Eric Norberg, Editor & General Manager Brian Monihan, Publisher Sandy Hubbard, Independent BEE      Advertising Representative Molly Filler, Page Design Jaime McClaren, Accounting Eric Norberg:     Sandy Hubbard: Call: 503 / 232-2326    Text: 971 / 407-7942 fax: 503/232-9787 text: 503/757-0014 "Community Classifieds" want ads: 503/620-7355 Circulation/subscriptions: 503/620-9797 Accounting/Billing: 971/204-7712 CMG Media Editorial and Sales Address: 1837 S.E. Harold Street Portland, OR 97202-4932 Remit bill payments to: Accounts Receivable Department P.O. Box 45, West Linn, OR 97068 e-mail: ReadTheBee@Outlook.com February, 2025 - Vol. 119, No. 6 Scroll down to read this issue! Memories of THE BEE's first 100 years! In 2006, THE BEE celebrated its centennial of serving Southeast Portland!  A special four-page retrospective of Inner Southeast Portland's century, written by Eileen Fitzsimons, and drawn from the pages of THE BEE over the previous 100 years, appeared in our September, 2006, issue. Click here to read the special centenary retrospective! _________________________________________ BEE SUBMISSION AND AD DEADLINES Next BEE is our March issue, with a deadline of February 20, 2025. (The April issue has an ad and copy deadline of March 20.) INTERESTED IN ADVERTISING? CLICK HERE FOR RATES AND INFORMATION!      ____________________________________ Want to subscribe to receive the PRINT version of THE BEE in the mail? Email circulation@pamplinmedia.com -- or telephone 503/620-9797, during weekday business hours. The 12-issue annual print subscription is $45 per year (includes digital version) for addresses anywhere in the United States.. International rates are available; inquire via the e-mail address or the telephone number two lines up!  _________________________________________________________________________ Daily news!  The Portland Tribune is updated a number of times every day, to bring you the latest news of the Portland area and Oregon.  Click on the banner at left to read the Tribune online! THE BEE has a second website -- searchable for past stories.  The content for the current month includes what is on this one, presented in a different format.  To visit our newer website, click the banner at right! GDPR NOTICE: The owner of this website, www.ReadTheBee.com, collects no information on this site from any visitor, and never has. Two familiar faces: Pat Hubbell, owner of Brooklyn Pharmacy – and his hypoallergenic therapy dog Hal, who spends his days interacting with customers. Hubbell has been supported by legislators in his fight for drug-pricing reform at the state and national level. (Photo by Paige Wallace) Brooklyn Pharmacy’s push for ‘fairer drug prices’ draws lawmakers By PAIGE WALLACE For THE BEE Political and community leaders gathered on Monday morning, December 23rd, at Brooklyn Pharmacy – a block south of Powell Boulevard at 3131 S.E. Milwaukie Avenue – to show their support for that beloved Inner Southeast Portland business. Their aim was to rally against current prescription drug pricing practices that negatively impact independent pharmacies, as well as the neighborhood residents who rely on the services of those stores. U.S. Senator Ron Wyden contacted the historic pharmacy’s owner and lead pharmacist, Pat Hubbell, to help arrange the event. Wyden said the two are working together to help independent pharmacies receive fairer reimbursement from insurance providers. They also want to limit the power of Pharmacy Benefit Manager companies, to ensure affordable medication costs for consumers. “We just want to get our job done and take care of people, but we’re not being able to do that now,” said Hubbell. “So now we’re trying to really raise our voice.” Oregon Rep. Rob Nosse, who represents the 42nd District which includes the Brooklyn neighborhood, spoke about his work on these matters in the Oregon legislature. Specifically, he discussed an upcoming bill in the 2025 session that “will mandate appropriate reimbursement” for pharmacists. The bill would require insurance companies to offer “in-network pricing” at independent pharmacies, and not just to the larger drug chains. “We’re going to make sure that Oregonians across the state, when they go to any pharmacy of their choice in the suburbs, or a rural area, or here in Portland, that they can be seen and be served. And a pharmacy that’s run by CVS or Express Scripts won’t be prioritized [by the system] over the choice of the consumer,” Nosse said. Wyden and other participants largely took aim at “Pharmacy Benefit Managers”, the third-party companies that negotiate drug prices on behalf of health insurance networks. Such PBMs set and manage covered-drug lists, prior authorizations, step therapy requirements, and generic substitution permissions. “Health care expenses are essential – it’s not a Democrat or Republican issue,” Wyden asserted. “This community has been dealt a heavy blow by the Pharmacy Benefit Managers. We’re going to have to keep working to rein in these middlemen.” Hubbell later shared with THE BEE how rising drug costs have been impacting his own business. He explained that a decade ago, an independent pharmacy