Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (May 28, 1986)
• • w . 1 » i ►/> < fc* f • Page 4, Portland Observer, May 28. 1986 Portland Neighborhoods Up For Grabs bv Ra\ H unw n Kuppros Gay It nr Hickman, Kth gm itrr ut tubman Middle School, raps Io a yuuthful audience on the ills of leen prrgiiancy and proslilulion (luring “ llrlp Y o u rs e lf, a south sponsored community information presentation held at the king Neighborhood Facility Tuesday, May Wh. Other tnpks entered hy both youthful and adult speakers Mere crime, drugs, success and employ ment. Photo by Michard J. Ilrown Boycott The By-Pass H( l> Sirtilrv\ In Hti\ Huiluni king Center is tlte heart id our com niumty It is our "c ity hull " We may have problems, but our community heart is pumping strong One thing we don't need is by pass surgery Every big city needs a ghetto, and lor Portland ue are it I nemploy ment, low Mages, high rent, deterioration, bust Itess failures. Me got it < lur people are hurling, but our community is strong King Center is pulling us together so that Me may lilt ourselves up We have no choice It Me do not lilt ourselves. Mho Mill ’ Federal limits are drying up Portland |usl spent $HM) m illion on lederal Housing and Com muniiy Development (H CD ) lunds Where did it g o ’ I his money Mas tor jobs, housing, day care, parks and economic development It Mas lor the poor, not the rich Northeast Portland Mas supposed Io get about 1/3, or $33 m illion Instead, we only got $IK m ill ion. or so they say Where did it g o ’ One thing tor sure, it did not pass through king Center This year. Me said to the city . let's do it dilterenl You have $12 m illion to divide up I lie Portland Development Commission Manis $K m illion I hat leaves $4 m illion lor the rest ol us l et's make a ileal We ll let City agen vies spend tlx.- money, it you M ill let us net the policy A ll Me ask is that the Cits »pend Northeast's share lalmul $4 null tonl in Northeast and give us S25tl.OtMI (2rirl to set up a Northeast PCD policy hoard I'oprove mc are honest. Me Mill let the Mayor appoint tlx policy hoard Il look many meetings at king Center, Milh City agenc les, to work out this plan Hut before the plan could get to City Council tor a vote, city dixtors started working on it I hey cut here and cut there Hut the deepest cut ol all is the open-heart surgery they are doing now It is by pass suigery W hat they are trying to by pass is king Center, which is our community heart City ol hcials do not want the $250,000 to go through king Center they are going door to door throughout the commun ity trying to lind any agency that Mill betray the HCD policy board (monitor mg committee) and by pass king Center They o ile r money, favors and spec lal deals Instead o f support the right o l lix a l citizens, Mhich is guaran teed by tederal law . to set policy lor our community, these city dixtors by pass tlx- plan and destroy lire heart They caused one neighborhood Io withdraw and have created a new neighborhood assixialion within tlx- boundary ol another They have incited so much conflict ol interest, that many agencies who worked on the plan can no longer sit around the same table W hat started as an inter agency ellort Io develop pol icy best lor tlx- whole community has degenerated into a dog light over money and position Hut all is not lost Most ol this mull key business was done by low level bureaucrats without knowledge or ap proval ol the Mayor and City Council I ven though the Northeast HCD plan got butchered up in some respects, it still has tlx- monitoring committee in tact I lx- sooix-r the Mayor appoints this committee, tlx sooner the light w ill be over And tlx- sooner the HCD budget and programs can be brought back under lontrol Hut the Mayor needs our support We w ill never get three votes out ol City Council as long as we are divided and alraid someone is going around king Center, lor an end run We must unite once more aixl pledge not to go arouixl tlx- monitoring committee We should not |ump o il sides every time the city dangles a lew dollars We must lx- w illing to boycott the city, and any lix a l agency, that wants to by pass king Center "Boycott the Hy Pass' I hat is the bottom line, and it needs to lx- thaw ii in concrete Older Women’s League to Meet Sat. June 7, 1986, 10:00 a.m. The Portland Chapter ol Older Women s League (O W I. I w ill meet in Prosi dense Hall Sixial Rixrm. Providence Medical Center, 4X05 N I Glisan St Hear OASIS coordinator (ierry Newhall describe this innovative, new program tor older adults which is co sponsored by Multnomah County Aging Services D iv i sion aixl Meier ami I rank, and lixaled on the IlMh floor of downtown Meier and Frank Ample parking is available in structure and has Tri Mel access No charge Call 245 427I or 2 ' I 7509 tor information about