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Volume X X V I, Number LO
Commiycd to cultural diversity.
M archó, 1996
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Portland’s All-Star Picks
Top prep student-athletes Reshawn Lewis
and David Jackson are among the young
men and women proudly named to the
Portland Observer All-City Basketball
Teams.
Diversity At Ashland
Oregon Shakespearian Festival
opens a season featuring a diverse
cast o f actors and an African-
American playwright.
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See Sports, Page BS.
See Metro, inside.
H ie ^ n rtla n h
2Y
Housing Trend Troubles Locals
THE m
250
REVIEW M
m P romisi - K ing
Westside Rail,
42 Percent Done
The 18-mile westside light rail project
from downtown Portland to Beaverton is
42 percent complete and will begin oper
ating in September 1998, Tri-Met an
nounced last week The project, including
tw o3-m iletunnelsunderthe West Hills, is
now within a $944 million budget.
Defeated Smith
To Run Again
Oregon Sen. Gordon Smith, who nar
rowly lost to Democrat Ron W'yden in the
recent election for U S. Senate will now
seek the U.S. Senate seat held retiring Sen
Mark Hatfield Smith, a Pendleton Re­
publican, made the announcement Friday
at the Washington Park Rose Garden.
Scouts Help
People In Need
Area Cubs Scouts and Boy Scouts col
lected clothing in Portland neighborhoods
Saturday for the annual Goodwill Good
.Turn Day to help people with disabilities.
Last year over 31,000 bags o f clothing were
collected in the statewide door-to-door drive.
perfect example of the economics o f gentri­
any residents cheered when
fication where wealthier residents are moving
experts predicted a surge In
in by the lure o f getting a bargain on housing.
homeowners and a buoyant real
Morrissette reports that with the recent rise
estate market in northeast Portland.
in housing costs, gentrification threatens to be
And Richard Brown o f Black United Funds
increasingly destructive for lower income res­
was one o f them.
idents. Already, homeless service providers in
Brown had hoped that this growth would
Multnomah County report a growing inability
usher in revitalization o f the neighborhood.
to serve the increasing numbers o f homeless
But as it turns out, Brown says those who are
families and individuals who request services.
benefiting from this change are not local resi­
The northeast neighborhoods contain about
dents.
6 percent o f the population of the city o f
“What is troubling is that people
Portland. Thecommunity is about
are coming outside the state to buy
47 percent black and 47 percent
properties here. We have got to get
white. Within this community, the
our peopletobuy homes,“ said Brown.
Boise, King and Vernon neigh­
He fears that this gentrification
borhoods are predominantly black
will displace long-time residents and
while the Sabin and Irvington are
adversely affect the unity o f the com­
predominantly white. The King
munity'.
neighborhood is worst hit by this
Many residents are complaining
gentrification.
that they are being systematically
O verall, there are 11,054
Richard Brown
squeezed out o f the area. According
households in thesecommunities.
to affordable housing pundits this could mean
About 5,155 o f them are homeowners while
homelessness for some.
over 6,058 others rent.
In his recent reports on managing the future
I here are 4,424 households with incomes
ofgrowth in the Portland tri-county area, Metro
below $ 15,000, representing 40 percent o f all
Councilor Don Morrissette expressed fears
household in the neighborhoods. Out o f the
that as residents continue opposition to build-
2,932 children under 5 years in the region,
ingmulti-familyhousingunits in various neigh­
about 1,087 live in poverty. There are an
borhoods, the resultant squeeze on available
estimated 8,092 teenagers that live in the area
rental space will exacerbate the problems of
and 2,813 of them also live in poverty.
homelessness in the area.
▼
Morrissette said north Portland serves as a
Continued to page A7
Is a 50 unit apartment the future for this lot on Northeast Shaver and Martin
Luther King Jr. Boulevard?
Boulevard Housing Draws Nods
try L ee P erlman
The construction would be NECDC’s
ortheast Community Develop­
first multi-family housing project, first in
ment Corp, is trying a new kind
partnership with an outside corporation and
of d evelo p m en t and is
possibly, the first to include retail space.
looking for advice on how It should be
The non-profit Portland agency plans to
done.
join the ONE Corp, o f Los Angeles in the
Proposed is a 50 to 60 unit apartment
development.
complex on the east side o f Northeast Mar­
Still undetermined are the design o f the
tin L u th er K ing B o u le v a rd betw een
Skidmore and Going streets.
