Milagros

The Oregon Environmetal Council has launched a Healthy Kids Campaign that is advocating for new legislation on the state level designed to eliminate some of the environmental threats facing Oregon’s children. Here is more info from the OEC on this and how you can get involved:

• The Children’s Safe Products Act of 2009 will protect children from toxic chemicals in toys, baby bottles and other products by prohibiting the use of dangerous chemicals and providing information to make safer buying choices. Read more about the Children’s Safe Products Act
• The Oregon Healthy Schools Act will help reduce student and staff exposure to chemicals, integrate green building principles in the design and construction of school facilities, and reduce facility maintenance and operational costs. Read more about the Oregon Healthy Schools Act.

There are many ways you can get involved in the Healthy Kids Campaign and make a difference. Make no mistake, we are facing entrenched, well-funded special interests in Salem as we advance these proposals to make Oregon a healthier place for us all to live. On this page you can find easy access to resources that will help you connect with your legislator, as well as ideas for making your own home environment a healthier place.

Thank you to Lisa at Activistas for letting us know about this campaign.

From UrbanMamAS…

Parents for Paid Leave is still at it!  Our state legislature kicks into action in January, so we’re busy getting our ducks in a row and biggering our Facebook group so we can pack a punch and bring paid family leave to Oregon.  By joining the Parents for Paid Leave Facebook group, you’ll show your support for the issue and help us function well as a group - sending letters to key legislators, testifying in Salem, planning media events, and sharing our stories (they really, really matter) - among other things. 

Of course you can just join and nada mas and we’ll happily feel the love of solidarity.  If you’ve got friends, family, partners, co-workers in Oregon who support this, by all means, share the invite.  We need all. the. help. we. can. get.  Let’s hoe that tough row together, mamas. 

Join here now.  It’s easy.  It’s important.  Let’s pass this!

Yes, NE Portland residents, that IS the sound and sight of F-15 fighter jets roaring over residential areas at low altitudes. You are not going crazy.

The Oregon Air National Guard has been practicing combat-style landing patterns in the area as a “test”. Typically, these drills have been practiced outside of residential areas. However, the National Guard is hoping to make the practice of military maneuvers over local residential areas a permanent fixture.

Let me RESTATE that, although NO public outreach or notification regarding military combat training over residential areas occurred, what you are hearing and seeing now is a TEST that could become a permanent experience.

The present “test” will proceed until the end of February, then the Port of Portland will decide whether to allow this to continue ad infinitum or not. Basically, what is being tested is your tolerance.

The Cully Association of Neighbors (CAN) has come out formally against this making this testing permanent because of the noise and safety concerns. The Concordia Neighborhood Association intends to take a formal position on this issue at its December Board meeting.

However individual residents and businesses are free to voice their concern about low-level military maneuvers in the area IMMEDIATELY by contacting the Airport Noise Complaint line at 503-460-4100 and/or sending a letter to the Jason Schwartz, Noise Program Manager PO Box 3529, Portland. OR 97208.

As always, it never hurts to also contact the Portland City Council about your concerns.

At the Concordia Neighborhood General Meeting TONIGHT! Tuesday, November 11 at 7 pm in the Community Room of the Kennedy School (5736 NE 33rd Avenue, Portland, OR 97211). The November General Meeting on November 11th will be election night for the Concordia Neighborhood Association. We will be voting on new by-laws for the CNA and electing new neighbors to serve on the CNA Board of Representatives.

Do you live in Concordia? Are you are ready to help shape our neighborhood? Come to the meeting tonight and let us know! This is your big chance! 

I am having a terrible time staying focused today.  Last night was spent witnessing a breakthrough moment with my family and it is hard to wrap my emotions, thoughts, and words around the enormity of what has occurred.

We gave hope a ferocious embrace last night. It is good to have it back.

God bless America!

On October 22, the Portland City Council reaffirmed formally rejected the comprehensive plan amendment that would’ve rezoned most of Colwood National Golf Course from open space to industrial. The full details are available here: Council Findings on Colwood

What’s next? Although this is the City’s final decision on this matter, the applicant may still appeal the decision to the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA), within 21 days of the date of decision.

We remain hopeful that an appeal will not happen.  More importantly, we hope that the landowner will work with the Trust for Public Land to transfer that property to public ownership at a fair market price. If they don’t want to run the golf course anymore, let’s make a Colwood Regional Park.

