Sacha White, the southeast Portland-based maker of fine bicycles who has sat among the top American framebuilders for years, has just released a new bike: the Urban Racer.
Southeast Portland has always been the heart of Portland’s biking culture. But as the last few weeks have made horrifically clear, it’s still full of problems.
In an article published Friday on the Southeast Uplift neighborhood coalition’s website, a new member of that organization’s board laid out three concrete and seemingly achievable suggestions for making the area a bit better — as well as a perceptive theory about the recent problems on Southeast Clinton Street.
This post is sponsored by Cycle Oregon, who’d like to remind you that their Weekend Ride is coming up on July 10-12 and there are still spots available.
Do you remember your first time riding in a group? When you finally got up the nerve to ride a bit closer to someone’s wheel and managed to cheat the wind?
Portland has won a grant related to bike share — but the news isn’t what you might expect.
The Better Bike Share Partnership, a collaboration between The City of Philadelphia, Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) and PeopleForBikes, announced $375,000 in grants this morning all aimed at furthering the group’s mission to “increase access to and use of bike share in underserved communities.”
The money was divided among six cities: Brooklyn, Charlotte, Boston, Austin, Chicago, and Portland. All of those cities — except Portland — will use the money to improve their existing bike share systems. Here in Portland of course, we don’t have a bike share system to improve. Instead, our $74,986 slice of this grant pie will go toward research that will benefit Philadelphia’s bike share system.
Oh, the irony.
— This week’s Monday Roundup is sponsored by the Ride for Schools, a ride to raise money for Oregon’s public schools that takes place in Hillsboro on June 27th.
Here are the bike-related links from around the world that caught our eyes this week:
Time capsule: What did it feel like to run a bike shop in the middle of Oregon’s 1971 bike boom? “They’ve taken all the fun out of the business,” complained Portland retailer Pat Patterson in this newspaper article from that spring. Leading the activism charge at the time was the late PSU English professor Sam Oakland, who said “We want to redesign Portland to make it a city for people — particularly in the downtown business area — instead of what it is now, a giant, smelly parking garage for commuters.”
Kerry’s cycling: Secretary of State John Kerry, who broke his femur while biking in France on Sunday, is quite an athelete. “If he raced in his age category, he’d be one of the top riders in the U.S,” says former pro racer Jonathan Vaughters, who’s ridden with the 71-year-old politician.
Portland Mayor Charlie Hales and City Commissioner Steve Novick have just announced an “urgent meeting” that will take place next week at City Hall to discuss bike safety following a spate of collisions that has sparked widespread concerns.
Novick is the commissioner in charge of the transportation bureau, which has committed to the concept of “Vision Zero” which is a policy and set of actions that aims to eliminate traffic deaths.
Here’s the official word about the meeting that just came down from Novick’s Transportation Policy Advisor Timur Ender:
As hundreds of people take to the streets in an expression of frustration about unsafe biking conditions in Portland, the Oregon Department of Transportation has just announced plans to install new left turn arrows at SE Powell and 26th Avenue — an intersection where two people have sustained serious injuries in collisions this month.
This announcement comes as a surprise and is very likely a response to the collision that happened at the intersection today and the resulting public pressure that has come from it. ODOT rep Shelli Romero told me back on May 11th at the protest event at Powell and 26th that they want to “redo this signal” but no one expected such a quick timeline.
Sex crimes are horrific, and — despite the concerns of some about civil liberties — many states respond to their horror by publicly shaming people who commit them.
Maybe traffic crimes should be punished similarly, BikePortland reader invisiblebikes suggested in a comment Wednesday beneath our post about the newly launched Vision Zero PAC, which aims to put a spotlight on politicians who defend unsafe driving. As invisiblebikes describes it, the government wouldn’t even be involved.
Job Title *
ACCOUNTING SPECIALIST
Company/Organization *
CASTELLI USA
Job Description *
Castelli USA is looking for a self-motivated and resourceful individual with a positive can-do attitude and a willingness to take initiative. This individual will have exceptional communication skills and be a team player. This position is responsible for various accounting duties including assisting with collections and customer service. Requirements include a strong understanding of basic accounting principles and an accounting or finance degree.
EDUCATION AND WORK EXPERIENCE
• Bachelor’s degree in accounting or finance
• 2+ years of accounts receivable experience, including collections/customer service
PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES:
• Post customer payments to individual accounts on a daily basis and resolve account discrepancies as they occur.
• Respond to accounting-related customer inquiries regarding AR accounts.
• Review AR accounts to determine the appropriate action for collection.
• Collect on past-due accounts by sending statements and communicating with customers via phone and email while maintaining a strong focus on customer service.
• Use weekly holds report to monitor and follow up on accounts that are on hold.
• Work in tandem with Inside Sales to get holds released so orders can be shipped.
• Take on other various accounting related tasks on an as needed basis.
SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE AND ABILITIES
• Outstanding organizational skills with high attention to detail.
• Proficiency in MS Office, particularly strong in Excel, as well as, familiarity with accounting and database reporting software.
• Ability to adapt to change and learn quickly.
• Ability to work well under pressure and quickly respond to customer requests.
• Strong business acumen with ability to make lower end decisions and give constructive feedback on accounting matters.
• Ability to work independently and as a collaborative member of a team.
• Excellent communication and problem-solving skills.
Compensation: Castelli USA offers competitive pay; health, vision and dental insurance; 401(k) plan with company match; profit sharing; and paid vacation. Castelli USA is an equal opportunity employer.
How to Apply *
For job consideration, please submit resume and cover letter to accounting@castelli-us.com
Job Title *
Floor Sales
Company/Organization *
Athletes Lounge
Job Description *
Athletes Lounge, Portland Oregon’s shop for Triathlon is looking for a very experienced bicycle sales person. This position is full time and would start immediately. We are looking for retail and bicycle specific experience. Pay depends on experience. We offer full medical and paid time off.
How to Apply *
Please Send Resume and Cover Sheet to gary@athleteslounge.com
Last night was the Bicycle Transportation Alliance’s 25th anniversary celebration and Alice Awards gala at the Portland Art Museum.
There has been another collision involving a bicycle rider in Portland. And this time it was at the same intersection where Alistair Corkett lost his leg just a few weeks ago.