Mayor Sam Adams

By Michael Mills

As a guest of the Ouvidoria-Geral da União (the National Ombudsman) of Brazil, Eliana Pinto, I was invited to speak at the First International Forum For Ombudsman held in Brasilia last week (11/10-12) www.aouvidoriavaifalar.com.br. The purpose for the conference was to examine how an ombudsman service can enhance participatory democracy.

I shared how the Office of the Ombudsman in Portland operates, and that we are one of only a handful of cities in the United States to have established an Ombudsman Office by law, and have granted the Office independence under the elected Auditor.  As the only delegate from the U.S., I also presented a current overview of the use of the ombudsman concept in our country. Brazil has some 1,000 employees in the government ombudsman profession, as well as many others in the private or quasi-public sector.

From my observations, the Portland Office of the Ombudsman has been authorized one of the highest levels of independence. Independence is the most critical essential characteristic of an ombudsman office. The essential characteristics were also emphasized by other leading international ombudsman attending the conference, such as Kjell Swanström, head of Swedish Ombudsman Parliamentary Office, where the ombudsman was established 200 years ago this year.

Now with HulaHub, Box Office Tickets Inc. (BOT) delivers a powerful social networking infrastructure that arts organizations can use to provide visitors and people in their community with a single consolidated calendar of events, profiles, reviews, ticketing and blogs.

In addition to connecting with audiences, HulaHub makes it easy for producers, artists and venues to collaborate, share services and cross-promote events. For example, producers and artists can search for venues by type of performance space, capacity, and other parameters. Artists and production personnel can post their professional profiles.

People can sign up to be on mailing lists and make donations online. Best of all, HulaHub frees cash-strapped arts organizations to spend less of their time and energy on web technologies — and more on making and promoting their art.

Watch a video from the launch party:

BOT is also launching an iPhone HulaHub application that will engage more people and make it even easier to keep up with events and arts news on the go. HulaHub on the iPhone opens new mobile/arts opportunities.

Andy Paiko and Ethan Rose: Transference

Andy Paiko & Ethan Rose

November 19, 2009 - January 9, 2010

Museum of Contemporary Craft

We are very excited to see this outstanding collaboration between Ethan Rose and Andy Paiko, one of our local artists whose elegant glass pieces were gifts to our Japan Sister City, Sapporo, for the 50^th Anniversary of our Sister City agreement, at the Museum of Contemporary Craft. See below for the press release:

"Through movement, light and sound, Transference is an exploration of the material and aural properties of glass. Portland-based artists Andy Paiko (glass) and Ethan Rose (sound/composition) collaborate to create a kinetic-sound installation reinterpreting the glass armonica, a nearly forgotten instrument.

Popular in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the armonica employed a series of glass goblets, water and friction to create a sound evoking, "singing" wine glass. This exhibition combines the strangely ethereal qualities of the armonica with the visual and physical sensations of dozens of spinning glass bowls, wired to rotate in an intentionally random sequence."

In 2009, Abraham Ingle, from hoodturkey.com fame, brought Berlin's Papergirl Project to Portland. Over 200 pieces of original 2d art were displayed in a gallery, then rolled up, and distributed via bicycle to randomly selected people on the streets of Portland.

Watch the video:

Originally a brainchild from Berlin, Germany Paper Girl is an International project that's premise is quite simple: re-distribute donated art to random passers-by via bicycle!

From the Paper Girl website:

As part of Act for Art, a Creative Action Plan for the Portland Metropolitan Region, we are taking the first attempt at establishing a suggested gift protocol for regional elected officials and Portland business and non-profit representatives traveling abroad. The goals of this program include: cultural exchange, branding the region and its creative energy and providing another avenue for which our artists can be featured and promoted on the international stage.

This week, Mayor Adams, the Portland Development Commission, and a delegation from the Sapporo-Portland Sister City Association are traveling in Japan. The itinerary of their trip includes a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the sister city agreement with Sapporo and meetings with a variety of companies in Tokyo and Yokohama. The mayor is meeting with executives from leading companies, such as Sanyo and Nissan, to recruit business to Portland and create new jobs in key sectors, such as clean tech and electric vehicles. Along the way, Mayor Adams will be giving gifts to foreign dignitaries and business leaders and we have curated a selection of Portland's very best for this trip.

George Johanson’s Waiting for the Parade I: For this year’s City to City gift from Portland to our oldest sister city Sapporo, Japan—Mayor Adams gives a beautiful work by Portland favorite and Oregon Governor’s Award for the Arts winner, renowned artist George Johanson. Waiting for the Parade I is the first in a series of Rose Parade etchings—inspired by Portland’s Rose Festival. A Sapporo delegation was present during this year's Rose Festival so Johanson's etching is also symbolic of that trip. Special thanks to Bob at Augen Gallery for making this happen.

Regional Arts and Culture Council and the Portland Development Commission deserve thanks for their financial sponsorship of Portland art and we are forever grateful to the artists and musicians who worked with us to make these gifts possible. Another special thanks to Portland Open Studios who gave the Mayor's staff a great chance to get to know some of the artists in the Metro area. Portland Open Studios also donated a set of their calendars which feature different metro artists every month. 

Thanks to the Mayor's Office, the Downtown Marketing Initiative, the Portland Development Commission (PDC), the Portland Business Alliance (PBA), downtown property owners and Portland Fashion Synergy (PDXFS), Thursday, November 12th was a big day for downtown retail and Portland fashion designers and artists. The Mayor was in attendance for a ribbon cutting at Flurry (401 SW Morrison - thanks to Randy Higgins of Vizwerks) and Workroom 719 (719 SW Morrison - thanks to Greg Goodman of Downtown Development Company), two of the Pop Up Stores that opened downtown for the holiday season.

