Well it's summer for sure. This weekend is jammed with events as locals cram a year's worth of outdoor partying into 2.5 months of dry weather. 

The most compelling event this saturday is a fundraiser for 9-year-old Stella Cakebread Monteverde. Stella has been diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. (I know, it's awful and shocking how many children are getting cancer these days.)  Stella, whose mother owns a shop on North Mississippi Ave., has seen an outpouring of support from the local community and the music and entertainment scene as well.  The event, held this Saturday at @Large Studios, will feature a star-studded day of local professional entertainers (check out the links below) who are sure to brighten your (and Stella's) day even if we get partially cloudy skies.

FROM EMAIL
Please join the friends and family of Stella Cakebread Monteverde, 9-year-old daughter of local business owner Dayna Cakebread and Fernando Monteverde, for a day of family fun and entertainment, and an evening of local music and dance troupes. Held at @Large Studios, 807 NE Couch Street, the daytime event will run from 12 p.m. – 4 p.m. and will feature music by Kode Bluuz, arts and crafts tables, interactive theatre with Katie O’Grady, Double Dutch with the Jumping Jackie O’s, a raffle with great prizes, and more! The evening, adults-only event will feature musical performances by Lindsey Stormo, Stephanie Schneiderman, Oracle, Stolen Sweets, and Dr. Theopolis, plus local dance acts, a silent auction, and wine, beer and cocktails. Tickets will be available at the door, or in advance through www.brownpapertickets.org.

The big picture of what a new North/Northeast urban renewal area will look like will be revealed tonight at Billy Webb's Elk Lodge. Whether or not the Rose Quarter will be a part of that picture won't come into view until this summer.

Tonight, the Portland Development Commission hopes to start wrapping up its plans to consolidate the neighborhood's two urban renewal districts. But an earlier request from the mayor to plug the Rose Quarter into the new SUPER renewal district is being taken off the table.

This will decouple both large scale renewal projects in the pipe for the area: the URA merger, and the redevelopment of Memorial Coliseum and Blazer's Live District.

The announcement will be made at this evening's meeting of the PDC's North/Northeast Economic Study Area.

Email chatter today is showing a number of reports of a suspected scam artist working N. Killingsworth. This has yet to be substantiated by enough reports, but Mark Wells, North Portland's Crime Prevention Specialist, has contacted a number of local businesses in order to warn them.  The MO of the con man (male 20-30 years old), is to hit restaurants by demanding a refund on food orders.  The suspect will insist that their food order was wrong, or that he did not receive the food he ordered. Wells advised business owners- "Please call the police if he attempts to scam your business and alert all of your staff.  He may be part of a ring, so be very mindful of suspicious return or refund requests" 

If you have information or questions regarding these events email  Mark.Wells@portlandoregon.gov

It will be a subject of conversation as well as today's city council meeting. Email from Gary Marschke

Help Strategize Urban Renewal Recommendations to the People in Power

• Voice your concerns
• Hear draft community recommendations
• Strategize action steps
• Speak directly to Mayor Adams

  Thursday, March 11th, 6:30pm to 8:30pm
  Billy Webb Elks Lodge
  6 North Tillamook St.
  Snacks and Drinks will be provided
  20 Community Savings Cards as door prizes!

  For more information, please see attached flyer, visit www.necoalition.org or contact Shoshana Cohen at 503-823-4575 ext. 5 orforums@necoalition.org

  
  

 

Has one of the key players in a series of commerical and residential break-ins along North Mississippi Avenue and Northeast Alberta Street finally been caught?  Has the recent crime along these streets been the cause of a select few or many small groups?  The Oregonian reports a man arrested whose MO fits the more sophisticated styles of commerical break-ins that have been seen along NE Alberta and N Mississippi.  Unlike other 'smash and grab' style break-ins, this suspect appears to be associated with break-ins where alarm systems had been cut pre-buglary.  In one case along Alberta, a safe was stolen. That's not your troubled teen or thrill-seeker crowd there.  We will see if this arrest has an impact on crime reports.
FROM THE OREGONIAN

Early Christmas Eve morning, Kurt Huffman was dismayed to find a mess when he arrived at the Whiskey Soda Lounge on Portland's Southeast Division Street. It was the second break-in at his business within 10 days. 

"You put your heart and soul into something, and then somebody physically destroys it," Huffman recalls. "It's really disturbing and makes you feel very exposed."

Huffman wasn't alone. As many as 30 other restaurant and taverns had been broken into much the same way since July -- many along Northeast Alberta Street, North Mississippi Avenue and Southeast Division Street.

 

READ THE ARTICLE

UPDATED VIDEO  2.15.10

Mardi Gras celebrations are often synonymous with excessive drinking and public nudity — hardly family-friendly fare. This year, however, North Portland families will be able to celebrate Mardi Gras at an appropriately G-rated event. 

Philip Stanton, owner of Mississippi Pizza Pub and co-president of the Historic Mississippi Business Association, and Deborah Petricek, owner of Gumbo Gifts & Gallery, have organized a “family-friendly” Mardi Gras celebration to take place on Saturday, Feb.13, beginning around noon. 

The mainstay of the event will be a street parade comprised of Boise-Eliot Elementary students, clowns on bikes, mini cars, and anyone in costume who would like to participate. In the hours leading up to the parade, there will be mask-making activities at the Q Center (4115 N Mississippi Ave. at North Mason Street) for those in need of festive “facial wear.” The parade will commence at 3 p.m., and follow along Mississippi Avenue, starting at North Skidmore Street and ending at North Fremont Street.

Exciting news in the ol' Inbox this morning: Sarah Slipper, the artistic director of North Portland's own Northwest Dance Project, will be featured on tomorrow's Today show! (yes, we see what we did there.)

The bit, which is about people with names that "match up nicely with their professions" (aka aptronym for the word geeks out there), also features footage of Slipper's company dancers, making it a great all-around promo for one of Portland's most innovative arts organizations. Watch for it tomorrow between 8-9 a.m. on KGW. If you miss it, fear not: both NWDP and Today will archive the segment on their websites.

A great big congrats to Slipper and company!