$10K in tools stolen from construction site in Northwest Portland

About $10,000 worth of tools were stolen from a construction site in Northwest Portland.

"Sometimes thieves won't even take tools that are clearly marked," she said.The tools were stolen from a locked shipping container inside a chain-link fence, according to Mike Grant, Grant Company owner. He said thieves used a torch to cut the padlock and stole lasers, saws and drills.The Chinese Playground regularly supported girls' basketball teams that entered the citywide recreational league. This league included white, Japanese, and later African American teams.'" In the early 1930s, a women's Chinese Playground team won the San Francisco recreational league championship in its division for two years in a row." In the 1940s, the Blue Stars competed in the citywide league for the Chinese Playground. A former Blue Stars member, Norma Lee Horn, remembered that "a lot of the women on the team were athletic and competitive. They were multi-sport athletes - they were good at tennis and volleyball also."12 In addition to playing in the San Francisco recreational league, Chinese American girls also competed in a Chinese American basketball league sponsored by the Chinese Playground. Organized by Playground staff members Polly McCuire and Mary Lee, this league included divisions for girls ages fourteen and up, and drew more than eight teams from within Chinatown."In the 1930s and 1940s, women encountered restrictive basketball rules that limited the space in which they could run and their number of dribbles." Despite these rules, the Chinese Playground women's teams used a distinct style of play that was based on a quick tempo and high levels of physical contact.15 On offense, they created a quick passing style that maximized their speed.16 Franche Lee, a member of a Playground team in the early 1930s, explained their strategy:The Construction Industry Crime Prevention program suggests that contractors position their shipping containers so that the doors face the street. Contractors should also mark their equipment with names and driver's license numbers so that the tools are harder to sell or pawn, according to Karen Blythe, executive director of the program."There are lots of places to run," Grant said.At the back is an odd-looking covered stairway protruding from the rooftop."They're trying the best they can to stay on schedule," said Kathy Yee, pastoral associate with St. Juan Diego Catholic Church. "Everybody's really in a tough situation."They lived in a white concrete block "basement house.""We had a good childhood," Esther said "There are a lot of good memories in this house."It looks like the house was sucked underground, leaving just its peaked roof and the tops of a few windows sticking out. It's barely as tall as the 4-foot-high chain link fence around the yard!

Mateer said his company sometimes parks a forklift in front of its shipping container. That technique has so far been theft-proof, Mateer said.

Author: Aaron Spencer