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Volume XXVII, Number 71
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MAY 13. I WS
Committed to cultural diversity. http://www.portla1ul0bserver.net
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Photo Exhibit Commemorates History of Vanport
Book Signing
D errick Bell, a u th o ro f A frolantica |
L egacies. Bell will be offering a book
sig n in g and read ing at R eflectio n s
b o o k sto re on S unday, M ay 1 7th at 2
PM. The book is a series o f essays
on som e o f the m ost co n tro v e rsial
issu es th at have d o m in ated A m eri
can p o litic s sin ce the civ il rig h ts
m ovem ent o f the 1960’s. C all 288-
6942.
Free Women’s Clinic
W om en, have you w ondered what
n atu ral health care can do for you?
Now you can get a free ch eck -u p and
learn about n atu ro p a th ic health care |
on S atu rd ay , M ay 16th from 9 AM to
1 PM at N atural H ealth C enters East.
C all 2 5 5 -7355 to re serv e your a p
pointm ent.
Run/Walk
G et a ru n ning sta rt on the racing
season at M ilw a u k ie ’s R un/W alk for I
the C h a lle n g e on S a tu rd a y , M ay
16th. The ev en t featu res a 10k Run,
5k run, 5k W alk and a 1/2 M ile Kids
Run. H ig h lig h ts o f this y e a r’s run
in clude a v isit from O lym pic M ed al
ist, G rete W aitz. C all 652-9036.
Learn To Swim
S um m er Swim lesso n s begin June |
15th w ith a w eek long “ Free L earn
To S w im ” L esson o ffered at m ost
P o rtlan d Parks pools. R eg istratio n
for th is free sessio n is w alk-in only
on S atu rd ay , June 13th from 8-1 1:30
AM at y o u r P o rtlan d Parks neigh-
| b orhood pool. C all 823-2525.
Reduce Juvenile
Crime
The M ultnom ah C ounty, C hildren
and Fam ily C om m ission and Law En
fo rcem en t A g en cies w ill jo in forces j
to s tra te g ic a lly plan to reduce ju v e
n ile crim e. The w o rkshop event will
be on W ed nesday, M ay 27th from 7-
9 PM at the W estm in ster P re sb y te
rian C hurch. This is a great o p p o rtu
nity for anyone w ho is co n cerned
about the safety o f o u r com m unities
and the fu tu re o f o ur kids. C all 248-
3701.
Women’s Health
In O th e r W ords W o m en ’s B ooks
and R eso u rces will host tw o local
p ractitio n ers o fC h in e se m edicine for j
an in fo rm ativ e, h ands-on ev ening as
p a r t o f o u r o n g o in g s e r ie s on
w o m en ’s h ealth . C o n cen tra tio n will
be on h ealth issues o f p a rtic u la r in
te re s t
to
w om en
such
as|
fibrom yalgia, stress, m enopause, etc.
The 20 m inute p re sen tatio n w ill be
follow ed by basic d em o n stratio n s on
w illin g au d ien ce m em bers. Call 232-
6003.
TechConnect
The P o rtlan d C h am ber o f C o m
m erce w ill be o fferin g a m onthly
program ex p lo rin g so lu tio n s to b u s i
ness c h a lle n g e s th rough the use o f
tech n o lo g y . The to pic is en title d ,
‘E com m erce: when w ill it happen to
m e?” T he cost is $5 to m em bers and
$7 re tail. C all 228-941 1, e x t.239.
Memorial Service
A m em orial serv ic e for E ldridge
C leav e r w ill be held on S aturday,
May 16th at 4 PM at B ethel AME
C h u rch (5828 NE. 8th). It will be
sp o n so red by the Earth and Spirit
C o u n cil. E ld rid g e C leav er, a form er |
Black P an th er lead er turned m inis- [
ter, p assed aw ay re cen tly in C a li
fornia.
Economic Commission
The Clackamas County Economic De
velopment Commission will hold its
monthly meeting at Room H 108 in the
Clackamas Community College Harmony
CenteronThursday, May 14th, from 7:30
- 9:30 AM. The meeting will focus on
legislative issues, the Business Develop
ment committee work plan, and commu
nity engagement efforts. Call 650-3238.
L J 4
Unidentified woman carried by Carl Downey is resued from Vanport flood. May
31. 1948
Ship launching & arival.
he com m unity o f Vanport was once the second largest city in O regon. Named for its location betw een Vancouver, WA and Portland, Or, the city was
built to house the thousands o f w orkers recruited for the W orld War II shipyards. On M emorial Day, 1948, the Colum bia R iver flooded the city o f V anport
and erased a thriving com m unity. The Oregon Historical Society presents a photograph display on V anport in the PORTLAND! exhibit, com m em orating
this successful wartim e housing project and the tragedy that pulled neighboring com m unities together. V a n p o rt opened May 2nd and continues through Septem ber
20, 1998.
