 I’m dedicating time to meet with District 4 constituents both virtually and in their own neighborhoods — to hear what’s on your mind and to provide information on a variety of issues. Please save these dates:
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Northwest District Association: 6-7pm Tuesday, March 31st at Northwest Library, 2030 NW Pettygrove Street.
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Collins View Neighborhood Association: 7-8:30pm Wednesday, April 1st on Zoom.
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Pearl District Neighborhood Association: 5:30-7pm Thursday, April 9th at Pacific Northwest College of Art’s Hammer Room, 511 NW Broadway.
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Sellwood: Joint Town Hall with Councilor Eric Zimmerman and special guest City Administrator Raymond Lee, 6-8pm Tuesday, April 14th at Sellwood Community House, 1436 SE Spokane Street.
 We are all desperate to fix our streets — assets that we all own, whether or not whether we drive on them.
This month my Transportation and Infrastructure Committee discussed recent community open houses around transportation funding priorities. I attended three of the events. It was great to see strong turnout and participation and to gather public feedback across all four Council districts.
Based on what’s working in neighboring cities, the committee will bring a proposal to Council next month to consider these options:
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Transportation Utility Fee: Our transportation system is a utility that benefits everybody — like electricity and water — and should be supported by everyone.
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Street Damage Restoration Fee: When utilities cut into streets to reach water, sewer, gas, or telecom lines, it compromises the integrity of the street and speeds deterioration. A fee to restore the street would ensure that utilities share in the cost of the wear and tear they create.
I spoke with Barry Mangold at KATU-TV about the urgency of the funding crisis. Over the past five years, the percentage of streets in poor condition has increased significantly — from 43% to 64% on busy streets and from 55% to 72% on local streets. If we do not make investments now, we are simply passing the buck and further burdening future Portlanders.
 This month City Council held its first priority-setting work session. This discussion creates a roadmap that will inform the upcoming budget process and sets us up for success under Portland’s first permanent City Administrator, Raymond Lee.
C.A. Lee ended the meeting by telling Council: “These conversations are never easy…. This is the first phase of us truly building a northstar for our organization and our community. We’re at a pivotal point … and where we’ll go for the next 25 years will be dictated by this leadership group.”
You’ll have a chance to hear from Raymond next month at my Joint Town Hall with Councilor Zimmerman. Please join us from 6-8pm Tuesday, April 14th at Sellwood Community House!
 Last week I joined the Portland Trail Blazers and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver to celebrate Women’s History Month as they took on the Utah Jazz.
This month the Oregon Legislature approved a bill advancing modernization of the Moda Center — a generational opportunity that will strengthen our economy, support jobs, and ensure that Oregon’s largest arena continues to serve as a cultural and economic anchor for decades to come. City leaders are committed to continuing this work with our partners to ensure this renovation delivers lasting benefits for Portland and the entire state.
 Last week I met with the Reed Neighborhood Association. We discussed potential budget reductions at the City, Moda Center modernization, TriMet service cuts, and more.
Reed neighbors are encouraged to submit feedback on traffic safety improvements for Southeast César E Chávez Boulevard between Lafayette Court and Schiller Street — an area with a painful history of crashes. The survey at Portland.gov/ChavezSafetyProject closes March 23rd.
 Speaking of Reed, here is some interesting trivia about notable folks connected to Reed College, the neighborhood’s namesake private liberal arts college founded in 1908:
- Amy Madigan, who just won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar earlier this week for “Weapons,” has served on the Reed College Board of Trustees since 2016. She and her husband, Ed Harris, have supported the college’s Performing Art Building as well as a theater production manager position. Their daughter, Lily, graduated from Reed in 2016. Amy’s victory made history as the longest gap between nominations before a win; she was previously nominated in the same category 40 years ago for “Twice in a Lifetime.”
- Dessert and math lovers everywhere recently celebrated Pi Day, but did you know it was founded by a 1961 Reed alumnus? Physicist, artist, and educator Larry Shaw was working as a technical curator for San Francisco’s Exploratorium in 1988 when he came up with the idea of honoring the iconic mathematical constant π — 3.14159. The first Pi Day was celebrated on March 14 at 1:59.
