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Volume XXVI, Number 34
Committed to cultural diversity.
August 21, 1996
Wíje ^ o rtía n h (©bseruer
SECTION
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Community Meeting
Join community members and organi­
zations to plan responses to the rising
climate of racism demonstrated by the
June cross burning, the First Methodist
Church burning, the arson-caused deaths
o f immigrant families and the police mur­
der o f Salvador Hernandez. If you are
concerned about the attacks on the Black
and farmworker communities in Portland
and surrounding towns, be a part o f the
solution by getting involved to stop the
racism. Tuesday, August 27, 1996 at the
First A.M.E.Zion Church, I09N. Skidmore
St., Portland. The meeting will begin at
7:00 p.m. The meeting is sponsored by
community organizations including Radi­
cal Women, PROYECTO and Freedom
Social Party and is hosted by First A.M.E
Zion Church.
CoHousing:
Neighborhoods for People
A screening of the video “CoHousing:
Neighborhoods for People” will be held
Thursday, September 12th, at 7:30 p.m. at
the Reedwood Friends Church/Ong Chap­
el, 2901 SE Steele. An introductory pre­
sentation about cohousing and Cascadia
Commons’ plans to create a cohousing
ecovillage in Portland will follow the
screening. Admission is free.
-4me/7ca s flrsf /ow floor car arrived earlier this month at Tri-Mefs operations facility at Elmonica. Crews worked to move the care onto light rail tracks in order to pull in
into the building. Next up is a month of testing inside the shop before the care moves out to test the track. The new MAX car features a short ramp that extends onto the
station platform, providing easy boarding for people with mobility limitations. This is the first of 46 cars to be delivered. The next low floor car is scheduled to arrive in
Portland in September.
Community fair
Peninsula Children’sCenter, a non-prof­
it child care agency, will host its second
annual Community Fair on Aug. 25th from
12:00 to 4:00 PM at its main site at 4720 N.
Maryland Ave. For more details, please
call Peninsula Children’s Center at 280-
0534.
Art & Rubber Stamp
Festival
Don’t miss this Rubber Stamp Extrava­
ganza! The Oregon Art & Rubber Stamp
Festival will be held August 31 and Sep
tember I at the Oregon Convention Cen­
ter. This spectacular two day event will
bring you together with many noted Rub­
ber Stamp Manufacturers and Rubber
Stamp Artist. You will be able to browse
through thousands of art rubber stamps,
enjoy the special Mail Art Exhibit-”Stamp
The Night Away”, participate in Free class­
es and demonstrations, and most impor­
tantly, become inspired! The festival hours
are 10:00 a m. to 5:00 p.m. Saturday and
10.00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Sunday. Admis­
sion is $4.00, 2-Day Pass $5.00, and chil­
dren under I2-Free. Mention this announce­
ment and receive $1.00 off the regular
admission. Ample parkingavailable, $5.00
all day fee.
Adopting babies from
China
The Northwest China Council presents
a seminar entitled Americans Adopting
Babies from China: Process and Cultural
Issues, on Saturday, August 24,1996, from
1-4:00 p.m. in room 271 of Portland State
University’s Shattuck Hall, 19 14 S W Park.
The program features presentations by
adoptive Portland parents on the proce­
dures, problems and satisfactions ofadopt
ing a Chinese baby, and on larger social
and cultural issues. Admission is $15 per
individual, $25 per couple; children are
free. Walk-ins are welcome; preregistra­
tion is encouraged because space may be
limited. To register, call 503/725-4567.
Apples-n-Honey
On Sunday, September 8, 1996, from
12:30-3:30 p.m., the 4th annual Pre-Rosh
Hashanah community-wide extravaganza,
“Apples-n-Honey”, will be held at the
Mittleman Jewish Community Center. This
community-wide gathering features the
sights, sounds, tastes and smells of the
Jewish High Holiday Season. Rosh
Hashanah is the holiday celebrating the
beginning of the Jewish Year It’s tradi­
tionally a time of reflection, prayer and
family gatherings.
SU B M ISSIO N S: Community
Calendar information will be given
priority if dated two weeks
before the event date.
Magical nest on MLK
BY L I I
P l Rl MAN
he machines behind the counter
grind, gurgle and hiss while pa­
trons place their orders. They
mingle, chat and eventually make their
way to the back room, toward the sounds
that drew them there-the sounds of live
jazz.
T
It’s a typical Sunday afternoon at Steen’s
Coffee House.
For the price of a cup of coffee, Steen’s
customers can listen to Portland’s finest jazz
musicians in a casual setting from 3 to 6:30
p.m.
“It’s like listening to jazz in your living
room,” said Michelle Farrell, a regular face
in the Sunday crowd. “ I come here because
I’m an avid jazz fan, and I like the homey
atmosphere.”
It’s an atmosphere that owner Ron Steen
worked hard to cultivate.
Once a boarded up old building on the
corner of N.E. Martin Luther King and
Russell, the year old establishment invites
its customers to take a breather from their
hectic lives. Its hard wood floors and brick
walls give the space a solid, timeless feel.
