May 2008
1. Keeping
an eye out for car prowlers
2. Clean and Safe April statistics
3. Clean and Safe Officer honored by City
4. West Side Community Court
5. Sidewalk Ambassadors are ready, in any
weather
6. Downtown Retail Council looks at parking
validation
7. Retail in the press
8. Portland Downtown Annual Meeting to be
held June 23
1.
Keeping an eye out for car prowlers
For the
past few months, Clean and Safe has been providing extra officers
in the Smart Park structures on nights when the entertainment
district receives high traffic and patronage. The Clean and
Safe security officers continue to be a valuable asset in
addressing public safety issues as additional eyes and ears
for the police and providing information that leads to arrests.
Last month,
a Clean and Safe officer was on patrol in the Smart Park Garage
at SW 10th and Yamhill and observed someone bent over, looking
into the windows of a parked car. The officer approached the
subject and requested he identify himself, at which point
he refused and fled the garage.
The officer
followed him into the street where he relayed his location
and situation over the radio. Two Portland Police officers
responded and contacted the subject who was then throwing
items into the street and standing in front of a MAX train,
blocking its path. The officers obtained his information and
found that he was a known car prowler with a current exclusion
from Smart Park Garages. The subject was taken into custody
for Criminal Trespass II, Interfering with Public Transportation,
Disorderly Conduct and Parole Violation.
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2.
Clean and Safe April statistics
In April,
Clean and Safe security patrols contacted 12,807 citizens
on the streets of downtown Portland in the Business Improvement
District. These contacts included 2,336 business assistance
and referral contacts, 4,861 pedestrian contacts, 42 arrests,
207 exclusions and an additional 124 non-enforcement problem
solving contacts.
The Neighborhood
District Attorney Legal Assistant reviewed and issued 128
criminal cases in April.
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3.
Clean and Safe Officer honored by City
On April
26, Clean and Safe Officer Jim Bare accepted the Crime Prevention
Award from the City of Portland Office of Neighborhood Involvement.
Recipients of this award are those who endeavor to maintain
public safety and have been exemplar in promoting community
livability. Officer Bare was a Portland Police officer for
29 years, his last 14 years in the Old Town area and has worked
for Portland Patrol for the last 10 years, focusing on chronic
offenders. He is considered a great resource in the Old Town
Chinatown district.
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4.
Westside Community Court welcomes new Placement Coordinator
Former
work Crew Leader Mike Doyle replaced Scott Lyons in Community
Court at the end of April. In April, 135 defendants were ordered
by the Westside Community Court to perform community service
downtown. Community Court work crews covered 1,012 block faces
and removed 83 bags of trash, 136 hours were spent at Loaves
and Fishes; in all, 832 hours of community service were completed.
Seventy-six defendants were sentenced to Alliance's Theft
Accountability Class. Seventeen jail days were saved at a
savings cost of $2,669.
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5.
Sidewalk Ambassadors are ready in any weather
The Ambassadors
were protected from the April rain, sun, hail and even snow
by the outerwear that Columbia Sportswear donated earlier
this year. The Ambassadors personally thanked Columbia Sportswear
Chairman Gert Boyle at the reopening of the company's flagship
store in downtown Portland.
Last month
the Ambassadors also distributed more than 15,000 downtown
dining guides to major partners and restaurants. Monthly statistics:
- Business
Changes: 7
- Business
Visits*: 156
- Publications*:
2,148
- Information:
3,741
- Service
Calls: 103
- Total
Interactions: 6,185
*
Does not include courtesy delivery to restaurants 435 visits/8,700
guides.
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6.
Downtown Retail Council looks at parking validation
At April's
DRC meeting, Dave Logsdon, Smart Park Facilities Business
Manager for the City of Portland, discussed updates to the
shopper parking validation program, including new policies,
rates and thoughts on an educational marketing campaign for
retailers and customers.
Most retailers
present expressed their desire that a minimum purchase of
$25 continue to be valid for two hours of free parking at
any Smart Park garage, in lieu of a proposed one hour validation
with any $25 purchase. Changes to the validation program will
take place in September for a soft rollout.
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7.
Retail in the press
This month,
Women's Wear Daily printed a list of the top 10 U.S.
markets for retail growth over the next five years, from the
Grubb and Ellis 2008 Global Real Estate Forecast. Portland
was number 10 with a score of 58.5, based on 15 demographic,
economic and real estate variables, including population growth,
job growth and barriers to entry. Other cities were (listed
in order): Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Dallas/Ft.Worth,
Atlanta, Houston, Philadelphia, Orange County, San Diego,
and Chicago. Women's Wear Daily also featured Portland
in a recent article highlighting many retailers in the BID.
Read
the article >>
Lucky
Magazine featured Portland as its Shopping Guide Destination
for the May issue. Citing Portland as a "hotbed of indie style,"
the magazine features several smaller and independent boutiques
throughout downtown, the Pearl District and eastside areas.
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8.
Portland Downtown Annual Meeting to be held June 23
Student,
workers, business owners, and residents of downtown Portland
are invited to attend the Portland Downtown Neighborhood Association's
Annual meeting on June 23, 7 p.m., at First Congregational
Church (1126 SW Park Avenue). Find out more about eligibility
for Association membership and the opportunity to run for
the board of the Association. PDNA is a completely volunteer
organization and members work on a variety of livability issues
downtown. For more information, contact the neighborhood coalition
at 503.823.4211.
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