Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current, March 25, 1992, Image 1

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

    V o h im n X X II. N u m b e r 1 3 x
iT.he Eyes an{* Ears of the Comm uni ty ”
March 25, l ‘>‘>2
X 2S*
News In Brief
Albina Community
Plan Begin Public
Review
The formal public review process
for the Albina community Plan begins
in late March.
NNEB A Land Use Committee Co-
chairs, Matthias Kemeny and Roger
Jauch urge members to get involved by
coming to the next Land Use Commit­
tee meeting on March 19th.
The next few months are critical. It
will culminate a three-year planning
effort intended to revitalize N/NE Port­
land.
Land use zoning is central to the
success and future of the N/NE commu­
nity. NNEB A has been working hard to
build consensus regarding specific zon­
ing recommendations for the area.
In February, NNEBA sent a memo
to all members affected by the proposed
land use changes. Any member seeking
an amendment to the plan who has not
already responded in writing, must do
so before the next Land Use Committee
meeting.
Much more effort will be required
before the plan is presentedto City coun­
cil for approval in late 1992. Kemeny
and Jauch suggest members call the
Association office at 284-3093 and find
out how to become further involved.
Beat The
S um m er Rush!
Spring Swim Lessons
The Portland Bureau of Parks and
Recreation is offering spring swim les­
sons at Buckman Pool, 320 S.E. 16th;
Columbia Pool, 7701 N. Chautauqua
Blvd.,and Metropolitan Learning Cen­
ter Pool, 2033 N.W. Glisan. Several
levels of lessons are offered for chil­
dren and adults, non-swimmer through
swimmers level. Children six months
and older can participate in the lessons.
Morning, afternoon, and evening les­
sons are available. The swim lessons
begin in April at a cost of ten 30-minute
lessons for $17.50. Walk-in registra­
tion begins immediately and continues
during operating hours of the facility.
For more information contact Port­
land Parks and Recreation.
Art Classes Foster
Skills of Aspiring
Young Artists
Classes are under way for aspiring
young artists at Wh ¡taker Middle School
and Arleta Elementary School to ex­
plore their creative talents as a part of
Pacific Northwest College of Art Ex­
tension Program ’ s Young Artist Project.
The classes, which started this month
and will continue for 12 weeks, are
taught by local artists and held Wednes­
days at 2:30 p.m. at Whitaker at 5700
N.E. 39th and at 2:45 p.m. at Arleta at
5109 S.E. 66th Avenue.
Whitaker students will delight in
the fundamentals of drawing and por­
traiture, while Arleta students will ex­
periment in block print, charcoals and
pastels. A public exhibit of the stu­
dents’ art will take place following the
end of the 12 weeks at both schools.
Portland Schools
Close For Spring
Vacation,
Administration Offices
Open
The Eighth Oregon Black
Political Convention
sensitive and responsive to the issues
and conditions of Blacks in Oregon.
The theme o f the convention is:
Today’s Leaders Preparing Lead­
ers for Tomorrow.
Pordand Public Schools will be
closed march 23-27 for Spring Vaca­
tion.
The Blanchard Education Service
Center administration offices will be
open during spring break.
One With Heart
Presents Women’s Self
Defense
One With Heart, located at 4231
S.e. Hawthorne Blvd., presents it’s
spring schedule of Women’s Self De­
fense classes. Day and evening classes
begin in March. Monday/Wednesday
day class begins March 30 at 12:00
noon. Tuesday/Thursday night class
begins April 14 at 7:00 p.m. Monday/
Wednesday night class begins May 4 at
8:00 p.m. Call 231-1999 to reserve your
place.
Californians Account
for About 40 Percent of
the Newcomers to
Oregon
In 1990,30,053 California drivers
moved to Oregon while 14,393 Oregon
drivers moved to California. (Oregon
Department of Motor Vehicles).
Zoo Offers Expanded
Spring Class Schedule
A variety of programs for children,
adults and families is being offered by
the Metro Washington Park Zoo this
spring. The programs cover a broad
spectrum, and include such diverse ar­
eas as drawing and painting, nature
walks, animal information and a theatre
production.
A specially featured spring pro­
gram is the “92 Campcroo: An El­
ephant Overnight,” May 2 and 3. Chil­
dren age 6 to 10 and their parents or
caregivers spend the night with the
animals and learn all about elephants. A
night-time safari, animal encounters,
games, activities, snacks and breakfast
are included in the overnight. The fee is
$30 per person or $25 for members of
the Friends of the Washington Park
Zoo.
A complete program schedule is
available by calling 220-2781.