could fill 100 to 150 prescriptions a day and stay viable. Now that number has risen to 200 to 250 a day, and Brooklyn Pharmacy is still working toward hitting that number. “It costs me $12 per prescription just to open the doors,” he added, adding that payments from customers and PBMs often amount to far less than that. He also said that the drug pricing system in place today has not changed since 1964. Hubbell, who employs nine people, is currently encouraging other independent pharmacists across the state to form a coalition to lobby lawmakers for changes to the reimbursement system. He’s also asking his customers and community to lend their voices in support. “We are trying to go to battle,” Hubbell explained. “I’m going to send out basically a call to action to my patients and my community, to contact their legislators.” He plans to set up a QR code that allows his customers to easily email their representatives about this issue, available both at the pharmacy, and online at – https://www.brooklyn-pharmacyrx.com Others in attendance at the press conference expressed their support for revamping the system. Speakers included representatives from Oregon State Pharmacy Association (OSPA), the Greater Brooklyn Business Association, and the Brooklyn Action Corps neighborhood association. OSPA President Amanda Meeker spoke on behalf of her industry. “Independent pharmacies across Oregon have been asking for fair regulation – not special treatment, just a level playing field. They want to keep their doors open to provide care for their communities, and to be compensated fairly for their services.” Local business owner Jody McComas talked about how much her family values Brooklyn Pharmacy. “When we moved into Brooklyn, I saw there was a local pharmacy just blocks away from where we lived, and we’ve been coming here ever since! It is trustworthy and reliable. They know us. They support our community. It makes our neighborhood and our families stronger because they're here, and we need to protect them.” Hubbell said he’s not giving up without a fight. “We just want to be truthful and honest about what’s going on, and I think this time we’re finally getting some good support.” Hubbell expressed appreciation not only for the lawmakers championing his cause, but also for the neighbors and customers who support his business. “I love knowing all the patients. I love knowing all the business owners in the area. I love being here in this community.” Brooklyn Pharmacy has repeatedly been cited by local media as a small pharmacy with prices that compare favorably with the large drug chains, even with the obstacles that Hubbell cites. After more than two miles of careening through neighborhood streets between the Foster-Powell and the Reed neighborhood, the driver of the stolen car smashed into a parked SUV on the north side of the Reed College campus, and was arrested. (Courtesy of PPB) Sleepy driver in stolen car flees police, crashes near Reed College By DAVID F. ASHTON For THE BEE Late on Saturday morning, January 11, a man and woman were snoozing in a Jeep Cherokee parked in the Foster-Powell neighborhood. That caught the attention of neighbors, who thought it was suspicious and called 9-1-1. East Precinct officers were dispatched at 11:05 a.m. to look into the matter. The location was given as S.E. 60th Avenue and Francis Street, and an arriving officer pulled up behind the Jeep and walked up to its door. The female driver woke up, started the engine, and slammed it into reverse – smashing into the police cruiser – before speeding off. She headed southwest, zig-zagging through neighborhood streets, crossing S.E. 52nd Avenue, Holgate Boulevard, 39th Avenue, and then Steele Street. Along the way, “spike strips” thrown out by other officers flattened at least one of the Jeep’s tires – but the driver continued to swerve in and out of lanes of traffic, run stop signs and red lights, and endanger other drivers. Even though the officers behind her backed off, she sped onward. The Jeep’s flat left front tire by then was shredded, and her vehicle was sparking and grinding as it drove on the metal rim. Finally, the driver lost control and crashed into a parked car on the north side of the Reed College Campus at S.E. 34th and Insley, a block south of Steele. Officers arrested the female driver and her male passenger – he turned out to be packing a loaded and stolen Smith & Wesson “M&P” semiautomatic pistol. The officers also determined that the now-totaled Jeep she was driving had also been stolen. After being medically cleared at a hospital after the crash, the driver – identified as 21-year-old Kyliana Star Strickland – was booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center (MCDC) on charges that included Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants (drugs), Reckless Driving, Recklessly Endangering Another Person, Failure to Perform the Duties of a Driver (property damage) (4 counts), Interfering with a Peace Officer (2 counts), and Resisting Arrest. She also had active arrest warrants, not to mention that she was driving a stolen car. However, at her arraignment, a Multnomah County judge set her free – without posting bail – on January 14. Apparently she must have struck the judge as somehow trustworthy, and she was released on her own recognizance. The passenger, 24-year-old Jacob Kyle Richardson, was booked into the MCDC on January 11 at 3:43 p.m. on charges of Distribution of Controlled Substances – both methamphetamine and cocaine – Theft in the First Degree of a Firearm, and Unlawful Possession of a Firearm. He also had several arrest warrants against him, and he’s still behind bars in lieu of $30,500 combined bail. This is the gateway to the blocks-long Eastport Plaza, on the northeast corner of Holgate Boulevard and S.E. 82nd Avenue of Roses in Southeast Portland. (Photo by David F. Ashton) New owners hope to restore the luster to Eastport Plaza By DAVID F. ASHTON For THE BEE The closest major shopping center to Inner Southeast Portland is not Clackamas Town Center, or Lloyd Center, or Mall 205. It’s Eastport Plaza – occupying a stretch of S.E. 82nd Avenue of Roses, from the corner of Holgate Boulevard and 82nd northward. If you haven’t been there lately, there are a lot of businesses and services in it worth exploring. Now, in its 65th year as a fixture of Inner Southeast Portland, Eastport Plaza will again be locally owned, after several years of being under out-of-state managers. According to information from the shopping center’s sellers – Dallas, Texas, based “SRS Real Estate Partners” – the mall last changed hands in the late 1990s. Multnomah County records reveal that Eastport Plaza Shopping Center LLC, the corporate name of the new buyers, is an investor group led by Brandon Wang and Hoang Nguyen. They bought the entire shopping complex, in January, for $28 million. If the buyers’ names seem familiar, it’s because – in late 2023 – Wang and Nguyen were the buyers of the former Walmart store in that complex, as well as its underlying property, for $20 million, remodeling it into their fourth “Hong Phát Supercenter”. The Hong Phát store sells Asian, Eastern European, Latino, Middle Eastern, and American groceries and goods, and also operates a robust food court in the store. But the new buyers intend that the entire Eastport Plaza complex will remain of service to all residents in the area, with a broad range of businesses of value to everyone. “Hong Phát has deep Portland roots, and will continue the stewardship of one of Portland’s most recognizable shopping centers with a ‘local’s touch’,” was the formal statement of the new owners after they closed the purchase. “We plan to utilize our connections within the Portland business community, as well as the Asian business community, to ensure this property fulfills its destiny as the centerpiece of the 82nd corridor.” 65 years of history When the covered shopping mall began construction on October 20, 1959, at a cost of $5 million, it was called one of the most expensive building projects in the Pacific Northwest at the time. Opening on October 27, 1960, this new shopping center featured J.C. Penny, Lipman’s, and Newberry’s as anchor stores. Close to two decades later, when some of its main tenants left for the then-new Clackamas Town Center to the south, its fortunes declined, and the enclosed promenade structure was demolished in 1996. Within a year, Eastport Plaza was ready and open as a “distributed” shopping plaza, featuring “islands” of stores. Today it also includes a multi-screen cinema complex – the nearest one to most residents in Inner Southeast. In 2007 the Plaza’s Manager at the time, Ken Turner, worked with neighborhood and business leaders to establish the annual “82nd Avenue of Roses Parade” – now officially recognized as the first parade of the Portland Rose Festival each year.  It was an effort on Turner’s part to build community, and to improve S.E. 82nd Avenue’s image. If it’s been a while since you’ve visited Eastport Plaza, it takes only a few minutes to get there from almost anywhere in Inner Southeast Portland, and maybe it’s time to get reacquainted with this convenient shopping and entertainment resource nearby. The Oaks Amusement Park’s new “Drop Tower Ride” would be located here, partially screened by trees, in what is now the central picnic area. This photo depicts the site on a day in which it was decked out for an Easter Egg hunt. (Photo by David F. Ashton) The new “Drop Tower Ride” at Oaks Amusement Park would look similar to this, according to a photo from its manufacturer – which used forced perspective (notice the vertical fence “bent inward”, at the bottom) to make the tower look taller. (Courtesy of Larson International) Activists challenge new thrill ride at Oaks Amusement Park By DAVID F. ASHTON For THE BEE After 120 years of operation, historic Oaks Amusement Park in Sellwood continues to be the premiere family recreation destination in greater Portland Area. Over the years, the Oaks Park Association – the nonprofit organization that now owns and operates the park – has added major thrill rides, including the brightly-illuminated 72-foot-tall Adrenaline Peak roller coaster. Most recently, The Oaks installed AtmosFEAR, a brilliantly-LED-lit attraction that swings riders upside down, 99 feet into the