HAND
By Jill Riebesehl
At the HAND Board’s November meeting, it was all action. We celebrated the opening of the Gideon Overcrossing, voted to support Quiet Clean PDX in its efforts to eliminate the use of gasoline-powered leaf blowers in Portland, voted to give $300 to St. Philip Neri’s Thanksgiving Dinner and adopted the draft list of SE Hawthorne Special Buildings created by the folks behind PDX Main Streets Design Guidelines.
With that, we acknowledged there will be no holiday party and, unless there is a need, no December meeting. Looking into January and beyond, we anticipate a visit from state Rep. Rob Nosse and would like to hear from the new City Council members about their agendas.  Â
Montavilla Neighborhood Association
By Jacob Loeb
Montavilla Neighborhood Association (MNA) completed its first entirely online election in November. Two new board members joined the eight people whose seats were not up for election this year. Taylor Wells is the new Public Safety Chair and Jacob Loeb takes the position of Corresponding Secretary.
Montavilla Farmers Market announced an expansion to year-round operation. Beginning November 8, the Market will open on the second and fourth Sundays of the month, 10 am-2 pm. This twice-monthly schedule will run from November through April, with a special Holiday Market, December 20. The Market will be closed for the holidays on December 27.
PBOT is conducting a survey of East Portland residents regarding a newly expanded Greenway parallel to 82nd Ave. Dubbed the 70s Greenway, Portland’s newest bicycle and pedestrian path will run through Montavilla. Significant changes to NE Halsey are proposed to calm auto traffic near the Greenway. Participation in the survey will help PBOT make informed choices to improve bike and pedestrian access while keeping it functional for everyone else. The survey is available at surveymonkey.com/r/C6FRKPF.
Montavilla has many wonderful shops and restaurants that would benefit from being part of your holiday activities. Please consider ordering food and drinks from local restaurants and shopping for gifts locally this year. MNA hopes to spotlight as many local businesses as possible, but look at metba.org or research other local establishments to visit this season.
The next MNA meeting will be held online via Zoom on December 14, 6:30 pm. Join live or listen to the recorded audio of the meeting at montavillapdx.org.
Mount Tabor Neighborhood Association
By Sharon Nobbe
MTNA hosted a community meeting November 18 on Zoom. We invite you to join in and support our residents by volunteering time or contributing food or monies to local food drives.
Enrollment balancing for SE middle schools by the Portland Public School district nears completion with final recommendations in December. Get info and provide your input at pps.net/enrollmentbalancing.
Brian Mitchell, VA anesthesiologist, shared COVID-19 in Oregon, a reflection on the year, current look at the third wave and recommendations for reducing exposure to the virus. Wearing a mask combined with social distancing lowers exposure for yourself and others. Be safe, follow the Oregon Health Association guidelines and live for more Mt Tabor news in January.
MTNA will host a community meeting on Zoom Wednesday, January 13. Find links for this and future meetings, under the Meetings and Events tab of our website, mttaborpdx.org. All residents living or operating a business in the neighborhood are welcome.
MTNA creates a monthly newsletter about important civic issues, which you can find on our website next to each month’s meeting minutes.
Richmond Neighborhood Association
By Allen Field
The RNA meets the second Monday of the month, 6:30-8:30 pm and everyone is welcome. Agendas are posted on richmondpdx.org and sent out via the RNA Announce listserv. Recordings of monthly meetings are linked on our website if you want to hear them. Meetings will be via Zoom until further notice Preregistration is required and the link to preregister is on the agenda. To be added to the RNA’s listserv, email richmondnasecretary@gmail.com.
At the November 9 monthly meeting, we were very fortunate to have House Representative Dist. 42 Rob Nosse give us a debriefing on the recent election results. He gave an overview of what he sees on the political horizon in Oregon the next three to six months. House Democrats still have a super majority, but not a quorum proof super majority that could prevent future walkouts by Republicans. He discussed the various ballot measures that passed and changes to current programs. Listen to the audio of the meeting (accessed via the RNA website) if you want to listen to his detailed comments. Of note is the possibility that Governor Brown could be offered a position in the Biden administration. If she accepts, Secretary of State Fagan would fill governor’s seat.
The Board voted to donate $500 to support the Hawthorne Blvd Business Association’s (HBBA) efforts to create a plaza at SE 37th and Hawthorne, south side. The street had been closed off for a few months and recently opened to traffic. The current idea is to close off the street on weekends for neighboring and local businesses and having seasonal and periodic events, such as a Christmas bazaar and a BIPOC pop-up marketplace.
The planning for the plaza is in the early stages and closing off the street is a temporary idea while we are in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic to help support local businesses with a safe dining area and to provide a neighborhood-oriented safe gathering space. The RNA encouraged HBBA to engage in a community planning process on this project. Board members noted they would like issues addressed like noise, trash, community serving spaces, COVID-safety precautions and more communication between neighbors and the HBBA, possibly in the context of the Good Neighborhood Agreement process.
Simon Kipersztok, RNA Newsletter Editor, is putting together a Winter issue of the Richmond Newsletter. We are reactivating our newsletter distribution network. If you want to help distribute the newsletter, contact rnanewsletter@gmail.com.
The RNA’s next meeting is Monday, December 14. To get on the agenda, the agenda request form is on the RNA’s website.
South Tabor Neighborhood Association
By Ute Munger
The Spring and Summer months have gone by leaving us with diminishing energy and stress due to the pandemic that is affecting most, if not all of us. Wishes for a safe upcoming Holiday Season and Hope for Peace and continuous betterment in the New Year to you and yours and all residents in South Tabor.
Love thy neighbor but keep the distance. Be well and stay upright!
For information on Board and general meetings, visit southtabor.org.
Sunnyside Neighborhood Association
By Dave Boush
At the November 12 SNA General meeting, we hosted Oregon House Representative Rob Nosse. Rob not only won reelection but will be the House Majority Whip in the coming House session. He briefly presented his thoughts about the election and expectations for legislation, then fielded questions. Some key points in the discussion:
• Democrats are likely to emerge with supermajorities in both the Oregon House and Senate, enabling them to pass legislation increasing services during the pandemic.
• Contrary to controversies that make the news, Republicans and Democrats in the House agree 90 percent of the time. They can work together if shown mutual respect.
• The Legislature is keenly aware of the concern with forest fires and will make that problem a priority.
• Many tax increases, for example on beer or breweries, face strong headwinds.
SNA heard from TJ Browning, Laurelhurst Neighborhood Association Safety Chair, about the camp in Laurelhurst Park and LNA recommendations on houselessness to the city. The LNA recommendations largely align with the Community First Strategy to Address Houselessness in Portland which can be found on the SNA website at sunnysideportland.org/comfirst-draft.
SNA voted to endorse the Community First Strategy and encourage SEUL and other neighborhoods to join in that endorsement. At the risk of oversimplification, there seems to be broad agreement that the current policies are not working, that we need short, medium and long term solutions, and that the cost of these solutions is less than the cost of inaction.
Specific plans, especially in cooperation with LNA, will be discussed at the December 10 general meeting. Zoom details to join are posted on the home page at sunnysideportland.org. Stay safe.