Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current, September 24, 1981, Image 1

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    PORTL4ND OBSERVER
September 24, 1961
Volume XI, Number 50
25C Per Copy
PDC proposes Northeast development plan
In the latest in a long series o f
plans to encourage development in
the inner Northeast area, the P o rt­
land Development Commission re­
leased this week a draft Economic
D evelopm ent Program fo r the
Northeast Target Area. The report,
mailed to 250 selected individuals
and organizations and slated for dis­
cussion at community forums d ur­
ing the month o f October, attempts
to identify areas for possible indus­
trial and commercial investment and
thereby address the unemployment
problem in the Northeast, which is
double that o f the rest o f the city.
The PD C identifies the Northeast
Target A rea as the area from N E
Broadway north to the C o lum bia
R iver, and between 1-5 and N .E .
8th, including a slice o f land bound­
ed by the Willamette, N. Going and
N . G reeley (kn o w n as Low er A l­
b in a). S ta ff members stress the
boundaries are not definite and may
be changed before a final plan is ap­
proved by the City Council.
The d ra ft plan is one o f many
studies com pleted since the inner
Northeast area began to deteriorate
both economically and aesthetically
in the early 1960s. Some o f the rea­
sons fo r the decline o f businesses
and neighborhoods in the U n io n
Ave. area are that when major free­
ways were com pleted, businesses,
especially auto m o b ile dealers,
relocated to the 82nd Ave. area; the
opening o f Lloyd Center drew other
local businesses aw ay, and social
unrest during the decade tended to
make investment in the target area
less appealing.
A n increasing crime rate, caused
by lack o f employment and the lack
o f community cohesiveness locally
owned businesses and home owner­
ship tend to promote, now hampers
new investment in the area, and be­
comes, instead o f a sym ptom , a
cause o f the cycle o f underdevelop­
ment.
Like its predecessors, this latest
plan bypasses middle Albina, which
is in direst need o f development, in
favor o f the upper and lower seg­
ments o f the target area, that
contain larger pieces o f vacant prop­
erty. Emanuel Hospital, in the lower
area, is expected to embark on an
expansion program shortly, utilizing
property it acquired in 1969 by raz­
Transfer policy
triggers unrest
by Cleo Franklin
The desegregation policy estab­
lished by the Portland School Board
states that when a school is 30 per
cent or more m in o rity then w hite
students can't transfer out because
it would adversely affect the racial
balance o f that p articular school.
However, Black students can trans­
fer out and arc encouraged to do so.
It appears that this policy is the bas­
is o f two days o f student unrest at
Jefferson High School.
According to Dr. Lawrence Ayers,
principal o f Jefferson High School,
fights began to break out at the
school on Tuesday.
D r. Ayers said that he became
aw are that there was a problem
when a fight broke out among a
small group o f students outside o f
the school building on Tuesday after
school. He attributes the problems
to the fact that there was an influx
o f 500 new students to the school
and it is a situation o f students feel
ing each other out and establishing
turf.
D r. Ayers also pointed out that
there seems to be a problem w ith
non-students on the school grounds
and that they might be agitating an
already tense situation among stu­
dents.
T o date there have been two
adults and two juveniles arrested in
connection with the incidents at the
school. According to Phyllis Sandy
o f the Portland School Police one o f
(he juveniles had a .22 caliber hand
gun.
D r. Ayers stated that most o f the
incidents have occurred outside o f
the school building. He also stated
that the faculty is attempting to deal
with the problems and determine so­
lutions in the classroom setting. Dr.
Ayers also made it very clear that he
feels that there are only about 50
students who are causing the prob­
lems.
Community workshop scheduled
The N ortheast C o a litio n o f
Neighborhoods is sponsoring a
workshop for Northeast citizens, to
be held at the King Neighborhood
F a c ility on S aturday, O ctober 3,
1981. The workshop titled "Getting
It Together," will be held from 9:00
am until 4:00 pm.
Inform ation will be provided on
emergency resources for shelter,
clothing and fuel. Presentations also
will be given on housing, landlord-
tenant rights, parenting, child care
and health care resources. Sm all
group discussions are scheduled so
lhat concerned citizens can look at
ways to pool resources and informa­
tion.
The W orkshop Committee urges
all interested citizens to pre-register
through the Northeast N eighbor­
hood O ffice at 248-4575. There are
a limited number o f information/re-
source packets. I he cost for anyone
withing to order lunch is $3.50.
For further inform ation call the
Northeast Neighborhood Office.