 Last week I visited Multnomah Arts Center, one of the nation’s largest comprehensive community arts centers, serving 6,000+ students every year. During my tour the facility was bustling with activity, from ceramics and textiles classes to art exhibits and self-defense practice!
Each year, 100+ qualified teachers provide instruction in the arts. The music department alone employs 25+ teaching musicians and has about 275 students enrolled in private instruction.
The center is open to everyone regardless of ability, age, race, religion, ethnic origin, or financial means. For more information about class programs, gallery exhibits, and rental rates go to MultnomahArtsCenter.org.
 Have you ever been to downtown’s Union Way mall, between Powell’s Books and The Clyde Hotel? It is a collection of wonderful shops including All Burn Wax owned by Diana Aalberg.
Diana works with 42 local artisans. Collaborators include Laika Studios, for which they made a collection of five candles, with a different scent corresponding to each film.
As a small-business owner and a member of the Asian American and Pacific Islander community, Diana told me about how neighboring retailers watch out for each other with an ethos of “community, not competition.” While she has faced challenges related to public safety, it was wonderful to hear that her business is increasing and that she wants to keep strengthening community in the neighborhood.
 Councilor Zimmerman and I recently stopped by Portland Outdoor Store, a family-owned retailer that has been selling western, outdoor, and workwear on the corner of Southwest Third Avenue and Oak Street since 1919.
The store has dealt with multiple incidents of vandalism, made more expensive to repair due to their huge custom-sized windows. With the support of Prosper Portland’s Office of Small Business, they were able to access the Repair/Restore grant, which not only allowed them to replace boards with windows, but also to change the size of the windows so that future repairs will no longer need custom-sized glass.
Prosper also let them know about an Energy Trust of Oregon program to upgrade to energy-efficient exterior lighting. These lights not only showcase the storefront and cost less to operate, they also enhance lighting on the street and improve the experience for customers and pedestrians alike.
 A human-caused fire significantly damaged the flagship location of Elephants Delicatessen yesterday in Northwest Portland.
“We are grateful for the safety of our employees and customers. We are also deeply appreciative for the response of Portland Fire & Rescue,” Elephants shared on social media. “This is a challenging day … but we remain resolute. Our restaurants are grounded in community, and we are confident in our ability to band together and emerge from this adversity.”
Small businesses like Elephants are the lifeblood of our local economy, and this is a great time to show your support. While the Northwest location is closed, Elephants has several delis across District 4: Fox Tower (812 SW Park Avenue), World Trade Center (127 SW Salmon Street), South Waterfront (2730 S Moody Avenue), and South Portland (5221 S Corbett Avenue) — the spot I frequent!
 The Portland Bureau of Emergency Management is tracking several landslides across District 4. While the record-setting atmospheric river is behind us, here are some resources for impacted households and for future planning:
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Seek shelter: For assistance with disaster response, including sheltering, call 800-RED-CROSS.
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Travel safely: Track the Portland Bureau of Transportation’s road closures at portland.gov/transportation/weather/road-closures.
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Stay informed: Sign up at PublicAlerts.org to receive emergency alerts in your area.
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Be prepared: Portland Fire & Rescue encourages people in hilly areas to have a “go bag” ready. Learn more at RedCross.org/get-help/how-to-prepare-for-emergencies.
 This month the Portland Planning Commission voted to recommend a proposal limiting fuel storage expansion at the Critical Energy Infrastructure (CEI) Hub. City Council will consider it in late summer or early fall.
The project aims to reduce risk in the CEI Hub, located in the Linnton neighborhood near the Willamette River. Sitting on unstable soils, the CEI Hub is vulnerable in the event of an accident or earthquake. The recommended Comprehensive Plan policy and Zoning Code amendments will limit expansions at existing fuel terminals and regulate transloading facilities.
Last year I passed a budget amendment instructing the City to strengthen inter-agency coordination on the CEI Hub and clarify roles and responsibilities for regulating activities at the fuel terminals, mitigating risk, and responding to emergencies.
