Portland News and Events for April and May

Photo: Sawant joined hundreds of people in Seattle last month to march from Judkins Park to Seattle Central Community College to show their support for a $15 minimum wage for Seattle workers.  

Flash Mob to Celebrate Portland Trailblazers

Entrepreneur Andre Miller is organizing a flash mob to celebrate the Portland Trailblazers success this season.

Portland entrepreneur Andre Miller is organizing a flash mob to celebrate the Portland Trailblazers success this season. The event will be filmed. The Blazers are 53-28 putting them second in the Northwest Division, and setting them up for a run at the post-season playoffs.

Fans are invited to join the crowd, 3 p.m. Saturday April 19 at Lloyd Center Mall ice skating rink, and sing join upcoming artist Yung Jordan in singing his anthem, “Welcome to RipCity.” 

Cheer, dance and be part of a video celebrating Portland’s beloved basketball heroes. And if you need some fan gear, Miller will be offering special discounts on his line of Blazer Gang apparel. Find it in the LloydCenter or online.

Seattle City Councilor Kshama Sawant in Portland for $15 Wage Campaign

Kshama Sawant, a socialist elected last year to the Seattle City Council, speaks in Portland, Thursday, April 24, 6:30 p.m., at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 1624 NE Hancock St, Portland, on the 15 Now campaign to raise Seattle’s minimum wage to $15 an hour. Other speakers include Portland City Council candidate Nick Caleb and labor organizer and author, Ahjamu Umi. This event is a fundraiser for Kshama Sawant's campaign. Suggested donation is $15, but no one will be turned away.
For more information on the campaign go to www.15now.org .

STASHA Hosts Substance-Free Party for Middle-, High-Schoolers

Strong Teens Against Substance Hazards and Abuse will hold a drug- and alcohol-free party late this month for ClarkCounty middle- and high-school students.

STASHA is a peer educator program. Members are 12-19 and work to prevent substance abuse among youth and in the community. Some members have never used drugs or alcohol, others have experimented and still others have completed treatment and are now in recovery.

The group is part of the Clark County Youth House within the Department of Community Services.

The party is scheduled for 8-11 p.m. on Friday, April 25, at the MarshallCommunity Center, 1009 E. McLoughlin Blvd.

Food is free. Bring a bathing suit and 25 cents for a locker if you want to swim. Other activities include basketball, volleyball, dancing with a live DJ and video and table games.

For more information go to www.clark.wa.gov.

Workforce Conferences Target 50-and-Older Crowd

PortlandCommunity College is hosting two conferences on employment and training aimed at the 50-and-older crowd.

The half-day conferences titled, “Finding Work at 50 Plus: Yes You Can!” are set to go from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., Tuesday, April 22, in Beaverton at the Willow Creek Center (241 S.W. Edgeway Dr.) and again on Thursday, April 24, at the Portland Metro Workforce Training Center (5600 N.E. 42nd Ave). The free conferences are for members of AARP who are age 50 or older. The purpose is to give information, offer networking opportunities and help create a “next steps plan” for AARP members on employment and training options targeted specifically for their age group. In addition to PCC, AARP and the Small Business Administration are co-sponsoring the events.

The conferences, which are co-sponsored by AARP and the Small Business Administration, will feature workshops on how attendees can run their own business, learn more about solo entrepreneurship, take advantage of the hidden job market, re-careering, and discover specific tools and techniques on finding employment. Keynote speakers include Kevin Cahill with ECON Northwest and Malcolm Boswell from Oregon State Employment. Both will present data on the 50-plus workforce to show where the jobs are, employment trends and data on entrepreneurship. Panel speakers will talk about how they have re-created their lives.

Organizations providing information at the conferences include PCC’s Small Business Development and CLIMB centers as well as the college’s Career Pathways, Community Education and Life by Design programs. Plus, SCORE, Mercy Corps, Small Business Administration, Worksystems Inc., Experience Works, Easter Seals of Oregon, AARP and Dress For Success will also be on hand.

To register, call toll free at (877) 926-8300.       