Seniors dedicate new van
Dedication o f a completely reno­
vated Pacific Power and Light util­
ity van will take place at the Urban
League Senior Adult Service Center
on Thursday.
Conversion o f the van was paid
for entirely from donations from
business and p rivate individuals.
Continued maintenance will be han­
dled the same way.
The recent location to new quar­
ters at 1700 N .E . A lb erta has
brought into being a Drop-In Center
open daily where elderly residents
may meet for coffee, crafts, pool,
tours and other educational and re­
c rea tio n a l activities. Potlucks,
B IN G O games, health clinics in ­
cluding blood pressure and weight
arc also part o f program activities.
ing and /o r relocating housing under
been done.
the E m anuel H o s p ita l U rb an R e­
" W e would lik e , fo r cred ib ility
newal Plan.
reasons, to get some concrete things
Further north, additional devel­
done up there, but it’s going to take
opm ent could be planned fo r the
tim e ," says Steve Peterson, P D C ’s
Columbia Boulevard Industrial Dis­
director o f economic development.
trict, located between N E Lombard
Petersen adds that w ith the econ­
and the Columbia River, east o f 1-5
omy the way it is "w e ’ll be lucky to
and west o f the airp o rt. A lthough
get two things done."
located on a flood plain and divided
One thing that managed to get
into parcels held by many different
done was the Union Aven -e Arterial
owners, the district is in a prime de­
Reconstruction P ro ject, inanced
velopm ent area between the tw o
through M t. Hood Freeway transfer
Columbia River bridges.
funds in 1976. The Union Ave. pro­
None o f this, however, will help
ject adopted by the C ity C o u n c il
the area in m id d le A lb in a where
was only one segment o f the original
run-down businesses and vacant lots
Union Avenue Redevelopment Plan
sit begging fo r develo pm en t, and
proposed in 1973. That plan would
unem ploym ent is staggering. In
have included m ajo r economic in­
1979, an industrial site survey iden­
vestment, as well as urban renewal
tifie d 66 acres o f land as vacant,
designation for the avenue and im ­
most o f them o f less than one acre.
provement o f community and social
Many o f these contain vacant build­
service program s. It was not en­
ings, often held for real estate spec­
dorsed by either the council or the
ulation by absentee landowners.
P D C , and consequently never saw
T he P D C s ta ff recognizes the
the light o f day.
skepticism felt by many Northeast
The street construction and " im ­
business people, especially minority
provements” that have been done
business persons, that the city w ill
on Union Ave. have not pleased all
ever really produce any actual re­
Northeast residents, however, main­
sults from all the studies that h a X l y because the work removed most
on-street p arkin g th a t local busi­
nesses depend upon p ro vidin g for
their customers. The Northeast Bus­
iness Boosters are currently studying
the problem and have recommended
five off-street parking lots to allevi­
ate it, but there’s no guarantee P D C
will fund them.
" W e m ay be able to do one i f
th e re ’ s a co n cen tratio n o f busi­
nesses,” P D C ’s Petersen says. Even
if the money comes through, it must
be approved by both the City Coun­
cil and the Economic Development
Administration.
T h e question comes to m ind:
W hat has the P D C funded in order
to enhance business development in
the U nion Ave. area? Besides pro­
posed projects and small-scale econ­
omic development loan funds, the
majority o f which have gone to bus­
inesses in o th er parts o f the c ity ,
what actual funding has occurred?
One technical assistance contract
for $21,636 was signed w ith River
East Progress, In c ., to prepare a
plan for U nion Ave. parking, pro­
mote the area to prospective busi­
nesses and develop a program pro­
viding financial incentives, includ­
ing financial package assistance, to
businesses considering investment in
the inner Northeast area. Petersen
describes River East as a private cor­
poration o f 19 members, including
m in o rity representation. The con­
tract runs for five months.
Compared to P D C activity in the
downtown core area, where devel­
opment projects run into the hun­
dreds o f m illio n s o f d o lla rs , that
isn't much, and the city knows it. So
now, with this newest program, and
h o p efu lly w ith c om m u nity group
and local business support, attempts
are again being made to revitalize
the c ity ’ s most eco n o m ically de­
pressed area.
“ W e’ll be out trying aggressively
to make things w o rk ,” Petersen as­
serts, but adds, “ there’s not a guar­
antee in there.”
The P D C staff will submit the lat­
est plan to the C ity Council within
60 days, and " p ro b a b ly come up
with a concrete project in 30 days”
after that if it’s approved, Pe’ ersen
says. " W e aren ’ t going to do any
more studies.”
Next week: Who gets the money?