The L-shaped room houses a coffee bar
where historic photographs of Portland line
the walls. Around the corner is a large seat­
ing area with ceiling-high bookshelves dis­
playing local musician’s compact disks and
tapes.
In the back rests an old upright piano, and
Steen’s drum kit and stool. It’s the throne
from which this nationally known Portland-
native holds court each Sunday.
With a boyish grin and charming wit,
Steen emcees the proceedings -- first playing
with his trio, then calling up a cadre of local
musicians one by one to join in the fun. All
while teen-agers, the elderly, parents with
their young children, and people o f all back­
grounds listen.
“It’s a smoke-free, alcohol-free environ­
ment, It’s an opportunity for families to stay
together and not have to spend lots o f money
to have a good time,” said Steen.
It’s also an opportunity for younger, less
experienced musicians to play with seasoned
Ron Steen (left)
welcomes his
culturally diverse
patrons to Steen's
Coffee House
where jazz
melodies
perpetually fill his
MLK Blvd cove
and ensure feel­
good, lazy days.
veterans. Steen sees his jam sessions as a
way to cultivate young talent, pass on a
decades old tradition, keeping the art-form
o f jazz alive in the process.
"It’s a workshop, a place to learn for both
the audience and the musicians,” said Steen.
“It’s great music, but because it’s not re­
hearsed, people sometimes hear the rough
edges as the music comes together. And
when younger musicians work with older
more experienced players, it raises the level
o f the younger ones’ playing.”
Musicians perform at Steens four to five
afternoons a week. Paintings and tapestries
by local artists are also displayed at the
coffeehouse.
The arts are a big part of the venue’s
appeal - along with the coffee, said co­
owner Bob Orians.
“There was no coffeeshop in the neigh­
borhood. We’re a one of a kind thing, the
music, the artwork, it’s a good part of what
we’re doing here,” said Orians. “It appeals to
everybody.
The first year of business was a bit of a
struggle financially, said Steen and Orians.
A 9 a m. to 9 p.m, schedule was cut back by
three hours after a few months because there
just weren’t enough evening customers to
justify the expense. But the owners said each
month the coffee house's profit margin im­
proves.
“It’s been a challenge. We still have a
ways to get to where we want to be,” said
Orians. “W e’re obviously pioneering We're
in what was a dilapidated old building. But
as the neighborhood comes up, our business
will improve.”
Death in
the hood
“I uni tired o f young Muck men
killing each other," suit! Lanita
Duke, Producer o f Cirassroot News,
who developed the concept o f a vid­
eo focusing on youth violence and
Rlack-on-Black violence in Port­
land.
The video is entitled “Death in
the Hood" and will prem iere Thurs­
day, A ug. 29 at Portland Communi­
ty C ollege (C ascade C am pus),
Terrell Hall, Room 122.
We will prem iere the video and
solicit com m entsfrom the audience
to incorporate into longer versions
o f “Death in the Hood", sa id Duke.
"We are focu sin g on M ack-on-
Black youth crime and how our
community responded to it. "
“Death in the Hood" looks at
Youth violencefrom a law-enforce­
ment, Social Services and youth per­
spectives.
“hi our research we fo u n d the
level o f violence in our community
rose within a very short time. A n d
we have accepted this. It is not sup­
pose to he like this, ” added Duke.
“We have discovered a well o f
despair and g rie f in our youth as
they react to the deaths o f their
peers. As adult's we are too dism iss­
ive o f their grief. This video allows
them to mourn. ” said Duke.
“Death in the H ood” is fu n d e d hy
Multnomah County Juvenile Jus­
tice, Self-Enhancement, Inc. Yaun
Youth Center, Mult. County Health
Department, G.l.F.T. and the Pri­
vate Industry Council.
Tor m ore inform ation contuct
287-9074.
Attorney hired for Metro environmental issues
e tro has hired M arvin D.
law firm Lane Powell Spears Lubersky, where
Fjordbeck as senior assistant
his emphasis was on administrative and reg­
counsel. Fjordbeck will focus
ulatory law; railroad, utility and telecommu­
on environmental issues and also nications
will
law; environmental law; legislative
advise Metro on general legal matters.
affairs and lobbying.
M
He comes to Metro after 12 years in the
private sector as a lawyer and partner in a
major Northwest regional law firm.
Fjordbeck was a partner in the Portland
Being hired by Metro marks the first time
that fjordbeck, 38, has worked in govern­
ment. In addition to his experience as an
attorney in the private sector, Fjordbeck has
a diverse background that includes having
worked as a newspaper reporter and as a
press aide for the 1980 Ted Kulongoski for
U S. Senate campaign.
He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the
University o f Oregon in 1979 with a degree
in journalism. He also attended the Universi­
ty ofOregon School of Law and graduated in
1983 in the top 20 percent of his class.
In Metro’s Office of General Counsel,
Fjordbeck will concentrate primarily on en­
vironmental and solid waste issues associat­
ed with the Regional Environmental Man­
agement Department
I he Office of General Counsel is an inde­
pendent office that provides legal advice
both to the elected Metro Council and to the
elected Executive Officer
I