MSANA Temporary

The Portland Development Commission (PDC) will soon be soliciting neighborhood input about the future use of the two vacant lots on the south side of Foster Rd at 72nd Ave. We are currently forming a committee that will shape the official neighborhood association recommendations to the PDC. The property, formerly a used car lot, has been empty for over a year. It was purchased by the PDC in cooperation with the Portland Housing Bureau in April 2011. You can read the Oregonian Article about the purchase here . The Mt. Scott-Arleta Neighborhood Association (MSANA) sees these two lots as pivotal in the development of the neighborhood, particularly as an anchor for the “Heart of Arleta,” the main street area that reaches from Foster to Woodstock on 72nd Ave. The future development of this site has profound implications on the future of the neighborhood, and it is important that we, as neighborhood residents, make our voices heard in the process. The MSANA wants to know what neighborhood re...

Have you been stumped about how to get rid of stuff that just doesn’t fit in your garbage bin, or that they won’t take? We’re helping you clean up with our Annual Neighborhood Clean Up. Saturday, May 5th, 2012, 9am to 2:30pm At the Arleta School We are partnering with the Foster-Powell Neighborhood Association to get dumpsters for metal recycling and bulky waste. We will also be recycling bicycles, block foam, wood and appliances (without freon).  There will be a charge for using this service, and details will be coming soon, but it beats going all the way to the dump! Bring out your junk, and spread the word to your neighbors! This is our biggest fundraiser of the year, and lots of volunteers will be needed to help unload vehicles and keep traffic moving. We expect over 125 car/truckloads of junk, and we need extra hands . It's a great way to spend a few hours volunteering, meeting neighbors and feeling good about your 'hood. We have lots of food and drinks for our volunteers,...

Neighborhood notes recently published this article about improving pedestrian safety in Portland. Unfortunately, Foster Rd. makes an appearance at the top of the list for dangerous pedestrian corridors. Following the January hit and run fatality of 26-year-old Jason Lee Grant on Foster Rd. at 71st Ave., there has been a renewed call to improve safety in our neighborhood. Neighborhood Notes makes an important point in the article. Your Neighborhood Association is an essential part of improving safety in the neighborhood. We are here to help address this pressing issue, and welcome your input and help. The city has approved $325 in funding to address safety concerns along Foster Road, which forms the northern border of the Mt. Scott-Arleta neighborhood. This has brought about a renewed interest in the Foster Streetscape , originally drafted nearly nine years ago. The plan calls for improved transportation including biking facilities, pedestrian crossways, possibly a streetcar, and beau...

Did you know that the Occupy movement is alive and strong in Southeast Portland? The SE Neighborhood Assembly has been meeting every other Saturday at Service Employees International Union building on Foster to address issues of equality and justice as it relates to community health, workers’ rights, and local economy among many other topics. Come join the action and get involved with your neighbors to create a better tomorrow. The next Assembly is March 10 at 3pm.

The MSANA Sustainability Committee has arranged a free workshop to learn about gardening with native plants. This workshop is open to the public and will be held at Mt. Scott Community Center. Naturescaping Workshop from East Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District Naturescaping is the practice of designing (or redesigning) a landscape so that it reduces water use, decreases storm water runoff and pollution while saving you time, money and energy. Join us on Sunday May 20 1:30-5:30 to learn about how you can use naturescaping in your yard. Register here .

The alleyway between 63rd and 64th at Foster Rd. used to be home to a beautiful mural. Unfortunately it became the target of repeated grafitti and it was painted over. With hopes of reducing or eliminating the neglect of this location, a group of friends from the neighborhood has decided to undertake an improvement project. The group also hopes to remove invasive species and encourage increased stewardship of the under-used common land. If you’d like more information on how you can get involved and support their efforts, contact the Mt. Scott-Arleta Neighborhood Association at msananews@gmail.com .

The Arleta School is about to get a new edible garden. The project is set to break ground in April, and was made possible by a grant from SE Uplift.  Public Harvest, Arleta School Boosters, and Mt, Scott-Arleta Neighborhood Association will work to provide on-going maintenance, volunteer and community outreach, and curriculum assistance to support the new garden and the school community. They will work together to  install fruiting shrubs and native plants in the courtyard of Arleta School. Bring your friends and join us to prepare and plant the new garden on our two upcoming work days: April 7 and April 14 from 9AM-noon . Breakfast snacks and coffee will be served.

March and April are going to be busy months at the Holgate Library. Here are some highlights of our upcoming programs: Citizenship classes (March 25 through April 29) noon – 2 pm Prepare for your citizenship interview & study for your test under the guidance of a qualified volunteer E-books & more 101 (March 21) 6 – 7:45 pm Bring your own device or browse the e-readers we will have on hand. Library staff will be on hand to answer your questions and walk you through set up and downloading App-palooza 2012 (April 22) 2:30 – 4 pm Show us your favorite apps and see what apps others are excited about. Library staff and volunteers will be on hand to chat and answer any questions. Food will be served! We will be sharing the apps on twitter & facebook.

Expected to open in 2012! Show your support by signing up today to be one of the FIRST members of the G reen Lents Community Tool Library - it's FREE! Green Lents is working to open a Community Tool Library in the Lents Town Center that will serve the Lents and surrounding neighborhoods. Lents, Powellhurst-Gilbert, Pleasant Valley, Mt. Scott-Arleta, Brentwood-Darlington, and Foster-Powell neighborhood residents are eligible to become library members to check out tools for free when the Community Tool Library opens In addition to tool lending, the Green Lents Community Tool Library will be a space for sharing community knowledge, hosting workshops and meetings, accessing information about local resources and housing both a "do-it-yourself" book library AND a seed-swap library. Starting a tool library takes money, time and ...tools! Visit Green Lents' Blog to see how you can get involved to help get this tool library started! Green Lents on Facebook Green Lents W...

