Members of the community campaign to end racial profiling delivered a petition and signatures to the mayor’s office on Monday,
May 19, demanding action on the issue. The police chief was supposed to
have a plan presented to the mayor’s racial profiling group by the end
of 2007, but so far, all that’s been seen is a few thoughts jotted down
by the chief—”elements of a plan,” as she called it—back in
March 2007.
The 600-strong petition included signatures from 50 North Portland
businesses. “When customers fear the police, it hurts the bottom
line,” said Sheila Warren, as she delivered the petition.
Maria Rubio, the mayor’s director of public safety, greeted the
petition bearers. “We’ve been meeting on a regular basis and we’re very
committed to continuing this work,” Rubio told them. When asked if
there was a deadline for the plan to be written, Rubio responded: “The
deadline is as soon as possible.” MD
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Cully neighbors have successfully challenged the planned rezoning of
the Colwood National Golf Course in Northeast Portland. On May
15, Bureau of Development Services Hearings Officer Gregory Frank ruled
that the Colwood course is a “unique, practically irreplaceable asset,”
and denied an application from the course’s owners to rezone the course
from open space to industrial.
Some neighbors believed that the Port of Portland wanted to buy a
portion of the golf course and eventually use it as a third runway for
the nearby Portland International Airport [“Teed Off,” News, May 1],
although the owners of the golf course also assured residents that
they’d donate the central portion of Colwood to the City of Portland as
a park area. MD