Reminder about the Foreclosure Townhall 8/31

Foreclosure Town Hall with our Rep. Tina Kotek and Special Guest Congressman Blumenauer tomorrow. [August 31]

At the St. Johns Community Center from 6-8pm.

Lots of good information and organizations on hand to answer questions.

If you or anyone you know are facing foreclosure - or you just want info - you should attend

Upcoming Foreclosure Town Hall and other info from Rep. Kotek

From Rep. Tina Kotek HD44

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

I hope many of you had the chance to enjoy the great summer weather this week at the many National Night Out parties around the district. Knowing our neighbors - and watching out for each other - is an important part of keeping our community safe.

On August 31st, I will be hosting a town hall on the foreclosure crisis in St. Johns. I hope you'll be able to join us.

I've also been busy working on budget issues since I last wrote, so there's a quick update below. Lastly, my ever-helpful legislative assistant, Alex Berke, has scheduled some office hours at New Columbia for greater access to my office out in the community. We are always open to offers of public space for these community office hours.


Foreclosure Town Hall

The foreclosure crisis still has a strong grip on our nation and our neighborhoods. Many of us know people struggling to hold on to their homes. It might even be you. The foreclosure storm is ongoing, and Portland in particular is experiencing a late wave as home prices continue to stagnate or decline. Today, there are 164 properties in foreclosure just in my zip code alone.

I hope you will join me on August 31st at the St. Johns Community Center to share your stories and learn about resources to help people keep their homes. We will also have local experts on hand to discuss available resources. We will have plenty of time to hear your stories and hear your thoughts on what people need right now.

Foreclosure Town Hall
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
St. Johns Community Center
8427 N. Central

State Budget Update

Many of you have contacted me with your concerns about the budget. Thank you for writing or calling. You have expressed the hope that any budget cuts that have to be taken are mindful of the future and protect vulnerable people as much as possible. I completely agree and will do my best to honor those wishes. We have some tough months ahead, and your feedback will be important.

I sit on the Emergency Board, a group of 10 House members and 10 Senate members who handle budget issues when we are not in session. The Emergency Board (or E-Board, as it's commonly called) convened on July 22nd to address some of the most urgent and serious cuts in the Department of Human Services (DHS). We were able to restore $17 million in reductions to programs that help seniors and people with disabilities and individuals facing mental health crises. This was about 10% of the overall cut that DHS needs to take under the Governor's across-the-board cut to balance the budget. To read more about what we did, please see this memo from the Legislative Fiscal Office.

It is very likely the E-Board will meet again in September, especially in light of possible new federal dollars coming to the state for K-12 education and health care services. We must be careful in how we prioritize these emergency funds because we still face major challenges next year when we write the 2011-13 budget. I am also urging state agencies to think differently about how they do their work. How can we do our job more efficiently so we can continue to serve people in these tough economic times? If dollars are limited, how does our business model need to change to keep up with the need? For me, these are the most important questions to ask ourselves right now.


Office Hours at New Columbia

My legislative assistant, Alex Berke, will be holding office hours at New Columbia on Monday, August 16th and Monday, August 30th, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. on both days.

She will be available in the Housing Authority of Portland office at New Columbia (4605 N. Trenton) during those times. Our office often helps constituents with a variety of issues related to state agencies. We can help you navigate the system or help track down answers to your questions.

So, please drop by and say hello to Alex. We are here to serve you.

It's an honor to serve you in the Legislature. Please contact my legislative assistant Alex Berke at our district office, by phone, 503-286-0558, or email, if we can be of any assistance to you.

Best wishes,

Rep. Tina Kotek | 900 Court St. NE H-281 | Salem | OR | 97301

Meet the new Police Chief

North Portland
PUBLIC SAFETY ACTION COMMITTEE (PSAC)


Presents:
Portland Police Bureau Chief Mike Reese
Followed by our normal Agenda-

Please come and welcome our new Chief of Police, Mike Reese, and participate in an open discussion about public safety and policing in North Portland Neighborhoods.