O W 1 (Membership open to men and wortx-n ol all ages) The City o f Portland just spent over $ 100 million in Hixising and Commun ity Development (HDC) funds The purpose o f HCD programs is to bring poor neighbortxxtds up to city stan dards Yet poverty in Northeast Port land. which contains the city's ghetto, is getting worse, and the ghetto is spreading Most of the SUM) m illion was spent by the Portland Development Commis- vx»n (PDCl This is federal money, for jobs, housing, day care, parks and economic developrrx-nt N eighborhood associations in Northeast Portland recently discovered that Northeast got only SIX m illion of 'the $100 m illion city total Many ol us helieve Northeast's lair share should have been 1/3. or $33 m illion We would like to see more o f this money pass thrixigh neighhorhixxl associa tions Instead, almost all of it went thrixigh P IX ' and City bureaus, with small aimxints here and there to private agencies The program is about Io end Port land does have, however, about $12 m illion to divide up this year What shcxrld we spend it fo r’’ In whose ncighhorhmxPCity Council votes next week Northeast Portland submitted its plan last January Most lix a l agencies sup ported tlx plan, even though it was dif Icrent This year, we said to the city you spend the money, we set the policy We agreed to let PIX ' have $X m illion aixl City bureaus the rest A ll we asked lor was $250.(MM) to set up a policy hoard (monitoring committee) I he monitoring committee would hire a small stall, conduct pilot projects and evaluate HCD programs in Northeast, including alxiul $4 m illion worth ol program operated by PIX ' Needless to say, P IX ’ did not like this plan They want to set policy and monitor us They do nor want us Io set policy and monitor them This debate has put the Mayor and City Council on a hot seal I he Mayor supervises P IX ’ Nutxxly want* to look back, asking where the $HMI m illion went Nobixly wants to tell P IX ' to change policy P IX ' is a multi m illion sac red cow in Portland I hey need money lor buildings downtown, Io annex Last Portland and tinish indusi rial parks I hey do not worry about unemployux-nt in the Ghetto, or crime, dope and prostitution sitting on the dixirsleps ol Northeast residents, who are beginning Io say. We need tubs, not tails Job. aixl help tor small business, is what tlx- Northeast Plan calls lor It is lust the opposite id P IX ' PIX polxv h v n e lils landlords I lx- Nortlx-asl Plan berx-lils the (xxn II cost us $20.IMN) to produce the Northeast Plan Many meetings were held at King Center over a period o f many months Fix the first tmx in Ihc history o f Portland, local residents, through rxighborhiMxJ as sociations, have proposed a lix a l public- agency with administrative authority for economx and community de velopment This would be a precedent A real breakthrough PIX* is a public agency serving all Portland Wc would he pub lx serving Northeast only We would set policy for Northeast and administer those parts ol the H IX ' program which are best handled at the lix a l level Wc hear a lot o f talk these day v about lix a l citizens assuming responsibility for lix a l affairs Ihc Northeast H IX ' plan would create a vehicle that would operate under community-wide, public- control The policy board would he loc ally elected and appointed by the M ayix. the same as the PIX ' board is appointed II would have full public administrative powers, the same as PDF It would not be just another task force, advisory council or helpless planning fxxly It would have power Io both develop and enforce a lix a l com prehensive plan This is where the rub comes in Neither P IX ' or City Council wants to allow Northeast to control lunds or programs For many years all the con trol has been downtown I very North cast neightvirhoixl has several private agencies hand puked by PIX ' and City Commissioners, not based on commun ity loyally, but on loyalty Io political interests downtown Why change the se stem now * Neighborhood assixialions are be ginning Io see the light I hey are be ginning to want soiix- say so and con trol over hx.il aitaus Wc asked all the pnvate agencies seeking lunds Iroin the Northeast HCD Plan to agree not to bypass the plan We asked them to pledge not to by pass King Center and the Nortlx-asl Coalition ol Neighbor hixxls Most ol them took tlx* pledge PIX’ however, refused to take the pledge aixl has been actively trying Io tind lixa l agencies who w ill betray tile- pledge and bv pass the monitoring committee proposed in the Northeast Plan I videixc has appeared in the city budget that PIX has lound a lix a l agency w illin g to elim inate the monitoring committee and contract through PIX No one seems to know who tlx- lixa l ageix v is Rumm has it that the Mayor has met with several lix a l private