Views of the News
Change:
Mine and ours
If you are a regular reader of the Hillsdale News, you'll notice a couple of changes in this issue.
I've moved the business "sponsors" listing lower on the page. The "ads" in the section were once paid for, but some months back I started offering them free to Hillsdale businesses. I've joked with the owners that if I ever need help, I'll call on them first.
I've moved my commentary to the top of the page and renamed it "Views of the News." The name comes from an opinion column that my old boss, editor and publisher Ted Natt of the Longview (Washington) Daily News, put on his front-page opinion column. Using the name is my tribute to Ted, who died in a 1999 helicopter crash at age 58.
You, like Ted's old readers in Longview, should be reminded that what appears in this "Views of the News" space is my opinion only. It's my "take" on what's happening in our community.
This issue brings news on two fronts that are worthy of comment and point to significant change in our community.
Barring some miracle,
The Hillsdale Main Street economic revitalization program won't be funded by the City for a fifth year starting in July. That will be the end of the program as we have come to know it. The City funding required matching local funds, but many of those in the Town Center who have benefited most from Main Street have simply not supported it financially.
If the program ends in June, the leadership in addressing Main Street's unfinished tasks will fall to the Hillsdale Community Foundation, whose board also has served as the board of Hillsdale Main Street. Indeed Main Street has always been a Community Foundation "project." In its four years, Hillsdale Main Street has provided us with experience and volunteer social capital to build on. In the post-Main Street years, I hope the Foundation, with the community's support, will give equal or greater weight to broader concerns than those of the commercial district. (Our schools come immediately to mind) The Foundation should invite us to say what our concerns are and then mobilize us to address them. The main source of Foundation funding is the annual Hillsdale Book Sale in July. Our book donations to the sale, volunteer time and book purchases are essential, but beyond that the Foundation needs to come up with other creative and fun ways to raise money. Again, fund-raising ideas are welcome. This issue's other major story is the surprise Metro shared with the Hillsdale Alliance at its February meeting. Planners have added a new option for routing MAX (or enhanced bus-rapid-transit) service through Hillsdale. It's a jaw-dropper: the route would run on Capitol Highway smack in the middle of the Town Center. Both modes of transportation would likely take away or share two lanes of traffic with trucks and cars. It would be a major change, which like all the Southwest Corridor Plan options, needs to be carefully weighed in the weeks ahead.
Would such a route help or hurt Hillsdale? Would it be better for the commercial heart of Hillsdale if MAX or the big articulated buses were confined to Barbur (where auto/truck lanes would also be lost), leaving the Town Center a "quaint village" or a "transit desert," depending on your perspective? To find out more about the options, Metro and TriMet's evolving thinking and to comment, plan to attend the workshop scheduled for Wednesday, March 12, in the Wilson High School Cafeteria. It starts at 6 p.m. and lasts until 8 p.m. The March Hillsdale Neighborhood Association meet at 7 p.m. on Wed, March 5, will also focus on the topic. Rick Seifert
Editor/Publisher
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Letter to the Editor
Light Rail is NOT
a waste
In the last issue of the Hillsdale News, there was a strongly worded letter ("Light Rail is a Waste" by Tim Lyman) to the editor about waste in transit, particularly the MAX lines and dedicated rights of way, versus added freeway lanes for cars and trucks.
The accusation was one of grafters stealing money with impunity with little public good to show for it.
So here, by way of rebuttal, are a list of facts about TriMet service in Hillsdale and how that service connects to MAX trains.
Line 44 from PCC Sylvania to downtown Portland daily and with frequent service.
Forty-five daily departures each way crossing SW Sunset and Capitol Hwy.
Line 54 from Beaverton Transit Center to downtown Portland. 33 daily departures each way crossing SW Sunset and Capitol Highway.
Line 56 from Washington Square to downtown Portland. Thirty-two daily departures each way crossing SW Sunset and Capitol Hwy.
Line 12 from Tigard to downtown Portland. Sixty-five daily departures each way crossing SW Barbur Blvd. and Terwilliger Pkwy.
Red line MAX to and from PDX Airport. Fifty-eight daily departures each way connecting at Rose Quarter or downtown.
Blue Line MAX to and from Gresham and Hillsboro. Fifty-four daily departures each way connecting at Rose Quarter or downtown.