For more information please contact:
Mark Wells, Crime Prevention Coordinator
Mark.wells@portlandoregon.gov
503-823-4098

Herbicide application

Dave sent this to the neighborhood association

Pen 2 will be posting signs at the moorage ramps on August 16^th to notify the neighborhood that an herbicide application will take place on the levee August 18^th and not to re-entry the treated area for 72 hours. The contractor is schedule to start his application at 5:00 am and should be done early morning if the wind does not pick up. If it does and the contractor has to stop spraying he will return the following morning to complete the application. If you or anyone has any questions please let me know, thanks for your assistance.

I then asked Dave about keeping our "levee hunting cats" in because of the 72 hour no re-entry and here is his reply:

According to the Department of Agriculture and the Garlon 3A label; there is no re-entry restriction time for domestic and grazing animals except for lactating dairy animals. DOA and I recommend you try to keep your pets from re-entering the treated site until the herbicide has dried, only to prevent transfer onto their fur and carrying off site to sensitive plants. Based on the time of the application (5-8am) and the forecasted temperature the herbicide will be dry in 4 hours from time of application.

If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact me.

BUYER BEWARE: DOOR-TO-DOOR MAGAZINE SALES

Attorney General John Kroger warns Oregonians to be on the lookout for unscrupulous door-to-door magazine peddlers.

Door-to-door magazine companies are a perennial source of frustration for Oregon consumers, generating more than 150 complaints in the past year alone. Employees of travelling sales crews - mostly young adults - sell magazines and other products door-to-door using a variety of misleading sales pitches in order to obtain orders.

Most recently the Oregon Department of Justice has seen influx of complaints about Atlantic Circulation, Inc., a magazine distribution company. The sales crews employed by Atlantic Circulation have allegedly tried to boost sales by suggesting the magazine subscriptions will benefit a charity. In fact, many consumers who purchased subscriptions from the company never received their orders and there was no charitable donation.

Travelling sales crews don't just raise consumer protection concerns, the crewmembers themselves are sometimes victims of scam and physical abuse. While these smooth-talking hucksters may pepper you with stories about raising funds for college, athletics, troops abroad, church or a local charity, many are employed by for-profit operations that take advantage of vulnerable youth and homeless teens.

Don't be fooled. There are legitimate organizations that conduct fundraising or sell products door-to-door. Nevertheless, Oregonians should proceed with caution when contemplating transactions at the door.

Here are some things you can do to avoid being bamboozled:

• If you're not expecting someone, don't answer the door.
• If you answer the door, don't open it wide and NEVER invite them in.
• Don't feel pressured to buy on the spot; before you buy anything, check whether the business is registered to solicit door-to-door with the city you live in.
• Ask for materials in writing before purchasing the product.
• If you feel threatened, call the police.
• If you gave a check and want to cancel your order, cancel the check first, then call to cancel the subscription.
• If you gave a credit card number and are concerned it will now be misused, call your credit card company and cancel the card. You may also need to monitor the charges that appear on your account for a while.

Oregon has a "cooling off rule" allowing consumers three days to cancel purchases over $25 that are made at your home. Under the Cooling-Off Rule, the salesperson must:

• Tell you about your cancellation rights at the time of sale.
• Give you two copies of a cancellation form (one to keep and one to send).
• Give you a copy of your contract or receipt.

Anyone who believes they have been approached by a scammer should call the Oregon Department of Justice Consumer Hotline at 1-877-877-9392 or go to the Department's Web site: www.oregonattorneygeneral.gov. Attorney General John Kroger recently unveiled a new feature on called Be InfORmed, which allows consumers to look up complaints about businesses on-line: www.oregonattorneygeneral.gov/beinformed.

Third Annual Block Party

PARTY BEGINS AT 3:00 UNTIL 8:30

10746 NE 4th Ave, Portland, OR 97211

This years line up will be:

Legitamate Beef: beginning at 3:00pm

No Bridges: beginning at 4:00pm

Ian Masur with My voice Music, non-profit supporting Music For Children @ MyVoiceMusic.org: beginning at 5:00pm

Rappers known as Thuggage: beginning at 5:45pm

Psuedoboss: beginning at 7:00pm

We are very excited about this line-up. Country Rock, Jazzy-Pop, Acoustic Indie to Hard Rock!!

What do you bring?

Pot-luck and your own beverages

Folding chairs and blankets

What do we provide?

BBQ's for your meat

Ice for your beverages

And AMAZING Music!

