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--------------------- (The ^Jnrtkuiö CObevruer —_________
MAYS, 1998
(Eíje
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6th Annual Walk for Humanity Celebrates
Community Transformation
On Saturday, May 2, commu­
nity residents, employees and
volunteers will celebrate the re­
development and improvement
of more than 70 Northeast Port­
land properties at the 6th an­
nual Walk for Humanity.
The Walk for Humanity be­
gins with registration at 9:30
am at Irving Park, NE 7th Av­
enue and Fremont Street, Be­
fore setting out on a 5-m ile walk­
ing or 10-mile bicycling tour of
sites improved by event host
Portland Habitat for Humanity
and
17 o th er N o rth e a st
nonprofits, participants will have
an opportunity to sample the ac-
struction experts David Ewing
of Ewing Design Concepts and
Scott Hanley o f Scott Contractor
ti vity the Walk celebrates: con-
Services will lead others in build-
Express your love fo r Dad on
Father's Day by placing a personal
announcement in the Portland
Observer. Call Tony or Mary at
288-0033. (Deadline: June5) ^
ing and raising eight walls for
Habitat homes. W all-building
will take place between 9:15
am and 9:45 am. The Walk
ends with a free lunch for par­
ticipants at the King Neighbor­
hood Facility, 4815 NE 7th Av­
enue; and an Alberta Street Fair,
on Alberta between 15th Av­
enue and 33rd Avenue from
11:30 to 6 pm.
For more information about the
Walk for Humanity, please contact
Coordinator Darcy Varney at Port­
land I labitat for Humanity: 287-9529.
Poor Can’t Find Affordable Rent
B y LAWRENCE L.
KNUTSON
A record 5.3 m illion A m eri­
can fam ilies with low incom es
have been bypassed by the
boom ing econom y and face a
crisis o f unaffordable rent, a c ­
cording to a report issued re ­
cently by Housing Secretary
Andrew Cuomo.
Cuomo will try to use the
re p o rt’s findings to persuade
C ongress to approve President
C lin to n ’s pending budget re ­
quest for hundreds o f m illions
o f dollars in additional hous­
ing assistance.
“The report m akes it clear
that the federal governm ent
must significantly enhance its
efforts to create more a ffo rd ­
able housing o p p o rtu n itie s,”
C u o m o s a id . “ T he s tro n g
economy that has brought pros­
perity to m illions o f Am ericans
has not reduced the affordable
housing crisis for m illions o f
o th ers.”
Cuomo said the 5.3 m illion
low -incom e households re p re ­
sent some 12.5 m illion people
who are eligible for HUD-sub-
sidized housing but c a n ’t get it
because o f lack o f financing.
The D epartm ent o f Housing
and Urban D evelopm ent’s re­
port found:
W h ile th e o v e ra ll U .S .
econom y was good and getting
better, A m erican households
with acute housing needs grew
by nearly 400,000 over five
years to 5.3 m illion in 1 995. It
has held steady thereafter.
The num ber o f affo rd ab le
a p a rtm e n ts for p eo p le w ith
v e ry low in c o m e s fe ll by
900,000 from 1993 to 1995.
The num ber o f poor, w ork­
ing fam ilies needing housing
a s s i s ta n c e
in c r e a s e d
by
265,000, or 24 percent, from
1991 to 1995.
The num ber o f su b u rb a n
households with serious ho u s­
ing n e e d s in c r e a s e d by
146,000, or 9 percent, from
1991 to 1995.
The C linton adm inistration
is asking C ongress for $585
m illion for 103,000 rental a s ­
sistance vouchers; $135 m il­
lion for expanded hom eless
grants; $1 1 m illion for a new
HOME bank to finance a ffo rd ­
able housing and an expansion
o f the low -incom e housing tax
credit.
S e a firs t R ated “O u ts ta n d in g ” fo r
Community R einvestm ent A ctivities
For the fourth consecutive
time, federal banking regulators
have given their highest rating
— an “outstanding"
to Bank
of America NT&SA for its suc­
cess in meeting the credit needs
o f low-income communities.
