Attendees from 36 states and 10 countries traveled to Seattle this week to attend the 2008  International Low Impact Development (LID) Conference, where Sam joined Seattle Mayor Greg Nickles in highlighting the importance of sustainable stormwater management.

.ART SPARK with host:

LAIKA

Here are some of the highlights:

Are you motivated to improve outcomes and opportunities for youth in our community?
If so, this might be the job for you.

Key Responsibilities

 With the current economic downturn the City of Portland has joined with Congressman Earl Blumenauer, Senator Ron Wyden and other members of our Congressional delegation to urge Washington to pass a public- works-based stimulus bill.   Its passage could create more than 8,000 jobs in Portland.

Harvey Milk circa 1977Last week while at a conference on transit oriented development, I was lucky enough to be invited to attend the opening of Milk, Gus Van Sant's new film about the life and times of Harvey Milk. Briefly, Harvey was the first openly gay elected official when he was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977. A year later, Milk and Mayor George Moscone were assassinated by Supervisor Dan White.  Mr. White avoided significant prison time by succesfully arguing that his poor diet caused him to be temporarly insane.

.Wordstock is among the nation's largest literary festivals and it's growing. Sponsored by the Regional Arts and Culture Council, Wordstock is put together by a large staff of volunteers and hosted by Community of Writers.

Wordstock kicks off its fourth year this Thursday and lasts through the weekend.

For a taste of Wordstock, please see some of the new features of this year's program. For example, 50-word essays on
Portland were submitted by local writers and can be found online. "Sleeping Under Bridges" and "Shanghai Tunnels" can be found at www.wordstockfestival.com if you click on the red button in the top right corner.

WORDSTOCK
November 7-9, 2008
Oregon
Convention Center
Full schedule: www.wordstockfestival.com

.Music Matters

City Hall Music Art Show
Thurs. Nov. 6th 5:00-7:00pm

Today, Sam met with the China Merchant Group, a state-owned conglomerate based out of Hong Kong. The group is visiting six cities in the United States in order to meet with green design, planning and architecture firms. Sam wanted to ensure that Portland companies are first on the group's list when contracting American companies for development projects in China. 

Sam observes a buried tank minutes before removal.The City of Portland Brownfield Program has begun work on the first Brownfield Investment Fund project. Sam proposed the $500,000 fund to help address the over 700 contaminated sites that exist across the city.

The Portland Office of Transportation is putting the finishing touches on an innovative solution to a long-standing problem: how to get bikes safely through the Rose Quarter Transit Center.

Two-way path provides safe way through the rose quarter. Picture by J. Maus

Dear Friends,