' • ”••• *?*>•- A4 C4 • i • i j * i ■ r i C O j kJ r J r J kJ _O Lío»_L_L_L’ V ’ A . ** » * .x ar > 4 6 » <*1 ♦ a n J I ndustry Thriftway to renovate Rather than wait to build the store it wants someday maybe. United Grocers will try to reno­ vate and reopen its Wilshire Park Thriftway in six months. W illiam Seidl. d irecto r of property management and store development lor the grocery co­ operative, told the Concordia Neighborhood Association last week that United Grocers is of­ fering $500,000 toward the re­ modeling of the 20.000 square foot facility at Northeast 33rd Avenue and Killingsworth Street to anyone willing to operate it. He is now negotiating with "a w ell-know n Portland g ro cer” who manages several stores in the Portland area, whom he de­ clined to name. Roger Staver. Seidl’s prede­ cessor. tried for two years to build a new, 35-40,000 square foot store on the site after the Wilshire Park Thriftway closed in 1995. In meeting with the neighbor­ hood. he argued that a larger facility was necessary to compete with other chain stores in the area. Seidl, who replaced Staver ear- lier this year, agreed that a larger store at this site was “the best option. Unfortunately, we can ’t do that."One obstacle was the need to vacate one block of North­ east Emerson Street to the south in order to obtain enough prop­ erty. At a hearing last year, mayor Vera Katz and commissioners C harlie H ales and G retchen Kafoury indicated they would op­ pose any such attempt. “Charlie Hales said, ‘No w a y ,'” Seidl said Another problem was the zon­ ing. Council rezoned the site and a satellite parking lot across North­ east Emerson Street for commercial use, as United Grocers asked, but gave them a Commercial Storefront CS designation. Under this zone, any new or expanded building must be next to the sidewalk. This meant acquiring a row of commercial properties along North­ east Killingsworth Street, and UG was unable todo so, Seidl said. Even if they had, land use reviews for the new store could take two years, given continued hostility to the project from some Northeast 34th Avenue resi­ dents, he said. Staver had fought for an expanded store because he teit that one within the existing building could not com­ pete with other chain stores. Seidl said that was "true to some extent." However, he said, it could follow the lead of the Zupan’s chain, which offers quality “specialty" products in stores ot 15.000 to I 8,(MM) square feet. It would have "slightly less product selection” and stock fewer items. "It can’t be a Fred Meyer, and trying to go halfway w on't work," he said. "There’s no such thing as a per­ fect grocery store," he added. “People say they want a bigger selection. That translates into size, and size to a big eyesore.” One older resident, who declined to give her name, indicated Seidl’s approach would suit her line. “Older people don’t buy as much, and they don’t need as much selection," she said. "They want good quality and don’t want to go into a mega-store." Another resident, Mallory Pratt. said she feared the new grocery might be a “ghetto store" in which higher prices are charged for the same items available elsewhere. Several said the store needed to be better run than it had been in its final years. One woman said she drove far out of her way to avoid shopping there “by whatever name it was that month. It was dirty, the staff w asn’t helpful, I didn't feel secure, and I left with a bad feel­ ing.” Steve Makinster of Northeast 34th Avenue, behind the store, said the new operator needed to be responsible the whole property, not just the entrance. Seidl said the store’s landscap­ ing and appearance needs improve­ ment. “ I have a ten year old daugh­ ter, and I’m generally proud to show her the stores I’ve opened," he said. “When we drove by this one, I was embarrassed." He was encouraged to believe the store could succeed by driving around the rest of the neighborhood, he said. “ I see how nice the lawns are,' he said. That show s concern and com ­ m itm ent. W e’ve had a lot of op­ portunities to sell this property, but we have a com m itm ent to the neighborhood.” It is returned. With the excep­ tion o f some nearby neighbors, residents have strongly supported the re-establishment of some sort of store on the site. "I don't re­ member a neighborhood associa­ tion that was so interested in a project of this size." Seidl said. “I'm trying to figure out how to bring that to bear." Teen work permits no longer needed Bureau of Labor and Industries Icials want to remind employers d parents that teenagers no longer ed work permits in order to go to irk Work permits joined dino- jrs in extinction nearly two years o when the legislature eliminated : requirement Work permits had en a tradition-a rite of passage to ; workforce—for decades. Most egonians remember getting one they worked during their teen ars. But many can’t accept that irk permits are just a memory. “A lot o f parents don’t believe us ien we tell them we eliminated the permits.” says public informa- tion officer Joan Stevens-Schwenger. “They want them anyway. One parent even offered to pay for one!” Stevens- Schwenger noted that some employ­ ers are erroneously requiring them and sending kids and