Monthly Archive for February, 2010

CEIC Member Spotlight – URS Electronics

URS Electronics is a wholesale distributor of Electronic Components that has been in business since 1935. They have been located in the CEID (NE 7th & Couch) since 1969 stocking a wide range of electro-mechanical components.

While they originally sold vacuum receiving tubes, today they carry nearly $1Million of inventory in CCTV Video equipment, Terminal Blocks, Wire & Cable, LAN/Premise Wiring products and assorted “hard to find” electronic components.

URS’s primary customer base consists of OEM, Commercial/Industrial, and Local Government. They support the OEM market with value added services (Kitting, Scheduling/KANBAN, Various Assemblies); the Commercial/Industrial/MRO market by supplying a broad range of products in a timely manner; and finally URS has several State/City contracts that allows agencies to avoid the lengthy bid process with competitively priced government contracts.

The recently remodeled front counter area allows end users to stop by and actually “touch & feel” the product prior to purchase. While most of their business is with commercial accounts, they do accept most major credit cards. Either way, they promise fast, knowledgeable, and friendly service.

The average tenure for our 16 employee’s is over 20 years with their current president (Mark Twietmeyer) being a native Oregonian and second generation business owner. He literally grew up in the business, starting with sweeping the floors to eventually reaching the corner office. But as any small business owner knows; you may have the corner office, but you also still know how to run a broom.

For any of your electronic component requirements, call them at 503.233.5341, email us at sales@ursele.com, or visit their front counter at 123 NE 7th & Couch.

If you’d like to be spotlighted as the next CEIC Member, please send and email to terry@ceic.cc

Bowling social February 23rd

The bowling teams are all filled up, however it doesn’t mean you can’t attend the CEIC Annual Bowling Shin-dig on Tuesday, February 23rd.

Lots of CEIC members will still be at Grand Central Bowl, and they’ll be upstairs meeting and socializing with other local business owners.

Simply show up (SE 8th and Morrison) and be a part of the Social Event going on from 4:00 – 7:00 that night. To learn more, email us at ceic@ceic.cc

So where do I go to get information on…

Let’s face it. As a business owner, you’re too busy with day to day operations to spend time traveling through city agency mazes. That’s one of the benefits of belong to the CEIC. We’ve been dealing with the city for almost 30-years and we know who to contact.

Looking for storefront money? Need some energy-saving (and money-rebate) resources? Want updates on projects, Land Use items or want to know of a CEIC business who can help your business with supplies or other services? Don’t know which city agency is in charge of what you need?

Simply zap an email to Terry at terry@ceic.cc and get the information you want. It’s one of the reasons the CEIC is here – besides the fact we spend a GREAT deal of time protecting the rights of the business and property owners in the district – to assist the businesses of the CEIC.

Talk to the police directly at the CPAC Meetings

Trespass campers, graffiti, petty crimes and a bunch of other issues face business and property owners in the Central Eastside.

If you’re tired of it and want a direct line to the police and other agencies, attend the Community Policing Action Committee (CPAC). It meets the third Thursday of the month from 7:30AM – 8:30AM at 1515 SE Water Ave, Mt Adams Conference Room on the third floor.

It’s free, open to anyone, and gives you face-to-face time with the people who patrol our district, as well as the Office of Neighborhood Improvement and other agencies.

The next meeting is Thursday, February 18th.

Streetcar Open House and planning design

The Portland-Milwaukie Streetcar keeps chugging along, and you’re invited to attend their next Open House. These events provide periodic updates on the status of the project and allows attendees to voice their opinions.

The next Open House is Monday, February 22 from 4:30 –6:30 p.m.

St. Philip Neri Parish, Carvlin Hall
2408 SE 16th Ave.

This location is served by bus line 4-Division/Fessenden.

The Conceptual Design Report which presents the vision, process and preliminary design for the Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail Project is now available.

The report includes sections regarding specific alignment segments and station areas, with many illustrations can be found by clicking here

What’s with all the $%^& construction?!

So you’re trying to do business (or get to your business) in the Central Eastside. Problem is, four different agencies have construction projects going on which make traveling around the area – and getting customers to your place of business – a most difficult task.

Well the short answer is, visit this link for the most up to date road closures. You might as well download and bookmark it and make it an easy link on your cell phone – all this construction is going to take a while.

If you want to voice your opinion and learn more about these projects, attend our Quarterly Meeting on April 1st. We’ll have representatives from these companies discuss their projects and their timelines.

To learn more about the Quarterly Meeting and to reserve your spots, click here.