Green line MAX to PSU from Clackamas Transit Center. Sixty-three daily departures each way with connections downtown or Rose Quarter.
Yellow line MAX from PSU to Expo Center. Fifty-one daily departures each way with connections downtown or Rose Quarter.
What does this mean to us?
Item: Only 25 percent of students, staff, and faculty at PSU drive private cars to campus. Hillsdale is a great place for them to live.
Item: Airport MAX carries one million riders per year to PDX. Connect at Rose Quarter or downtown from Hillsdale. Seamless and reliable.
Item: Dedicated rights of way along existing freeways have been used on most of these lines. (Banfield, US 26, OR 217, Interstate Ave. as examples)
Item: This writer has never paid for parking at PDX nor downtown in 11 years in Hillsdale. He rides Transit.
Item: This writer chose to live in Hillsdale because of available transit lines and connections to light rail and street cars.
Item: Train lines have a 100-year shelf life. (Visit London, New York City, Chicago, Buenos Aires, Boston, Paris)
Public Transit gives inexpensive options for everybody: students, elderly, disabled, working commuters, leisure riders.
Try it, you might like it.
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Hillsdale Main Street's
future in doubt
Development Commission recommends
no funds for program's fifth year
The Portland Development Commission (PDC), which oversees
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Hillsdale Main Street attracted some 200 volunteers to its projects, like this street planting effort.
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Portland's three Main Street Programs, is recommending that Hillsdale's program not be funded for a fifth year starting in July. Two other Main Street economic revitalization programs, in Alberta and St. Johns, are being recommended to Mayor Charlie Hayes for inclusion in the City's 2014-2015 budget. The PDC is also recommending the continuation and funding of six "Neighborhood Prosperity Districts" which were established last year. If the Mayor and the City Council go along with the recommendation, Hillsdale would not receive $58,000 in grants from the City. $30,000 of that money, for administration and operations, requires matching money from the community. Another $3000 of the total, for promotion, requires an in-kind and/or cash grant, said Kate Deane, PDC's Economic Development Manager. The funding also would have included an unmatched $25,000 for physical improvements. Hillsdale has had trouble raising the matching money locally. As a result its board replaced Hillsdale Main Street's full-time executive director with a part-time district director in early November. Jennifer Klemann, president of the board, said the group is considering its options in light of the PDC recommendation. Klemann and the board also oversee the Hillsdale Community Foundation, the "parent" of Hillsdale Main Street. Regardless of the fate of Main Street, the Foundation will continue its work, she said. When Hillsdale was first selected for the new Portland Main Street program in June 2010, it was for a trial three-year period.  | |
A Hillsdale logo and places to put it, such as street banners, were Main Street accomplishments.
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PDC's Deane emphasized that the agency's recommendation to drop Hillsdale was "not an issue of performance" of the Hillsdale program. "It was a matter of PDC priorities," she said. Hillsdale is no longer considered a priority neighborhood in terms of economic need, she said. Hillsdale along with Alberta were initially dropped from the recommended list last year, but Mayor Charlie Hales and the City Council decided to continue for a fourth year so that the programs could "make a soft landing." Alberta is being recommended again this year, but at a reduced level, because long-time minority business and property owners of color there are struggling economically, Deane said. In its four years, Hillsdale has learned about managing commercial districts, Deane said. "They now have a strong foundation and know-how." She singled out Hillsdale Main Street's peer-to-peer mentoring program in which more successful business mentors counsel those who need improvement. Klemann said she was "disappointed but not surprised" by the PDC recommendation. She said that the board would decide at its March meeting whether to proceed with Main Street. One consideration will be how the Foundation can build on Main Street's accomplishments, she said. Hillsdale Main Street has attracted more than 200 volunteers. Many of its projects have resulted in visible changes, such as storefront improvements and the north parking lot reconfiguration across from the post office. Like Deane, Klemann noted the success of the peer-to-peer "business advocacy" program. A sustainability effort recently resulted in the installation of recycling bins, with more to come. The mural on the side of the Bank of America, the Springfest/Health Fair and street plantings, Hillsdale logo and banners were all Main Street initiatives. Still on the to-do agenda are a possible northside plaza in front of Casa Colima and clearer, attractive signage, she said. Click to go to top of story
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A MAX train on Capitol Highway?