Bank of America recently re­
leased its performance evalua­
tion by the Office of the Comp­
troller of the Currency (OCC),
one o f several regulatory agen­
cies that evaluate bank compli­
ance with the 1977 Community
Reinvestment Act (CRA). BofA
received its last evaluation in
May 1995. The OCC's current
report evaluates the bank's per­
form ance from January 1996
through June 1997.
The Comptroller’s Office gave
its highest CRA rating not only
to Bank of America NT&SA, but
also to the bank’s operations in
California, Washington, and the
Portland/Vancouver metropoli­
tan service area. Together, these
three territories account for over
80 percent of BofA’s U.S. lend­
ing activities.
The bank received “satisfac­
tory" ratings in Alaska. Arizona,
Idaho, Illinois, Nevada, New
Mexico, New York, Oregon and
the Las Vegas metropolitan ser­
vice area.
Declaring that BofA “contin­
ues to demonstrate its com m it­
ment to lending, investing and
servicing all segments of the
states in which it does business,”
the OCC commended the bank’s
record of providing "an excel­
lent level of all types of credit to
low- and moderate-income ap­
plicants.”
The regulatory agency reports
that BofA made 363,000 loans
for almost $3 billion to low- and
moderate-income borrowers. It
also credits the bank for making
265 com m unity developm ent
loans worth nearly $462 million.
In addition to its lending per-
Check OUt OUT
form ance, the bank invested
$406.7 million “for the capitali­
zation of loan pools, community
development corporations, syn­
dicated community development
participations, government sub­
sidized programs, municipal se­
curities financing affordable
housing, tax credits and the sup­
port of nonprofit developers, so­
cial s e rv ic e s , and su p p o rt
groups.”
Finally, the bank received high
marks for an extensive branch
and AI M network that helps meet
the financial needs o f its entire
service area, and for its expand­
ing telephone and personal com­
puter delivery capabilities.
“Coming on the heels of a rig­
orous six-month evaluation pro­
cess, the OCC report confirms our
determination to build economic
opportunity,” said Donald A.
Mullane, Bank of America’s ex­
ecutive vice president of corpo­
rate community development.
“ By increasing production lev­
els, expanding delivery capabili­
ties and effectively managing risk,
we continue to find profitable
ways to meet the credit needs of
underserved communities.”
¿Llect
Pam Arden
County Commissioner
M ultnom ah C ounty, D istric t 2
Experienced - Thoughtful - Effective
When our youth come home excited
about achievement, we all win.
I
^Jnrtlanò (©bserùer Web-Site!
http : / /PortlandObserver. net
North Portland Bible College
"It's more than just a Bible School"
-----------------------------------------------------------
It s a community resource, developing new ways to deliver the education and skills people
want and need in North/Northeast Portland.
We are developing summer and fall classes in computer keyhoarding in Windows and Word
software, and in basic English language skills. Contact our office for more details.
Are you looking for continuing education workshops, to equip you fo r excellence in serving
God in your church and community? Then don 7 miss the Albina Christian Workers
Conference, on May 16 (Saturday), 8:00— 4:00, at Berean Church, 4822 N. Vancouver
Avenue, sponsored by NPBC.
We will feature workshops on conflict resolution, Sunday School innovation, understanding
Jehovah s Witnesses, beautifying the church worship center, keeping your youth walking
with ( hrist, and f inding multicultral materials for teaching tools. Alt taught by qualified
C hristian workers. Registration is only S I5 in advance, including a wonderful lunch. Call
now and register.
H e also offer a Marriagejfnriehment Seminar on Saturday, May 23, at the NPBC
campus. T ree and open to alt, the seminar is taught by Dr. Otis F. Brown, our president,
and Dr. Johnnie Brown, his wife, well known conference speakers.
Are you looking for answers concerning the future, from the Bible? Then sign up for our
summer course, NT141: The Revelation. It starts August 4, and is available for credit or
personal enrichment.
Don't miss the opportunities in your community! North Portland Bible College, 4905
N. Vancouver Avenue, phone 288-2919.
The National Urban League is proud to have State Farm Insurance Companies
as a partner in our Campaign for African-American Achievement.
STATI
FA R M
IN S U IA N C I