air. As part of a plan for renovating the 44-acre park’s Southeast Portland campus, in December Oaks Park Association staff filed a permit review for changes to their property, located between the east bank of the Willamette River and the Oregon Pacific Railroad berm that runs west of the Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge in Sellwood. Part of the review includes a requested zoning change to permit construction of a new thrill ride, generically called a 147 feet “Drop Tower” ride, in what is now a large picnic area near the center of the park near the Outdoor Pavilion. “We’ve been working on our park redesign for more than five years,” Oaks Park Marketing and Events Director Emily MacKay told THE BEE in mid-January. “Drop Tower rides are popular in parks all over the world, and we look forward to bringing this new thrill to our community,” MacKay said. “The installation of the Drop Tower will be part of our larger multi-year refurbishment and rejuvenation project, to bring many updates and improvements to the park. That kicks off this year.” Also part of the requested zoning review was the planned addition of six new “replica ornamental light fixtures” in the area. Applying for zoning variances and permits is nothing new for The Oaks, MacKay commented. “We’ve had to obtain ‘exceptions’ for almost every improvement we’ve made, from structure elevation to placement of electrical sources.” It’s unclear when members of the latest iteration of the “Friends of Oaks Bottom” became aware of the zoning change proposal, but on January 11th the group issued a press release entitled: “Help support our efforts to prevent the construction of a light tower in Oaks Park”, which stated, in part: “If constructed, this tower would be an eyesore for much of the Sellwood Neighborhood. “The Sellwood Bluff, which runs along Sellwood Boulevard at the South end of Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge, provides scenic viewpoints out to downtown Portland, Mt. St. Helens, and the Willamette River. A tall and glaringly bright tower would detract from the scenic elements of the bluff that attract so many people to walk, run, and play along it. “Moreover, on summer nights, the proposed tower would blast a wave of light into the residences surrounding Oaks Bottom. “More significant even than the assault on the beloved scenic area are the effects that such a light tower would have on the hundreds of species of wildlife that rely on Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge. Bright lights illuminating the lake and marsh, especially at night, would negatively impact all manner of wildlife from birds to beavers.” “I think this particular ride is not very conducive to protecting wildlife,” said Ezra Cohen, the co-founder of Friends of Oak Bottom, to BEE news partner KOIN-TV-6 News. “Light from cities gets into the sky and disorients birds when they’re migrating, and then they crash into lighted structures like windows that they cannot see.” As noted, The Oaks operates several rides much taller than a 30-foot height limit, because the park predates the city’s current zoning. “When Oaks Amusement Park opened, more than a century ago, there was nothing else here,” MacKay pointed out. MacKay said that she and Oaks Park Association management had considered the possible environmental concerns raised by Cohen. “The Tower Drop and decorative lighting are in the middle of the park, far enough from the refuge to protect the birds. “The fact is, we are a seasonal business that only operates 129 day a year!” MacKay pointed out. “And we’re operating primarily during daylight hours, due to the late sunsets on long, summer days; and, the rides are only running after dark for a cumulative total of about 50 hours [spread out over the entire year].” The Friends of Oaks Bottom call-to-action concluded alarmingly, “We believe that this proposal would wreak significant and irreparable damage on the 160 acre Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge”. But MacKay suggested that she believed both organizations could work together toward an amicable outcome. The Sellwood Moreland Improvement League neighborhood association (SMILE), a nonprofit with which the Friends of Oaks Bottom has in the past aligned itself, elected to take no position on the Drop Tower zoning request at its January 15th Board Meeting in Sellwood. The public comment period for the Oaks Park zoning request closed on January 16th. Police cordoned off the parking lot of the convenience store at Holgate and 52nd to conduct an investigation of the early-morning parking-lot shooting. (Courtesy of KPTV-12 News) Man shot, door shattered, at 52nd Avenue Plaid Pantry By DAVID F. ASHTON For THE BEE The evening, a couple of days before Christmas on December 22nd, was not a “silent night” at S.E. Holgate and 52nd Avenue. Instead, gunfire shattered the peace, early that Sunday morning, at the north end of the Woodstock neighborhood. East Precinct officers were dispatched at 1:31 a.m. to a shots-fired incident in front of the Plaid Pantry convenience store at that location. “Officers who responded to reports of a shooting did find one person, an