Southwest transit corridor planners add another Hillsdale option to the mix
Another strand has been added to the tangle of mass transit options under consideration for the Southwest Transit Corridor. In 12 or so years one of the options could link Downtown Portland, Hillsdale, Tigard and Tualatin using MAX trains or elongated buses on dedicated lanes.
Some options include tunnels including two that would put a MAX tunnel under the Hillsdale Town Center.
The new strand would put MAX or "Bus Rapid Transit" (BRT) on, not under, Capitol Highway. The routing would come up from Barbur Boulevard, wind its way through the Town Center on Capitol Highway before finding its way down Bertha Boulevard and back to Barbur.
Other options for Hillsdale call for circumventing the Town Center altogether and putting MAX trains or the articulated BRT buses on dedicated lanes on Barbur.
A Southwest Transit Corridor Steering Committee, which includes elected representatives from eight Southwest incorporated communities, is scheduled to narrow the options this summer. Between now and then the steering committee is seeking comment from all affected communities.
One form of mass comment is happening March 9 when Tigard votes on an initiative requiring public approval of needed zoning changes. If the measure passes it could derail the planning or at least significantly reshape the planning map.
The Capitol Highway option came as a surprise to those attending the Hillsdale Alliance meeting on Feb. 12. The Alliance is a loose coalition of Hillsdale organizations. Its quarterly meetings are open. February's produced a diversity of views, including uncertainty.   | |
The Tigard campaign is heating up as the March 9 voting date approaches. Confusing many is that a "yes" vote would likely block improved mass transit in the city.
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Matt Bihn, a Metro planner who revealed the new option, said the Capitol Highway route "works from a design perspective."
The community will have several opportunities to hear Metro and TriMet's latest thinking. The next presentation and hearing will be Monday, March 12, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Wilson High School cafeteria. The March 5 Hillsdale Neighborhood Association meeting at the Watershed Building (Bertha Court and Capitol) will also be devoted to the subject.
The Alliance meeting produced no clear consensus about what option would be best for the Hillsdale Town Center and the Hillsdale community.
Some at the meeting suggested that any MAX transit in the Town Center should be put in a tunnel to avoid adding to congestion on Capitol Highway. Glenn Bridger, transportation chair for the Hillsdale Neighborhood Association and an Alliance co-chair, stressed the need to avoid barriers being constructed in the community.
Arnie Panitch, a transit advocate, said that "putting the squeeze" on Barbur by taking away lanes could be a problem in case there's an emergency that shuts down I-5. He also noted that housing that serves those in need, like the Watershed, Turning Point and the new Stephens Creek Crossing project should be near transit. (A letter to the editor by Panitch appears to the left)
Architect William Wilson said he was torn between a Barbur route and a Capitol Highway Route, but he added that having enhanced service to Hillsdale, whether by tunnel or on the surface would help the commercial area.
Orthodontist Richard Garfinkle, a long-time business owner in the Town Center, advocated for service to the Hillsdale Town Center, which "has a heart" in stark contrast to Barbur which, he said, is like "a desert."
A couple of attendees said any decision to change transit will force the community to "rethink Hillsdale."
Some worried that Hillsdale would become a "backwater" if the new transit line went exclusively on Barbur. But Glenn Bridger, the Alliance co-chair and transportation chair of the neighborhood association said the Barbur routing wouldn't necessarily mean "the death of Hillsdale." "People will come here for its charm."
Michael Reunert said that a transit station on Barbur would be too far away for most Hillsdale pedestrians. But he added that it would be a relatively easy bike ride if bike parking were provided.
For more on the Southwest Corridor Transit Plan go HERE.
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SW HOPE food drive seeks community donations
The eighth annual SW HOPE: Feed the Hungry campaign will begin Sunday, March 2, with the support of more than 75 faith, business and other community partners.
 The campaign, which ends April 17, supports Neighborhood House's Emergency Food Box Program. The need for the food is all the greater because of recent cuts in the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. The cuts affect more than 819,000 Oregonians. The food drive includes cash donations for food as well. Organizers say that cash is the most efficient way to support the drive. For every $1 donated, Neighborhood House can purchase approximately four pounds food from the Oregon Food Bank.
This year's goal is 175,000 pounds of food or the cash equivalent.
