Author: Nathan Freeburg

Peacock Lane Representative

Media Alert – Peacock Lane Cancellation 2020

As we approach the holiday season, we wanted to get the word out in advance that the historic holiday lighting display on Peacock Lane will not be occurring this year. Due to regulations regarding large gatherings, and our concern for the health and safety of both visitors and Lane residents, we feel it is prudent to cancel this year’s event, traditionally held December 15- 31. We are saddened that we will not be able to “light up the Lane” this year, but as a community we feel it is best to cancel this year’s activities for everyone’s health and safety.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact: Nathan Freeburg at [email protected] or call him at 651-247-3935.

Getting to Know Your Neighbors

Ashley Toliver helps organize the weekly kid-centered March for Black Lives that starts at the Sunnyside Environmental School on Tuesday evenings, alongside her friends Chenoa Knight, Jamie Newell, Tiffany Houston, and Destiny Lane. A published poet, she lives with her partner, Joseph Mains, three blocks from the school, where their daughter Djuna (7) is in second grade. (Mains’ son, Ovid, also attends Sunnyside Environmental School and his daughter Onnavah is a sophomore at Franklin High School.) Toliver’s poetry collection, Spectra, won the Oregon Book Award for poetry earlier this year. She also teaches poetry writing workshops at the Attic Institute.

How long have you lived in Sunnyside? We’ve lived in this place for 3 1/2 years. When I first moved to Portland (about 13 years ago now), I lived on SE 32nd and Grant. Then I lived in Northeast Portland. I was so excited when we finally moved back to this neighborhood!

Do you rent or own? Rent. I was not in a position to buy at that time, but I dreamt about it.

What do you love about Sunnyside? One of the things I love most are the gardens. You just walk down any street and people have these absolutely beautiful gardens that seem to be gorgeous all year round!

What’s one thing you would love to see change about Sunnyside? Housing prices. The cost of living is a barrier to entry in this neighborhood. And more people of color, I think, would be phenomenal. It’s hard to have a daughter who is half black and there aren’t a whole lot of people at her school who look like her.

Tell me about the Sunnyside marches.

Typically we have an indigenous group, Awakening Thunder, and they play drums as people are filtering in. They start at 5 p.m. with chalk drawing and sign-making, so kids can show up and do that. A group called Resistance Assistance brings pizza and snacks. At around 5:30 p.m., we have a few speakers, one of which is always a kid. Sometimes they’ll read a poem they wrote, or share lyrics from a song, or speak about an experience.

At our highest, I’d say we had about 1,000 people. That was the first one—pretty close to the murder of George Floyd. But we usually have 100 people or so. After the first one, I don’t think Jamie had any further plans, and I was like, “This is amazing, we should totally keep doing it!” We’ve got escorts—there are ten of them—who do security for us and help block off the streets. They’re volunteers—folks who believe in BLM. We have a medic who is there every Tuesday in case anyone skins her knee. So much beauty has come out of all of this.

 

Sunnyside Civility

Like a garden, our Sunnyside neighborhood consists of a variety of residents. Some homes have been owner-occupied for generations, while others are newly built or remodeled. Some people are leasing condos, and others are renting apartments. But one thing we all have in common is the place where we shop, exercise, dine, and mix, whether it is on the roads, the sidewalks, or in the store aisles. And, in order to do so peacefully and successfully, we need civility.

It is my hope through the SNA to write a small newsletter column on civility – to begin a conversation on how we can each feel heard in spite of differences, and yet achieve the consensus we need to make progress on important issues that impact the quality of life in our community. By doing so I hope to feel more connection and more peace. But I’m also doing it for my 8 year old son, to model for him that we can have tough talks with people, disagree, and explore solutions in a constructive way without our passions getting the better of us.

A coach once told me to “consider other people’s rights before my feelings and other people’s feelings before my rights.” With all the challenges we are facing today a little more thoughtfulness will surely help all of us.

 

Emergency preparedness before, during and after COVID-19

Sunnysiders, it’s Jan Molinaro, Sunnyside NET (Neighborhood Emergency Team) Assistant Team Leader and Co-chair, Sunnyside Prepared! (a committee of the Sunnyside Neighborhood Association)! Whoa, that’s a mouthful!

What is the work that I do in the neighborhood and how does that work affect all of you? In a nutshell, it’s my (volunteer) job to assist all of you to get ready for, and survive, an earthquake.

You can find out more about Sunnyside Prepared! at www.SunnysidePrepared.com. How can the resources listed on the site assist you in your preparedness journey? Reach out to me at [email protected] and I promise to support you in your efforts.

How prepared are all of you? Have you learned anything, or done anything, during this pandemic that has increased your resilience? Several members of the current SNA board are trained in emergency preparedness, including Russell Rinaldi and Lorraine Henriques. Dave Boush, the current SNA board president, is a NET applicant and will train as soon as in-person training can start again.

You don’t have to do this work alone, so reach out to your friends and neighbors and get prepared together. This is the same message I have been sharing with all of you for more than three years in the SNA newsletter. Now is always a good time to start.

Sunnyside Dog of the Month: Meet Archer!

Archer comes to us from Fort Worth, Texas by way of the Oregon Dog Rescue in Tualatin (If you ever make it out to there please send my regards to Gretchen the Cat, their Chief Temperament Tester.) He is a Silver Labrador and about six months old in these photos. A resident of Taylor Street, he’s been enjoying walks in Laurelhurst Park, playing at the Mt. Tabor dog park and generally sniffing around the neighborhood. He’s been with us well over a month now, is full of energy and prides himself on his perfect situational awareness.

Prior to meeting Archer I’d never heard of a Silver Lab. The distinctive coat color from which they derive the name is the expression of a recessive trait carried by Chocolate Labs. Referred to as a “dilute” coat, the effect is seen when mutations in the gene encoding melanophilin cause atypical distribution of melanin-containing cells affecting the dog’s skin, hair, eyes, nose and mouth.

Having lived with a lovely Black Lab for many years, we’ve known for some time that we were ready to bring another dog into the family, but finding Archer took time and patience. As with many things it seemed at times that we would never be fast enough or high enough on the list — until suddenly we were.