January District 1 Newsletter
Save the date for the 2012 LGBTQ Meaningful Care Conference, Friday, March 30, 2012
Dear Friends,
The Multnomah County Library has just announced this year's Everybody Reads book - The Girl Who Fell from the Sky by Heidi W. Durrow.
Everybody Reads is based on a simple idea - if everybody read the same book at the same time we could have a community conversation and gain a deeper understanding of what we're reading from a variety of different perspectives.
I read The Girl Who Fell From the Sky last year. It's a powerful story by a woman with roots in Portland. The book details the life of a young girl who struggles with issues of race, class and beauty. The special edition of The Girl Who Fell From the Sky is available at your local branch of Multnomah County Library. I encourage you to pick up a copy or download the book from the website.
Over the next month and a half, the Library, in partnership with The Library Foundation and Literary Arts, will be hosting book groups and related events to promote discussion, learning, and community. For more information on the book and these events visit the Library's website. If you're interested in sharing your thoughts on the book, feel free to email me at district1@multco.us.
Everybody Reads is just one more way our Library works to expand access to books, address literacy, and build community. Let's get reading!
Sincerely,
Deborah Kafoury
Transportation: Funding should reward forward-thinking projects
I wrote the following opinion with Chris Rall, Oregon Field Organizer at Transportation for America. It was published in the Oregonian on Tuesday, January 10, 2012:
With Congress facing a March 31 deadline to reauthorize the long-term transportation bill, we have an opportunity to set transportation on the right track. Gabriel Roth's recipe for disaster ("Transportation bill: Let states pay for highways," Commentary, Jan. 2) would have the federal government shirk its responsibility for transportation, leaving cash-strapped states and local governments on their own to try to prevent their roads, bridges and transit systems from crumbling.
In his extremist call for the elimination of the federal transportation program, Roth clings to the fantasy that a "user pays" system would eliminate subsidies for transit projects but leave road projects unaffected. In truth, roads don't pay for themselves. According to a report from U.S. PIRG, highway user fees pay only about half the cost of building and maintaining the nation's network of highways, roads and streets.
Click here to read the full article.
Sub-contractors for the Sellwood Bridge
After so many years of planning, it is truly exciting to see barges in the water beneath the Sellwood Bridge. And during this time of economic hardship, it is heartening to know that this project is already producing jobs in our community and will continue to stimulate the local economy for the next several years. It has long been a priority for the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners that small, local businesses have an opportunity to work on the project. I had the privilege of kicking off the first in a series of three marketing and communication workshops designed to develop sub-contractors' ability to effectively communicate the value their services to potential employers. The event was well attended with sub-contractors who were able to practice their "elevator speeches" directly with members of the design and construction teams and Multnomah County staff. This was a great opportunity to build relationships and skills necessary to successfully bid on this project.
Trimet budget shortfall: Opportunity for public comment
Our public transportation provider, TriMet, is facing a $12 to $17 million budget shortfall for fiscal year 2013. To assist with the tough decisions ahead, TriMet created this discussion guide trimet.org/choices to inform the public of the challenging funding issues and learn what's most important to members of the community.
I encourage you to visit trimet.org/choices and register your priorities for revenue raising and cost cutting options. Options range from raising the fare to reducing low-performing bus service. This includes lines that serve less than 15 riders per vehicle hour.
Annual Multnomah County event honoring Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy provides perspectives past and present
This year, Multnomah County Managers of Color's annual event to honor Martin Luther King Jr. featured a moving presentation from Max Pavesic, a Portland resident who risked his life 50 years ago as a Freedom Rider in the civil rights movement.
"There were only 463 of us [freedom riders]," Pavesic told the packed board room on January 11. "But we are the reason the Civil Rights Act passed."
Pavesic's remarks fit perfectly with the theme of this year's event, "The Beloved Community: the time is always right to do what is right."
Pavesic described his experience as a 21-year-old in the summer of 1961, riding a train in the South from New Orleans to Jackson, Miss. Once there, he and other fellow Freedom Riders were arrested for violating segregation laws. Pavesic remained committed to his cause despite spending 32 frightening days in the notorious Mississippi State Penitentiary, a facility that at the time was filled with hostility and a cruel prison staff.
Click here to read more and view a video from the event.
Save the date for the 2012 LGBTQ Meaningful Care Conference
On behalf of the LGBTQ Health Coalition of the Columbia-Willamette, I invite you to the 2012 LGBTQ Meaningful Care Conference on Friday, March 30, 2012 at the Lloyd Doubletree Hotel in Portland. A day-long training event for healthcare and social service professionals, the Meaningful Care Conference aims to promote LGBTQ cultural competency in health care and social services, share current best practice applications of LGBTQ cultural competency in health care and social services, and to develop and diversify networks of LGBTQ culturally competent health care and social service providers.
Our Conference planning committee is hard at work developing an evidence-based and current best practices-centered curriculum that will cover a wide range of healthcare and service delivery issues crucial for working with LGBTQ clients.
Visit the conference website to learn more or to register to attend.
Concordia University Respite Day, February 25, 2012, 12-4:30pm
This event gives the parents and caregivers of children (ages 3-14) with disabilities a much needed break and an opportunity to escape the stress involved in caring for a child with special needs. It allows parents and caregivers time to run errands, complete neglected housework, spend time with their spouse, or simply go to a movie or take a nap. Concordia's Nursing, Social Work, Healthcare Administration, Exercise Sports Science, Education and Psychology departments will work together with student volunteers to plan, organize and staff a safe, fun and enjoyable event for all involved.
PRE-REGISTRATION REQUIRED go to: WWW.CU-PORTLAND.EDU/RESPITE
FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL: Mona Fuerstenau (360) 624-384