Local faith communities such as St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, St Barnabus Episcopal Church, Hillsdale Community Church, Mission Portland, Muslim Educational Trust and more than 20 others have already signed up to help collect funds and food.
Local businesses including Food Front, Indigo Traders, Thinker Toys, New Seasons, Umpqua Bank and many others are providing food collection boxes or coin canisters.
A complete list of donation sites is at www.swhope.org. Also listed on the site are "dine-to-donate" restaurants, including Salvador Molly's, the Old Spaghetti Factory, Otto and Anita's Schnitzel House, and Fat City Caf� in Multnomah Village. The Emergency Food Box Program continues to be the largest food assistance program on Portland's west side, providing food boxes for close to 500 low-income SW Portland neighbors-including families with children and seniors (approximately 1500 individuals) each month.
For more information about the SW HOPE contact Ann Rogers-Williams, Neighborhood House Development Coordinator, at 503-246-1663 x2118 or awilliams@nhweb.org or go to www.nhpdx.org.
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The White that was. Wasn't it?
The snow and wind of early February seem like a dream now, but here's proof it was the real thing.
 | | The tent that shelters diners at the Hillsdale Food Park, could have used its own shelter. Owner Richard Stein said, "The whole thing just imploded" from the weight of the snow. |
 | | Sunset Boulevard from the Capitol Highway intersection led to a closed library. |
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Briefly:
Town Center gets recycling bins
The Hillsdale Town Center is just a bit greener now that it has new recycling bins, a project of the Hillsdale Main Street Sustainability Committee.
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Cindy Eldkrona, Jeanne Roy and Ray Berardinelli helped obtain and install the new recycling bins.
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The committee wanted to retrieve recyclable bottles and cans that were going into the trash.
Each bin has two holes, one for plastic and metal bottles and cans and the other for glass.
The project started over two years ago when Jeanne Roy and Alice Speers inventoried all the public trash cans in the commercial area. Then Roy and the Wilson High's Students for Environmental Action did a waste sort to determine how many bottles and cans were in each trash bin.
Other volunteers who worked on the project were Ray Berardinelli, chair of the Sustainability Committee; Cindy Eldkrona, committee member; and Phil Richmond, member of the Hillsdale Main Street board.
Mark your calendar: Parkways is returning
to SW Portland Sunday, Sept. 28
The Sunday Parkways event, that attracts thousands of hikers, bicyclists and joggers to Hillsdale, Gabriel Park and Multnomah Village has been scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 28.
Last year's event was cancelled because of hurricane-force winds.
The Sunday Parkways will be held in four other parts of Portland, starting with East Portland on May 11. Community groups and vendors wanting to participate in Sunday Parkways - and volunteers who want to help make it happen - are encouraged to contact the transportation bureau at (503) 823-7599 or online at PortlandSundayParkways.org. City Commissioner Steve Novick, who oversees the transportation bureau, said, "Sunday Parkways is a great introduction to biking and walking for everyone...The more we bike and walk, the healthier we are and the less we all spend on healthcare."
Kaiser Permanente has sponsored the Parkways event series for seven years with a total investment of more than $650,000 in money and in-kind services..
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Date Book
Saturday, March 1
Be a 'Usual Suspect' litter-picker
9 a.m. at the Food Front "verandah." "Usual Suspects" volunteers revel in an hour of cleaning up litter. Good clean fun and fellowship. Special recognition to the Suspect who collects "the pick of the litter." All invited. Free coffee.
Wednesday, March 5
Hillsdale Neighborhood Association looks at SW Corridor Plan
7 p.m. The Watershed, Capitol Hwy and Bertha Court. Q&A regarding the SW Corridor Planning process and prospective modes of mass transit and route alternatives, including a tunnel option and a surface route on Capitol Highway. (See story above)
Friday, March 7 to Friday, April 4
Wilson students' art on display
at Hillsdale Art Supply
On Friday, March 7, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. reception at Hillsdale Art Supply, two doors west of the Hillsdale Post Office. The work of some two dozen Wilson HS students will be on display for four weeks at the store.
Saturday, March. 8
SW Urban Trails Walk
9 a.m. Meet behind the bleachers at Wilson High School (Sunset Blvd. and Capitol Highway) at 8:45 a.m. for a 9 a.m. departure.
