Kenton's First Annual Street Fair is coming this Saturday, May 22nd all day to N. Denver Ave.

Come and celebrate the newly completed Kenton Library, the almost completed streetscape and the nearly, almost completely sober denizens of N. Denver Ave. Visit the many new businesses and the new and old residents that are making Kenton the best kept secret in Portland.

"I love Kenton," says Paul Bunyan, the historic plaster statue that stands watch over the Dancing Bare strip club most weeknights from the corner of N. Denver and N. Interstate. "But then, I'm cemented to the sidewalk, so, you know, I pretty much make the best of it."

Paul Bunyan, Portland's largest action figure, is a toy like icon for what has become the kid friendly capital of North Portland. Anchored around the new Kenton Library and Poises' kid friendly coffee shop, throngs of new families and sticky fingered kids are flocking to this neighborhood, once known, only for meat packing and Sam Adams...uh...that's an unfortunate juxstoposition...

So it was only a matter of time before Kenton got its own street fair full of frolicking family fun...HUrrRAYYYYY!!!!!

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

Now that a new library has opened in downtown Kenton, North Portland residents and community leaders see the page turning to a new chapter for it and surrounding neighborhoods.

“[The new branch] is a magnet for downtown Kenton,” says Mark Kirchmeier, owner of the Krakow Café on N. Interstate. “It enables people to walk and bike to the library. It's nurturing for our children's educational and social development, and it's an economic development tool.”

Awesome artsy alert! Tomorrow evening from 5-7p.m., Disjecta will play host to Portland Art Spark, a monthly networking event and collective brainstorming session for the PDX arts community. In addition to celebrating last week's kickoff of the PORTLAND2010 Biennial (sponsored in part by Disjecta), this month's gathering also offers artists a chance to win their very own show at Disjecta! Read on for all the details:

We are not only helping to celebrate PDX Biennial 2010, this Art Spark, it's ALSO a chance to Win a Show at DISJECTA! Prepare a one page synopsis of a project and one page with images. Art Spark attendees will review proposals at the event and award one artist the opportunity to show at DISJECTA. All artists must attend Art Spark and be ready to present their project to the audience if chosen. Submit at Art Spark March 18th by 5 p.m. Individual artists or curated group shows encouraged to apply. Work in all media accepted.

We the puppies of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Declaration of Indiepuppies. In other words, we want an off-leash area in Columbia Park!

So begins the petition that Portsmouth neighborhood resident Mitch Gould posted to The Sentinel and started circulating last week.

“It's kind of a no-brainer,” says Gould. “There's a lot of people who feel this way. A lot of other parks have dog parks. We should, too.”

Gould is flexible on square footage but proposes that the fir-treed portion of the park near Woolsey be designated as an off-leash dog area -- freeing owners of free ranging dogs from up to a $150 off-leash fine.

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The Kenton Library opened at last today, officially and ceremoniously. The place has been packed all day as residents pore over the library's shiny bookish bling.  The library is around the corner from the Sentinel's office and I literally stopped in this afternoon only because I had to return some Terry Pratchett audio books. Today was a great day for the neighborhood and North Portland, and one that will be well covered by the mainstream press.  If you as a resident have photos you'd like us to post here or link to, please comment below or email them to pub@portlandsentinel.com. -Cornelius Swart

UPDATE: I stopped in as well, and it was packed to the gills with people - and, of course, books. City Council candidate Ed Garren was there, as was Multnomah County Commissioner candidate Karol Collymore and a host of other local luminaries. In the storytelling space, women used puppets to act out Dr. Seuss stories as enraptured children looked on. People perused the shelves, marveled at the extensive DVD collection (which pulls out, file cabinet-style, from the wall) and noshed on mini-cupcakes and lemonade provided by nearby Posies Cafe. The library is shiny, spacious and state-of-the-art (well, at least by Portland standards), and brings Kenton one step closer to being a gentrified destination neighborhood. YEAH literacy! -Rebecca Robinson

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

  
  

 

At long last, the Kenton branch of the Multnomah Library System opened on Monday March 7th. A grand opening ceremony and party is scheduled for this Saturday March 13th.

113-second preview of the soon-to-open Kenton Library at your fingertips.