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Saturday, April 6, 2013

OPAL NEWS

If you have found yourself thinking lately that you would like to get more involved with OPAL and Bus Riders Unite!, this Saturday is the perfect opportunity. We will be out for 1st Saturday Organizing and also conducting more bus stop assessments as part of the East Portland Bus Stop Improvement Project. Both of these efforts are essential to OPAL’s mission. Help us activate more transit riders by talking with them about the Campaign for a Fair Transfer. Participating in 1st Saturday Organizing is a great way to reconnect with OPAL if you have not been active lately, or to learn more about the “groundwork” if you are just getting familiar with us.
1st Saturday Organizing: Meet at OPAL at 11:00 THIS Saturday, April 6th. TriMet Lines 4, 14

You can also show your support for OPAL and Portland’s youth leaders by attending the City’s budget hearings on Thursday April 11th. We all received some good news this week that an agreement was made between TriMet, Portland Public Schools, and the City that will fund the PPS YouthPass through the 2013-2014 school year. We want to see this important service continued beyond next year and expanded throughout all Portland school districts, including Reynolds, David Douglas and Parkrose. OPAL’s Youth Organizer, Nicole, has been working with youth who attend PPS Schools (and therefore receive the YouthPass benefit) and youth in other Portland school districts (who don’t receive the benefit), helping them prepare testimony so that our young people can have a voice in this budget process as well. The City Council will hear directly from these young activists how YouthPass is important to their health and education, that we must find a sustainable means to fund the service, and why expanding YouthPass to all city of Portland students who need it is a matter of transit justice. Stand with our youth!
City of Portland Community Budget Forum, Thursday, April 11th 6:00-9:00.
Montgomery Park 2701 NW Vaugh. TriMet Lines 15, 77

Meanwhile: the BRU Leadership Committee is working on how the next membership meeting will be structured, having begun to adopt the framework that came out of the Membership Gathering. The policy team is deep in the weeds of budget reviews, ahead of a meeting with TriMet to discuss the concerns raised by OPAL. Partnerships and coalitions continue to be nurtured with Aloha Unite!, a growing environmental justice group on the west end of TriMet’s service area.
Everyone is energized and working hard to keep up the momentum – how will you add your voice and skills?

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