In addition, I submitted letters in support of legislation before the Multnomah County Commission and the Oregon Legislature to ensure fuel terminal operators have adequate insurance and financial protections ahead of a disaster.
 This week I met with Willie Levenson and Scott Fogarty of Human Access Project, which works to expand public access to the Willamette, advocates for improved water quality, and reconnects Portlanders with their river.
They have a number of projects in the works for District 4, including a public meeting in June about the future of Ross Island and volunteer opportunities to help remove concrete from Sellwood Park and Cottonwood Bay in South Portland. Sign up for updates at HumanAccessProject.com!
 This month I met with urban landscape expert Randy Gragg, who serves as co-director of PDX Design Collaborative and Executive Director of the John Yeon Center at University of Oregon.
Formerly an architecture critic at The Oregonian and editor in chief at Portland Monthly, Gragg launched City of Possibility last year with the largest survey of Portland architecture in the city’s history. They convene creative minds to explore projects and ideas to activate key downtown streets like Southwest Harvey Milk as well as our waterfront.
🎨 Jo Hamilton, “Figo House”
 Want a midday musical interlude? “Concerts on the Downtown Transit Mall” is here to move you!
Enjoy free live music during the lunch hour on Tuesdays and Thursdays through June, transforming city blocks into intimate stages for regional talent. Over the past five years, the series has welcomed more than 500 artists, creating vibrant connections among small businesses, residents, commuters, and visitors throughout 20 blocks of the central city.
These downtown transit mall concerts are made possible through a partnership with Portland Mall Management, the Portland Bureau of Transportation, TriMet, and Pioneer Courthouse Square. For the full lineup and performance locations, go to PortlandMall.org/in-concert-on-downtowns-transit-mall.
 March is Portland Dining Month, and Portland Monthly has compiled a list of the city’s most kid-friendly restaurants. Parents should take note of these eateries in District 4:
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Buranko Café (Downtown): “Buranko features a range of pan-Asian picks…. While parents recline in the basket chairs or at the long communal tables, kids can toddle through the shoe-free play area, with books, a small table with toy trains, and cubbies full of stuffed animals and games.”
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Eb & Bean (Northwest District): “A soft-serve frozen yogurt pioneer that features the milk of happy co-op cows, plant-based fro-yo options, and blackboard shout-outs to local purveyors…. Decked in bright pastels and adorable portraits of the shops’ mascot, a friendly polar bear in a beanie.”
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Sushi Ichiban (Old Town): “For years, it’s been one of the city’s most affordable spots for California rolls and unagi, as color-coded plates make their rotation around the conveyor-belt-turned-toy-train-track, waiting to be grabbed up by tiny-fingered hands.”
 ► KOIN-TV reported on the final meeting of the Arts and Economy Committee, where we discussed the future of downtown performing arts venues, particularly the 100-year-old Keller Auditorium, which needs $290 million in seismic renovations. At the same time, Portland State University is proposing a $650 million Performing Arts and Culture Center. While there are passionate advocates for both of these projects, I reminded everyone: “Where are we going to find the funds to do any of these things? I think we are going to be living with the Keller as is for quite a while.”
► Literary lovers have a new destination conveniently located right next door to Central Library: “Kid Hermes the Trickster,” a used bookshop and art gallery named after the Greek god of travel. Proprietor Doug Lowell told Portland Business Journal: “I believe in downtown. When I was growing up, downtown was where it was at. Seems like it’s time to make it cool again, and I’d like to play my part…. If we don’t take a stand and do something for downtown, it won’t recover.”
► A park in the Multnomah neighborhood has a new name: ‘Scht Wiwnu Park (pronounced Ish-chit Way-el-noo), at Southwest 21st Avenue and Capitol Hill Road, means “path of the huckleberry” in the Ichiskin Sńwit language, according to The Oregonian. The park was previously named after George Custer, a U.S. military officer who massacred Indigenous people at the Battle of Little Bighorn. Portland Parks & Recreation is hosting a Naming Ceremony from 3-5pm Saturday, March 28th featuring native drumming with songs and family-friendly activities including planting and tending in the nature patch.
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