Sixth Annual Walt
Kellogg/Safeway
Easter Seals Invitation
Ski Race
The Sixth Annual Easter Seals Ski
Race will be held on April 7th and 8th
at Mt. Hood Meadows. This event is
held annually to raise money for EAstcr
Seals. It has been very successful the
past five years and a lot of fun too!
Call (503) 622-3101 for informa­
tion.
Don“t Forget To Register And
Vote
Whats Inside...
NEWS....................................................................................... PAGE 2
NEWS....................................................................................... PAGE 3
NEWS....................................................................................... PAGE 4
ENTERTAINMENT.............................................................. PAGE 5
NEWS AROUND TOW N........................................
PAGE 6
religion ................................. ;.......... : ; PA o E
e 6
CLASSIFIEDS/BIDS.......................................................... PAGE 9
CLASSIFIEDS/BIDS....................................................... PAGE 10
CLASSIFIEDS/BIDS....................................................... PAGE 11
* 7 *
Calvin O.L. Henry, OABA President
The Eighth Oregon Black Po­
litical Convention (OBPC) is being
held on April 11-12, 1992 at the
Howard Johnson Plaza-Hotel, 14811
Kruse Oaks Boulevard (1-5 and Hwy
217 exit), Lake Oswego, Oregon.
The purpose of this convention is
two-fold. One is to serve as a forum
for delegations to discus.; issues and
conditions affecting the Black commu­
nity, and to establish, through resolu­
tions and platform, the positions of the
Oregon Black Community. The other is
to endorse federal, state, and local can-
' didates running for public offices dur­
ing the 1992 Primary Election who arc
The Oregon Black Political Con­
vention is held during the Spring of
election years and is hosted by the
Oregon Assembly for Black Affairs
(OABA) through its Political Action
Committee. It is nonpartisan, but po­
litical. OBPC is statewide in its focus.
OBPC is open to the public. Any indi­
vidual or organization addressing the
concerns of Blacks in Oregon may be
a delegate to the convention. The busi­
ness of the convention is carried bout
by the delegates. The actions and en­
dorsements of the Oregon Black
Political Convention are the positions
of the convention and not those of the
Oregon Assembly for Black Affairs.
Oregon Assembly for Black Af­
fairs
The Oregon Assembly for Black
Atlairs (OABA) is a nonprofit, state­
wide corporation committed to im­
proving the status of Blacks in Or­
egon. It was founded on A p ril9 ,1977,
and is registered with the Oregon Cor­
poration Division. Its purpose is to
improve the political, educational,
social, legal, and economic status of
Blacks in Oregon. It is nonpartisan,
but political. Any person who is in
accordance with the principles of
OABA may become a member. Write
OABA, P.O. Box 12485, Salem, O r­
egon 97309 for membership informa­
tion.
Applications
Scholarships
for Merit
Due April 8
Eighth graders have until April 8 to
apply for Oregon Episcopal School
Merit Scholarships. Now in its tenth
year, the program offers five annually
renewable awards for partial tuition at
Oregon Episcopal School for the four-
year high school period. To receive an
OES Merit Scholarship application
packet, students should contact the OES
Admissions Office at (503) 246-7771.
Applicants must complete a per­
sonal profile and two essays, provide
recommendations from schools and
teachers and sit for preliminary exams.
Applicants and their families are in­
vited to visit and tour the campus during
school hours. Arrangements may be
made through the Admissions Office.
OES Merit Scholarship recipients
will be selected by a panel o f disun-
guished community judges, who were
chosen for their interest in education
and widespread community involve­
ment:
The Honorable Dorothy Baker is a
District Court Judge of Multnomah
County.
Dolores Winningstad, well-known
patron of the arts, OMSI and Oregon
Public Broadcasting, also co-sponsors
the Winningstad Chair in the Physical
Sciences at OES.
The Rev. Alcena Boozer is cur­
rently principal of Jefferson High School
in Portland.
Continued on page 6
Bank of America Aims to Increase Home
Affordability in Lower-Income Communities
Bank of America has introduced a
home loan program to help more fami­
lies finance homes in lower-income
communities in Oregon, according to
Randy C. James, chairman and chief
executive officer of Bank of America
Oregon.
The program, called Neighborhood
Advantage, provides more flexible
qualifying guidelines and other fea­
tures to ease affordability for qualified
borrowers purchasing or refinancing
homes in designated census tracts or
ZIP code areas.
“With its special underwriting
guidelines and other features, Neigh­
borhood Advantage will help more fami­
lies finance homes in lower-income
areas and serve to revitalize neighbor­
hoods,” James said.
