We now post neighborhood news to the Sabin Facebook page. Please follow us on Facebook to find out what's happening in our community.

In partnership with Friends of Trees, the Sabin neighborhood is planning a tree planting project for February 28, 2015! Trees for your planting strip will cost $25. Yard trees will cost $75. This price includes a site inspection by the City of Portland’s Bureau of Environmental Services to ensure you choose the right tree for the location, hole digging, help with planting your tree, stakes, ties, labels, follow-up monitoring, and information on proper tree care techniques!

For more information or to order your trees, contact Malka Youngstein at [email protected] or go to the Friends of Trees website.

Albina Library is offering a series of free workshops designed to help people  find a job, start a business or maintain a sustainable income during retirement. Registration is required for these workshops, which will be held on six Tuesdays in September and October at the library, 3605 N.E. 15th Ave. in the Whole Foods shopping center. For more information or to register for a workshop, call 503-988-5362.

— On Sept. 16 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., Goodwill Industries will present “First Impressions,” a workshop designed to help job seekers maximize their ability to make a lasting, positive first impression on prospective employers.  

— On Sept. 23 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., Goodwill Industries will present “Interview Success,” which includes a variety of job interview tips to help prepare candidates for tough questions.

— On Sept. 30 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., the Society for Financial Awareness will present “Strategies for a Sustainable Income in Retirement.” This workshop covers setting retirement goals and strategies for a sustainable income in retirement.

— On Oct. 14 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., Portland Community College’s Small Business Development Center and SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) will present “Starting Your Own Business: Feasibility & Business Plans.” Participants will learn what to consider before starting a business plus how to write a business plan. Registration for this workshop opens Sept. 23.

— On Oct. 21, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., “Access to Capital: Funding Your Business” will be presented by Mercy Corps Northwest, Small Business Administration’s Portland District Office, Portland Community College’s Small Business Development Center and Albina Opportunities and Community Sourced Capital. Registration opens Sept. 30 for this workshop, which will discuss funding options.

— On Oct. 28 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. the Small Business Administration's Portland District Office and Portland Community College's Small Business Development Center will present “Encore Entrepreneurship: Starting a Business After 50.” This workshop offers free resources and tools to people who are not yet ready to retire but who are interested in turning professional experience or a hobby into an “encore” career by starting a new business. Registration is required and opens Oct. 7.

Photos from the Sabin general meeting on May 12, 2014 (courtesy of Cristin Norine)

Worried about the loss of older homes in Sabin? Come to the Demolition Forum and learn more about this trend...

What: discussion of affordable housing advocacy possibilities w/Oregon Opportunity Network
When: Thursday, June 5, 6:30-8:30pm
Where: NECN Office at King School - 4815 NE 7th Ave.
 
Oregon ON is a statewide coalition of community development and affordable housing organizations, which
is currently developing a campaign to advocate for "new, significant and sustainable resources for affordable
housing and anti-poverty services in Multnomah County." Executive Director John Miller will join us to talk about this new campaign, and how we can get involved.

We will also get updates on the work areas that were identified at our last meeting:

Coalition-building:
This sub-committee has prepared a draft letter that we can present to our various neighborhood associations and other community-based organizations, asking them to endorse our objective of increasing the stock of affordable housing. We will review and revise this letter, and discuss a plan for presenting it to our organizations.
 
Identify specific advocacy opportunities/campaigns: There are two immediate opportunities for advocacy that have come up in recent weeks: 1) A proposal by Commissioner Saltzman to dedicate funds from a lodging tax on short-term rentals (e.g. Air BnB) to affordable housing; and 2) The allocation of $20 million for affordable housing in the Interstate Corridor Urban Renewal Area. We will discuss how we want to be involved in these two issues.

It's great to hear about other communities that are promoting bee-friendly gardening. North-central Colorado, which includes Denver and Boulder, have started a project very similar to the Sabin Bee-Friendly Garden Project. The folks in Colorado are working on a project to "create living spaces where honey bees and other pollinators can propagate without the effects of toxic chemicals."  The Bee-Safe Neighborhoods project aims to "increase safe habitats for honey bees by landscaping with safe plants (uncontaminated by neonicotinoids or systemics) that can provide pollen and nectar to pollinators through spring, summer and fall."

To participate in Sabin's bee-friendly garden project, contact Diane Benson at [email protected]. Learn more about the project here.

The Sabin Spring Clean-Up is a perfect opportunity to get rid of those  unwanted items that are too big to put in your curbside trash or recycling. And it happens in our own neighborhood, so you save yourself a trip to “the dump.” Best of all, instead of paying fees to get rid of your stuff, you make a donation that funds projects right here in Sabin.

The Clean-Up will be held from 10 a.m. to 2p.m. on May 31 at Maranatha Church’s west parking lot. Vehicles should drive south from the corner of NE 12th Avenue and Skidmore Street, lining up on the west side of 12th to enter the parking lot. Vehicles going north on 12th from Mason Street will not be allowed to enter the parking lot.

HERE’S WHAT TO BRING: Household junk, furniture, mattresses, scrap metal, appliances, microwaves, large pieces of yard debris and treated wood. There is a $10 disposal fee for computers, laptops, monitors and TVs ($20 for large-screen).

REUSABLE ITEMS: If you have the following items in good, usable condition, we’ll be collecting them for donation to:  

   * Habitat for Humanity ReStore, which takes lumber in 5-foot lengths or longer (no nails or fasteners), doors and both home and garden tools

   * Community Warehouse, which takes furniture, kitchenware, lamps, clean linens (sheets, blankets and towels), irons, fans, alarm clocks, canes and crutches

    * Tools for Troops, which accepts all manner of construction and landscaping tools, including fasteners, tool bits and replacement saw blades. Tools are given to veterans.

DO NOT BRING: Tires, batteries, paint, hazardous or chemical wastes or motor oil. We will not accept any materials that are accepted in your curbside blue or green carts.  

PICK-UP NEEDS? We offer limited curbside pick-up service for seniors and people with disabilities. Contact Don Rouzie at 503-926-3922 to schedule.

The Sabin mural was painted in 1996 by Isaka Shamsud-Din, with the assistance of apprentices and volunteers. Learn more about it at Linda Wysong's Sabin blog.