their parents to the bureau for the obsolete documents. A Ithough the perm its are a thing o f the past, kids, their parents and em­ ployers shou Id be aware of ch i Id labor laws still covering working teens: Minor, ages 14 through 17, no longer need work permits, but they must provide a proof of age to their employer. Employers must verify the age of the minor. Acceptable proof of age documents include: a birth certifi­ cate, a driver’s license or ID card with a photograph, a US passport, or a hospital record o f birth Employers who need more in­ formation about the regulations should call BOLI’s Technical As­ sistance for Employers informa­ tion line at 503-731-4073 in Port­ land. Parents and teens seeking information can call Wage and Hour Division offices in their area: Portland, 503-731-4074: Bend, 541-388-6330: Eugene, 541-686- 7623; M edford, 541-776-6270; Pendleton. 541-276-7884; Salem, 541-378-3292. Where are our buffalo? Ill P rof . M c K inley B urt Several readers directed their >st heated com m ents to last ¡ek’s quote to the effect that "we acks)” should have available to r economic development struc- es the incredible talent o f the rican American technological niusesyou frequently have cited lis was a black business woman (erring to my article o f 6 / 18/97 T he p ro b lem h e re c e n te rs lund that vast socio-economic If existing between those Afri- n Americans who show up in the itistics as “having made it" in ■ms o f education, income, hous- g and other amenities relating to e quality of life' - and the masses the inner-cities, including the tructurally-unemployed’ The fast-changing nature o f our onomy has seen the disappear- ice o f the many traditional jobs i which the less-educated could ¡pend, what with the contraction ’ the work force as technology places manpower or jobs are ex- irted abroad This reduction of e quality o f life leads to certain ¡emingly contrad icto ry state- ents such as we find on page 156 the National Urban League Re- jrt. The State of Black America )96: Rising Urban Employment icreasingly Coexists with Rising overty.” In order to connect these issues t us consider the points made tiring my May, “Neighborhood apital “series Particularly, that j there is a wealth o f human capital" in the form o f information, educa­ tion and even social and spiritual assets. But we are further informed that there can be no viable economic orsocial structures unless w e’ com ­ municate with each other. And we know that effective communication between the haves and the have nots- -between a number o f local leaders and the folks’ - is rare in most communities. More on that later for right now, I wish to apply this logic to the even greater disassociation and commu­ nications gap between the general population (us) and those super­ achievers ourcorrespondent believed could aid their fellow African Ameri­ cans in building the kind of eco­ nom ic and technical stru ctu res owned and operated by other Ameri­ cans; including some of the most recent immigrants. As usual, le, me pu, things in the real-time mode o f my actual experi­ ence. In the middle 1950s, I went down to a bustling, thriving Los Angeles metropolis with the intent o f developing my accounting and adm inistration skills to a much higher level than was possible here in Portland That worked very well and in past years I have described the experience as a working model for the young and ambitious, a stu­ dent or in the neighborhood. To use the metaphor o f the native Ameri­ cans on the come-back trail, I and my peers were trying to get some “buffalo" back for African Ameri- cans. We were soon to find that any meaningful interaction with the black “Super-achievers” was no more likely than with the same genre o f whites at the top. Big, wealthy black insurance companies and asset management institutions told you point blank that they had no time or inclination to discuss “ building community economles” because they were qu ite successfully financing the plants and inventories o f white super­ markets, furniture stores and the like (“good, safe white money, b o y ”). I and a neighbor, who was a I young real estate broker, tried to talk with our landlord, an African A merican who owned a dozen apartments o f fifty units or more. He had parlayed an older tenement rented in daily shifts to war time I shipyard workers, into a real estate fiefdom, with the help o f as many as six trust deeds on one piece o f | property. His partner, also black, had built up a multi-million dollar trust deed operation by advertising for investors in Scandinavian news­ papers. And these were two of many No Go! It’s all gone now, isn’t it? Social engineers and government fiddle with “ Enterprise Zones” and vari­ ous “ Black and Latino Survival Strategies” they're termed The di­ nosaurs failed to seize a niche’ opportunity and what happened? Concluded next week. it shows a lack o f willingness to be part of the solution to this prob­ Continued from front ♦ Rho said the list o f incidents is being unfairly used against her The incidents on the list are appropriate for considering the re­ newal request, said McGrew, based on a 1989 "neighborhood livabil­ ity law” that holds licensees ac­ countable for the