Continued to page A4
N
Presidential Candidate
Keyes Arrested
Damaged Boat
Landing Opens
Repairs and flood debris clean-up has
allowed officials to re-open Ch inook Land­
ing Marine Park at Northeast Marine Drive
and 223rd Avenue. The boat ramps and
Northeast 43rd and Marine Drive and
Sauvie Island, however, remain closed
because o f the February flooding.
P
Job Help For
Flood Victims
Workers laid-ofT from their jobs due to
the impact o f extensive flooding are getting
assistance from the U.S. Department of
Labor and the Private Industry Council.
Temporary jobs are available for flood-
related cleanup and restoration of public
facilities, includingparks, roads and schools.
For more information call 2 4 1 -4600.
Alliance Hears
Police Complaints
People who have complaints against
Portland Police can try to resolve the
problem by making an appointment with
the Albina Ministerial Alliance. The alli­
ance will help residents file the necessary
forms to forward complaints to the police
bureau’s internal affairs division. Call 285-
0493 for more information.
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The Port o f Portland served as the unloading point for Oregon Steel Mill's new
$190 million reversing mill. The world's second biggest truck-mounted crane was
usea to lift the cargo from the Elizabeth Clipper, a ship that set sail in December
from Immington, England.
A five-truck convoy from California
brought more than 300,000 pounds o f
food and supplies to Oregon Saturday to
restock shelves at the Oregon Food Bank.
The food bank has been hard hit because
o f flood relief efforts.
George E. Curry, editor-in-chief of
Emerge magazine and weekly guest
on Black Entertainment Television's
“Lead Story." will be the keynote
speaker Saturday for the National
Association of Black Journalists
conference at the Holiday Inn.
downtown.
Expect Delays On
Sunset Highway
Motorists heading inbound on the Sunset
Highway can expect delays for the next two
weeks. Emergency repairs are being made
to a slide just west o f the zoo interchange.
E
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A2
"L et him speak. Let him speak."
Keyes harshly criticized the television sta­
tion for trying to determine who the voters
candi­
could hear.
“My crime is being qualified to be presi­
dent,” he said.
Station officials later released a terse state­
ment that they thought inviting the top four
vote-getters would produce the most sub­
stantive debate and they were sorry that
Keyes “did not agree with our selection
process.”
Several hours later Keyes returned to the
“camp” to join his supporters, who are at­
tracted largely by his fervent opposition to
abortion and his stress on traditional moral
values.
He said police had driven him around
Atlanta for about 20 minutes, until a sergeant
drove up to them and ordered them to let him
out in a parking lot in East Atlanta
Keyes said he found a pay telephone and
was calling his staff, when the same sergeant
returned and announced that MayorCampbell
was on his way to give him a ride back.
WSB-TV had invited the four top candi­
dates to the one-hour debate. Senate Major­
ity Leader Bob Dole, who is ahead in the
polls in Georgia, declined and was cam­
paigning in Maryland on Sunday.
Publisher In Nursing Care
Truckers Bring
Disaster Relief
EDITORIAL
olice detained Republican pres­
idential candidate Alan Keyes
Sunday night when he tried to
enter a television station for a
dates' debate he had not been invited to
take part in.
“ I am exercising my constitutional right to
free speech, ge, your hands o ff me,” Keyes
cried out as police handcuffed and hustled
him into a patrol car.
Police said he would be arrested on crim­
inal trespass charges, but no charges were
filed and he was later released and greeted by
a chagrined and apologetic Atlanta Mayor
Bill Campbell.
“He told me he hoped it didn't ruin my
impression o f Atlanta," Keyes later told a
local television station.
A former Reagan administration diplomat
and a very conservative candidate who has
won rave reviews as an orator but few votes
in early primaries,
K eyes, who is black, cried out, “This
is like M artin L uther K in g ,” the slain
civil rights leader who p reached in A t­
lanta.
K eyes’ supporters, some o f whom had
pitched tents on the television station lawn
and set up “Camp Keyes" to protest his
exclusion in the candidates' forum, chanted
FAMILY
A7
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HOUSING
B2
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oyce Washington, 59, publisher
of the Portland Observer Is re­
ceiving skilled nursing care at
St. Joseph Care Center in southeast
Portland.
Washington had been hospitalized in the
intensive care unit at Legacy Emanuel Hospital
since suffering a heart attack Feb. 6. She has
made progress, but has not regained full con­
sciousness. On the advice o f physicians, she
was transferred to St. Joseph's last Monday.
Family members are praying for her con­
tinued recovery and express their deepest
appreciation for all the support they have
received.
Washington has served as publisher o f the
Portland Observer since 1989.
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Joyce Washington
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ENTERTAINMENT
HEALTH
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