aeencx-s One ol them must have agreed to by -pass the North east Plan or the Mayor would not have allowed his staff to pubticly recom mend P IX ' Io administer Northeast HCD funds Ihc issues arc nxtre comptes than meets tlx eye According to City Ordi nance ncighborhiMxl associations, and the Northeast Coalition ot Neighbor hixxls, arc not a part o f city govern inent They arc private ageix ies They have no public administrative author ity They do not represent one square- inch o f Portlaixl. let alone a neighbor hixxl They represent irxmbership only, mu territory I hey cannot create or enforce publx policy, yet they are the only vehicle in our community that can represent the Northeast Plan to City Council in order to meet federal law s ol citizen participation For this reason, the Northeast Plan, w hxh recomnx-nds a public agency, has no lix a l advtxale The Northeast Coalition. which is private, and other lix a l private agencies, do not want Io bite the hand that leeds them I hey are all held hostage to City Counc il and P IX '. upon whose lunds they depend The first public testimony on the Northeast Plan is scheduled lo r 9 a m . Thursday. April 17th It w ill he in teresting to hear lip service troni Northeast leaders and watch to see Northwest agerxy lux- up to receive the money Chances are P IX ' is still in the drivers seat I he Northeast Plan w ill go up in smoke like tlx- $20.(MM) that was wasted Io prixlucc- it I hope I am w rung with free activator Curls $45.00 • Reg. $55.00 Haircut $10.00 • Reg. $15.00 Cellophane $20.00 • Reg. $25.00 T-up $25.00 • Reg. $35.00 Rela«er $35.00 • Reg. $45.00 All Service* Includa Shampoo A Conditioner preferably by appt Walk Ins welcome Summer Time Fun Time Sixm schixrl w ill he out lor the sum liter. a mixed blessing Io working pa rents and to kids Sure, everybody wel comes a vacation, but lor a lot o l chd dren a summer without exciting or stimulating things to do becomes but mg Lor working parents, summer be comes a problem what to do w uh the kids At I lx-Columbia \cademy suminei mix- is the tmx lor held tups, camping, ouldixvr spirts, gymnastics, cialts. anil pleasure reading programs h s tlx- tmx- lor sumux*r school Lots ol Inn and educational activities to keep children occupx-d and stimulated during the summer 1 hey w ill learn new skills and make new triends A hands on appioach to learning is stressed II the children are learning about lixtls and w ixxl. they w ill make something Children have their own garden plots and grow things during the summer A geography lesson about ihc Columbia ( Jorge would includc a trip to Multnomah Falls, or soiix - othei hiking trail Children conx- honx- suntanned, alert, and happy Last year kids took an overnight trip to Silver Falls where they helped Io prepare their own toixl and made cralt projects from the pine cones they col levied For the slower learner, or student who is experiencing study trouble dm • mg the academic year. Tlx- Columbia Academy oilers tutoring in math, read ing, grammar, or study skills Fnroll nx-nt is on a weekly or monthly basis, or for tlx- entire sunmxr session Sunmx-r school begins June 9th and continues through August 29th h x chil dren ages three to ten Early enrollnx-nl is suggested For kids this is a real opportunity to have an enjoyable and educational summer For parents it's a great solu tion to the age old problem of w hat to do with the kids this sunmxr For more information, call The Col umbia Academy at 233-1315 U I don’t cure fx iw muhy w ars un bv It still makes mv breath stop,every time I remember.M "My little girl was about the same age my granddaughter is now. "I’d had some cleaning fluids under the sink and Sally must have gotten into them while I was upstairs. "When I found her. she was sitting on the kitchen floor, holding one of those bottles. And acting mighty sick. I called the dtxlor over in Corvallis, but just kept on getting a busy signal. "So I did the only thing I could think of. I called the operator. She just took over and cut in on the line and asked if the dtxlor was in, and he was. She put him on. And just that quick he told me what to do. “T hese days, of course, the dcxlors all have something called ‘Call Waiting,’ so they know if you’re trying to get through. Why they can even check your vital signs, right over the phone. "But whatever miracles the phone company comes up with next. I’ll always be grateful for that operator’’ At Pacific Northwest Bell, we’ve always been more than operators or data transm ission, or even Call Waiting. At PNB, Wb'vc always been the future. - ( 2 ) R k WI c Northwest Bel America •• tha country w ith tha moat phono graphs about 75 million Ï.V ■ . > n,‘.N ; ■: . ‘ .• i- i. w r: -, C IM A U t WWT COMAAMV r x r f w N o n k v n t Bell » • • * Z» • Í . ' • f * •* * < JL • 1 I t ** t L
