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Committed to cultural diversity.
V’oliiinc X .W II, Number 33
Aug. 13, 1997
^ n rtla n h (Observer
o n u n u n i tu
a I r n h a r
Taste of the Bite
Friday and continue through Sunday.
Learn child CPR
A C P R course specifically designed for
those who care fo r children on an on-going
basis is offered by Red Cross on Sunday
from 8:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.in.. The course
teaches how to prevent and care fo r c h ild
hood injuries, care fo r an infant o r ch ild
who strops breathing or is ch oking and
give CPR. For more in fo rm a tio n or to reg
ister, call 280-1440.
Free weatherization
The C om m unity Energy Project offers
free home weatherization to seniors and
other area residents. I f you arc unable to do
your own weatherization, they w ill do it for
you. C all the project at 284-6827.
Faces opens at firehouse
Faces in the M ountain, a new play about
survival and friendship takes place T hurs
day and Friday at 8 p.m. at the Interstate
Firehouse C ultural Center, 5340 N. Inter
state Ave. The play is about a busload o f
urban kids who get stranded on M t. Hood
and features the Y outh Theater Project,
student actors ages 8 to 16, who are p a rtic i
pating in the center’ s summer theater pro
gram.
Diversity skills
Y o u r entire fa m ily is invited to p a rtic i
pate in a free diversity tra in in g w orkshop
on Tuesday, Aug. 19 at 6:30 p.m. in the
com m unity meeting room o f the V illa g e
Square ShoppingCenter, 16 0 2 6 S.E. Stark.
The w orkshop is sponsored by the M e tro
politan Human Rights C om m ission to pro
vide inform ation, guidance and support to
people who want to learn how prejudice
and oppression works, how it is sustained
and how we can interrupt its vicious cycle.
C all Linda Hunter to register at 8 2 3 -5 136.
Circus coming
Give us an
appealing
boulevard with
parking,
greenery and a
grocery
Bv L ee P erlman
rea residents want M a rtin Luther
A
K in g Jr. Boulevard to be nicer
lo o kin g , have more parking, and
have locally-oriented businesses, especially
a grocery.
The re sp o n d e n ts were less sure o f
whether, and how. the street's central m e
dian should be removed, and they are strongly
d ivid e d on whether the street should have
bike lanes.
These were some o f the conclusions o f a
recent w orkshop on the redesign o f the bou
levard held at K in g School. About 175 people
“ voted“ w ith stick-on dots (green fo r agree
ment, red fordisagrecm ent. ye llo w fo r some
th in g in between) on possible "v is io n state
ments.”
A c c o rd in g to p ro je ct manager A ndre
Baugh o f the Portland O ffice o f Transporta
tion, the results w ill be used to create "discus
sion alternatives” fo r the redesign o f the
boulevard. These w ill be presented at a
second workshop on Sept. 18 at 6:30 p.m.,
also at K ing School.
The end result o f the process w ill be a
plan fo r $1 m illio n w orth o f im provements
to the street.
Baugh says that the response to some
Earth, performs Sept. 17-21 at the Rose
Garden. T ickets are now available at the
Rose Q u a rte r T ic k e t O ffic e and a ll
Ticketmaster locations or charge by phone
a t224-4400.
History celebrated
A day o f liv in g history through the eyes
o f N ative Am ericans, explorers, soldiers,
fishermen, riverboat captains and settlers
w i 11 be part o f a Cascades on the C olum bia
celebration at the B o n n e ville Lock and
Dam on the W ashington side o f the C o
lum bia R iver Saturday, fro m 10 a.m. to 4
p.m. V isito rs can take 1-84 to Cascade
Locks and cross over the C olum bia using
the Bridge o f the Gods.
Portland City Commissioner Charlie Hales addresses plans for Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard during a video taping along
the thoroughfare and in front of the offices of the Portland Observer.
(Photo by M. Washington)
vision statements was strong enough to be
considered a mandate.
“ Northeast M artin Luther King Jr. Boulevard
serves local neighborhood:" 37 yes. four against,
For instance, one ca lling fo r an “ aestheti
ca lly pleasing and pedestrian friendly envi
two neutral. (Calls foranew grocery store cropped
up repeatedly in written notes by participants.)
ronm ent” received 40 yes votes against only
5 no votes and tw o neutrals.
By contrast, a proposal to remove through
truck tra ffic from the boulevard received 36
"R undow n buildings are remodeled, re
stored or replaced" received 68 yes votes,
one no, one neutral.
yes votes, 15 no votes and eight neutrals, a
more m ixed signal that makes its im plem enta
tion much less lik e ly , Baugh says.
A vision saying, "T he co rrid o r is acces
sible to all modes (pedestrians, bicycles,
cars, transit and local service vehicles” re-
“ Pedestrians o f all ages have safe and
convenient crossing:" 46 yes, one no, tw o
neutrals.
Can’t wait for The Bite
Food, fun and music
bring diversity to
Waterfront park
R ingling Brothers and Barnum and
B a ile y ’ s Circus, The Greatest Show on
B
Opinions in on MLK upgrade
*-~x
Tom M cC a ll W aterfront Park is the site
o f three days o f food and m usic during the
Bite, a Taste o f Portland celebration for
Oregon Special O lym pics. Events begin
SECTION
orget fo r a minute all the norm al
F
enticements to The Bite - 20 res
In addition to the notew orthy grass, the
B ite 's brand new features include V H I's
Route ’97 Rock n ’ R oll Road T rip , S ony’ s
giant PlayStation video game extravagan/a.
the 18th /Xnnual W o rld Footbag C ham pion
ships, and a new music showcase fo r local
artists - the Portland songw riter's stage.