adult male, who had been shot,” is what PPB Public Information Manager Mike Benner later told THE BEE. The wounded man lay partway inside the front doors of the market. The glass on one of the two entry doors had been splintered by bullets – and at least six spent shell casings were located with police markers nearby. “The victim was taken to a local hospital with what are NOT believed to be life-threatening injuries,” Benner continued. “But the suspect fled the scene.” The incident apparently was not an attempted robbery; it took place outside the store. It is still under active investigation. If you have information about this case, and have not talked to police, e-mail it to – crimetips@police.portlandoregon.gov – to the attention of “ECST” – and please refer to Case No. 24-325750. Here’s a plan drawing of the all-new Cleveland High School, as presented to the PPS Design Committee by contractor Mahlum | Studio Petretti. (Courtesy photo) If voters pass a proposed bond measure in the May election, it won’t be long until this “face” of Cleveland High School may be demolished – according to current plans – to make way for an all-new campus, on S.E. Powell Boulevard. (Photo by David F. Ashton) Funding woes stall plans to rebuild Cleveland High By DAVID F. ASHTON For THE BEE Just as efforts to finalize the design of the modernized Cleveland High School (CHS) were getting underway late last year, Portland Public School (PPS) planners abruptly cancelled their December 14th Community Design Workshop. This is because, on December 2, at a meeting of the PPS School Facilities Improvement Oversight Committee, Superintendent Kimberlee Armstrong and the PPS Board made clear their desire to build their newest high schools – Cleveland, Jefferson, and Ida B. Wells – within a much lower budget. During that meeting, PPS proposed reducing the projected “$500,000,000 per school” cost of the three projects. That’s half a billion dollars each. “If these high schools cost $450 million to build, they won’t just be the most expensive high schools ever built in Oregon – they may be the most expensive high schools ever built in the United States! This is not an ‘award’ we want to win!” remarked PPB Board Chair Andrew Scott. Meeting for months The first meeting of the “Cleveland Design Advisory Group” (CDAG) was back on May 9, 2024, and it was held in the school’s library. Portland Public Schools officials and representatives of contractor Mahlum | Studio Petretti presented an analysis of the Cleveland High School site, and showed some of the different site configurations that has been explored in the comprehensive planning process. The planners showed a larger site plan illustrating how all three CHS properties, and Powell Park, could be used. Additional Community Design Workshop sessions were held in June, August, September, and October. After tabulating the results of all the community surveys, and factoring in comments during the workshops, the planning group proposed two alternatives last fall: “Plan A” involved demolishing the main building, which was constructed in 1929 – and rebuilding it from the ground up. While many CHS Alumni acknowledged the need for an upgraded campus, they denounced the demolition of their historic school building. “Plan B” is to keep and renovate the original structure – and build new facilities around it. To the chagrin of the traditionalists, of the 1,413 people who responded to the survey, 81% of them supported “Plan A”: an all-new CHS campus. Of those voting in favor of Plan A, the two top reasons were: A brand new high school building provides better options for students and teachers. It is the least expensive option; budget considerations are important to me. But, all of this is now “on pause” while the PPS seeks to wrangle money to pay for it all – or cut costs enough to make proceeding feasible. Continuation of bond pitched To fund a $1.8 billion budget for widespread school repairs, including the three-school rebuild, PPS plans to refer a bond to the May ballot to request that voters continue the existing property tax rate for an additional eight years. According to PPS officials, the cost to rebuild Cleveland High School is now projected to be $340 million, should that bond pass. If it does, CHS students will be shuffled off to the Marshall Campus, in the Lents neighborhood, during construction, as were the Benson High students during that school’s recent upgrade. Comments? News tips? Click here to submit! Trying to remember or locate a BEE advertiser? Click here to e-mail us, and we'll help! Fair warning:  We have so many great photos on page 2 this month, it may take a moment or two to load on slower connections!  Now, prepare to enjoy what we have for you on page 2! READY TO TURN TO PAGE 2 -- FOR "MORE NEWS"? Click here! Note to readers: At some point, this, our original Internet website, may be replaced at this web address by our new website, as part of the Community Newspapers group. At that time, you will still be able to access this, our original -- and smartphone-friendly -- website, if you save this address:  www.sePDXnews.com. 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