Through the Neighborhood Advan­
tage home loan program, individuals
purchasing or refinancing homes in des­
ignated areas can qualify for a home
loan with a housing expense ratio of up
to 40 percent of their gross income if
they make a 10 percent down payment
and have shown the ability to manage
this expense level, such as by rent pay­
ments. Standard industry guidelines
typically allow borrowers to spend no
more than 28 percent to 30 percent of
their gross monthly income on housing
expense.
For example, a qualified borrower
with an annual income of approximately
$19,800 could purchase a home for
S68.000, put 10 percent down, ;ind fi­
nance $61,000. To qualify for the same
amount under standard industry guide­
lines, a borrower would need an annual
gross income of approximately S28.5OO
Students Offered
Free Lunches During
Spring Break
The Portland School District will
provide free lunches for students during
the one-week spring vacation begin­
ning March 23, school board member
Bill Panarclos announced.
For the first time, children will be
fed during Spring Break. In December
the school district began offering free
lunches during the Christmas Break.
Thcsoup-and-sandwich lunch will
be served from 11 a.m. to 12 noon
Monday through Friday, March 23-27.
The nine schools offering die free
lunchare: Arleta, 5109 S.E. 66lh Ave.,;
Beach, 17I0N. Humboldt; Boise-Eliot,
620 N. Fremont St.; Clarendon, 8235
N. Van Houten Ave.; Kenton, 7528 N.
Fenwick; King, 4906 N.E. 6th Ave.;
Riglcr, 5401 N.E. Prescott; Sunnyside,
3421 S.E. Salmon; and Vernon, 2044
N.E. Killingsworth.
The school district will use fed­
eral funds, as well as corporate and
private contributions, to help pay for
the meals, Panarclos said. He pro­
posed the Christmas and Spring free-
lunch project to Matthew Prophet, Su­
perintendent, last fall.
Familicsw ^
<
receive free or reduced-price school
lunches are eligible. There is a $2
charge for adults.
Panaretos said about 19,(XX)or 35
percent of the district’s 56,(XX) chil­
dren come from families pi tor enough
to make the students eligible for fed­
erally subsidized Ireeorreduced-price
meals.
Persons wishing locouirihute may
call the district’s department of Public
Information and Communication at
249-3304.
or S8.700 more than with the Neighbor­
hood Advantage program. In effect, the
Neighborhood Advantage home loan
program enables borrowers to finance a
home w'ith 30 percent less income.
"Many families are already mak­
ing rental payments at about the same
level,” James said. “With Neighbor­
hood Advantage, they can become
homeowners and begin building eq­
uity.”
The Neighborhood Advantage pro­
gram is available to qualified individu­
als financing a home in census tracts
designated lower-income as generally
defined by theU.S. Departmentof Hous­
ing and Urban Development. (These
areas are primarily comprised of census
tracts with a median income of 80 per­
cent or less than the median income for
the metropolitan statistical areaof which
they are a part, based on the 1980
census).
Eligible census tracts in Oregon
are located in Multnomah, Clackamas,
Washington, Marion, Polk, Yamhill,
Lane and Jackson counties.
The Neighborhood Advantage
home loan program includes both fixed-
and adjustable-rate loans for the pur­
chase o f a home or for refinancing an
existing mortgage.
In addition to more favorable quali­
fying ratios, the Neighborhood Advan­
tage program allow s down payments of
as little as 5 percent; has no minimum
loan amount; and does not require bor­
rowers who pul at least lOpercentdown
to have cash reserves equal to two months
worth of mortgage payments.
As an introductory offer through
Continued on page 12
Dose Festival Princess
Patrice Latoyia Woods, a 17-
year-old Senior, was chosen Thurs­
day as Benson High School’s princess
for the 1992 Portland Rose Festival.
She was the fourth princess to be
selected.
Screams, cheers and applause
filled the auditorium as Benson’s 1991
Rose Festival princess, Melissa Willis,
wound her way among the contenders
for the honor and then handed a bou­
quet of roses to Princess Patrice. The
winner’s broad smile was followed
shortly by happy tears. She thanked
the students for their support and
added, “Remember, if you w ant your
dreams tocome true, don’t oversleep.”
Princess Patrice was bom in Port­
land on May 15, 1974. She is the
daughter of Clarence Woods and Eva
L. Guy.
She is student body president this
year, com petes in track, crosscountry
and basketball and was chosen scholar-
athlete of the year for 1992. She has
served as a peer helper, was 1991
Princess Patrice
homecoming queen, won a scholastic
improvement award and was voted
the most athletic senior for 1992.
Her goal is to attend college and
graduate school and cam a doctorate
in electrical engineering.
Princess Patrice’s hobbies in­
clude bicycle riding, music and sing­
ing.