Master Gardeners Speaker Series
“How I grow forty fruit trees, raspberries, marionberries, strawberries, blueberries, grapes, and currants on my 60 by 100 foot city lot,” by Glen Andresen, urban gardening expert and educator.
One doesn’t need a lot of space-or time to grow fruit in the city, and this presentation offers proof! Using appropriate rootstock, espaliered apples and pears, summer pruning, efficient trellising, an innovative homemade irrigations system, compost, and remarkably pampered soil, Glen Andresen has managed to cram a lot of garden into his garden (and freezer). His presentation will concentrate on the labor-saving gardening principles and techniques he has pioneered and embraced to ensure he doesn’t burn out as a gardener.
Since 1994, Andresen has been Metro’s lead natural gardening educator. His program offers presentations and information on how to have healthy yards and gardens without the use of synthetic pesticides.
Andresen took the Master Gardener training in 1991 and is an avid beekeeper who has approximately sixty colonies of bees. Last year his city bees produced more than 3,500 pounds of honey.
He teaches backyard organic beekeeping classes through Portland Community College and he co-founded Bridgetown Bees, a project whose goal is to selectively breed and raise honeybee queens in the city to survive our winters without needing treatment for Varroa mites.
He also is the host of the long-running one-hour edible gardening show, The Dirtbag, the second Wednesday of each month at 11 am on community radio KBOO, at 90.7 FM. A fifth generation Oregonian. Andresen has degrees in economics and music, but still would rather play in the dirt. Enter TaborSpace on SE 54th Ave.
Tuesday, February 12, 7 pm
TaborSpace, 5441 SE Belmont St.
503.445.4608, multnomahmastergardeners.orgÂ
Free event All welcome
Recycling tips for February
By Bonita Davis, Master
Recycler and SE Resident
Sharing a table at a popular SE coffeeshop, “Melissa” and I looked up from our laptops long enough to disclose we were both relatively new to the neighborhood.
We commiserated over the amount for downsizing and clutter control we did during our moves, then my new acquaintance confessed that clutter had crept back into her new space,
I could relate as I too had observed drawers and shelves looking a little “stuffed.” We talked about what was making it so hard to keep clutter down, after all the effort it took to remove it.
Even though we both had proclaimed Never again! there is more work to be done.
We are not alone in this. The LA Times reports the average American home contains some 300,000 items. NPR found that the average size of the American home has tripled in since 1968 and 1 of 10 Americans has offsite storage.
Back to what to do, both of us felt our values and intentions were good and that we were feeling a sense of responsibility to nip this new clutter in the bud.
I turned my focus to shopping habits that would keep unwanted stuff out of the house, and eventually out of the waste stream.
Some tips from the experts:
Use a list and stay on budget. Abundance, variety and unlimited choices can lead to overbuy.
Shop when rested and ready for the challenge. Allocate more money on things you use daily such as good shoes, coats, and essential household items, and less on special occasion items.
Beware of gifts with purchases, bundled items, two-fers that add more stuff to our homes. Bargains and freebies aren’t a deal if they add to clutter.
Organize and inventory what you already have to prevent duplicate buys.
If shopping (online and in store) has become a primary pleasant event or “retail therapy”, it’s time to expand the list of fun things to do. The sky is the limit.
Enjoy a park, go bowling or fishing, visit a friend, take a class, take in a movie, or volunteer. What would be fun for you?
Borrow and share items you seldom use.
Appreciating what we have with a sense of gratitude can help decrease the need to collect even more stuff.
I think a couple of these suggestions will make a difference.
“Buy less. Choose well. Make it last.” – Designer Vivienne Westwood.
Electric Scooters are back
Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) has announced plans to conduct another trial for electric scooters.
Saying the prior trial (August-November of 2018) was not long enough to accurately gage scooter use, PBOT indicated that preliminary results did show substantial reductions in vehicle trips by scooter users with each use averaging a little over 1 mile in distance.
The new test period is supposed to start in the spring and has been authorized by Chloe Eudaly, the Commissioner in charge of PBOT.
Of note, 176 people were injured and required emergency room treatment during the previous trial period. Safe use of the scooters is a primary concern.
For example, helmets were required for scooter use on city streets, yet scooter rental did not include helmets.
