Z •
ar3
/*
* • C F ’ « '? ’ ’. • > < • \ l ’
*»<;-A». •
¿5;
tÿjfec
■*
Page A7
(Tljc JJort Lattò (Observer
MARCH 18, 1998
(Elje
Fortiani»
(Db sem er
.¿„s
■ iœ*
p
Shared Appreciation Mortgages
To Qualifying Families
he Portland D evelop
tion; and Durham Construction.
ment Com m ission, in
Q ualifications to be met in
p artn ersh ip w ith the
applying for a Shared A ppre
Portland Housing Center, is c ia
now
tio n M o rtg a g e in c lu d e :
offering qualifying fam ilies an
Fam ilies must have assets o f
other financing tool for purchas
less than $20,000 (excluding
ing a home.
item s such as autom obiles, re
Shared A ppreciation M ort
tirem ent accounts, etc.); must
gage, the new tool allow s fam i
not have owned a home within
lies earning up to 80% o f m e
the past three years; must o b
dian family incom e to borrow
tain the m aximum allow able
up to $30,000 toward a first
permanent financing from a pri
time home purchase.
vate financial institution; and
T h e p ro g ra m is o ff e re d
the sales price o f the hom e may
through the Portland Housing
not exceed the appraised value,
C enter on home built or reha
including all m arketing costs.
b ilitated by five developers.
T he program is fin an ced
They include: Northeast C om
through Federal HOME funds.
m unity Developm ent C orpora
Q u alify in g fam ilies in te r
tion (N E C D C ); K nott Street
ested in the program should
Townhom es, L & W D evelop
contact the Portland Housing
ment, LLC ’ Franciscan E nter
C enter at 282-7744 for an ap
prise of Oregon; Hacienda Com
plication or for m ore inform a
m unity D evelopm ent C orpora-
tion about the program .
T
PDC names New Development Director
Abraham K. Farkas will join the
Portland Development Commission
(PDC)astheagency’snew Develop
ment Director, he will begin his new
position at PDC on April 13.
Farkas will oversee a staff o f ap
proximately 15 and will report di
rectly to PDC Executive Director,
Felicia Trader. The Development
Department oversees urban renewal
activities such as the development of
theEastbank Riverfront Park, neigh
borhood revitalization in target areas
such as North/Northeast, and long
range planning for areas such as the
River District.
Farkas come to PDC from the City
of Eugene where he has served as
Executive Director of Planning and
Development for the past 13 years.
In this capacity, Farkas managed that
city’s growth policies, building per
mit processes, economic develop
ment strategies, and affordable hous
ing strategies.
“Abe Farkas comes to us with that
rare combination o f skills that makes
him successful at the neighborhood
_
Abraham K. Farkas
level, yet he understands the busi
ness community as well,” said Mayor
Vera Katz. “He’s shown he can
------
mobilize both to tackle the tough
challenges communities face,” Katz
added.
-------------
Prior to joining the City o f Eu
gene, Farkas served as Economic
Development Manager for the De
partment of Community Develop
ment in Seattle. He also directed
community Development and Plan
ning for the City o f Fort Wayne,
Indiana.
Farkas also has an extensive aca
demic background having served as
Assistant Professor in Housing and
Public Policy at the University of
Tennessee in Knoxville. He holds a
doctorate in American Studies from
the University o f Minnesota, a
master’s in American Studies from
Purdue University and a bachelor’s
in Political Science also from Purdue.
“ We are extrem ely please to
welcom e Abe Farkas to PDC,"
said PD C ’s Felicia Trader. “The
agency is at an im portant ju n c
ture as we lay plans for the de
velopm ent o f the River District
and North Macadam areas. Abe
will provide the leadership our
staff and board need to be suc
v
u s iu i ,
l ia u c i au
u eu .
cessful,"
Trader
added.
Home Builders Support Legislation to Remove Regulatory Barriers To Affordable Housing
C haracterizing it as “an im
portant step forward in the effort
to stream line the regulatory pro
cess, expand housing opportuni
ties and elevate housing as a top
national priority,” the n atio n ’s
home builders today praised leg
islation being introduced by Rep.
Tom Campbell (R -C alif.) in the
House and Senator Ron Wyden
(D -O regon) in the Senate. The
House bill is co-sponsored by
Rep. Jack M etcalf (R -W ash ),
Rep. Esteban Torres (D -C a lif),
Rep. James Talent (R -M o ), Rep.
Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D -Ill.), Rep.
M ike M cIntyre (D -N .C .) and
Rep. Jon Fox (R -Pa.).
“The A ffordable Housing Bar
rier Removal Act will bring some
order and com m on sense to the
regulatory process," said Donald
D. M artin, an A lbuquerque, New
M exico hom e builder and p resi
dent ot the 195,000-m em ber N a
tio n a l A s s o c ia tio n o f H om e
B uilders (NAHB).
“ Housing is one o f the most
im portant and largest industries
in the nation, accounting for
Garbage Fees Go Down!
A New Convention
Center Plan Goes Up!
The Metro Council is delivering a
double dose o f good news for the
people o f this region. On Thursday
night, the Council approved two
measures which make a great deal of
“cents” for people’s pocketbooks.
The C ouncil voted to send an
$82 m illion proposal to the v o t
ers that would fund the com ple
tion o f the O regon C onvention
Center. The C onvention C enter
is a M etro facility; the M etro
politan E xposition R ecreation
C om m ission (M ERC) m anages
the C o n v en tio n C enter. The
com pletion is expected to g ener
ate an additional $ I 70 m illion in
econom ic activity for this region
each and every year.
The Council also voted to lower
the rates Metro charges garbage haul
ers at our transfer stations. The rate
will go from $70 a ton to about $63.50
a ton.
This is important because it could
mean lower garbage collection rates
or increased services for people
throughout the region.
a b o u t 12 p e r c e n t o f th e
econom y,” M artin added. “ How
ever, it is also one o f the n a tio n ’s
m ost h ea v ily re g u la ted b u s i
nesses, and in som e areas m eet
ing regulatory requirem ents can
add tens o f thousands o f dollars
to the cost o f constructing a m od
est single-fam ily home. This leg
islation will help make housing
and hom eownership more afford
able.”
Martin pointed out that build
ers are often subject to a “ layer
ing effect” where num erous regu-
lations are stacked on top o f one
an o th er.
Each re g u la tio n is
adopted independently and, by
itself, might seem insignificant.
But when 10 or 20 seemingly
insignificant regulations are lay
ered on top o f one another, the
cost im plications and delays in
herent in m eeting those regula
tory requirem ents can be consid
erable.
One o f the key elem ents of
Rep. C am pbell’s legislation is a
requirem ent that federal agen
cies conduct a housing impact
analysis w henever they prom ul
gate new regulations related to
housing. The bill would also
reauthorize incentive grants to
encourage localities to remove
regulatory barriers, ask the Sec
retary o f HUD to conduct a con
ference on rem oving regulatory
barriers and ask local com m uni
ties that receive Com m unity D e
velopm ent Block Grants to make
a good faith effort to remove
regulatory barriers.
“ I want to com m end R epre
sentative C am pbell and Senator
New Facility Provides 90
Beds For Homeless Men
An opening cerem ony was
held for Clark C enter, the new
perm anent facility for hom eless
single m ale adults. C lark C en
te r re p la c e s the te m p o ra ry
hom eless shelter which was lo
cated in the R iver D istrict near
Union Station.
C lark C enter is a 90-bed fa
cility and residents typically
stay for an average o f 60 days
or less. C asew orkers will work
with residents to find options
for perm anent housing. The fa-
McMURPHV'S
nPPUflNCC
CENTER
cility was d eveloped and is
owned by the H ousing A uthor
ity ot Portland and will be man
aged by T ransition Projects,
Inc.
The opening o f Clark C enter
com pletes the city/county S hel
ter R econfiguration Plan. The
sh elter is nam ed for form er
M ayor Bud Clark and former
Housing A uthority o f Portland
Executive D irector, Don Clark.
Both were special guests at the
opening.
*
Sales • Service • Parts
NAACP Statement on Merriam-Webster and the N-Word
NAA CP P resid en t & CEO
Kweisi Mfume released the fo l
lowing statem ent regarding an
a n n o u n c e m e n t by M e rria m -
W ebster that it is “very, very
likely there will be a change in
the definition o f all offensive
w o rd s ,” in c lu d in g th e w ord
nigger:
“ In O ctober o f last year, the
NAACP strongly criticized the
M e rria m -W e b ste r C o lle g ia te
D ic tio n a ry ’s d e fin itio n o f a
n ig g e r’ as a black p e rs o n .’
Since then our m em bers from
across the country have been in
volved in an extensive cam paign
to let M erriam -W ebster know
how offensive this definition is.
