In today's Oregonian, columnist Steve Duin offered a thoughtful view on Portland Public Schools imminent high school redesign.  I recommend reading it.  Most of his comments align with our recent editorial. But we do differ in one area. The Sentinel recommends that Jefferson become a vocational special focus school.

Duin seems to believe that the redesign is on the right track, but doesn't go far enough. He makes the case that PPS is not looking into the future with it's vision. His case, perhaps, being that the redesign is, at it's least, triage rather than transformation.  Duin does not argue against PPS logic that a reapportionment of students to fewer and larger high schools would level some of the playing field. But he does say that's not good enough for a forward looking school system.

FROM THE OREGONIAN: BELOW THE CUT

Oh, boo hoo, the Sentinel Street Edition has perished. Who cares. That bloody newspaper never printed even one of our video selections. What did the Street Edition ever for do us at SMV? Nothing, that's what! So, crocodile tears is all you get from us. But since everyone is getting all nostalgic and clogging up SMV's precious bandwidth with all their blubbering, we might as well join in. 

We can be nostalgic too.  Remember 'the aughts'? Remember when bands in 2002 and 2003 made us nostalgic for the bands who did identical music in 1982 and 1983?  That's what we miss. We miss a time when we could really feel nostalgic from a really nice clean piece of nostalgia.

Take Swedeish electo-poppers The Knife's 2002 song "Heartbeats," for example. That song makes us miss when new music sounded really old. The song was re-released in 2004 after Jose Gonzales did a seemingly more popular cover of the song on 10-string guitar. The lovely irony is, the cover sounds less nostalgic than the orginal.  The Knife's official video brings it all together, combining Super 8 footage with really old analog video affects. The whole things just makes us wish we could go back in time 7 years when the new stuff made the past look so much cooler than it ever was.

[PS- in SMV's humble opinion, March 4th, 2010 Daily Show- tightest, investigative, self-satirizing, infotainment media artifact in years...is it just a funny show with a unsettling ending or a vast left wing media conspiracy to get the Quants?]

In my five years with The Sentinel, my favorite story was “Crack in Kenton” (November 2006 article not available online).  An ex-pimp and drug addict named Lionel Scott walked into The Sentinel offices in St. Johns one evening in September. He said that he was seeing a lot of drug dealing in Kenton, but he felt that police and neighborhood activists weren’t taking him seriously. 

The newly installed community policing office on North Denver Avenue was not in regular use, and at the time, there were few businesses on the street that could keep an eye on things. Scott street mannerisms might have lead some to be dismissive or suspicious of him.

Scott appeared sincere to me.  He worked as a case manager for True Dialogue, a nonprofit that worked to keep kids off the street.  Scott’s references checked out, and distinguished people in the community such as the Reverend John Tolbert vouched for him.

Over the next two months, I followed Scott and his wife, Stephanie, as they told me of the remarkable turnaround Scott had achieved in his own life, and of criminal activity they saw in the neighborhood around them. 

[Photo of 2005 St Johns Bridge Rededication ~ from offline archives]
In one of my editorials for The Sentinel, I wrote, “St. Johns is always on the verge of nothing happening.”
This area has seen decades of revitalization schemes and big plans floated by developers. The brochures and a trail of defunct newspapers were once laid out for me in the offices of the St. Johns Boosters.  “The only thing that changes is the date,” said then-Booster President Gary Boehm.  But I think history has proved us both wrong.

St. Johns has historically been the commercial and communal center of the North Portland peninsula. While given to insularity at times and dismissed as remote at others, the businesses there rely almost exclusively on customers from North Portland and far Northwest Portland. North Portland and St. Johns residents have a stronger connection to the merchants and the daily life of the town center than any other part of our coverage area.

Where is the Grant Warehouse you ask? Nowhere. The building formerly known as the Grant Warehouse was demolished over 5 years ago, but once sat on NE MLK just south of NE Freemont. The site is now tentatively slated for development as mixed income housing (see below). The warehouse went through a number of uses in it's day. Before it was condemed it was said to have housed a illegal gold extraction operation. The EPA and City spent considerable time and money cleaning up the site.  But the property has sat vacant and un-redeveloped for years.

Some crackerjack reporting here from your esteemed Publisher:  Kenton Library finally slated to open this coming Monday, March 8th! The Grand Opening ceremony's set for next Saturday.  Don't take my word for it; just look at this picture I took of a flyer in a window.  That makes it REAL. The Kenton Branch Library has been in the making for almost 10 years by my reckoning [but here's 100 years of history for you if you want it]. 

