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2010 Grants Available
2/2/2010 The annual Lester Viles North Portland Project Grants are again available this year. Some changes in the kinds of projects that will be funded have been made this year which will focus funded projects on NPBA Member businesses. All organizations on the Peninsula are invited to review the eligibilty criteria and create collaborative projects with NPBA Members that will have community benefits. Full details can be found on the "Grants" tab on the left in the navigation list. Grants are accepted now through March 31.

RHS presents THE WIZARD OF OZ
2/3/2010 Two years ago, drama returned to the curriculum at Roosevelt and each year since the productions have become better and better. This year the seasoned actors and actresses will present the Wizard of Oz. This is a wonderful family event that help show community support for our own high school and the students. Plan to have an evening of fun March 5,6,11,12,13 at 7pm. Have dinner with your freinds at one of our fine member restaurants and then see the play! Tickets: phone 503-916-5260 ext. 71424 or by the website: www.roosevelttheatre.org

Volunteers Needed
2/3/2010 JAMES JOHN SCHOOL will be having ist's first clean-up of the year. Bring your own tools and give something back to our community as well as supporting our kids! Saturday, February 6, 9 am to Noon in the heart of St. Johns.

Greg Klaus
2/2/2010 Greg Klaus owner of Greg's on Lombard, and an NPBA Member in 2007 has died. He closed his North Portland store in 2008 but kept his SE Hawthorne location. Tanya Scott, Orleans Candle recalls that Greg was one of the first local business people to call on them and welcome them to the business community. "He was a super guy and made us feel really welcome almost as soon as we opened up" said Tanya. A memorial service will be held at the Bagdad Theater, 3701 SE Hawthorne, on February 6 at 10 am.

Police Feed Back Meeting
1/25/2010 Members that would like to understand what has happened to Community Policing as well as understand the current North Portland crime situation and the police resources dedicated to this area should plan to attend a public meeting at 7:00 pm. This will be THE opportunity to ask questions of Commissioner Dan Saltzman, Chief of Police Rosie Sizer, North Precinct Commander Jim Ferraris and Multnomah District Attorney, Mike Schrunk. You will come away from this meeting with a much better understanding of what the police are actually able to do, and what you as a business owner need to do. Life Fellowship Church, 3935 N. Lombard, (Chataqua & Lombard)

1/29/2010 The results of this meeting are well covered in the Sentinel article here: http://www.portlandsentinel.com/node/5823

Dues Due

1/25/2010 Members have all been mailed a prefilled application form and letter for annual dues. Again this year the voluntary dues schedule has not changed in recognition of the economic conditions that businesses find themselves in. Please contact the Office Manager if you have any questions about your form at npba_office@yahoo.com Be sure to return your prefilled application form with your check !!

Now we have a Blog!

1/10/2010 For those that would like to chime in on various issues and see what others in the business community are thinking about them, NPBA has set up a Blog. Currently, the blog has several topics of interest, waiting for member or even non-member comments. Want to join in? Just click here

St. Johns Mainstreet

1/8/2010 The St. Johns Mainstreet Program is well underway according to Robin Palance who has been leading the effort. Interest in the Mainstreet Program by St. Johns Merchants and other area activists, seems to have grown with the recent revitalization of the St. Johns Boosters. Next up for the group is to formalize their approach and divide the efforts into three distinct task groups. The complete program which is a PDC initiative is explained at www.pdc.us/bus_serv/business_support/mainstreet.asp

NPBA Past President to Continue on ICURAC

1/7/2010 NPBA Past President Jim Schaller announced at the NPBA Board Meeting that he will continue to serve as representative to the Interstate Corridor Urban Renewal Advisory Committee (ICURAC). ICURAC is a part of PDC (Portland Development Commission) and oversees funding for projects related to the urban renewal of the Interstate Corridor and adjoining areas. Funding for the replacement of the traffic signals at the intersection of N. Lombard and N. Portsmouth Ave. was provided by ICURAC.

Site Updates

12/31/2009 Check out the Newsletter Archives for all of our 2009 newsletters. Many of these have short feature articles about ways to increase your business, plus tips on making business life easier. Our Member Directory has also been updated to add several new members to the listing. The Calendar and Events page has been revised to include all of 2010 and as many events and meeting dates as we are aware of. Our website is always open to your feedback and suggestions for improvements. Email npba_newsletter@yahoo.com

Crime taking a bite out of N. Portland

Nov. 09 McGruff the crime fighting dog is seriously needed at the overwhelmed North Precinct these days as hardly a week goes by that some business isn't a crime victim. Particularly hard hit are merchants along N. Killingsworth, and parts of N. Lombard. What appears to be mostly younger males, one or more at a time are nocking over businesses. Usually this happens after the business has closed, however, in at least one instance an employee was working inside at the same time.

Residential crime is also increasing in N. Portland, particularly in theft from cars. Targeted are not only residential neighborhood on street parking, but parking lots that are off the street and in some cases not visible from a main street or intersection.

