Dear Friends,

We must come together as a region like never before -- citizens, labor, business, education and government -- to out-innovate, out-smart and out-produce our global economic competition.

Now that the non-native species have been removed, the Sylvan Area Natural Park is ready for some locals. PCC Sylvania students and teachers uncovered the hidden treasures of this park by removing invasive plants over the last several years. Enjoy the creek that runs through it and a new interpretive sign while showing some support for the volunteers who are continuing to work to restore natuarl areas.

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Municipal Maneuvers Art Shows 

Milepost 5 is hosting a panel discussion on the call for affordable live/work spaces for artists and creatives in Portland. The discussion will focus on projects currently in the works and the challenges involved in meeting this need throughout Portland.

The panel includes several developers involved in creating live/work opportunities, artists who are currently in live/work situations, artists who have had experience with live/work situations and Sam who has been a supporter and advocate for developing practical and affordable live/work spaces.

By Jenn Bildersee, BES

Depave at work

Bands played and concrete crumbled as the Towards Carfree Cities Conference kicked off last Monday with Depaving Day. With pry bars and shovels, 150 volunteers began the transformation of a 3000 square foot asphalt parking lot into a community greenspace.

As many as 15,000 Portlanders and neighbors to the region said farewell to foul car fumes a route through North Portland streets at Sunday Parkways, an event where six miles of city streets were closed to vehicles. Walkers, cyclists, joggers, and skaters all came out to enjoy the summer sun. Families were out too, free to enjoy some exercise with their little ones without having to worry about traffic.

Dance groups, DJs, food vendors, pick-up games, child health educators, and many more great activities and entertainers were dispersed throughout four local parks from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.. Sponsors and grants covered the cost of increased police supervision and intersection regulation. Many of those enjoying themselves at Sunday Parkways expressed optimism that there will be more events for their communities to get together in the future.

Columbia Boulevard Wastewater Treatment PlantEveryday Portland's Columbia Boulevard Wastewater Treatment Plant produces over one million cubic feet of biogas, a natural by-product of the sewage treatment process. Now, the City of Portland can use more than two thirds of that biogas as fuel to generate electricity and heat for the treatment plant operations.

The city dedicated two of the plant's generators to biogas, which will generate 1.7 megawatts of electricity per day - enough to power 1,000 homes! That much electricity will supply about half of the treatment plant's daily energy needs. By reducing the amount of electricity the plant purchases, the city is able to recover the project costs in 12 to 15 years.

Division Street Storefront: Open for BusinesssA new phase is beginning in the life of one of Southeast Portland's most storied streets. The Green Street / Main Street Project will continue to examine ways of increasing the livability and economic vitality of the SE Division corridor. Between SE Sixth and SE 39th Avenues, a consortium made up of interests from the Office of Transportation, the Bureau of Planning, private industry, and members of the community. This grup will look at ways of improving the quality of Division Street itself, and of the surrounding neighborhood, in order to make it feel more like a main street, and not just another busy road.

Some of the significant benefits of the second phase of design include: repaving those sections of Division that are in disrepair, improved stormwater management and creation of green streetscapes, design development of the Seven Corners intersection, and looking at ways of better integrating Division with transportation choices made on nearby Clinton and Lincoln Streets.

As Sam's Environmental Policy Director, I work on initiatives aimed to improve watershed health. It's intriguing and complex work and I'm looking for someone intelligent, passionate and motivated to lend a hand.

Portland General Electric's new promotion, "Pick Paperless, Help Habitat" gives an extra boost to the environment when customers choose paperless billing.

Thursday, June 19th 5-7pm 

.Living Room Theaters

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Sunday Parkways June 22nd 8:00am-2:00pm

Sam and Commissioner Saltzman display the freshly signed "Commitment Statement"On Tuesday, June 10th, the Commissioners Dan Saltzman and Sam Adams welcomed community leaders to sign a commitment statement to create a Sustainability Center of Excellence to establish Portland and Oregon as the global leader in sustainability. This commitment statement has been embraced by leaders from the business, academic and nonprofit sectors, and sets in motion a process for working together to develop a large, multi-faceted center.

Community Watershed Stewardship Program partners receive their award from Jimmy and Rosalynn CarterPortland is host to active and concerned citizens willing to take responsibility for bettering our environment. Last week Portland State University and the Bureau of Environmental Services were nationally recognized for fostering this spirit and harnessing the reigns of environmental stewardship efforts through the Community Watershed Stewardship Program.

Old Town Pizza opened its second outpost at the Portland Development Commission-backed Vanport Square development on Thursday with a pizza dough toss that had Sam tossing dough with finesse. The new restaurant is located at 5201 N.E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. one block north of N.E. Alberta Street.