When I ran the Portsmouth Press in 2001, activists advocated for a branch along North Lombard Street.  Then-County Commissioner Serena Cruz chose to locate the planned branch in what is now the New Columbia development. Needless to say, that branch never materialized - perhaps to Kenton's benefit. Now, the little downtown strip that keeps getting better will finally have a daily regional attraction (other than the surly butcher shop and "7 Bucks a Whack" barber shop).

Kenton has had other new businesses crop up in the area, but unlike Mississippi or Alberta, the library will add a little more family friendliness to the mix.  This is more of the St. Johns model of neighborhood revitalization: a diverse mix of public services, small businesses and major corporations all in one confined area. (You don't hear St. Johns held up as model very often.) Good for the library, good for Kenton and North Portland and the city. ~ Cornelius Swart

At SMV we often cultivate what we call "emotional texture" meaning things that intentionally produce multiple conflicting emotional experiences at once. Here is a tribute to the great pioneers of this form of affect, the great BBC, 'The Office' (single quotes used in tribute to the Queen's English). We're not sure that the American version ever got as edgy as the British one.  So if you haven't see the BBC version be prepared for the best/worst.

Want to do a good deed for a day? Want to help improve your neighborhood? Want to hold the power to give away money?  Well, now's your chance.  Metro ( Portland's world famous, one-of-a-kind wonky regional government) is recruiting a volunteer from the Cathedral Park Neighborhood to sit on the North Portland Enhancement Grant committee.  Committee members get to award money from the North Portland Trust Fund. The fund was set up as a give-back to the community after Metro located a landfill in St Johns.  The landfill is now closed, but the cash keeps flowing. Good for you, North Portland!  Over the last 22 years the fund has given out an average of $1000 a year to neighborhood improvement projects such as tree plants, farmer's markets and the region's pioneering new "underwear exchange program"  Projects benefit residents, businesses and...ok...I made that last one up... there's no such thing as an underwear exchange program (shudder)... But the money goes to good things.  Read more below.

The photo here is of sidewalk construction along North Lombard Street south of Kelley Point Park.  I happened upon it on a Saturday dog walk.  The multi-use path that runs along North Marine Drive connects Smith & Bybee Lakes with Kelley Point very nicely.  According to ODOT signs, the construction of an extention headed south to North Rivergate Boulevard will be completed this summer.

 A man was found dead in the lot of the old Albina Fuel property near Northeast 32nd Avenue and Northeast Broadway across from the Hollywood Fred Meyer this morning, according to media on the scene.  The police, who taped off the area, including the northeast corner of the Fred Meyer parking lot, described the incident as a "suspicious death." Media reported that a motorist flagged down a police officer at approximately 11am, stating that they had seen the deceased laying on the ground.  The body was removed from the scene at around 4pm.

UPDATE: The Oregonian reports that an autopsy is planned for Monday.

Everyone loves a good show. Looks like the Roughriders are taking on the Wonderful Wizard for this spring's production.  Theater arts classes were recently (2007) restored at RHS, and the productions they have put on under the direction of Jo Lane have gotten lots of great local feedback.  So, you should be off...off to see the Wizard..the...no, I mean the Wonderful Press Release of Oz (below the break).

L. Frank Baum's classic musical, The Wizard of Oz, RSC version,

celebrates 70 years with a production in North Portland at the Roosevelt

When an entirely new St. Johns Boosters board was elected Dec. 7 it marked the end of one major era in the organization's history. With 53 mail in votes cast, the ballot return constituted a record high, according to Gary Boehm, the most recent Booster president. Boehm had been president of the organization since 1996, heading up an arguably unprecedented and insoluble group of leaders comprised of Joe Beeler, vice president since 1997; Debbie Reichlt, member since 1999; Michael Peterson, member since 1999; and “Skip” Martin, member since 1998. All of these stalwart members resigned or relinquished their board seats last year.

The 80-year-old civic and business association has a legacy of activism dating back to 1927. The group played a key role in helping to build such neighborhood landmarks as the St Johns Bridge and Roosevelt High School, the St Johns Plaza and gateway signs.

As expected, some flurries are here. Photo at right submitted last night by William Crawford. If you have a photo of what your corner looks like, please send it in to pub@portlandsentinel.com or post on the site to share with your neighbors.

According to the Portland Tribune, the idea of a 'hip-hop' charter school is one step closer to reality.  This move for a new recording arts high school is occuring during a time of broad speculation about high school closures and that Jefferson High School may be closed under the school district's new consolidation plan. The Sentinel has already speculated that a proposed closure plan might include keeping open the remote Roosevelt High School and expanding its capture area across the Willamette River to include Linnton and Forest Heights.  Jefferson's capture area might then be divided between RHS and Grant, leaving the Jefferson building for repurposing into a magnet school.  A charter school might also be a repurposing option if Jefferson were to close. 

