Warren Jimenez's blog

Please welcome Kimberly Schneider, our new Senior Policy Director for Economic Development and Workforce Training. Kimberly is a proud native Portlander and comes from a family with strong experience in workforce development. In one sentence, her background is: Grant High, Colby College, Peace Corps in Burkina Faso, Harvard, Congressman Blumenauer's D.C. office. Feel free to contact Kimberly at 503.823.4541.

IMAGE: Matt ClarkA real break

Real-estate agents want to widen an unusual tax benefit.

BY NIGEL JAQUISS

A bill introduced by the Oregon Association of Realtors to extend a local income-tax exemption to more of its members could backfire on the whole industry.

As the President of the Local Elected Officials on the Workforce Investment Board and the Higher Education Liaison for the City of Portland, Sam has been advocating for more state funding during this legislative session.

Unfortunately, the federal trends are worst. Since 2003, federal allocations for our region have gone from $25 million to an anticipated $15 million for 2007.

As the President of the Local Elected Officials for the Workforce Investment Board, Sam has push for reforms to streamline this complicated system for its customers - employers and job-seekers.

One solution to make it easier for employers to access the labor pool is creating one point of contact. Creating this point of contact by using one phone number seemed like a simple solution but required cooperation from the Oregon Employment Department, Worksystems Inc., and workforce training providers to co-locate in order to provide this service.

Portland Business Journal - April 13, 2007
by Aliza Earnshaw
Business Journal staff writer

A change of heart in Portland City Hall might lure venture capitalists back to Oregon's commercial center, but only if Multnomah County follows suit.

The Portland City Council is now working on an exemption to a tax on companies' net income, hoping to persuade venture capital firms to return to the city.

Today, the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved a resolution to align the Business Income Tax with the Business License Fee reform which Portland City Council adopted in January 2007. Essentially, this change results in a $1.7 million tax relief package for the small business community.

Below is the testimony given by Sam at the hearing:

Good morning. I am here to congratulate you on your leadership to improve equity of the County's Business Income Tax. You are doing in a few months what took Warren (Jimenez) and myself two years to accomplish.

This letter was published today by the Oregonian from Sam.

The Oregonian editorial board is right in their March 27 editorial. It is the City's job to "build a plan that works for all the [Hayden Island] neighborhood."

The development hiatus that City Council unanimously approved six months ago on Hayden Island allows the residents and the City to complete a neighborhood plan that can address the unique transportation challenges of the island.

Jettisoning justice for janitors
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
The Oregonian

By Steve Duin

E lvira Munoz is, I'm afraid, all too typical of the men and women who clean up after you at the Rose Garden and Memorial Coliseum.

She's paid Oregon's minimum wage of $7.80 an hour, although she is rarely told how many hours she'll be working until she arrives at the Rose Quarter aboard MAX after the ride in from her basement "apartment" in Gresham.

Sam knew this was a controversial idea. Putting parking meters in a Neighborhood Business District in order to generate revenues to reinvest back into the District was the topic of  the book "The High Cost of Free Parking" by UCLA Professor Donald Shoup.

Sam first heard this idea at the 2005 Railvolution Conference. Sam realized that this could be an opportunity to improve our City's parking management. Demand for on-street parking to access neighborhood businesses exceeds supply. That means we need to be vigilant about ensuring effective parking turnover. The proposed addition of parking meters, which are proven to increase turnover, would make parking more efficient.

This is a press release from the Portland Development Commission.

January 4, 2007
MEDIA RELEASE CONTACT:

John Jackley, PDC
(503) 823-3315

New Office Development in Lents Town Center Urban Renewal Area

The Portland Development Commission (PDC) announces the first new office development in the Lents Town Center Urban Renewal Area. Assurety NW, a full-service insurance and financial service company has purchased a 77,000 square foot property, owned by PDC, along SE Foster Road between SE 88th and SE 91st Avenues at 8919 SE Foster Rd. The project is expected to break ground later this month.

Following through on a project that was set forth by former Transportation Comissioner Jim Francisconi, the Freight Master Plan was completed in 2006. City Council unanimously adopted the plan in May 2006.

Through freight policies, operational strategies, and system improvements, the Freight Master Plan will provide a road map for how Portland manages freight and delivery movement today and into the future.

From today's Oregonian:

Commissioner Sam Adams deserves support for his plan to reduce the business license fee

Luckily, Portland attracts a constant stream of college graduates and so-called "young creatives." Although they may arrive here jobless, and spend a few years perfecting their latte-frothing technique, eventually they emerge from behind the barista bar, dream up new ventures and, in theory anyway, help the region steam up an extra-hot economy.

For more than a year, the Central Eastside community has been discussing the possibility of extending the Urban Renewal District.

Sam supports an extension on the basis that the Central Eastside has not realized its full potential. Specifically, additional investments in affordable housing, context-sensitive transportation infrastructure, and economic development are needed to ensure the district redevelops in a way that mitigates the worst characteristics of gentrification.

In 2002, after more than a year of public planning, a bi-state task force appointed by Washington and Oregon Governors Gary Locke and John Kitzhaber published the Portland/Vancouver I-5 Transportation and Trade Partnership Strategic Plan.

The task force, composed of community, business, and elected representatives of Washington and Oregon, was responding to concerns about the growing congestion on I-5. The plan included recommendations for highway improvements, transit, traffic management, heavy rail, land use coordination, and environmental justice. The first recommendation for I-5 called for widening the freeway to 3 lanes between Delta Park and Lombard Avenue.

One of Portland's most charming characteristics is its neighborhood business Districts. From Hawthorne to Mississippi, each has the potential to be a thriving district. However, many of these districts still lack the investment and infrastructure needed to meet their potential.

Recognizing this need, Sam, as the APNBA liaison on City Council, secured ongoing funding for the APNBA Grant Program as a first step. Last year, Sam increased this fund by $100,000 but it was only one-time funding. This year, through the budget process, Sam secured ongoing funding for projects like marketing, infrastructure improvements and training for business districts.