Just for fun, here’s what you can look forward to the next couple of weeks:
EAST – WEST streets

SE Ash St – 14th to 18th, lane closures: Now thru February 26
Sewer work is underway. Expect lane closures and possible detours. (Portland Streetcar Loop Project)

N Broadway St & N Weidler St – Benton to Williams, lane closures: Now thru March 5
Sewer work is underway. Expect lane closures and possible detours. (Portland Streetcar Loop Project)

NE Broadway St – Grand to Williams, lane closures: Now thru – March 21
Water line work is being performed, followed by paving. Expect lane closures and traffic delays. (Portland Streetcar Loop Project)

NE Broadway St – MLK to Williams, NIGHT TIME lane closures: Now thru April 18
Utility line work occurring mostly at night on south side of street. Expect possible lane closure and delays. (Portland Streetcar Loop Project)

E Burnside St – 16th to 22nd, lane closures: Now thru May 2010
Sewer line work is underway. Expect delays due to lane closures as traffic is reduced to one lane in each direction. (Oak Basin Sewer Project)

NE Couch St – at Burnside ~AND~ at Sandy, lane closures or detours: February 8 – 19
Traffic island work is being performed. Expect lane closures or detours. (Burnside / Couch Couplet Project)

NE Couch St – MLK to Grand, road closed: Now thru February 16
Roadway construction and/or paving work is being performed. Street will be closed except for Local Access Only. Expect detours. (Burnside / Couch Couplet Project)

NE Couch St – MLK to 3rd, now CLOSED: Permanently
This segment of Couch in now CLOSED permanently as part of the street realignment plan for the Burnside / Couch Couplet project. (Burnside / Couch Couplet Project)

NE Couch St – 17th to 20th, lane closures: Now thru February 28
Replacement sewer work is complete. Water line work is underway to be followed by paving. (Paving work is weather dependant.) Expect lane and/or street closures. (Oak Basin Sewer Project)

NE Davis St – Grand to 3rd, now Two-Way traffic: Permanently
This segment of Davis was once One-Way traffic, but has changed to Two-Way traffic permanently. (Burnside / Couch Couplet Project)

NE Lloyd Blvd – Grand to 9th, lane closure: Now thru December 2011
One eastbound travel lane will be closed all hours for Portland Streetcar rail line staging and storage. (Portland Streetcar Loop Project)

SE Oak St – 3rd to Grand, lane closures: Now thru March 5
Sewer work is underway. Expect lane closures and possible detours. (Portland Streetcar Loop Project)

SE Pine St – 13th to 17th, local access only: Now thru March 2010
Sewer line work is being performed. Expect traffic delays due to lane closures. There will be no through traffic from 13th to 15th Avenue during work hours, except for local access. (Oak Basin Sewer Project)

NE Weidler St – Ross to Williams, lane closures: Now thru March 3
Sewer work is being performed. Expect lane closures and traffic delays. (Portland Streetcar Loop Project)

Eastbound access to I-84 from Burnside Bridge: Ongoing Detour
Eastbound traffic traveling to I-84 from the Burnside Bridge will be detoured east on E Burnside, south on 6th, west on Stark, and north on Grand for northbound traffic to I-84. This detour will be in place during construction of NE Couch couplet segment of improvements. (Burnside / Couch Couplet Project)

NORTH – SOUTH streets

NE Grand Ave – Burnside to Everett, lane closures: Now thru March 7
Track preparation and construction underway, followed by paving work. (Paving work is weather dependant.) Expect traffic delays due to lane closures. (Portland Streetcar Loop Project)

NE Grand Ave – Oregon to Hassalo, lane closures: Now thru March 5
Track preparation and construction underway, followed by paving work. (Paving work is weather dependant.) Expect traffic delays due to lane closures. (Portland Streetcar Loop Project)

NE Grand Ave – at Broadway, lane closures: February 8 – 19
Utility work is being performed. Expect lane closures. (Portland Streetcar Loop Project)

SE Grand Ave – Mill to Hawthorne, lane closures: Now thru February 26
Water line work is being performed. Expect lane closures and traffic delays. (Portland Streetcar Loop Project)

SE Grand Ave – at Ankeny, and at Pine, lane closures: February 15 – 26
Utility work is being performed. Expect lane closures. (Portland Streetcar Loop Project)

NE MLK Blvd – Everett to Burnside, lane closures: February 1 – February 21
Track preparation and construction underway. Expect traffic delays due to lane closures. (Portland Streetcar Loop Project)

SE MLK Blvd – at Market, lane closures: Now thru February 19
Water infrastructure work is being performed, to be followed by paving. Expect lane closures. (Portland Streetcar Loop Project)