behavior in and around their area. A May 8 memo by OLCC re­ gional inspector Richard S. Miller indicated he had two meetings with the store’s owners in the past two months and “ suggested uniformed security for the lot as an effective deterrent o f gang and drug activ­ ity, alcohol consumption, and gen­ eral loitering problems K /n g F o o d M a r t ow ner Elaine Rho is The memo notes that Elaine fighting to k e e p her s ta te lic e n se to Rho had followed suggestions for se ll b e e r a n d wine. security officer candidates offered care facility or drug rehabilitation by police sergeant Harry Jackson but center,” mentioning Albina Head hadn’t found one Start and The Nanny’s House and M iller’s m em o acknow ledges the drug and alcohol rehab center Rho’s assistance to police to “detect Protect for Community Recovery. the 15-year-old minor with alcohol All are within a block o f the store. in the lot.” He said Rho agreed to The association also objects to ban from the lot individuals listed in new package stores because o f asso­ the police reports. ciated neighborhood problems, she Miller also noted that King Food said. Mart did no, accept an OLCC invi­ “The (city) report was written by tation to attend training sessions on a few people,” said Rho. “ I his is my preventing illegal sales ot alcohol to livelihood and they are trying to take miners, checking identification and it away from me. They are targeting detecting false identification. As a my store only because o f where I result. OLCC last December started am .” a 90-day program in which it told Rho told The Portland Observer store officials that underage decoys that changes in the neighborhood weld be sent to attempt liquor pur­ have caused many o f the problems, chases. not the store’s practices. Admitting In an Oct. I, 1996 letter to John the validity o f a few citations for and Elaine Rho, M illeraccused them liquor sales to minors, she said it of “contributing to the area prob­ was not unlike many other stores lems by selling beer and malt liquor where these infractions occur. in large containers, the drink o f She also complained detractors choice among street drinkers and want her to stop sales o f objection­ gang affiliates, and crack pipes use­ able products which she says are ful to only those engaged in illegal legal and sold by other retail outlets activities.” in Portland, including pipes and pipe Eliot Neighborhood Association land use chairperson Aviva Groner two w eeks ago contacted Mike Sanderson, the bureau o f licenses official in charge o f the investiga­ tion, and listed reasons to deny the renewal. In addition to the police list of objections, the association “categori­ cally opposes the sale o f malt liquor and the sale of malt beverages in containers larger than 16 ounces, she said. Groneralsosaidassociation policy "discourages the sale of alcohol within 500 feet o f a licensed child lem." But later, Rho did stop sales ot the pipes. Rho said criticism about sales o f the high content o, alcohol in malt liquors sold at her store were unfair. “ It is not only gang members who drink malt liquor and not just young people, she said, noting that many local residents preferthe prod­ ucts in question. She said people whocriticize the store for selling the malt liquor “just present mal, liquor as a gang member drink and then say I create the gang problem." She also complained that the citations about drug trait icing in the parking lot includes numerous occasions when police pulled over vehicles and "they used my park­ ing lot" and put that down as the location o f arrest Rho expressed fear that she is being rai Iroaded, w ithout proof about several complaints, to eliminate the store from a neighborhood that is undergoing transformation and be­ ing upgraded on many fronts. "I got rid o f fortified wine and my neighbors were with me, she said, noting that “Alot were upset. This neighborhood has changed in the last year, with new people, white people buying houses and changing things. I am the one getting sacri­ ficed.” She also noted that during a re­ cent appearance at the Eliot Neigh­ borhood Association, she was only allowed seven minutes to present screens. “ It is not against the law to sell those pipes,” agreed McGrew, “but her case. “ I couldn’t say much,’ she noted “Two members came in late, after we said everything. They had al­ ready made up their minds. The vote was 3-2.” against renewal. “Through deliberate inaction or the inability or fear to act...the owner and employees are in part directly responsible for the decline o f the neighborhood,” said neighbors Lisa Gereg and Timothy Edwards. Happy Birthday Cynthia! I Love You, M a rk TRAVEL STOPS 621 S.E. MLK, Blvd. ¿wt/620 S.E. Grand Ave. (503) 238-7343 or (503) 238-7347 • Open 24 hours • Great gas prices • Convenient store • Propane • Wet & dry ice Serving the greater Portland area fo r 50 years. THOMASON'S OJ3 X X X X X BANKRUPTCY REPO GOOD CREDIT BAD CREDIT NO CREDIT OVER 1500 ’ CARS & TRUCKS AVAILABLE ALL THE POPULAR MAKES & MODELS CALL N O W FOR YOUR APPROVAL* Deal Direct with a Finance Manager 653-7900 5-MINUTE LOAN or 1-800-666-0598 APPROVAL OREGON’S LARGEST INVENTORY ‘ Subject to lender approval Thomason Toyota Special Finance