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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 19, 1997)
^7*. « » < ■♦A ' Volume XXVII, Number X Blimpie Subs And Salads opens at Walnut Park Committed to cultural diversity ■tfFF Alvernon & Bonnie Bagley, Owners o f Blimpies at Walnut Park. See Metro, page BI. February 19, I99T Truth Becomes Drama “The Dltchdlgger’s Daughters” movie audiences will have the chance to look into a newly revealed part o f America ’s history. See Arts & Entertainment, page B2. Airs on Sunday, February 23rdfrom 7pm to 9pm ET/ PT (check local listings). See Black History, page B4. , F ra n c e SEI opens comi s c b ° eri 0 < e 9 on O r egc>n itn enter Clinton defends welfare Change President C linton has been defend ing his push for w elfare reform during his visit to New York T uesday. D uring a roundtable discussion at a church on M anhattan’s W est Side. Black E nter prise M agazine publisher Earl G raves told the president it’s unfair for the governm ent to ask businesses to “sacri fice profit m argins in order to do the governm ent’s jo b .” G raves told Clinton, "unlike the federal governm ent, we can go out o f business.” The front of the new Self Enhancement Inc. community center Concern over air incident G overnm ent investigators said T ues day that a Feb. 5 incident in w hich an airliner off the N ew Jersey coast m ade an evasive dive to avoid nearby A ir Force planes clearly raises potential safety concerns and needs further in vestigation. Albright proposes joint force U.S. Secretary o f State M adeleine A lbright is proposing a m ilitary p art nership for N A TO and Russia. In a speech to N A TO foreign m inisters in Brussels, A lbright T uesday proposed that N A TO and R ussia im m ediately start to develop a jo in t m ilitary force. Glenn reportedly to retire A veteran o f Capitol Hill reportedly has decided not to seek re-election next year. T he C leveland P lain-D ealer says O hio D em ocrat John G lenn. 75. who is in his fourth term in the Senate, has decided he w o n ’t try for a fifth. G len n ’s office is not com m enting on the report, w hich cites D em ocratic party sources. Aorida loses prison term appeal The state o f Florida has lost a legal fight to keep violent crim inals behind bars as long as possible. T he U.S. Su prem e C ourt T uesday denied F lo rid a's appeal o f a state court ruling that re quires it to grant early good-behavior releases to m ore than 20.000 inm ates convicted o f violent crim es and sex offenses. Groups push anti-smoking rules U.S. anti-sm oking groups are plan ning a cam paign to stress com pliance with new federal rules against selling cigarettes to minors. The group Action on Sm oking and Health, joined by health and education organizations, says it will m ake sure retailers are aw are o f the new regulations, w hich take effect at the end o f the m onth EDITORIAL.............. ,...A2 EDUCATION............ .... A5 FAMILY..................... .... A7 SPORTS................... .... A8 METRO.................... .....B I ARTS & ENT........... ... B2 BLACK HISTORY.... ... B4 RELIGION................ ...,B 7 CLASSIFIEDS.......... ,...B9 by L ee P eri . man those dollars.” H opson says. “ I hope we ith 10 days to go before its d o n ’t have to go outside the com m unity for scheduled February 22 open every dollar we raise. Lwant the people in the ing, Self Enhancement, Inc.’s com m unity around the center to have the new community center at 3930 N. Kerby opportunity to help keep it running. I want Ave. is a box waiting to be filled. them to think o f this as their center.” W Som e features, such as the floor, chairs prop room 6 f its 300-seat theater will be there on opening day. In other w ays, presi dent Tony H opson says, the social service program for chi Idren w 111 grow i n to its 62 .(XX) square foot digs. On opening day or soon after, 35 staff m em bers will serve 450 ch il dren at the elem entary, m iddle school and high school level. E ventually. H opson says, he w ants to expand this to 50 full tim e staff. 20 m ore part tim ers and 12(X) kids. D oing so will take m oney and other co n tributions. The center cost $8.5 m illion to build, with alm ost $2 m illion m ore in in- kind contributions, m ost o f it com ing from large corporate and construction industry sources O perations will cost another $4 m illion a year "W e ’ll have to be creative about raising In practical w ays it will be. Hopson says that a w eight room , with exercise equipm ent donated by the U.S Bank T ow er Club, will be used mostly by adults, as will a locker room , show er and sauna. (“ K ids d o n ’t show er anyw ay,” he says.) There may also be com m unity use o f the cen ter’s other facilities: m eeting room s, three classroom s, cafeteria, library, com puter lab. double gym , music and dance studios, and theater with sound system and projectors courtesy o f Act III I heaters...but here Hopson draw s a firm line. "W h at's happened with som e com m unity centers is that the adults have taken over everything, and that w o n ’t happen here," he says. “ Here kids have the right o f first re fusal. The facilities will be used first by SEI kids, then by other kids, ’ then - by y civic ------c groups -----r “ if tim e and space is available.” In general the com m unity, including the Boise N eighborhood A ssociation, has en dorsed the new center, but there has been som e background m urm uring. Some resi dents questioned turning over nearly h a lf o f U nthank Park, one o f the m ajor products o f the Model Cities Corporation, to a private concern. (SEI holds a 50-year lease on the grounds from the Portland Bureau o f Parks.) O th ers q u estio n w h e th e r n eig h b o rh o