Say what you want about the Portland Police Bureau, but leave this poor pony out of it.  This awesome two-toned beauty is named Tabor,  seen here clopping his way down the street across from the downtown post office around 9am.  Tabor's patrolman is named Officer Searle and he told me that the pony is not to blame for any of the recent police controversies.  (No, not really.  Everyone knows, police officers can't talk.) 

But what is true is that Tabor has this two-toned color because his long, dark winter coat gets trimmed down around his sides to allow him to perspire during exercises in the morning. The trim actually helps keep him cool, even during this weather (I assume) while he's working hard pounding trotting the pavement all day long.  Thanks, Officer Searle and Tabor the "po-po" pony for stopping and for not misconducting yourselves in any way at all.
 

When do you expect to open? 
"About two months ago," said Steve Mason, the owner of Maui's at 3508 N. Williams Ave.  The bright green building is just north of the intersection of North Williams Avenue and Fremont Street. "We hope to be open any day now."

Inside there are two pool tables, a lot of hand tools, a bar ready to hold 15 beers on tap, and three Hawaiian-themed murals on the walls.  

"Maui is my dog," said Mason. Mason says he has been in Portland for the last three years, but he was in the bar business in Hawaii for 25 years. This year, he felt it was time to open his own place in Portland. The name and the look of the interior speaks more to Mason's personal past than to his vision for the business. "There's no tropical drinks or anything. It's just a neighborhood bar."

Byron Beck just did a cart spotting on N. Killingsworth. He's got a bead on it. There are 12 spaces available, indoor and outdoor seating, seperate metered power hook-ups and rents are available at $475 a month. For more information call 503-675-3925.. how do I know all this? Uh...[full disclosure] they ran an ad in this month's street edition.  

FROM BYRON BECK

The New NoPod: Just back from my morning run, and I noticed a new sign up at the corner of North Killingsworth Street and Greeley Avenue.
It said "Refuel Station North."
Now, I knew this space looks like it once held a service station (see above), but this sign indicated the would be filling up the locals here with a different type of "fuel."
yes, NoPo'ers it looks like we are getting a brand new food cart pod a la Southeast 12th Avenue and Hawthorne Boulevard.
Located next to the very cool Sagittarius, already a couple a spots have appeared on the scene.

READ THE POSTING

After covering neighborhood association meetings for almost 10 years in Inner N/NE, I say with all confidence that this was a meeting that should not have been missed.  But miss it I did, and a last-minute attempt to muster a member of The Sentinel's all-freelance staff to cover it yielded no free hands on deck. However, initial reports coming from the meeting, indicated that there was a heated Q&A session between the owners of Rumpspankers and residents. Rumpspankers is now the site of a proposed Cannabis Cafe for medical pot users.  Recently, the space above the building has also been for adult events (see now famous yelp comment) hosted by Dark Lady. The restaurant opened over a year ago and has struggled to find a niche. But the announcement that the space would now go from restaurant to sex club to pot cafe was a bit much for some neighborhood residents.

Despite heated exchanges between WNA and representatives from Rumpspankers and the Oregon chapter of the National Organization to Reform Marijuana Law (NORML), with help from moderators Resolutions NW, no motion to oppose either the adult events or the cannabis cafe was formerly adopted.  A "good neighbor agreement" was suggested, which is a non-legally binding agreement wherein property owners, businesses and neighbors agree on standards and policies of conduct such as business hours, noise levels, etc.  No GNA process was formally adopted at the meeting.
 
Read below for notes from Woodlawn NA secretary Anjala Ehelebe

Brian Driesse stands over an eight-foot-deep concrete well in the plaza of the Edgewater, a 9,700-square-foot retail development he recently built on North Mississippi Avenue.  He’s in the process of pumping water out of a “fire vault.” The vault holds the main water valve that connects the city water line to his building’s sprinkler system.

“I had to connect this value to the main water line,” says Driesse. The water main runs under the city street about eight feet away. “The city charged me $22,000.”

In August, Driesse claims he lost a prospective tenant (and possibly a dozen local jobs) when a jazz club investor walked away from a lease on a 3,600-square-foot space.

Happy Halloween, North and Northeast Portland.  It's verrrrry spooky out there for all those little kiddies, toddlers and knee-biters.  Get dressed up nice and good, little guys. That will keep all the spookies away AND get you LOTS of candy! 

Below is a very spooky classic for all the little ones out there today. Remember, beware the huffalumps and woozles; they want your candy and sweets. But you can keep them at bay with your special costume! See our Don't Miss List for fun parties to go to. Downtown St Johns and N.Mississippi will also have a whole day of candy-giving at the local shops to help keep the woozles away.