Led by Dave Manville, the hike goes to Woods Park and back. Approximately seven miles with about a 300-foot elevation gain. Walk can be shortened by catching bus #44 at the Barbur Transit Center or on Capitol Highway. Sponsored by Hillsdale Neighborhood Association
Wednesday, March 12
Community meeting on Transit Plan
6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wilson High School Cafeteria. Presentation and update on the planning options that will shape Hillsdale's future. See story above.
Saturday, March 15
Storm-water Challenge Workshop
9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Hillsdale Community Church, 6948 SW Capitol Highway. How to identify and locate a variety of landscape approaches that are safe, simple, cost-effective and good for the environment. Includes visits to three homes to perform assessments. Subsequent volunteer-training sessions on April 5 and 19 and May 3, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Enrollment limited. Call Jen Seamans at (503) 823-2862 or register online at swni.org/stormwater. For more online information go HERE.
Sunday, March 16
Film depicts Hunger in Portland
7 p.m. to 9 p.m., St Andrew's Presbyterian Church, SW Dosch Road and Sunset Boulevard. Showing of "American Winter," an award-winning documentary on hunger in America, filmed in Portland. Shared potluck dessert and roundtable discussion. Donations of food and cash will be accepted at the event. Wednesday, March 19
Open House: Barbur Viaducts rehab5 p.m. to 7 p.m., Mittleman Jewish Community Center. The Oregon Department of Transportation will give a presentation about the rehabilitation planned for viaducts crossing ravines at Newbury and Vermont Streets. For more information call Susan Hanson at ODOT, (503) 706-9814
Friday, April 11
CPAH's HomeWord Bound features
"Wild" author, Cheryl Strayed
6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Oregon Zoo (Cascade Crest Banquet Center). Annual dinner and meeting with Oregon Authors to benefit Hillsdale-based Community Partners for Affordable Housing (CPAH). Speaker Cheryl Strayed is the author of the New York Times bestsellers "Wild," and "Tiny Beautiful Things" and the novel "Torch." Tickets $85. Table for ten $850. To purchase tickets, go online HERE. Saturday, April 12
Community Recycling at St. Luke's
9 a.m. to noon at St. Luke's Lutheran Church, SW Vermont and 46th Ave. Here's a chance to recycle non-curbside items: small electric appliances, printer cartridges, styrofoam block and food containers (no "peanuts"), light bulbs, corks, small batteries, metal items, large batteries, drink pouches and snack bags. No rigid or soft plastic items. Tuesday, April 29
Forum on SW Transit Corridor Plan
6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Multnomah Arts Center Auditorium, 7688 SW Capitol Highway. An opportunity for decision-makers and the SW community to discuss the SW Corridor Plan, with a focus on how high capacity transit could improve access to jobs, services and education, as well as overall livability within the Portland section of the corridor. Panelists include City Commissioner Steve Novick, Oregon Department of Transportation Region 1 manager Jason Tell, TriMet general manager Neal McFarlane, Metro Councilor Bob Stacey and Southwest Neighborhoods Inc. (SWNI) president Marianne Fitzgerald. Sunday, May 4
Springfest Health and Wellness Fair
10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Hillsdale Farmers Market, Rieke School parking lot. More than 35 local health and wellness practitioners will be at the event on the same day as the annual opening of the Hillsdale Farmers' Market and the Rieke Art Fair.
Saturday, May 10
Neighborhood House Benefit Gala
5:30 p.m. doors open. Multnomah Athletic Club, 1849 SW Salmon. Annual funding raising event for Neighborhood House, the SW Portland social service agency. Event theme: "Rebuilding Lives, Families and Communities." Individual tickets $100. Tables for ten, $1000. Tickets go on sale March 1 HERE. PRO BONO
Hillsdale Main Street seeks volunteers
Volunteers are needed 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Monday through Friday. Flexible hours. Hillsdale Main Street has streamlined its operations and needs help keeping its office (in the office building behind the Hillsdale Brew Pub) clean and organized. Contact JoLonna Windsheimer, Main Street District Manager, at volunteer@hillsdalemainstreet.org, or (971) 896-9211 Hayhurst Odyssey Program needs storage space for materials
The Odyssey Program at Hayhurst Elementary School needs about 800 square feet of consolidated storage space to safely store educational materials. Contact Toby Ethridge (503) 970-2790
Click to go to top of Datebook
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