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Committed to cultural diversity.
V o lum e X X V II, N um ber 31
Jazz blue notes
Essence of good
Anthony Wilson is winning
acclaim for his song
Karaoke.
James Hall, with Worship
and Praise captures the
essence of Gospel.
See Entertainment, page B3.
J
July 30, 1997
Neighbo
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Portland ana / v < a . c .............. t
Z d sponsor summer work for
area students.
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See Religion, page B4.
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See Metro Inside
.lori Untò (Observer
■ H
MLK redesign advances
Bv L ee P eri . maix
he Martin Luther King Main
Street Project invites you to tell
it how northeast Portland’s main
boulevard should be engineered.
Brennan remembered
Former Supreme Court Justice Will­
iam Brennan was remembered Tuesday as
a historic figure of limitless compassion
who helped make life better for untold
mil I ions of Americans. Brennan, who died
last Thursday after a long illness at the age
of 91, was mourned by President Clinton,
other dignitaries, family and friends at St.
Matthew’s Cathedral. Brennan spent 33
years on the Supreme Court before retir­
ing in 1990.
Tour bus crashes
A tour bus carrying 35 people, most of
them youths and teenagers, crashed Tues­
day in rural Virginia, killing at least one
person and injuring several others. The
bus was carrying six chaperons and 29
students ranging in age from 12 to 17.
They were from different parts of the
country and were on a tour called "Path­
ways to Freedom.” The trip traced the
"Underground Railroad," which was the
escape route to the north used by slaves
before the Civil War.
Two dead in flooding
At least two people have died in heavy
flooding in Fort Collins, Colorado. Au­
thorities say rushing waters swept through
mobile home parks, carrying away a num­
ber o f trailers. A downpour dropped as
much as eight inches of rain on the town
60 miles north of Denver. Several streets
and country roads leading to the town
were closed because o f the flooding,
which also washed a train off its tracks.
Budget deal passed
A budget deal worked out with con­
gressional leaders Monday aims to bal­
ance the budget in five years. It would also
provide tax cuts worth more than $90
billion. The biggest chunk o f that money
would be for a $500-per-child credit for
parents making up to $110,000 a year.
The maximum tax rate on capital gains
would also be scaled back from 28-per-
cent to 20-percent. The deal would also
boost education spending and provide
medical insurance for children without
coverage.
Group says millions
starving
At least five million people in North
Korea are starving in a condition that
international aid workers say is reminis­
cent o f the notorious famines in Africa
and Ethiopia in the mid 1980s. "It is a
disaster in the making,” Ted Yamamori.
president o f Food for the Hungry Interna­
tional. He cited North Korean statistics
that 20 percent of the country's arable
land has been parched by a record July
heatwave and drought. Yamamori said
signs o f malnutrition were w idespread in
the North and many could die if the coun­
try did not get immediate foreign help.
EDITORIAL.................... A2
HEALTH..........................A4
BUSINESS.................... A6
EDUCATION..................A5
ARTS & ENT................ B3
METRO........................... B I
SPORTS..........................B2
FAMILY............................ A3
RELIGION....................... B4
CLASSIFIEDS................ B5
The public design workshop will be held
from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at the King School
cafeteria, 4906 N.E. Seventh Ave. Consult­
ant Lloyd Lindley will present issues and
priorities raised so far by a project advisory
committee consisting of neighborhood lead­
ers, business owners and institutional repre­
sentatives on the avenue.
Participants can then contribute their own
thoughts through dots placed next to state­
ments, written comments, or discussions
with committee members.
The input from the meeting will be used
to create a proposal to be presented at a
second public meeting in September.
According to project manager G. Andre
Baugh of the Portland Office of Transporta­
tion, the results of the process will guide a $ I
million improvement program for the street.
So far, he says, committee members have
called for widening the street's sidewalks to
make the street safer for pedestrians, and
more trees and street furniture to create a
more pleasant pedestrian environment.
Space for the wider sidew alks could come
from required setbacks for new construc­
tion, or from removal of the street’s planted
median.
Support for this is not unanimous. Bill
Leigh, commercial property broker and
president of the North-Northeast Business
Association, says, "It’s easy to take some­
thing from developers, but it won't come out
of their pocket. It will just go into higher
rents.” A better method would be to restore
parking and let it act as a buffer to traffic, he
says.
This brings up an issue that those involved
in the project have already had to confront:
The face o f Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard today.
there isn't enough space in the street right of
wav to do everything that everyone might
want to do there.
More specifically, there isn't room for
the existing four lanes of traffic. AND on­
street parking, AND a bike lane, even if you
begin by removing the median. Which fea­
tures should be included? Project planners
are looking for direction.
With regard to a bike lane, Baugh says, it
will be included for the whole length of the
boulevard or not at all "Not at all" was the
decision last year when the project removed
(Photo by M. Washington)
parts o f the median between Northeast
Broadway and Fremont streets as a test.