Scooters tended to block sidewalks and, many users rode them on sidewalks or within City parks, which was prohibited by the trial. Enforcement of scooter use is an issue the City needs to resolve if such use is ultimately expected to become a permanent transportation option. Otherwise, liability issues will be substantial.DK
 Fifty units for vets
Do Good Multnomah opened their new project, Sandy Studios, 3800 NE Sandy Blvd. to provide fifty units of permanent supportive housing for Veterans experiencing houselessness and housing barriers.
In 2017, 11.9 percent of the population experiencing homelessness in Multnomah County identified as Veterans, compared to just 5.2 percent of the general population of the County identifying as Veterans.
This disproportionate number of houseless Veterans here needs to be assisted in a manner that doesn’t treat those affected as a problem, but offers human support for human issues and needs.
In opening the Studios, Do Good Multnomah expands their permanent supportive housing program by fifty units. Sandy Studios has a robust onsite staff consisting of case management and social workers. The goal is to provide a safe community for Veterans to thrive.
Blue jeans forever
By Jen Coleman
Do you have piles of old denim waiting to become somoething else?
The Oregon Environmental Council’s Climate Program Director tells of a company that collects old jeans to make building insulation.
Buildings insulated with denim can be warmer, quieter and result in better indoor air quality, too. Visit bluejeansgogreen.org to find out where you can drop off denim to be turned into insulation.
Manufacturing jeans can be hard on the environment, using toxic chemicals and dyes, energy- and water-intensive cotton, and a lot of water in the factory. A pair of Levis 501s uses 998 gallons of water in its full lifecycle, 70% of which goes directly to growing cotton.
The good news is that the industry is slowly changing. Alex Penadés of Jeanologia estimates that, in the past three years, the amount of jeans using more sustainable processes has grown from 16% to 35%. Organizations like the Sustainable Apparel Coalition are bringing companies together to change practices.
What can you do to lighten up the impact of your denim?
Buy second hand. When you get “pre-worn” jeans at the thrift store, you’re not only reducing the impact of new clothes, you’re diverting material from the waste stream.
Buy responsible. Research your favorite brand and look for commitments to reduce water use, reduce toxic chemicals, and reduce climate pollution.
The Better Cotton Initiative members and Sustainable Apparel Coalition are good places to start.
Wash your jeans less often. Most people in the U.S. wash their jeans after wearing them twice. By wearing them ten times, you can chalk up a reduction in your water and climate impact. Manufacturers actually recommend washing less to extend the life of your jeans.
Recycle a wider range of clothing through gemtextrecycling.com and check out oregonmetro.gov, Metro’s tool to find resources for safe disposal of almost anything.
Hole left in music community
The Christmas passing of composer James R. Day is a significant loss for Portland’s sacred music community.
A true Renaissance man, Day was an educator, organist, choirmaster, occasional prankster and mentor to all who knew him.
Husband to classical cellist Jane Sanborn Day, father to three, and grandfather to six, Day grew up in the Mt Tabor neighborhood.
His family owned the Day Music Company on Foster Rd. for five generations. The Day Theater and Arts Building still bears the family name.
A Franklin High graduate, he earned his Masters in Music at the University of Portland and taught at Warner Pacific University for twenty years.
Throughout his storied career, Northwest organizations and churches commissioned him to write music. In 1996, the Oregon Music Teachers Association named him Composer of the Year. After 9/11, he was selected to compose an anthem as tribute to the victims.
When his kidneys failed, his sister Janet donated him one of hers. A year after the transplant, he completed the ethereal “By This We Live,” which set to music poems from two devotional anthologies.
He wrote musical scores for his children when they were born and when they married. At one point, he had a three rank pipe organ in his home.
A true original, Jim Day was deeply spiritual and had a quirky sense of humor. He was as much at home fishing on the Coast or building canoes as he was explaining C.S. Lewis, deconstructing Dietrich Bonhoeffer or opening the stops of the grand organ at Mt. Tabor Presbyterian Church where, as music director toward the end of his life, he served as organist. It was a position he first held as a teenager in the 1960s.
In recent years, he conducted a Night Prayer service of calming, taize-style chants.
At his December Celebration of Life, the Church’s overflowing pews were testament to how much his talent, friendship and guidance is missed.
Bridger PTA Hosts Annual Auction
Saturday, March 16, at 5:30 pm
Madeleine School & Parish,
3240 NE 23rd Ave.
 The Bridger School PTA auction directly benefits its students. Funds provide support for educational field trips, after school classes, and teacher and classroom supplies.