WSU Vancouver Hosts Discussion on Proposed Copper Mine Near Mt. St. Helens

The WashingtonStateUniversityVancouverCenter for Social and Environmental Justice and the Gifford Pinchot Task Force will host author Bill Carter who will talk about a proposed copper mine near Mount St. Helens. The lecture will be held at 6:30 p.m. April 23 in the DengerinkAdministrationBuilding, Room 110. The event is free and open to the public.
Carter wrote "Boom, Bust, Boom - A Story About Copper, the Metal that Runs the World." The book is an account of the presence of copper in our lives and its cost on health, the economy and the environment. Carter was poisoned by vegetables grown in his family garden, contaminated with invisible pollutants from a once prosperous copper mining industry. His experience sent him on an international discovery mission to learn more about what he describes as the most important metal in modern society.
The Canadian company Ascot Resources Ltd. has begun exploratory drilling 12 miles from the crater of Mount St. Helens in the Green River watershed, which provides clean drinking water to Southwest Washington communities.
For more information go to www.vancouver.wsu.edu.

Congolese Project Slideshow

Portland artist and printmaker Roger Peet recently returned from the Democratic Republic of Congo, where he coordinated a project of conservation theater with Congolese scientists and artists. The project toured remote villages by bicycle.

Peet presents images, music, video and stories from the project April 29, 7:30 p.m. at the Alleyway Bar, 2415 NE Alberta St.

Peet wrote and directed several short skits, made elaborate masks, and documented the project through photography, video, and audio recording. The performances took place in seven villages near the proposed LomamiNational Park, in a region of high insecurity menaced by warlords, poachers, and renegade elements of Congo's national army.

More about the project at www.lomamibandanas.tumblr.com/.

Training to Help Chefs Keep the Flavor, Cut The Salt

A free culinary training on strategies to enhance flavor and reduce sodium is to chefs from locally owned, independent restaurants in ClarkCounty, Tuesday April 29, 9 – 11 a.m. atClarkCollegeColumbiaTechCenter, 18700 SE Mill Plain Blvd., in the Cooking School Kitchen.

The instructor is Chef Garrett Berdan, a registered dietitian who offers culinary workshops for professional cooks across the country. Garrett has been recognized by the White House as a “Champion of Change” and is past president of the Oregon Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Registration is required; please contact melissa.martin@clark.wa.gov or 360-397-8000 ext. 7291.

Mount Hood Emergency Preparedness Expo May 2-3

The bi-annual Mount Hood Emergency Preparedness Expo will be held Friday-Saturday, May 2-3 at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Boring at12300 S.E. 312th Ave. The event is free and open to the pubic.

The expo, which will feature more than 60 workshops and 30 displays, will run from 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday, May 2, and from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, May 3.

This community event, designed to help local residents prepare for a disaster, will feature a wide variety of workshops including first aid, fire safety, financial planning, food storage, firearm safety, organic gardening, bee keeping, and more.

Visitors will receive free hands-on training and resources from local experts and professionals in emergency preparedness, disaster management, and self-reliance.

Portland State University Geology Professor and widely known speaker, Dr. Scott Burns, will deliver a keynote address at 2:00 pm Saturday, May 3, about the scientific evidence of an impending major earthquake in the Pacific Northwest.

For more information, contact event chairperson Patti Paxson at 971-645-6847 or by email atpaxson2000@hotmail.com.

The Rosewood Initiative Mother's Day Market

The Rosewood Initiative Mother's Day Market will be on Saturday May 3, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. inside The Rosewood Initiative building located at16126 SE Stark Street, Portland.

The event is free and open to the public allowing shoppers the opportunity to find the right gift for mom or spend some quality time together. If you're looking for an opportunity to support local artisans and try delicious food, The Rosewood Initiative Mother's Day Market is just the place.
The Rosewood Initiative is a non-profit organization dedicated to making the Rosewood area a desirable place to live, work and play.

For more information about The Rosewood Initiative or The Rosewood Initiative Mother's Day Market you can contact them on the web at rosewoodinitiative.org or call 503-208-2562.

Commissioners seek applicants for Board of Equalization vacancies

The Board of County Commissioners is seeking applicants to fill two seats on the Clark County Board of Equalization.

One position is for a full-term board member, and one is for an alternate to serve on an on-call basis. Terms are for three years.
The board provides an impartial citizen forum in which property owners can resolve issues of assessed valuation and exemptions. Members are paid $75 per day while attending meetings. Meetings usually are Tuesday through Thursday and scheduled during regular business hours, as needed.
Applicants should have knowledge of real and personal property, Clark County, property appraisal techniques and property tax law. Experience or education in the building trades also is helpful.
Applicants should submit a letter of interest and resume to Jennifer Clark, Board of County Commissioners, P.O. Box 5000, Vancouver, WA 98666-5000 or email jennifer.clark@clark.wa.gov.

Deadline is 5 p.m. Wednesday, May 7.

To learn more, visit www.clark.wa.gov/board-of-equalization/index.html.

For more Portland events check out The Skanner News community calendar