Proposed to open August 2013! PHC Northwest www.phcnw.com "We are in the process of exploring the potential of partnering with PPS and opening a charter middle school in SE Portland. We are still in the public comment phase and would love to have feedback from you Neighborhood." Quick online survey: Give Feedback by filling out this survey (takes less than 1.5 minute) or Print Survey & submit at Meeting. PHC Northwest is proposing a public charter school expected to open August of 2013. The school will be a small, family-friendly environment that emphasizes a team approach to teaching and learning. Located in outer Southeast, the charter option will offer an alternative to the large middle school for families in the Portland Metro area. We seek to create a culture of personal accountability for one's education, preparing students to excel in high school both academically and personally. At a Glance: * Serves middle grades (6-8) * Facility located in SE neighborh...

Hey MSA! First Friday is nearly here, and this first Friday, the lovely ladies of Space Monkey , one of our fav neighborhood coffee spots, are bringing the fun out to our neck of the woods. With art and music, snacks and drinks in the works for this free, kid friendly event, you’d think they were celebrating something. In fact they are! This week marks one year under new ownership, and boy does it show. Jenni and Ania have put some good old fashioned sweat equity into the place, with a scrub down, a paint job, comfy couches, and new local coffee from Cellar Door . If you haven’t been by recently, come by and congratulate them on a job well done this year. Or just come by to see some great music and art. First Friday at the Monkey March 2nd, 6-10 pm Free! Art Opening Chris Haberman and Four great musical acts : Andy Price of Crash Parlor Michael Griffith of Archers Pedal Home Richard Day Reynolds

Mt. Scott-Arleta Neighborhood Association Newsletter Story Submission We want to know what's going on in your neighborhood. Do you have news to share? Would you like to see it published on the blog and in our newsletter? Here's how to get the word out... Deadline : Feb 26th (but sooner the better!) EMAIL story/announcement to this email note: Ideally we'd like to include more information in the newsletter, versus a bunch of presentations at our meeting. We hope that this will clear up some room in our agenda, so we can focus on 'getting things done' and getting to know one another on a personal level. (More people receive the newsletter than come to the neighborhood meetings.) Of course we will still have announcements and presentations, but hopefully we can streamline the effort with using the newsletter as an additional tool. And please (!) let me know if you are interested in helping with this communications effort. Thanks, Terah Beth  | visit Mt. Scott...

Representative Keny-Guyer has been supporting various efforts of the Mt. Scott Arleta neighborhood... from fighting erroneously permitted cell towers to the acquisition of the Wikman Building for development of a grassroots community center, she has been submitting letters to City Council and testifying in front of the County Commissioners on the behalf of our community.  The legislative session is underway and she has scheduled a 'Neighborhood Coffee' at Bar Carlo this Sunday, Feb 19 from 3:30 to 4:30pm. Bar Carlo is located at 6433 SE Foster Rd.   The event will be an opportunity to ask questions and give input as the legislative session moves forward.  Come meet one of our neighborhood's State Representatives, meet some neighbors, and patronize a local business!

Are you involved in planning an action or event? If so, we want you to participate in the next SE Portland Neighborhood Assembly coming up this Saturday Feb. 11 at SEIU Local 503 (4-6 pm). A rough draft of the assembly agenda is available on the Portland General Assembly website: http://www. portlandgeneralassembly.org/ groups/se-neighborhood- assembly/docs/feb-11th-se- neighborhood-assembly-agenda- draft We are still in the process of putting together a structure for the SE Assembly, but in the meantime, many are ready for action now. As you'll see, one of the items on the agenda is announcements of actions and projects that are currently being planned, followed by small group discussion of those actions and projects, with the opportunity to get involved in them. We are hoping individuals can come to publicize specific events they are currently involved in planning. If you would like to do this, please put a comment on the agenda post, so that you and your action can get liste...

tomorrow afternoon will be the inaugural meeting for the Mt. Scott Arleta Survey Project, funded by a grant from Southeast Uplift and in partnership with ROSE Community Development Corporation and the Mt. Scott Community Center. time: 4pm location: 4629 se 64th ave  we will spend our first few meetings getting clear on our vision and purpose statement for the project, setting the goals of the project and establishing how to measure our success in these goals, and doing an asset map of the project team. if you are interested in being a core participant in making this project a reality over the next year and wish to have a roll in crafting its direction, these first few mtgs will be important for you to plug into .  if you are interested in supporting the project by plugging into it in other ways (ie being given a particular task to do such as neighborhood canvassing or data entry) it is not required that you come to these first slue of mtgs, i will be sending out up...

Candlelight vigil to honor     pedestrian killed  on Foster Saturday evening brought somber news to the neighborhood, as it was learned a pedestrian was killed by a hit-and-run driver while attempting to cross Foster Road near 71st Avenue.  Monday morning made the tragedy all the more real, as the victim's identity was revealed, putting a face and name to the most recent traffic fatality on the busy thoroughfare. Jason Lee Grant is the latest victim of high speeds and lacking pedestrian safety on Foster Road. And sadly, there's no guarantee he'll be the last until the city implements real safety improvements, such as safer crosswalks, more visible signage, and better lighting.  The city-identified, high crash corridor has long been known as the "Foster Freeway," and pedestrian safety has historically been overlooked in favor of keeping traffic moving quickly, and sometimes abundantly, through Lents, Foster-Powell, Mt. Scott-Arleta, and Creston...