Mark your calendars! Spring Cleanup is May 31.

Used without permission, copyright IFC. Hey, Fred and Carrie, hope this is cool.

Our Annual Spring Cleanup is scheduled, the park is reserved, it's on the books, as they say.. so mark your calendars! As usual, it's going to be on a Saturday (May 31) from 9a - 2p at Unthank Park/SEI school. We made it a little more affordable this year:

• Walk-ups: FREE
• First bike load: FREE, $5 per bike load after
• Small car load: $10
• Truck load: $20 base fee + more depending on size of load or special items

Interested in volunteering? Here's what we need help with:

• Volunteers with pickup trucks take loads to recycling and reuse depots
• Volunteers to greet, fill out donation tickets, help traffic flow, take $$
• A Volunteer Captain to manage volunteers
• Volunteers to ask for local business donations (food, gift certificates, gifts, etc)

Why should you volunteer?

• Help your neighbors!
• Meet neighbors, make new friends!
• Coffee, donuts/lunch provided, beers after!
• Get volunteer hours for your organization!
• Find out how stuff can be reused and recycled!

Sound like a cool gig for a few hours on a Saturday morning or afternoon? The shifts are 8:30 - 11:30 and 11:30 - 2:30.

Questions? Let me know!

Katy Wolf |  katyewolf@gmail.com    |   208-870-2446

THANK YOU!

53 neighbors use Nextdoor - do you?

Fifty-three people living in Boise have joined a new social network called Nextdoor, which is designed to connect neighbors. It's a free service, similar to Facebook, but based on neighborhood.

From the company website: "Nextdoor is the private social network for you, your neighbors and your community. It's the easiest way for you and your neighbors to talk online and make all of your lives better in the real world. And it's free. Nextdoor’s mission is to use the power of technology to build stronger and safer neighborhoods."

Watch this ABC News report about Nextdoor or read this article. Join here.

Mississippi Ave. Litter Pickup

The weather is starting to warm up. Let's get back out there and make sure we're leaving this place better than we found it. Grab a bag, a pokin' stick and a pal and clean up some litter! 

Bring your own gloves, a plastic bucket and a couple trash bags. Please state below what you'll bring. We'll need to separate trash, recyclables, and compost. I'll also bring some smaller compostable bags for picking up dog waste.

Let's start at the Albina Triangle Park, where Mississippi turns into Albina at Prescott, and work our way towards Fremont. We can drop off trash and recyclables at my house at Missouri and Beech, then go for beers at Stormbreaker Brewing.

The goal of this event is not just street beautification, but meeting neighbors of all kinds and feeling pride and a level of ownership and comfort in our shared space.

RSVP! https://www.facebook.com/events/1029931603814542/?ref_newsfeed_story_type=regular

This is part of a critical mass global initiative through the Facebook group,Give a Shit about Nature. Thanks for the idea and for all you do!

Open Forum: Portland Liquor Licensing and Alcohol Policy

The City of Portland’s Liquor Licensing Program will be hosting a  public forum on City of Portland liquor licensing and alcohol policy.

-          Learn about problem solving strategies with liquor license locations

-          Understand the policies of the City of Portland Liquor Licensing Program

-          Inform City Staff of concerns related to alcohol and the direction you would like to see the City go

We hope you can join us! This is the first in a series of Public Forums that will be hosted over the next few months around the City, and is open to all community members citywide.

Where: King School

4815 NE 7th Avenue, Portland, 97211

When: March 19th, 2014

Time: 6pm to 8pm

Please RSVP to Patrick.owen@portlandoregon.gov or 503-823-4520

Safety and Resource Fair at Grant Park Church

Safety and Resource Fair:

Learn how the government and other resources respond to and prevent sex offenses in the community
 

Wednesday, March 12th

6:00 - 9:00pm

Grant Park Church, 2728 NE 34th Ave.
www.portlandoregon.gov/oni/March12th

Bus route: 70.

Free parking in the lot to the west of the church or on the street.

Please leave children at home. Conversations at the event will only be appropriate for adults.

Workshop Information:

Recent months have brought distressing news about a variety of unrelated sexual offenses in North and Northeast Portland, including a serial flasher, public groping, and sexual assault.

This may have been weighing on your mind and leaving you with a lot of questions. How can I protect myself and my children? What do police do about these kinds of cases? Why do sex offenders do these things? Don’t they have to register? Is there anything I and my neighbors can do? How do I talk to my child about this?

Drop by to ask questions of experts such as: police officers and detectives, probation and parole officers, self-defense teachers, sex offender treatment providers, rape victim advocates, crime prevention coordinators, and more.

Experts will be tabling between the hours of 6:00-9:00pm, ready to answer your questions and pass out handouts. Foot Patrol informational session at 7:00pm.

Sponsored by: Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods, Central Northeast Neighborhoods, and North Portland Neighborhood Services

Brought to you by: City of Portland Office of Neighborhood Involvement and Portland Police Bureau
 

More information: 503-823-2030

www.portlandoregon.gov/oni/March12th

Crime and what you can do about it

If you check out the Portland Crime Map (www.portlandmaps.com) for our neighborhood, it's apparent that theft from cars and vehicle theft are two of the most common type of crimes in our neighborhood. It's also apparent when you're biking down a busy street and see a smattering of broken glass in front of you that you have to quickly zigzag around.

The issue of car break-ins was brought up at our February BNA board meeting by a long time resident who wondered what we could do about it. And unfortunately, a car owned by a person that came to our BNA meeting last night had their car broken into while they were there, and valuable items were stolen.

Here are some resources and tips for dealing with with robbery and car break-ins. First (and this may seem obvious, but nevertheless it’s sound advice), lock your car and if you must keep valuables in your car, put them in the trunk.

The Portland Office of Neighborhood Involvement (ONI) has a designated crime Prevention Coordinator for each group of neighborhoods. Ours is:

Angela Wagnon

503-823-4094

angela.wagnon@portlandoregon.gov

How to Report non-Emergency Crimes and Request Street Sweeping:

(Tip: Add these numbers to your cell phone so you can call them easily!)

• Police non-emergency line: 503-823-3333

Website: http://www.portlandoregon.gov/police/cor/

• Street Sweeping request line: 503-823-1750 (day) or 503-823-1700 (night)

Website: http://www.portlandoregon.gov/transportation/article/319704

The more reports are made to the police non-emergency line in our area, the more the police can become aware of crime trends, which gives us traction to request increased patrols. If they don't know about it, they can't address it.

Crime prevention is in the best interests of both residents and business owners. It is up to us to watch out for each other. Neighborhood involvement is the best way to prevent crime. Walk your street, smile and say hello to people, or at least look them in the face. Keep your porch light on to increase street illumination. If you're really concerned, you can form a Neighborhood Watch, Community Foot Patrol, or just ask your neighbors to keep their porch lights on and keep a watchful eye out. At this moment, I am the only person on the Safety and Livability Committee for Boise Neighborhood. If you're interested in forming a Watch or some other safety and livability initative, email me at katyewolf@gmail.com.

Stay safe,

Katy Wolf

Your Safety and Livability Chair