Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current, November 19, 1997, Page 7, Image 7

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    Pase A7
NOV. 19,1997
_____________ ______________ (Eljc P ortia ab Cìbscrucr------
Governor Appoints
Kenny Director
Carl Taiton: A man of influence
Continued from Front
ernm ent agencies, o r a sm oother pro­
M artin L u th er K ing Jr Boulevard
“ W e need m ore density in and around
the boulevard, but I d o n ’t w ant us to go
too far dow n that road," he says.
"I know w e need m oredensitv tor the
city to retain its place in the region, but
I d o n ’t w an, it all forced on inner north
and northeast, and I do n ’t w ant it to be all
cess.”
Because o f it, he says, “ M L K will
low -incom e housing,” Talton say s. "W e
need to be able to walk to business
services and w hen necessary, able to
drive there."
T he M l.K M ain Street Project, w hose
adv isory com m ittee he chairs, is the w ay
to fine tune and im plem ent the vision,
Talton says.
“ It’s going great,” he says. "Y ou
couldn’task fo ram o reco m m itted group
o f people, better participation from gov­
'The old median didn’t
allow people to pull
over and park.... You
can’t just remove all of
it everywhere, but we
have to rethink it,' Carl
Talton
look I ike w hat people w an, it to be.” T hat
will probably include less center m e­
dian, m ore on-street parking.
“The old m edian d id n 't allow people
to pull over and park in front," he says.
"Y ou can 't ju st rem ove all o f it every -
where, but w e have to rethink it."
A m ong the engines for change in
inner northeast are the N eighborhood
Partnership Fund, using m oney from
priv ate foundations adm inistered by the
Bureau o f I lousing and (. om m un ity De­
velopm ent. and the O regon C onvention
C enter I Irban Renewal District
Die C onvention Center District fun­
nels increased tax revenues from in­
creased business property values into
public projects. " It’s proving to be a
highly successful district, m uch more
than any one expected." Talton say s.
W hen he w as grow ing up. Talton
says, northeast Portland had ’ m ore black-
ow ned businesses, less crime and m ore
hom e-ow nership. "It w asasm allerco m -
munity w here alm ost everyone knew
every one else. Now people are mov ing
in from outside and it’s hard to know
your neighbors W e do have housing
developm ent going on now , w e'v e got­
ten the city 's attention and businesses
Focus is building healthy communities
are m oving in "
“The dow nside is that the cos, o f
liv ing here is going up rapidly. and w e ' re
losing a lot o f people w ho paid a lot o f
dues here W e d id n 't get the other pieces
- business and hom e ow nership - in
place and now we have to proceed at a
rapid pace," Talton says. As part o f this.
Talton w ould like to see schools train
students for business careers or family
wage jobs.
"How do w e get kids at an early age
exposed to and prepared for high-tech
G o v e r n o r Jo h n K itz h a b e r h a s
a ls o w o r k e d as a n a u d i t o r w ith
a p p o in t e d J a c k K e n n y a s th e a c t ­
ing D ir e c t o r o f O r e g o n 's H o u s ­
in g a n d C o m m u n i t y S e r v i c e s
th e S e c r e t a r y o f S la t e D iv is io n
o f A u d its M r K e n n y is a g r a d u ­
a te o f th e U n iv e r s ity o f O r e g o n
D e p a r tm e n t.
K e n n y S e r v e s a s th e c u r r e n t
C h ie f F in a n c ia l O f f i c e r a n d o v e r ­
s e e s an a g e n c y b ie n n i a l b u d g e t
o f a p p r o x i m a t e ly $ 6 8 0 ,0 0 0 m i l ­
lio n H e h a s b e e n w ith th e d e ­
p a rtm e n t s in c e J a n u a r y 1 996.
and a C PA .
"M y ro le w ill be to k e e p th e
d e p a r tm e n t o n a s o u n d fin a n c ia l
jobs'?" he asks. "W e 'v e done pretty well
at getting m ote jo b s here, n o t so w ell at
a n d a f f o r d a b le h o u s in g to O r e g o ­
n ia n s T h e f o r m e r D ir e c to r 's e m ­
p h a s is on b u ild in g h e a lth y c o m ­
m u n itie s re m a in s a p rim a ry fo c u s
g ettin g inner-city p eo p le into them
e e s R e ti r e m e n t S y s te m . H e h a s
o f th e D e p a rtm e n t."
N.E. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. RLVD.
TRANSPORTATION PROJECT
R eview the street design f o r MLK
Also review proposed MLK signing from 1-5
Public Open House
December 4, 1997
King Elementary School Cafeteria
4906 NE 6th Avenue
View designs between 4:00 - 8:00 PM
View the future
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Need more information?
Call André Baugh, City of Portland Office of Transportation
X 2 3 -7 5 3 0
S p o n so red by th e City o f Portland, PDC, ODOT an d M etro
PDC
PORTLAND
M ETRO
DEVELOPMENT
COMMISSION
tin u e to w o rk w ith o u r p a r tn e r s in
the c o m m u n ity to p ro v id e s e r v ic e s
P rio r to j o i n i n g th e D e p a r tm e n t.
K e n n y w a s th e C h ie f F in a n c i a l
O f f i c e r fo r th e P u b lic E m p l o y ­
IMAGINE
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tra c k ," s a id K e n n y . "W e w ill c o n ­