Parking as close as you can get to our address

Special Thanks to :

Portland Parks and Recreations

Roth Estates

Bridgeton Community

Looking forward to seeing you,

Your Host,

Mark Putnam

"THE" Bridge

If you live in the area, you got the notice of this meeting in the mail but here it is again - just in case

From the CRC

- Public invited to provide input Aug. 5 on set of draft recommendations for Columbia

River Crossing project

- Metro finds CRC toll bridge with light rail would have negligible impact on growth

- Join us at a fair or festival this summer

Public invited to provide input Aug. 5 on set of draft recommendations for Columbia River Crossing project

The Columbia River Crossing Project Sponsors Council encourages testimony Thursday, Aug. 5, at a public meeting on draft recommendations related to several project elements, including the Hayden Island interchange and I-5 bridge.

Residents, businesses and interested community members are invited to attend the meeting to learn about the draft recommendations and provide input directly to PSC co-chair Steve Horenstein. The recommendations are the result of assignments from the PSC to the Integrated Project Sponsors Council Staff (IPS) group to collaboratively address several questions. Meeting topics include project performance measures, techniques to manage traffic after construction, transportation and land-use modeling, the number of I-5 bridge lanes, and the latest design concept for the Hayden Island interchange.

Earlier Hayden Island interchange concepts were presented to island residents and stakeholders at two public meetings in June. The concepts have continued to evolve as a result of stakeholder input and the latest concept (“Concept D”) will be discussed Aug. 5. This week Hayden Island stakeholders and staff from the City of Portland and Metro reached consensus on this newest concept.

After a brief presentation, attendees can share their opinions about the draft recommendations. Comments can be given verbally, in writing or online.

The meeting is scheduled for:

Thursday, August 5, 2010 | 5 – 8 p.m.

(Presentation at 6 p.m.; public testimony to follow)

Jantzen Beach SuperCenter, Community Room (Across from the food court)

1405 Jantzen Beach Center , Portland , OR

More information is available online. The public also can submit comments and questions specifically to the PSC through an online comment form.

The meeting site is accessible to persons with disabilities. Accommodations for people with disabilities or people needing language interpretation can be arranged with advance notice by calling the Columbia River Crossing project at 866-396-2726. Persons who are deaf or hard of hearing may contact CRC through the Telecommunications Relay Service at 7-1-1.

Metro finds CRC toll bridge with light rail would have negligible impact on growth

The Metro regional government released the findings of its forecast of the population and employment growth that would result from building the Columbia River Crossing project. The forecast was completed as part of the collaborative process to resolve outstanding issues that began in April 2010.

The agency finds that the project would have negligible impact on population and employment growth in Clark County , when comparing the projected growth that would occur with the project compared to no change to the existing bridge and highway. The project’s most significant land use effect would be to boost North Portland employment by about 1.5 percent. Findings were based on Metroscope, a nationally acclaimed growth modeling technology that projects population and employment changes in a seven-county area.

These findings confirm analysis completed by the CRC project in 2008 for the Draft EIS concerning the potential for the project to induce land use growth and travel demand. CRC found that the project would not cause significant land use changes in the region’s urban periphery (“sprawl”). CRC reviewed national case studies, reviewed land use policies in both Oregon and Washington , used travel demand models that had been reviewed and approved by a group of national experts, and relied on results from an earlier analysis using the Metroscope model to draw these conclusions. A summary of those results are presented in a 2009 memo.

Additional information on the most recent Metro findings can be found on their website.

Join us at a fair or festival this summer

CRC has had informational booths at various fairs and festivals throughout the summer. Staff is on hand to answer questions about the project and hand out informational materials. In the coming weeks, project staff will be attending the following events:

· Ho'ike & Hawaiian Festival – July 31, Vancouver , WA

· St. Johns Farmers Market – Aug. 21, Portland , OR

A complete listing of summer events where CRC will be present can be viewed in thecalendar on the project website.

Columbia River Crossing contact information

Email: feedback@columbiarivercrossing.org

Mail: 700 Washington St., Suite 300

Vancouver, WA 98660

Phone: 360-737-2726 or 503-256-2726

Fax: 360-737-0294

www.ColumbiaRiverCrossing.org