns, a private social network for the NE Kerns neighborhood in Portland, OR. Please note, this does not include all of Kerns and is moderated by a neighbor (not the KNA). It requires your address to join. Examples of how people are using Nextdoor: organize a community-wide yard sale, setting up playdates, get the word out about a break-in, ask for help finding a lost pet, or plan for an emergency.