If you are a crime victim, BE SURE to call the police. Staffing of the N. Precinct is largely determined by the number of crimes (police call these incidents) that take place within the boundary of the precinct. It also helps detectives see patterns of crime for more effective assignment of patrol officers. You are encouraged to send an email to npba_newsletter@yahoo.com which will generate a "heads up" email to all NPBA members. Sharing information is the best way to combat what appears to be a challenge that the police are not equiped to handle alone.

Trader Joe's - Yes or No?

An ongoing poll for the kinds of stores to add in St. Johns, and in particular what would be the best fit for the former Sterling Auto Sales corner, has consistently rated a Trader Joe's Store as a top candidate. Two years ago NPBA Office Manager, Evie Salvo sent a warm welcoming letter to the TJ management in the hopes of determing the possibility of a store. While thanking her for the interest, their response was essentially we did not have a dense enough population to support a TJ store.

But it is an idea that won't die, and as it continues to have a life of its own, NPBA took the lead to ask about a store in St. Johns again. This time, NPBA President Jim Schaller discussed the idea in a telephone call to the Vice President of Store Placement for Trader Joe's, during the week of August24th.

The VP said that their marketing demographics prove that TJ stores do well when two things are present. First, a population density of at least 150,000 in a 3 mile radius of the store location. Second, their must be a large percentage of Bachelor and Master Degree holders within that population. So go get that degree soon, build a skinny house next door to increase our population density and we can ask Trader Joe's to build a store in a few years.

What's in a Name?

     July 09. A lot when you think about having a "brand" attached to where your business is located. Consider such brands as the Pearl District, Hollywood, Downtown and the Lloyd Center, even St. Johns. Each brings to mind some picture and attached emotion or experiences. Without a brand name you might say you are "nowhere in particular."

     Greg Wilhelm, Chair of the Portsmouth Neighborhood Assoc, and a member of the ICURAC (Interstate Corridor Urban Renewal Advisory Committee) is working hard to steer approximately 1 million dollars of PDC urban renewal money to N. Lombard businesses. Portsmouth Neighborhood as a designee for this help would like to see the funds channelled into improvements along N. Lombard that is the South boundary of the Portsmouth Neighborhood Assoc. As part of that effort he sees a need to brand that strip of N. Lombard begining at N. Woolsey and extending to N. Carey (the railroad cut).

     An effort to name this section has been addressed by both PNA and the University Park Neighborhood Assoc, with the most popular name being the University Park District. This name capitalizes on the name familiarity of the University of Portland and the umbrella like effect of the campus spanning a good portion of this part of N. Lombard.

     Greg states he "would like to see as much input from the businesses on N. Lombard as possible." If you would like to suggest other names to be considered, send them to npba_newsletter@yahoo.com


                             Archieve of GENERAL MEETINGS and EVENTS

2009 Summer Event = Fun

The Caribe Restaurant, 5225 N. Lombard, was the site of this year's festive event, held September 10th. A huge bowl of Sangria was the centerpiece in the backyard courtyard of the Caribe Restaurant, and everyone was invited to enjoy as much of it as you could. At the end of the evening about 1/4th of the dark red elixer remained despite the best efforts of more than 30 members and guests. The full service bar was also frequented by a number of attendees following their excellent dinner. Entre's this year included a wonderful marinated steak, bar-b-que chicken, beans and rice, green salad and some carribean inspired side dishes. A warm night, a great DJ spinning some very mellow music and clear skies made for a memorable evening as everyone caught up on business news and tidbits about our opportunities this year.

Mayor Adams Speaks Out

The March 26 General Meeting of NPBA at Christie's Restaurant, featured Mayor Sam Adams speaking out on a number of important issues to business owners in North Portland. A near capacity crowd welcomed the Mayor as he spoke on a wide range of business related topics. Details of the meeting are here: click here!

2008 BAR - B - QUE

A enthusiastic and fun loving crowd of nearly 100 members and guests attended the Bar-B-Que on a warm August 21st evening. See the pictures and addtional details click here.

May General Meeting

Members enjoyed another excellent breakfast meeting on the 22 nd at Christie's Restaurant. Our guest speaker was Sara Daly who spoke on what it takes to market and grow the North Peninsula Business environment. Sara's ideas have sparked interest with those that attended the meeting as well as those reading her comments. Members are encouraged to give your suggestions to your NPBA Director when they call on you in June. Awards, pictures and more details about the meeting are here click here

March General Meeting

Members enjoyed an excellent breakfast meeting on the 27th at Christie's Restaurant. The 2008 budget was approved and our guest speaker outlined the successes of the De La Salle High School that now occupies the former Kenton Grade School. Awards, pictures and more details about the meeting are here click here

November General Meeting

Members enjoyed another excellent breakfast meeting on November 20th at Christie's Restaurant. Our guest speaker was District Attorney Michael Schrunk, North Portland native, who gave us a wide sprectrum view of crime, crime trends and some of the positive work that is being done to fight crime. Pictures and more details about the meeting are here click here