Hey Oregonians! It is election season. Your ballot should have arrived in your mailbox by now. If it didn’t and you are registered, you should definitely give your local county elections division a call.

There is a lot on the Oregon ballot this year. Some of it can be confusing and overwhelming. We strongly encourage you to take the time to learn about the various initiatives on the ballot to inform your final decision. We don’t make it a practice to provide public endorsements of specific candidates or initiatives, but in some cases we do like to share our opinions and feelings.

For instance, we count ourselves among the many small business owners who strongly endorse Barack Obama for president. Also we have previously written about our support for renewal of the Portland Children’s Levy. Today, we wanted to encourage you to vote NO on Measure 58.

What is Measure 58? Measure 58 would mandate that all school districts in the state limit bilingual education for non-English speaking students to one or two years, depending on the child’s age.

The underlying presumption of the Measure’s author, Bill Sizemore, is that school districts using bilingual and dual  immersion programs (such as those found at Beach and Atkinson Elementary Schools in Portland) to meet federal requirements (Title VII) are intentionally extending their programs and delaying student progress in an attempt to get more funding.

That is quite an accusation and, as will happen in politics, no credible evidence of any kind has been offered to support this indictment of Oregon’s school districts. Instead, voters are being asked to support a Measure that purports to solve the problem that simply does not exist.

Since it doesn’t have a problem to solve, what will Measure 58 do? Without a doubt, our education system requires some checks and balances. However, most people would agree that how to best serve students should be determined as close to the classroom as possible. Measure 58 would impose a one-size-fits-all approach to bilingual education and take decisions on how to best serve the needs of non-English speaking students out of the hands of local school districts.

If Measure 58 passes, who will control what happens in the classroom for these students? At least initially, it will be the courts.  Passage of Measure 58 will require extensive – and expensive – review within the courts to determine what it really means.

Education policy is not simple; there are a lot of federal and state mandates already. Among other things, imposition of Measure 58 could undermine the ability of local school districts to fulfill federal requirements outlined in No Child Left Behind Act and the Bilingual Education Act.

What’s the bottomline? Measure 58 is a solution to a problem that does not exist. But imposing Measure 58 on local school districts could create a whole host of real problems.

Thankfully, there is an easy solution: Vote NO on Measure 58.

Thanks for listening

I am home with strep throat and I am sick and bored and perhaps a wee bit cranky. But this made me laugh:

Just like Ron, Henry, and Andy, we support Obama. We hope you will too.

Here is something elso to add to the long list of great ideas coming from local Mamas…Three local Portland Moms - Amy Paterson, Melissa Moore & Stephanie Smith- are championing a very simple but powerful idea: low-cost, on-site, clean and safe child care for kids at hospitals.

You can find drop-in child at Ikea, your local Fred Meyer, 24-Hour Fitness, and at Multnomah County Court, among other places, but not at any local hospital or medical facility. As you can imagine, this type of offering would be heaven-sent support for many families, it would allow them to focus on their medical care and health and not endure the added stress of juggling child care during a significant ailment.

To help bring on-site child care at hospitals and other medical facilities, Amy, Melissa, and Stephanie founded “My Little Waiting Room” as a non-profit in December.  They have received a grant from Avon to help get their effort off the ground but they currently have a opportunity to receive significant funding if it is selected as one of the top five Members Project by American Express Cardholders.

So if you are a Amex Cardholder, you can help My Little Waiting room through the power of a mouseclick! Log-on and cast your vote for “My Little Waiting Room” NOW! Voting ends at Midnight on Monday, 9/29! So don’t delay!

As a member of the Concordia Neighborhood Association, I am helping organize a candidate debate on 10/7 at 7 pm between Portland City Commissioner candidates Charles Lewis and Amanda Fritz in the Gym at the Kennedy School (NE 33rd & Jarrett).

We are hoping for a great turnout and will be providing free childcare from 6:30pm – 8:30pm in the Community Room at Kennedy School.  There are only so many slots, so if you know in advance you will need child care please send an email to Anne Rothert at arothert@gmail.com

AND if you live in Concordia Neighborhood, please consider serving on the board! Our neighborhood elections are 11/4.