o d streets can handle the traffic, and the 43- space parking lot the cars, generated by the center H opson, obviously w eary o f the discus sion. points out that when SEI m ade its proposal drug dealers and gangs virtually ow ned the park. This w inter the Park Bureau and SEI are doing m ajor renovations on the rem aining land, giving the neighborhood “ basically a brand new park." The city has rem oved four traffic diverters on the p ark ’s perim eter, m eeting a longstanding com m u nity request and easing traffic m ovem ent. The ce n te r's » conditional use pvniiii perm it inline lim its • ••» **■■**■ . uav v v i u iu v iiu i the num ber o f m ajor events it can hold per year In addition, Hopson says, “ W e’ve held m eetings with the folks within a tw o-block radius. I hope that if there is a problem , they II see it as a problem am ong neigh bors.” S e lf-E n h a n c e m e n t, Inc. w o rk s w ith school-age children, som e o f whom wish to develop leadership skills, som e o f whom are having problem s with schoolw ork or behav ior. They com e on their own or are referred by teachers or counselors. They receive tu toring and counseling, and engage in group activities. They take field trips to career centers such as the O regonian or M entor G raphics w here they “see at a young age the dress code, language and behavior you need to use to succeed in America, and you c a n 't wait until you get to col lege to learn." Hobson says. As a requirem ent o f the program they docom m unitv service projects. G ood grades, good perform ance in self-enhancem ent,good deportm ent in general earns the students privileges such as concert or Trail Blazer gallic uvrxciv ¡tame tickets. Hatfield to speak for equal Opportunity Judge Mercedes Deiz and Kenneth Lewis to be honored etired U.S. Senator Mark 0. H atfield w ill be the guest speaker at the Urban League of Portland's Equal Opportunity Dinner February 2 7 ,1 9 9 7 at the Portland Hilton. R The d in n er will also feature the presenta tion o f th e L eag u e’s Equal O pp o rtu n ity A w ard to Judge M ercedes F. D eiz and K en neth L ew is for their contributions to ad v an c ing equal opportunity in O regon. The event is b e in g s p o n s o re d in p a rt by K aiser P erm anente. Legacy H ealth System , and Providence Health System Marty Brantley, President and G eneral M anager o f K PTV- O re g o n ’s 12, is C hair o f the event. T hro u g h o u t his long career in public ser vice, S en ato r H atfield has been know n as a leader w ho votes his conscience, even w hen his stan d s w ere unpopular. As a young state r e p r e s e n ta tiv e in 1953, h e s p o n s o re d O re g o n 's Public A cc o rtu n o d atio n s Law , w hich m ade discrim ination in public places based on race, religion or national origin illegal. H e w as an early critic o f the V ietnam W ar and took a lonely stand against the proposed balanced budget am endm ent in the first C linton adm inistration RetiredCircuitCourt Judge D eizisO reg o n s first A frican American w om an attorney and judge. She becam e active in the Urban League o f Portland soon after she arrived here from New York in the 1940's. She was appointed to the bench by G overnor Tom M cCall in 1970 and w as re-elected to her fourth term in 1990 Judge Deiz has been honored, with the O r egon State B ar's Affirmative Action Award and the O regon W om en I aw yers' aw ard W s s O l ì K * W . * S e n . M ark 0 . H atfield (R etired ) nam ed in her honor for her “outstanding contribution to the advancement o f m inori ties," especially in the legal profession K enneth Lew is is chairm an o f the na tional "I Have A Dream" Foundation and a co-founder o fth e foundation'sO regon chap ter. w hich sponsors college educations for w hole classes o f inner city elem entary chil dren who graduate from high school There are four classes o f "dream ers' in Portland, including 410 students. Mr Lewis has been active in several civil rights battles, including the No on M easure N ine C am paign and work with the A m eri can Jewish Com m ittee The retired presi dent o f Lasco Shipping is a past president o f Tem ple Beth Israel. Port o f Portland. O r egon Ballet Theatre and the World Affairs Ju d g e M e rc e d e s D eiz Council o f Oregon O ther volunteer activi ties include serv ice on the boards o f O regon Com munity Foundation. O regon Peace In stitute. and Tri-Met "W e invite the entire com m unity to com e celebrate individuals and organizations that dem onstrate equal opportunity and equal access for alI ( )regon ians," said Urban League President Law rence J Dark "T he achieve m ents o f Judge Deiz. Kenneth Lewis and Senator Hatfield show how much difference one person can make in opening doors for others to achieve." 1 he dinner theme is “ Equality At W ork." The program will include a video show ing how the Urban League w orks with jo b seek ers and em ployers to build w orkforce d iv er sity I he evening w ill also feature entertain- K e n n e th L ew is ment by local students and the presentation o f $1.000 scholarships to tw o students se lected by the aw ard w inners D inner tickets are $ 150 per person, $ 1500 for a table o f ten Dinner proceeds support and enhance the league's agenda for eco nomic and social justice through education, em ploym ent, and equality The evening be gins with a reception at 6 pm follow ed by dinner at 7 pm For m ore inform ation, co n tact the Urban League at 280-2615 The Urban League o f Portland is a non profit, com m unity-based human service, eco nomic and social justice agency serving youth and fam ilies, students, jo b seekers, and seniors in the m etro area The League is one o f 115 local affiliates o f the N ational Urban League