The auction is open to the public. Admission is $40 per person, $80 for a pair, and $300 for a table of eight.
Admission includes dinner from Delilah’s Catering, one drink, and the opportunity to bid on a vacation in Sunriver, a week in Maui, tickets to the Timbers and Thorns, and artwork created by Bridger students.
See tinyurl.com/y7p6tmcs to browse auction items and purchase tickets.
Bridger is a K-8 school celebrating a diverse community, engaging the creative minds of its students and challenging them to achieve their full potential.
Located in Mount Tabor’s Montavilla neighborhood, the school offers a neighborhood and a Spanish immersion program.
For information, contact auction co-chairs Katie Purk at 713.898.3761 or Shelley Moore at 503.957.8891 or email auction@bridgerpta.org.
Compassionate Change District
Seventeen community groups announced the release of a comprehensive plan to curb Portland’s punitive policies toward the houseless population in the Central Eastside Industrial District (CEID). Details are now available at ccdpdx.org.
The coalition demands the Enhanced Service District proposed by the CEICouncil to Portland City Council January 17, be amended to direct funds raised toward proven solutions that fix, rather than paper-over issues of safety, cleanliness and livability, as outlined in their plan.
The Compassionate Change District (CCD) will direct funds to safe and accessible bathroom, laundry, shower, and waste disposal facilities for use by our houseless neighbors. The plan will create safe places for people to sleep and park their vehicles, and develop training and paid jobs for unhoused workers to facilitate these programs.
The District will be run in a democratic, transparent manner, making use of science and trauma-informed methods to carry out its programs. The plan will be less costly both in the short term and long term than the Enhanced Service District currently put forth by the CEIC business group for the area bordered by the Willamette River, SE 12th Ave., Interstate 84, and SE Powell Blvd.
Dan Trifone, manager of the Clark Center Shelter, says, “I run a shelter for individuals experiencing homelessness in the Central Eastside and I see firsthand that our policy of shuffling people around isn’t working.
“The Compassionate Change District plan has the solutions we need to help our neighbors who are on the streets. I fully support these ideas and this proposal.”
Researchers, community groups and faith leaders have joined in solidarity with houseless neighbors to create the CCD plan.
The CEIC plan of over-policing, sweeps, and criminalizing people’s basic survival is inhumane, expensive, and ineffective. These policies force communities into adversarial positions based on housing status rather than allowing us to bond and solve problems as neighbors.
John Elizalde of the Interfaith Alliance on Poverty says, “It’s not a choice between punishing human misery and doing nothing. It’s about choosing something innovative which works. We need to consign the punishment model to the dustbin of history. Instead, let’s ensure our unhoused neighbors can finally sleep safely and access the bathrooms, water, and trash services our city and businesses currently refuse them.”
CCD includes: Dan Trifone, Right2Survive; Operation Night Watch; Western Regional Advocacy Project; Compassion 4 Homeless PDX; Clark Center; Trash for Peace; Taylor Cass Talbot; Sisters of the Road; Portland Jobs with Justice; JOIN; Interfaith Alliance on Poverty; Portland-Metro-People’s Coalition; Stroll PDX; Don’t Shoot PDX; Portland DSA; Portland Tenants United; BerniePDX/Our Revolution; East Central NAC Portland Assembly, with more signing on every day.
CALLING ALL YOUNG ARTISTS:  The Fair Housing Council of Oregon (FHCO) presents their 21st Annual Fair Housing Poster Contest theme: Everyone is Welcome in My Neighborhood. Participation in this year’s poster contest educates our youth on how fair housing laws protect all Oregonians against illegal housing discrimination by promoting equitable access to housing and economic choices. Students in the 1st through 8th grades are encouraged to design and submit a poster exhibiting the importance of acceptance and diversity in our neighborhoods. The top contest entries receive cash awards and the chance to showcase their artwork throughout Oregon. Posters must be horizontally-oriented on an 11”x17” sheet of white paper or poster board to qualify. All entries must be received no later than 5 pm on Friday, March 15. To apply, contestants submit entries to: Fair Housing Council of Oregon, 1221 SW Yamhill St. #305 Portland, OR 97205. For information and details visit: fhco.org/index.php/news/poster-competition. Questions or interested in volunteering? Contact Eleanor Doyle, Program Assistant at edoyle@fhco.org
H MART  IS OPENING in March of 2019. They will be in the old Zupan’s building at 3301 SE Belmont Street. They applied for a liquor license in mid-December 2018 and it was accepted by OLC in mid-January 2019. The liquor license application confirms a few other tidbits: their plan is to have a food court with 25 seats and hours of 8 am – 9:30 pm Monday to Sunday.