“ Beyond the loss o f life, the tragedy o f the V anport Flood was in the loss o f com m unity,” says Chet O rloff, executive director o f OHS. “Through the OHS
collections, including photographs, oral histories, film footage, and radio broadcasts, we rem em ber and celebrate the Vanport com m unity and continue to keep its
spirit alive."
The O regon H istory C enter is located at 1200 SW Park A venue in dow ntow n P o rtland. M useum H ours: 10-5, M onday -S atu rd ay , 12-5 Sunday (O pen
M ondays through A ugust 17th.
E ffective July 1st the M useum and R esearch L ibrary will be open on T h u rsdays until 8pm ). A d m issio n : $ 6 .0 0 /A d u lts, $ 3 /S tu d en ts w ith ID, C h ild ren 6-
12 free. Free to OHS M em bers and children five and under. For m ore in fo rm atio n , please call 503-222-1741 or visit the OHS W eb site at h ttp ://w w w .o h s.o rg .
T
"Piedmont/City, Debate Rosemont Future”
cess. Some Piedmont leaders, including presi
he Piedmont Neighborhood Asso
dent Tom Markgraf, hoped the land could be
ciation and city of Portland repre
used as a satellite campus for the LaSalle
sentatives’ discussion of the future
Catholic high School of Milwaukie.
of the Rosemont School property has turned
At an April 30 Piedmont meeting, in re
into an angry debate.
sponse to questions raised by an April 15
The Portland Development Commission
Portland Observer article, PDC’s Baruti
purchased the 7.6 acre formerCatholic school
Arthuree said that while the historic old con
from the Sisters of the Good Shepherd on
vent building might be put to another use, the
April 14. They had told Piedmont represen
land around it was purchased for housing
tatives that they planned to create a "master
development. Piedmont representatives ac
plan” for the property's eventual use, and to
cused the city of betrayal and dishonesty.
include the neighborhood group in the pro
T
while Arthuree and others said Piedmont
hasn’t listened io wha, they have been saying
all along.
The association called on the city to study
a "full range of uses" forthe site. “If it comes
down to housing, that’s fine, as long as every
thing is looked at,” Markgraf said.
He added, “ I stood before you at the PDC
hearing, and at our meeting las, month, and
complemented the staff. 1 have to be con
cerned now. I have heard from PDC and
people in City Hall that there’s acity agenda.”
Arthuree replied, “We have been clear in
all our discussions with the City Council. If
we were not interested in building housing
there, we would not have purchased the prop
erty.”
Steve Rudman, director of the Bureau of
Housing and Community Development, said
there was a “wide range” of choices as to the
type and design of housing that could be
developed on the property. This prompted
one resident to comment, “In the future you
Is Major League Baseball A Step Closer
To Portland?
Bv N eil H eilpern
Major league baseball may be a step
closer to Portland this week when a list of
improvement recommendations from the
mayor’s civic stadium advisory committee
is review ed by M etro Regional
Government’s Metropolitan Exposition and
Recreation Commission (MERC).
MERC is expected to act Wednesday on
the eight page report which includes con
cepts that would be part of a two stage plan
to entice a major league team to Portland,
according to Mayor Vera Katz’s special
projects manager Keith Witcosky.
MERC, which operates the city-owned
stadium, will discuss the issue 3 p.m. on
May 13, in room C120-121 at the Portland
Convention Center.
Phase One would pu, approximately $45
million worth of improvements into Civic
Stadium to make it more attractive for pro
fessional soccer, a higher level of profes
sional baseball, increased stadium capacity
with retractable bleachers to handle larger
crowds and develop more streams of rev
enue for expanded concourses, parking, sky
boxes, restaurants, etc., he said.
“I, also calls for a grass field instead of
astro turf," added Witcosky. “A Io, of major
league sports teams won't play unless they
are on grass.” He noted that before the
Men’s World Cup soccer games were played
here las, year “they spent $ 100,000 to bring
in grass just for that event.”
“We would be modernizing what we
have now,” said Maria Rojo deSteffey,
civic stadium manager. She said a group of
citizens, called The Baseball Group, has
been working independently to entice a
major league team to come to town. The
group includes architect John Vosmeck and
sports consultant Lynn Lashbrook.
The improvements and public/private
investments would create a stadium dis
trict, linking the stadium with the surround
ing neighborhood, said deSteffey, and would
be designed “to bring added value to both
the neighborhood and the stadium."
“No timeline was mentioned in the rec
ommendations, or specific dollar amounts
associated with each item," said Witcosky.
“Right now we are just talking about con
cept I know they have done research to
look at costs, but it is not in the report."
“The next step is to look at a timeline and
find the money," said deSteffey.
"If MERC accepts the report, then the
question is how to raise the funds," Witcosky
C ontinued
To P age