In short

Parts of Sixth Avenue will remain closed

Southwest Sixth Avenue will not be open to vehicle traffic north of Southwest Harrison Street this weekend as planned, meaning that the intersection will remain closed to vehicles through March.

Mark Fujii, project manager for the new student recreation center being built at Sixth Avenue and Harrison Street, said the Facilities and Planning Department opted to leave the intersection closed because TriMet will close it again on March 3, for construction of the new MAX Green Line. The Green Line construction will finish on March 28, said Kay Dannen, TriMet public information officer.

Fujii said the original plan was for Payne Construction, PSU’s contractor for the project, to be off of Sixth Avenue by March 1. He also said the decision to leave the intersection closed was made because it would be more work to clear the road before the end of Saturday than it would be worth for one day of vehicle access.

“It’s a moot point to get all the equipment, barriers and signage out of the way when the street is so near being down again, anyway,” Fujii said.

–Robert Seitzinger

Las Mujeres luncheon honors Latina leaders

The Las Mujeres student group at Portland State will hold a free luncheon today to honor local Latina community leaders and to promote the group’s presence on campus.

Las Mujeres is a group that provides resources to female Hispanic students, according to co-coordinator Karla Hernandez. Clara Tadilla, founder of El Hispanic News, will be a keynote speaker at the luncheon, and seven nominees will be awarded for their work in promoting education to young Latina students. Viridiana Almanza, treasurer of Las Mujeres, said some high school students will also attend the luncheon.

“The luncheon will hopefully motivate some Latina community members to go to college and succeed, and we want to also motivate Latina students at PSU to get involved with their school and future students,” Almanza said. “I’m excited for the luncheon and hope we can arrange more events like it.”

The luncheon is free to attend and will take place from noon to 2 p.m. in the Native American Student and Community Center, located at 710 S.W. Jackson St.

–Robert Seitzinger

Recycling competition continues into week 4

Portland State is ranked 15th out of 84 schools participating in the “Waste Minimization” category after the third week of RecycleMania, a national recycling competition between colleges.

The average participant generated 4.5 pounds of waste during week three, slightly less than the week two average of 4.63 pounds of waste per person. Last year PSU averaged 5.99 pounds of waste generated per person during week three and finished 13th overall.

For the “Per Capita Classic” category, which measures the amount of recycled materials generated by a school, PSU finished 101st out of 158 schools during week three. This week’s average was 1.1 pounds of recycled material per person, up from last week’s average of 1.04 pounds per person.

The current Waste Minimization leader is North Lake College in Irvine, Texas, with a week three average of 0.96 pounds of waste generated per person. The current Per Capita Classic leader is Bob Jones University, in Greenville, N.C., with a week three average of 5.99 pounds of recycled material per person.

For a full list of results, visit www.recyclemaniacs.org.

-Robert Seitzinger