SAVE THE DATE! Annual Meeting, Friends of Mt. Tabor Park. Mark your calendars for Tuesday, March 12, 7 pm for the FMTP meeting. This year’s meeting will be at TaborSpace, 5441 SE Belmont St. Doors open at 6:30 pm with refreshments and information about the group.The Meeting will include reports on last year’s accomplishments, announcements, and election of board members and begins at 7. Want to join the board? Contact taborfriends@gmail.com for details. FREE Mt. Tabor Park Tree Identification Walk Sunday, February 17 at 2 pm – Meet at the Mt. Tabor Visitor Center in the main parking lot, rain or shine. Bob Rogers leads guests on a walk to identify many species of trees found in the park.
VIKING PANCAKE BREAKFAST FEBRUARY 10 – Enjoy the best breakfast in town and start the day with all-you-can-eat Viking pancakes, scrambled eggs, sausage links, fresh fruit, strawberry compote, lingonberries, orange juice and coffee or tea served in the Bergen Dining Room at Norse Hall, 111 NE 11th Ave. 8:30 am – 12:30 pm. Adults $8, Children ages 5-12 $4, Children under age 5 are free. Parking is free.
 COOKING & CALLIGRAPHY CLASSES in SE Portland. February 9, 11 am. Oh Honey Cookery and Rock Paper Calligraphy present a workshop in Chocolate Calligraphy. Learn basic hand-lettering then create filigree hearts and monograms for cupcake and cookie toppers. Upcoming Mardi Gras cooking classes and calligraphy classes for adults & children. Spring Break Kids Cooking, Craft & Uke Camp. Class and contact info:@ ohhoneycookery.com / rockpapercalligraphy.com.
DOES PORTLAND’S SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT WORK? presented by City Club of Portland, February 12 at Alberta Rose Theatre, 3000 NE Alberta St. The program includes a history of the commission form of government in Portland and around the country; key findings in the report that articulate the long-standing challenges residents and leaders have faced working within the current structure; an outline of the research process; a question and comment period; a kickoff of the member vote on whether to adopt the research. Celebrate the launch of City Club’s first major report in almost two years and to look critically at how our city is governed. Door open at 5:30 pm Sliding scale $5-$20.
DIY DIGESTIVE BITTERS WORKSHOP, Saturday, February 9, 5-7 pm at People’s, 3029 SE 21st. After a long winter help your digestion with a class in how to prepare bitters. They are a traditional way to keep digestion functioning. This class will discuss digestion holistically, taste various bitter elixirs for inspiration, and how to blend custom Bitter blends to use at home. There is a small fee and financial help is available. Contact communityroom@peoples.coop, or call 503.674.2642.
Meeting the Needs of Tech
Warner Pacific University announce the launch of sourceU, a school of innovation and technology to empower students with the right skills, education and support to become leaders in tomorrow’s tech industry.
In partnership with Portland’s top code school, Epicodus, and the innovative team of cybersecurity professionals and educators at Riperia, sourceU combines the industry-focused skills that a code school brings with the supporting resources and expertise of a well-rounded education from their parent university.
The next decade will see the creation of more than a million new developer jobs, and 400,000 will be filled by computer science graduates.
Similarly, the creation of CyberOregon and recent prominent data breaches underscore the need for more qualified workers in different areas of cybersecurity.
The tech industry in the Portland Metro Area is growing dramatically and demand for tech workers is strong across all industries.
Tech companies have relied on in-migration, poaching, and their professional networks to fill vacancies. The result is a local workforce that is nearly 90% white. Too many talented people from more diverse backgrounds, including women, are not participating in this growth.
Warner Pacific is launching this new initiative to meet the higher education needs of twenty-first-century students and the tech industry.
sourceU will initially offer: Associate Degrees in: Cybersecurity / IT; WEb andmobile Development.
It will offter Bachelors Degrees in Cybersecurity and Digital Production Design.
“We believe partnering with an accredited, degree-granting program will make our education more accessible to under-represented and low-income students. Until now, students without a college degree had to choose between an employment-focused education like Epicodus offers,
Learn more about sourceU at sourceu.warnerpacific.edu. For more information about Warner Pacific University, go towarnerpacific.edu.