Now'1 "It depends on what the community
says to us, and how strongly they say it,"
Baugh says.
I or last year's test, traffic engineers con­
cluded that the four existing traffic lanes are
needed to handle the trafile served by the
boulevard Moreover, some adjacent neigh­
borhoods. including the I Not and Piedmont
associations, say that MLK traffic should
not be diverted to residential streets.
"W e have a clear statement from the
neighborhoods that
they don't want traf­
fic on their streets,”
Baugh says. "W e
need to parking on
MLK
However, Baugh
says, there is no way
the street can hold
enough parking to
meet all business
needs; most cars will
have to be parked in
the rear of properties
or on side streets.
The project may
help decide how this
can best be done.
The current project
will no, reexamine the
boulevard’s zoning
pattern, which some
business owners say
does no, provide
enough business de­
velopment opportuni­
ties, and will adhere
to the Albina Commu­
nity Plan's strategy of
planning for new busi­
nesses in designated
"nodes.”
Written materials prov ided for the work­
shop will attempt to set the framework in
which choices can be made.
Bey ond this. Baugh says, "We re not try­
ing to get people to react to ideas at this
point, we want to know what they think.”
Leigh says, “I'm an action kind of guy.
Why can 't we do this now instead of study­
ing it for a year?
"But it would be good to see if we, the
public representatives, are on the mark with
our constituencies or not "
Group tackles mean streets
Community leaders take a fresh look at solutions to youth violence
four-pronged attack on juvenile
violence and street gangs is central
to a fresh look at solutions to youth crime
in Portland.
The city o f Portland will look at ev­
erything from jo b developm ent to rec­
reational opportunities, as well as re­
view ing how other Am erican cities have
tackled youth violence problem s for
solutions that m ight work in Portland.
Police C h ief C harles Moose and Ri­
chard Brown o f the Black United Front,
will look at short term strategies.
And Tony Hobson o f S elf E nhance­
m ent, Inc. and Johnny A Gage o f House
o f Um oja have the task o f getting more
young people involved in the planning
p ro c ess.
The assignm ents are all part o f the
p riorities o f a new com m ittee o f local
public and private organizations formed
to address the juvenile violence issue.
A. Halim Rahsaan, vice chairperson for
education in the Coalition of Black Men,
expressed optimism about the energy and
direction of the talks so far.
“ Rather than reinvent the wheel," the
group wants to "dust off and look at a 1989
comprehensive plan developed by the Black
United Front," Rahsaan said.
The 1989 plan addresses the same
issues facing the com m unity today, he
said. A lthough that plan involved ca ll­
ing out the N ational Guard to assist
police with drug arrests.
“ We want to get some sense of direction
and salvage the process of solving youth
violence in Portland," said Johnny A Cage,
executive director of the House of Umoja
“It needs the inclusion of community groups,
citizens, the press, etc.,” Cage said.
“ We haveto stay the course, "said Loienzo
Rally is call
into action
P
Richard Brown o f northeast Portland and city council member Jim Francesconi get
together to discuss possible solutions to street gang.
(Photo by Neil He/ipern)
T. Poe, d irec to r o f the M ultnom ah
County Departm ent o f Com munity and
Family Services. "We have done a num ­
ber o f outstanding things in this city
that we have to recognize, but th ere 's
more that can be done."
Poe said there will be “ no magic bul­
let" to end the violence
“ We have to be in for the long run,"
he said “ I d o n 't care how many police
you put on the street; you a re n 't going
to stop the next death overnight!"
Portland Commissioner Jim Francesconi
said the city is committed to adding police
presence, better juvenile department case
management and some new recreation and
employment programs..
“ W e're concerned that in the next
five years there could be 50 more
deaths," said Francesconi, repeating the
)
ortland activists are calling on you
to stand with them in a fight to
dismantle drugs and violence in ourcom-
munities.
A call into action march will be held
Saturday, Aug. 2 beginning at noon at the
Northeast Community Police Precinct
and ending at Irving Park in northeast
Portland, th e event is sponsored by the
organization We the Brotherhood.
The march will conclude with a rally
and guest speakers, food and entertain­
ment.
Supporters of the march include Moth­
ers Against Gang Violence, the Youth
Gang Program, Coalition of Black Men,
Urban League of Portland. Volunteers of
America, Private Industry Council, and
many area churches.
In addition to the festivities, commu­
nity agencies and support groups will be
available to assist those in need of ser­
vices.
need for "short term steps and long
term strategies involving the com m u­
nity, parents, churches and schools."
The U n ite d B lack F r o n t 's Ron
Herndon and state Sen Avel G ordly o f
northeast Portland are also part o f the
current effort
"This is my com m unity, where I was
born and raised .” said G ordly. “ This is
the time we all need to come together ”