SE MLK Blvd – Pine to Oak, lane closures: Now thru February 19
Sewer work is being performed. Expect lane closures and traffic delays. (Portland Streetcar Loop Project)

SE MLK Blvd – at Washington, lane closures: February 18 – March 3
Sewer work is being performed. Expect lane closures and traffic delays. (Portland Streetcar Loop Project)

SE MLK Blvd – Oak to Alder, lane closures: Now thru February 19
Sewer work is being performed. Expect lane closures and traffic delays. (Portland Streetcar Loop Project)

NE 7th Ave – Weidler to Oregon, lane closures: February 22 – June 25
Sewer and water work is being performed. Expect lane closures and traffic delays. (Portland Streetcar Loop Project)

SE 10th Ave – Ankeny to Pine, local access only: Now thru February 17
Paving work is being performed. Expect detours. (Oak Basin Sewer Project)

SE 10th Ave & SE Oak St, intersection closed: Now thru November 2010
The SE 10th and Oak Street Drop Shaft sewer crews are excavating the shaft. The intersection will be closed in all directions. Traffic will be detoured around the intersection. (Oak Basin Sewer Project)

SE 10th Ave – Sandy to Stark, local access only: Now thru November 2010
For the SE 10th and Oak Street Drop Shaft project (see above item). Local Access Only. Expect traffic delays. (Oak Basin Sewer Project)

NE 13th Ave – Burnside to Couch, road closed: Now thru February 16
Roadway construction and/or paving work is being performed. Street will be closed. Expect detours. (Burnside / Couch Couplet Project)

NE 14th Ave – Burnside to Sandy, road closed: Now thru February 16
Roadway construction and/or paving work is being performed. Street will be closed. Expect detours. (Burnside / Couch Couplet Project)

NE 17th Ave – Burnside to Couch, lane reductions: Now thru February 26
Mainline sewer work is complete. Paving will commence soon. Expect traffic delays due to reduced travel lanes. (Oak Basin Sewer Project)
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Quarterly Meeting to discuss construction in the CEID

April 1, 2010
12:00 pmto1:30 pm

Yeah we know – trying to get around this district is a hassle. Some business owners are having to drive around for over half-an-hour just to find a street open which will let them GET to work.

So at this Quarterly Meeting, we’re working on getting all the agencies and construction crews together to answer your questions and concerns about all their projects.

If you’ve been impacted by these projects (and who hasn’t?) you’ll want to attend this meeting. It’ll be at Madison’s on April 1st from 12:00 to 1:30 and lunch will be served. Bring some business cards as this is also a fantastic way to network with other CEIC businesses.

To reserve your spots, simply email us at ceic@ceic.cc or call us at 503.768.4299. It’s time to vent your frustration and here’s the venue to do it!

CEIC Business wins National Award

InterWorks LLC has been awarded three 2010 Regional Contractor of the Year Awards by the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI).

The prestigious CotY awards recognize contractors who have demonstrated outstanding work through their remodeling projects. The awards were in the categories of Residential Addition over $250,000, Residential Exterior Under $100,000 and Residential Exterior $100,000 and Over.

The Northwest Region includes Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Colorado, Wyoming and Alaska. Regional award winners will compete for the National Contractor of the Year awards to be announced in April in Phoenix, Arizona at the remodeling industry’s Evening of Excellence.

If your business has won an award or received recognition and you want others to know about it, send an email to terry@ceic.cc.

Police Bureau Introduces New Citizen Online Reporting

The Portland Police Bureau has launched a new Citizen Online Reporting System.

This internet-based system, gives citizens the ability to report property crimes within Portland that have no suspect information, saving them time and money and freeing up valuable police resources for response to more critical incidents.

Citizens can report the following types of incidents:
- Theft from vehicle
- Vandalism to vehicle
- Theft (excluding firearms and prescription medications)
- Vandalism (excluding graffiti)
- Lost property (excluding firearms and prescription medications)
- Additional property information (from a previously filed report)

The Online Reporting System can be accessed at www.portlandpolice.com.

Temporary spaces needed

The requests keep pouring in from people looking for temporary space. Artists, theatre groups, start-up businesses and a variety of others are looking to rent out – some for a month, some for a few months – space in the Central Eastside.

If you have space, a vacant building or know of someone who does, please email Terry Taylor at terry@ceic.cc. This is a great way to generate exposure for the space, maybe make a few bucks on space you aren’t currently renting or leasing, and help out groups and individuals who need some temporary space.