The Right Brain Initiative has received...

May 13, 2016 at 1:09 PM

The Right Brain Initiative has received a $30,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to deliver systemic and equitable arts programming to K-8 schools in Portland.

The right brain initiative

May 13, 2016

The Right Brain Initiative has received a $30,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to deliver systemic and equitable arts programming to K-8 schools in Portland.

This is the fifth grant the Initiative has earned from the NEA!

The Right Brain Initiative, a program of the Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC), works with local school districts to transform learning through the arts for all K-8 students.

The grant will help Right Brain’s four-year hands-on professional development program, and reach 1,200 area teachers, arts specialists, principals and teaching artists.

Through collaborations between Right Brain, teaching artists, and classroom teachers, the program will serve more than 26,000 K-8 students the greater Portland area.

Nick is proud to serve as City Council liaison to RACC, as it provides equal access to art for everyone in the greater Portland area.

Check out RACC’s website for more information.

54th Annual St. Johns Parade

May 16, 2016 at 1:59 PM

On Saturday, Nick was honored to be a part of the 54th Annual St. Johns Parade.

May 16, 2016

On Saturday, Nick was honored to be a part of the 54^th Annual St. Johns Parade.

The morning started with a pancake breakfast at the home of Willy Myer and Elizabeth Mazzara in North Portland.

Nick rode in a red mustang convertible, and was accompanied by State Representative Val Hoyle, our previous Constituent Relations Coordinator, Jenny Kalez, and our very own, Liam Frost and Betsy Quitugua.

The St. Johns Parade has been a North Portland tradition since 1962. This year, neighbors embraced the parade theme Joyful Living.

Thanks to our friends in St. Johns for hosting another great parade!

Commissioner's Remarks on the City Budget

May 18, 2016 at 12:00 PM

Commissioner's Remarks on the City Budget

May 18, 2016

First I want to offer my sincere thanks to the Budget Office, in particular Director Andrew Scott and the analysts for the two utilities, Ryan Kinsella and Claudio Campuzano.

I also want to thank my bureau teams, my colleagues, Council office staff, and the Mayor for thoughtful and productive conversations over these last two weeks.

While we began with a difference of opinion about whether we needed new revenue to balance our budget this year, we’ve always had a meeting of the minds on values.

Given the additional revenue we had to work with, and the declared Council priorities, there’s a lot to like in this budget.

We have made investments in public safety, helping our Police Bureau better recruit and retain officers – and get them on the street quickly – and preserving 13 critical firefighter positions.

We have committed record funding to address affordable housing and homelessness.

We have restored funding in Audit Services to ensure they have the staff they need to provide independent oversight of City operations.

We extended and expanded a very successful Venture Portland pilot program supporting small businesses in East Portland.

We are supporting a community effort in Cully to reclaim the Sugar Shack site as a new community asset.

We have shielded the arts from cuts.

And we have made modest but important investments in the Village Market, Restorative Justice programs at Resolutions Northwest, and the Rosewood Community Center.

This year will mark the third year in a row I have directed the utilities to bring a combined increase under 5%.

I’m very pleased that we’ve been able to do that, with a focus on basic services like replacing old pipes and preparing for the Big One.

And we have continued to exercise discipline with ratepayer dollars, funding fountain operations and preservation work at Mt. Tabor with the General Fund.

Finally, thanks to our partners at the Citizen’s Utility Board of Oregon, we have reduced the proposed rate increase even further, to 4.45%.

Mayor Hales, this is your last budget.

I believe a significant part of your legacy will be the reforms you’ve brought to our budgeting process – modified zero-based budgeting chief among them – and the discipline we’ve shown in targeting our resources to core community needs, be they public safety, housing and homelessness, or transportation infrastructure.

I’m very proud to vote aye.

Cycle the Well Field

May 19, 2016 at 11:52 AM

On Saturday, join the Portland Water Bureau and the Columbia Slough Watershed Council to celebrate their yearly “Cycle the Well Field” event!

Cycle the Well Field

May 19, 2016

On Saturday, join the Portland Water Bureau and the Columbia Slough Watershed Council to celebrate their yearly “Cycle the Well Field” event!

Cycle the Well Field is a slow-to-moderately paced bike tour of the Columbia South Shore Well Field.

The well field is a series of 26 water supply wells that is used as our backup drinking water source for the Bull Run Reservoirs. It can produce nearly 100 million gallons of water per day!

Thanks to this great groundwater source, the Bull Run can be maintained as an unfiltered water system – providing Portland with some of the best drinking water in the country.

On the tour, you’ll coast through the beautiful, flat terrain and learn all about the safety, hydrology, and history of Portland’s underground drinking water system.

The ride is suitable for beginners to advanced cyclist, but recommended for riders ages 12 and up. Helmets are required and light refreshments will be provided. Bring water and a lunch to enjoy at Blue Lake Park.

To register for the tour, visit the Columbia Slough Watershed Council’s website.

Cycle the Well Field

Saturday, May 21, 8:45am – 1:30pm

Aloft Portland Airport at Cascade Station

9920 NE Cascades Pkwy

Photo courtesy of the Portland Water Bureau