Solidarity Day: The march on Washington
by Cleo Franklin
An estimated crowd o f 240,000 to
250,000 union members, civil rights
activists, w om en’ s rights activists
and environmentalists marched on
the nation’s capital Saturday for a
Solidarity Day protest against Presi­
dent Reagan's economic and social
policies.
A F L - C IO o rganizers recruited
trad itio n a l unions and more than
200 non-labor groups, including the
N A A C P . the N a tio n a l C ouncil o f
Churches, the N atio n al G ray Pan­
thers, and the N atio n al O rganiza­
tion for Women. Also included were
several other civil rights and pro­
gressive organizations.
The recent air tra ffic controllers
strike forced sympathetic organizers
to cancel m ore than 60 chartered
flights for the rally but the organ­
izers q u ickly replied that bus and
train charters absorbed much o f the
demand. Also, the A F L -C IO O f fi­
cials paid $65,000 to lease M e tro ’s
subway in Washington, D .C . to al­
low rallygoers and ordinary subway
passengers to ride without charge.
The P ark Service o ffic ia ls said
union organizers have shown them
com puterized lists and other data
that indicate that as many as 5,000
buses, mostly carrying from 40 to 50
people each, were expected to roll
into Washington. A m trak officials
said they scheduled 10 special trains
with each train scheduled to carry
I .(MX) persons. Rally organizers said
they expected about 35 per cent o f
the crowd to come from the Wash­
ington area.
The day-long event included live
entertainment, a picnic at the Wash­
ington Monument and a long list of
speakers that included Coreita Scott
K ing, w idow o f M a r lin Luther
King, Jr., Benjamin L. Hood, exec­
utive director o f the N A A C P and
Douglas A. Fraser, President o f the
United Automobile Workers.
Reagan had planned to ignore the
d em on stratio n and lik e R ichard
N ixon during the 1971 a n ti-w a r
demonstration, spend the weekend
at Camp David, M d. In a statement
issued in Labor Secretary Raymond
Donovan’s behalf, special assistant
Earl G . Cox said:
" T h is a d m in istra tio n wants to
work with all Americans to improve
the economy. And we want to work
closely with the leaders o f organized
lab o r. But we c an ’ t do that when
they put on their partisan political
hat and set out to oppose our pro­
gram indiscriminately.”
The rally was named S o lid arity
Day to pay tribute to Polish workers
who are fig h tin g fo r trad e-u n io n
rights in their country.
The Reagan adm inistration con­
tinues to discuss budget cuts in o r­
der to balance the federal budget
but can still find room for political
appointments. In a recent example,
Audrey Scott, a Republican, lost to
Democrat Steny Hoxer in a special
Prince G eorge’ s C o un ty congres­
sional election last M ay. A few days
later Scot, go, a call from the Rea­
gan administration, extending their
safety net and offering to find her a
job in the administration. Last week
Scott's po litical appointm ent be­
came official when she was sworn in
as special assistant to the assistant
secretary o f H U D for com m unity
planning and economic develop­
ment. The position entails working
with small cities on the department's
com m unity developm ent block
grant program.
A ccording
to
congressional
sources additional budget cuts for
fiscal 1982 are:
•$500 million reduction in federal
revenues passed on to local govern­
ments.
•$3 00 m illio n reduction in the
federal work force.
•$ 5 b illio n savings by delaying
cost-o f-livin g increases in e n title ­
ment programs under which pay­
ments are mandated by law.
•$2 billion savings by shaving pre­
viously planned increases in defense
spending.
•$ 1 .5 m illio n in reductions in
such entitlem ent benefits as M ed i­
care, M edicaid and aid to lo w -in ­
come families with dependent chil­
dren.
$7 b illio n in "d is c re tio n a ry ”
funding that is appropriated annual­
ly for government programs and op­
erations, rather than being locked
into law.
In an interview released by the
National Journal last week. Budget
D irecto r D avid Stockm an said it
and income support programs
passed in the 1960s. " S u b s ta n tia l
parts o f it w ill have to be heaved
overboard.”
was clear to the Reagan administra­
tion that “ we can’ t fund the Great
S o ciety,” the package o f w elfare
The gathering o f the participants
by the A F L -C IO for the Solidarity
D ay ra lly is the first e ffo rt by the
union fed e ratio n to regroup its
forces to stop the decline o f labor’s
political influence in Washington.
(Please see photos on page 12.)
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Charleston, South Carolina contingent prepares for march from
Washington Monument to Capitol Building.
An empty White House looks over the thousands who gathered
for Solidarity Day.
(Photoe: Cleo Franklin)
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