V H T s "Route 9 7 " w ill ro ll into tow n look
cuisine’ s, outstanding Oregon wineries, ing
and like a standard tra cto r-tra ile r unit. But
d o n 't be fooled. T h is specially-designed
five stages featuring over 75 bands.
This year's Bite, Aug. 15, 16 & 17 w ill
tra ile r, using state-of-the-art hyd ra u lics,
converts into a 1,600 square foot platform
take place on W aterfront Park's renovated
ta u ra n ts
w ith
d iv e rs e
e th n ic
tu rf.
M ore than $2 m illio n has been “ sunk"
into festival infrastructure, including under
ground natural gas, electric, sewer, and w a
ter hook ups.
Plus a new high tech drainage system
that’ s been installed in the turf. So gone are
the days where the grass along the sea-wall
stage.
B ite go e rs w il l have the chance to get
a ro c k ‘n’ r o ll m a k e o v e r w ith 60s face
p a in tin g , a “ Z ig g y S ta rd u s t" 70s g la m
s ta tio n , a " K a rm a C h a m e le o n " 80s pu n k
h a ir s a lo n , and the “ T a tto o Y o u " fake
resembled the G obi Desert more than a
ta tto o p a rlo r.
The music channel is also planning a pos
sible live broadcast via satellite during the
park.
festival.
ceived 52 yes votes against ju st 11 no votes.
However. Baugh says, this does not necessar
ily mean that bike lanes w ill be placed on the
boulevard; they could go on adjacent streets such
as Northeast Seventh or North W illiams or Van
couver avenues. The responses included a num
ber o f written statements for and against bike
lanes on M L K in roughly equal numbers.
F or years co m m u n ity leaders have called
fo r rem oval o f the b oulevard's median, but
there seemed to be am bivalence about this
goal.
Early African American
lives recounted
Exposition to convey period’s cultural history, heroic
accomplishments
ree black men during the Revolu
tionary W ar fought bravely along
side the C o lo n ia lis ts at such
A n encampment w ill be set up to in
clude story tellers, mountain men, trap
pers, soldiers, patriots, cow boys, b u ffa lo
battles as Lexington and Bunker H ill. soldiers, explorers, m ilita ry camps, race
A fr ic a n A m e ric a n s by the names o f
horse jockeys, and covered wagons.
F
M o u n ta in M a n . M oses and B la c k H a r
ris h e lp e d the A p p le g a te fa m ily blaze
a new and sa fe r tr a il th ro u g h the O r
egon c o u n try .
These and other stories from 300 years
o f A frica n Am erican history w ill be re
enacted Saturday from noon to 8 p.m.
across the street from the Urban League o f
Portland in the green space at N orth W il
liams and Russell.
Janice Scrooges w ill play music from
the three centuries o f black h isto ry in
A m erica.
The event is sponsored by H ya lite , an
arts, cultural and educational n o n -p ro fit
organization and K B O O radio. Supporters
include Legacy Emanuel G roup, the Urban
League, Pratt & Larson, Waddles, Oregon
Leather, M ich e lle Piano and Organ and
Portland C o m m u n ity D evelopm ent.
Bv L ee P erlman
ill a service w hich provides
in d ivid u a ls and groups a means
to resolve differences survive
w ith o u t going to w ar or h irin g lawyers?
Answer: W ith m ediation
Chefs cook for youth
W
Top local chefs, waiters and businesses
w ill help make a difference fo r homeless
youth at the Salvation A rm y ’s Greenhouse
Chefs de Cuisine annual fundraising d in
S p e c ific a lly , O ffic e o f N e ig h b o rh o o d
Associations d ire c to r Diane Lin n , plans to
ner, Tuesday, Aug. 19. W ith the theme " A
Summer Evening in Ita ly ," the event fea
tures an eight-course dinner o f Italian spe
cialties created by volunteer chefs from
top area restaurants.
abolish the agency's neighborhood m edia
tio n program by the end o f the year,
Gear up for golf
As one o f the cost-cutting measures in
the post property tax lim its ol Measure 47.
L in n and the neighborhood association p ro
In its place, she proposes to contract out
to a private agency some o f the services the
program performs.
M t. Hood C o m m u n ity C ollege is gear
ing up fo r its fourth annual g o lf scramble
and dinner, “ Par Excellence,” Sept. 9 and is
posed that m ediation "transition o u t” to be
come, or be linked w ith , a n o n -p ro fit co rp o
ration after Dec. 31.
The program , whose budget last year was
$336,000. this year received $200,000 plus
seeking com m unity and business sup
port. Event proceeds w ill be used to help
meet special needs at the college, in c lu d
ing scholarships, equipm ent and special
projects. Last year 130 people golfed for
fun and prizes w hile helping the M H C C
Foundation.
St O M IS S IO N S : ( n iii m u n it)
( .ili n d .ii in iiii iii.ilin ii w ill lie given
pi mi i l l il i i i n i i i l I n II n eeks
Portland Neighborhood Mediation staff members Eddie Collins (from left) Julien Minard. Emmanuel Paris and David Little
ponder the future o f their program, now on the city budget chopping block.
Mediation program to go
Neighbor to neighbor service may be privatized, but at what cost?
a special $50,000 appropriation “ to cover
the costs o f tra n sitio n .”
M ost discussion o f the neighborhoods
budget concerned the proposed transfer o f
its crim e prevention program to the Police
Bureau. The m ediation budget received rela-
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