This nationw ide cam paign was
directed and carried out through
e-m ail, letters, phone calls, faxes
and petitions.
We are gratified that M erriam -
W ebster has finally got the m es
sage. Furtherm ore, it is tim ely
that an announcem ent has been
made by M erriam -W ebster stat
ing that they are giving ‘high
co n sid eratio n ’ to changing the
definition o f this and other ra
cially offensive words.
Now the NAACP can let the
th o u s a n d s o f o u r m em b ers
w h o ’ve voiced th eir concerns
over the last several months know
that th ey ’re concerns have been
heard and that progress is on the
way.
W e h o p e th a t M e rria m -
W ebster will follow -up on their
announcem ent and im plem ent
thosechanges in tim e forthe next
edition o f their dictionary.
The NAACP has also been
asked by concerned citizens to
review the structure o f the com
pany along the lines o f our Eco
4011 N.E. M.L.K.
Portland, OR 97212
(503) 288-3233
nom ic R ecip ro c ity In itiativ e.
This econom ic developm ent ini
tiativ e is a cam paign to bring
about a reciprocal relationship
betw een A frican Am erican co n
sum ers and corporate Am erica.
We will be req uesting that
M erriam -W ebster share with the
NAACP their records on procure
m ent, em ploym ent, prom otion
and the m akeup o fth e ir board o f
directors to determ ine if a cu l
ture within the company has made
it d ifficult for them to recognize
why this definition is u n accep t
able to m illions o f A m ericans.”
School
v ThatFitS
Y o u r u fe
Flexible program s.
Cashing in on Cash Flow-The Emergence of a New Industry
The following is the first in a 2-
part series about a new industry
known as Diversified Cash Flow.
“Are You Receiving Payments
From a Structured Settlement or
Annuity but You Need Cash Now?”
You’ve seen the commercials offer
ing to buy your future payments for a
lump sum of cash. Are these compa
nies legitimate? Is this even legal?
what you are seeing is the emergence
o f a new industry known as Diversi
fied Cash Flow, an industry which
offers exciting new finance options.
Formerly, a person receiving peri
odic payments who had an emer
gency need for cash could not access
their money, nor would any banks
lend against it. Now, that person may
sell all, or part o f their future pay
ments at a discount fora lump-sum of
cash they can use right away to pay
off debts, go to college, even buy a
business.
Many types o f income streams
can be sold and you should consult a
qualified broker to discuss your op
tions. For example, a person with a
terminal illness may be able to con
vert their life insurance death ben
efits into usable cash now, when the
need is greatest. (These “living ben-
efits” are known as Viaticáis.) Inher
itances, which take forever in pro
bate, can be sold quickly. And lot-
tery/gaming winners really don’t have
to wait 10-20 years to get their money
anymore. These are just a few of the
areas that are bing sold in the cash
flow market.
Is it legal? You bet it is. But, a
more important question might be
is it ethical? In some cases, no. If
the beneficiary is a minor, or is
unable to manage their money, then
future payments should not be sold.
The same is true if a person is
disabled and relies on this money
Wyden for drafting and intro
ducing this im portant leg isla
tio n ,” Martin added. “ Even m od
est decreases in the cost o f a new
hom e w ill open the d o o r to
hom eownership for families who
are now priced out of the market.
Ultim ately, this will raise the
n atio n ’s homeownership rate and
stren g th en both fam ilies and
communities. I urge C ongress to
enact this legislation and take
the first step toward re- estab
lishing housing as a national pri
o rity .”
C o nvenient class tim es.
Classes a t th re e cam puses, th re e centers, and
200 neighborhood locations.
for their support. However, more
and more people are asking them
selves, “At the rate o f inflation,
vwhat will be the true value of
these payments when they arrive
years from now? could I make
better investments if I had this
money today?” Could you?
Virginia Dunn is a certified Di
versified Cash Flow Specialist, and a
member of the Association for Fi
nancial & Debt Instrument Profes
sionals. She is the owner of Integrity
Funding Sources in Portland, Or
egon and can be reached (a) 503-493-
2577.
A ffordable tu itio n .
♦ Start on a bachelor’s degree.
♦ Train for a new career.
♦ Upgrade your job skills.
♦ Enhance your life.
Register now. Classes start
March 30. Call 977-4382 for
Portland
information or visit our web site
at www.pcc.edu.
Community
Cascade Cam pus
d
College