In listening to businesses downtown, the business community at large, and Portland designers and artists, the city and our partners heard some things loud and clear:

So, we came up with a (ok, not so original; #2; #3) solution: temporary retail space so that Portland artists and designers can fill together to showcase and sell their work. Tangible results? Pop Up Stores! These stores add vibrancy to our downtown retail core, which is the most active retail area in the region, providing retail options for those of us who work downtown, attracting folks who live outside of the urban core for a dynamic downtown experience, and providing a safe, active, and easily navigable retail and diverse entertainment for tourists.

We talked to the owner of Looptworks to learn more about the company and to get a sense of what this opportunity means to the business. Take a look at the video:

Check out our key partner, the Downtown Marketing Initiative, for more developments downtown, and take a look at our emerging downtown retail strategy.

Read the O's article from November 4th on another pop-up downtown.

Read the PBA's Press Release about the November 12th event.

Become a fan of Flurry on Facebook!

Art Spark at Holocene is a swinging good time!

This Week: Thursday, November 19th  

Western Arts Alliance at Holocene, 

1001 SE Morrison  

Event: You are in for another treat...another Art Spark party game! Come prepared to "sell" yourself! The game? "America's Next Top Artist!!" Come learn more about this great organization, living here in Portland, but helping artists from coast to coast book gigs!   

  Here's what's in store: 

• Fantastic host from the arts community
• Our host presents at 6 p.m.
• Freewheeling conversation for the rest of the good time!

UPCOMING: December 17 - Fertile Ground 

- VISIT US AT PORTLANDARTSPARK.COM -

Portland will be the host city for the 2011 Pacific Northwest Economic Region summit, and is expected to welcome 600 industry and government leaders from across the region.  PNWER is "a regional U.S.-Canadian forum dedicated to encouraging global economic competitiveness and preserving our world-class natural environment." http://www.pnwer.org 

PNWER's members include Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, Alberta, and the Yukon.  The 29-year-old organization looks to facilitate regional cooperation, lobby Ottawa and Washington, and to bring together private sector interest from across the region.  Specific issues to be discussed in at the Portland summit include global competitiveness, renewable energy resources, transportation, trade, agriculture and foresty, innovation and nanoscience.

Next year's summit will be held July 16-20 in Calgary, Alberta, and will provide Portland with an opportunity to frame the following year's summit and issue a broad invitation to attend.  In addition to providing a forum for discussing pressing issues in the Northwest, the PNWER summit is also a chance to promote tourism both for the host city and across the region.

Do you share Mayor Sam Adams’ passion for working toward an economically vibrant and equitable Portland? Do you know that currently 21% of working Portlanders earn less than a living wage, compared to 9% in Seattle, for instance? If you have the skills and tenacity to work hard to address this and other economic development challenges we want you to join Sam's team.

We’re hiring an Economic Development Policy Coordinator. The Coordinator will report to the Economic Development Director and will be primarily responsible for the team’s communication efforts, logistical needs, and constituent relationships in support of the policies and initiatives that promote economic prosperity for the region and all Portlanders.

Qualified applicants will have a graduate level degree, or analogous workplace experience, as well as demonstrated interest in local economic development policy. Strong writing, organizational, research, and interpersonal skills are essential, along with a demonstrated ability to solve problems and prioritize work.  A familiarity with regional challenges to personal and community economic prosperity as well as the Portland Development Commission, the workforce development system, local chambers of commerce, business associations, and community partners is desired. Our office is an exciting place to work and it demands flexibility, adaptability, and humor.

Responsibilities include logistical and administrative support (40%), communication through speech writing, blogs and letters (30%), all logistics, policy and general staffing needs of the Small Business Advisory Council (SBAC) (20%), and research, coordination and outreach concerning programs and policies covering broad and diverse subject areas (10%)

Salary: Maximum $45,000 (DOE) + generous benefits package

To apply, please submit one electronic application and one hard copy application. Each should include a maximum one-page cover letter, resume, minimum three references, and maximum three-page writing sample. Send the electronic application to: sierra.stringfield@ci.portland.or.us with the subject line: ‘Economic Development Policy Coordinator Application’. Send the hard copy application to:

Tom Miller
Chief of Staff
Re: Economic Development Policy Coordinator Application
Office of Mayor Sam Adams
1221 SW 4^th Avenue, Room 340
Portland, OR 97204

Due to the high volume of applications, please no in-person, phone, or email inquiries. The Office of Mayor Sam Adams is an equal opportunity employer.

The deadline for applications is 5pm, November 27, 2009.

WE DO!

Portland area civic leaders and I gathered this morning at the East Portland Community Center to kick off the first round of community workshops for the Portland Plan. The first workshop will be held tomorrow evening at Beaumont Middle School at 6:30 p.m.

The Portland Plan will be a strategic roadmap to ensure the city is thriving, prosperous and sustainable for all residents. Through the development of the plan, Portlanders will help to define priorities, guide investment of public dollars and set the course for Portland for the next 25 years. The Portland Plan is part of a state-mandated comprehensive plan update and will touch every neighborhood, district and resident as the city grows.

Portland is a great city, but it’s not great for everyone. We have some real challenges ahead of us. Through the Portland Plan, we have an opportunity to make more informed decisions and improve collaboration among regional partners to achieve common goals.

The last time the City developed a comprehensive plan was 1980; about 50 percent of Portlanders today were not here at that time. Because of the impact the plan will ultimately have on each resident of Portland, we are asking for maximum community input over the next 15 months. You can weigh in at community workshops, complete a survey (online at www.pdxplan.com or included in December’s Curbsider publication), and participate in the conversation through social media.