N/NE Community Oversight Committee to Meet Thursday, May 26

The N/NE Community Oversight Committee will meet from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday, May 26, 2016. Sandwiches and beverages will be served at 5:30 and the meeting will begin promptly at 6 p.m. in the community room at New Song Community Church, 2511 NE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd. The community room is accessed from NE Russell Street.

The Oversight Committee is a community-based group formed to oversee the Portland Housing Bureau's work to address displacement in North and Northeast Portland. The committee meets every other month for progress updates and discussion on the  N/NE Neighborhood Housing Strategy. These meetings are open to the public. 

This month, join us to hear an update about the first Preference Policy application round, new affordable rental housing planned for N/NE Portland, and a report from Housing Bureau Director Kurt Creager on affordable housing expenditures (Tax Increment Financing or "TIF") in the Interstate Corridor Urban Renewal Area.   

The last 30 minutes of the meeting are reserved for public comment and questions on any of this month's agenda items. If you have questions or comments about any issues that are not on this month's agenda, contact us directly at 503-823-1190 or email NNEstrategy@portlandoregon.gov. Comment cards will also be available at the meeting.

Oversight Committee meetings will now be filmed by Portland Community Media and broadcast on Channel 30. The broadcast schedule will be available shortly.  

 The public is welcome. 

Meeting schedules and agendas are posted at http://www.portlandoregon.gov/phb/69693.

LMV to honor Governor Brown, Congressman Lewis, Kerry Tymchuk and John Jackley at annual Liberty and Hope Awards Dinner on June 16 

The League of Minority Voters (LMV) will honor Gov. Kate Brown, Oregon Historical Society Executive Director Kerry Tymchuk, and author and global diversity & inclusion practitioner John Jackley at its ninth annual Liberty and Hope Awards Dinner. The LMV will also present a Lifetime Achievement Award to U.S. Rep. John Lewis.

The banquet will take place 5:30-9 p.m. June 16 at the Benson Hotel in downtown Portland.

Tickets are $150 per person. Event sponsorships are also available. To purchase either, contact the LMV at OLMV@OREGONLMV.ORG or (503) 720-6776. The LMV will make a limited number of complimentary tickets available for interested community members.

The Liberty and Hope Awards recognize those in the majority who take extraordinary steps to promote excellence and opportunities for people of color. More than 450 supporters attended last year’s event, including community leaders, elected officials, business executives and non-profit heads. Organizers expect an even larger crowd this year.

Past honorees include Gert Boyle, Paul Allen, Gov. Victor Atiyeh, David Bartz Jr., Ross Danielson, Fred Hanson, Tom Kelly, Phil Knight, Tom Potter, Gov. Barbara Roberts, U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith, U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden and Dan Wieden.

Clark County Historical Museum Hosts Panel Discussion on Food in Clark County

In recent years, dialogues over how our food is grown, where it comes from, and how it’s distributed have taken center stage in our local and national community conversations. Join CCHM at 7 p.m. June 2 for a panel discussion about our current food system in Clark County. Representatives from Clark County’s food organizations, including the Clark County Food Bank, Clark/Cowlitz Farm Bureau, Clark County Public Health, FISH, and the Vancouver Farmers’ Market will gather to discuss our food, where it comes from, and what food issues county residents face today. This panel is part of our monthly First Thursday Lecture Series.

Be sure to come by early to explore our associated exhibit Food for Thought: Clark County’s Food History, which features artifacts, documents and images from our collection that illustrate the shifting landscape of food in our region.

Admission is $4 for adults, $3 for seniors, $2 for children under 18, and free with a museum membership. Doors will open at 5:00pm and the discussion will start at 7:00pm. For more event information and questions, contact the museum at info@cchmuseum.org or by phone at (360) 993-5679. 

Local Yoga Studio and Collaborators Take Accessibility of  International Day of Yoga to a New Level

Yoga for trauma recovery, developmental disabilities and LGBTQ communities aren’t new to Portland, but they’re now offered free of charge, under one roof, to join the efforts of the second annual International Day of Yoga on June 21.  

The United Nations General Assembly created International Day of Yoga (IDY) to provide greater access to yoga world wide.  Last year, the inaugural International Day of Yoga and local organizers drew over 150 people to Portland’s Pioneer Courthouse Square.  This year, in support of local IDY efforts, unfold and collaborating studios and teachers offer classes for unique populations.

This offering, for specific populations, will further increase accessibility to this healing discipline that helps people with stress reduction, body awareness, self-calming and mental-emotional resilience.  The day will also feature information and activity booths, for people to enjoy.

Collaborator Heather Jones of Curvy Yoga says, "There are so many people out there who only view yoga in an Instagram picture or a sexy Nike ad, with the practitioner in a thin, flexible body sweating themselves into a state of exercise euphoria. And quite often, people can't connect to that. They don't see their own body ever moving like that, and assume yoga isn't for them. I am excited to participate in AYD to share this practice with those folks - to show them how yoga can reconnect them to their bodies, to their capabilities, and that there are yoga teachers out there who see them. This is a fantastic group of teachers collaborating to make yoga radically inclusive and I am proud to be part of that."

Schedule:

• 10am - Jill Tuleya - Yoga for Cancer Recovery 
• 11am - Liz Eisman - Yoga for Trauma Recovery
• 12 - Sandra Gail Pierson - Yoga for Veterans
• 1pm - Heather Jones - Curvy Yoga
• 2pm - Zeyah Alicia Rogé - LGBTQ yoga
• 3pm - Kara Knight - Yoga for Older Adults
• 4pm - Kate Dessommes - Yoga for Amputees
• 5pm - Laurie Saunders - Yoga for Nervous System Conditions
• 6pm - Bonny Chipman - Yoga for Adults with Disabilities
• 7pm - Karen Gilkison - Chair Yoga for Larger Bodies 

Information and activity booths in back yard (inside, if raining) 10am - 7pm.

If you would like more information about this topic, please contact E.B. Ferdig at unfold: (503) 333-5484 or ebferdig@gmail.com.

For more Portland and Seattle area events, see the Community Calendar.