Aumist 12. I99S
Committed to cultural diversity, http://www.portlandobserver.net
Volume X X V II, Number S4
SECTION
■ ■ ■ ■ ■ M H
ZlT n n t n t n u t t u
V ia l e tt h a f
Paper Arts Festival
The Japanese Garden Society is pleased
to announce a special Paper Arts Festival
event to be presented Sunday, August 16th.
This will take place in the Garden Pavilion
from 10 AM to 4 PM. This is a fun event for
all ages with demonstrations taking place
throughout the day and “hands-on” oppor
tunities for visitors. Call 223-9233.
Lead Testing
Did you know that lead is in house paint,
water, soil and other things? There will be
a free Lead Testing Clinic starting on Au
gust 15th on Saturday from 10 AM to 2
PM. It will continue to be the 2nd Saturday
o f every month. Any person living in north
or northeast Portland with children 6
months to 6 years old are welcome. Chil
dren are legally required to be tested for
lead if on Medicaid or the Oregon Health
Plan. Call 280-1616.
MLK Statue
On August 28th, exactly thirty-five years
to the day o f Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s
“I Have a Dream” speech, the Martin Luther
King, Jr. Statue Foundation will dedicate a
statue in his memory at the Oregon Con
vention Center (OCC) in Portland. “The
Dream”, an original sculpture by interna
tionally renowned artist, Michael Florin
Dente will be dedicated between 6:30 PM
and 8 PM at OCC, 777 NE MLK Boule
vard on Portland’s eastside in the Lloyd
District.
Radical Women
T ie Freedom Socialist Party and Radi
cal Women is holding a weekly study group
on Monday nights from 6 - 8 PM. This is a
three - month study group that will read the
response o f a tum-of-the-century Jewish,
socialist feminist to the question: Can capi
talism overcome its internal contradictions?
- a question still hotly debated today. Call
228-3090.
Puppetry in the Parks
Look out! Giant puppets are invading
the parks. The Puppetry in the Parks Fam
ily Arts Encounter is back for the 4th year
bringing kids, picnics, and quality outdoor
theater to parks around Portland in a magi
cal celebration o f summer. By popular
demand Dragonmaker is remounting A
Bridge o f Feathers for this year’s feature
presentation. The next performance is on
August 15 at Gabriel Park, 6 PM.
S
I
Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center
Names Artistic Director and Associate Director
he Interstate Firehouse Cultural
Center(IFCC) Board o f Directors
has named Judith Yeckel artistic
director and Brenda Phillips associate direc
tor, Joan Biggs, IFCC president, announced.
Roberta Wong will continue to serve as
gallery director.
The appointments mark the transfer o f
management o f the IFCC from Portland
Parks & Recreation, which formerly hired
and supervised IFCC senior staff, the IFCC
board o f directors, which will now hire and
administer all IFCC staff.
Portland Parks & Recreation, which owns
and maintains the historic firehouse in which
the IFCC is housed, will continue to provide
significant financial and operating support
for the organization.
Judith Yeckel founded and for ten years
served as artistic director o f The Coterie, a
children’s theater in Kansas City known for
its revolutionary interpretations ofboth clas
sic and original works. Yeckel wrote origi
nal scripts and directed The Coterie’s pro
ductions, including an award-winning pro
duction o f To Kill A Mockingbird.
Since moving to Portland in 1987, Yeckel
has beer, associated with the IFCC in a
number o f capacities, including teaching,
directing and, most recently, serving as the
organization's director o f programs and de
velopment. She holds an MF A in directing
from the University o f Missouri at Kansas
City, and a BA in theatre from Mount
Holyoke.
Brenda Phillips is well known to Portland
audiences for her roles in The Colored Mu-
Judith Yeckel, Artistic Director (L) and Brenda Phillips, Associate Director (R).
seum(IFCC, 1989& 1992), A...My Name Is
Alice and The Little Foxes (Portland Reper
vival o f For C olored G irls W ho Have
in New Y ork, w here she appeared in
tory Theatre), and A Raisin In the Sun (New
C onsidered Suicide W hen The R ain
Bessie Sm ith: Em press O f The Blues
Rose Theatre); as well as her direction o f
bow Is E nuf (N ew Federal T heatre) un
(Frank Silvera theatre). Brown W omen
Flyin' West (Oregon Stage Company at
der the direction o f playw right N tozake
Who Fly (B illie H olliday Theatre), and
IFCC, 1996).
Shange.
in the 20th anniversary Broadw ay re
She returns to Portland after five years
T
Dedication and Open House Celebrate
Northeast Health Center Renovation
Project Green Purse
XnrihcuM llc.ihh i einer
The Everywoman’s Money Conference
will be in town on September 14th, starting
at 8:15 AM to 6:30 PM at the Convention
Center. There is no charge for the event.
Pre-registration is required. The vision and
personal story o f Oregon State Treasurer
Jim Hill is the catalyst behind this history
making event. Call (888) 612-8249.
Xfiihi* Mltnrul viiksen it
House of Portland
j
Our House o f Portland presents the 6th
annual Dinner at My House for Our House
dinner series. Featuring fascinating dinner
hosts, gourmet meals, exclusivesettings, cre
ative themes and most of all, fun and interest- I
ing dinner guests. 1998's theme is “Food for
the Body Food for the Soul” dinner series
events will begin in September and continue
through December. Call 736-9276.
i
Pediatric Allergy
i
Healthy Chats are educational talks by
OHSU health care experts hosted by the
university’s community health care cen
ters. Chats are free and open to the public.
On Wednesday, August 19th. Dr. Stephen
I Tilles will discuss advances in the treat
ment o f pediatric allergies, including
asthma, allergic rhinitis and food allergies.
The event will be held at Doembecher
I Pediatrics Practice. Call 418-5000.
Mall Walking
Enjoy the benefits o f walking in a safe,
convenient and weatherproofenvironment.
Adventist Health is a sponsor o f LifeWalk
at Mall 205, a loosely structured program
that allows you to walk at your own pace
inside the mall while tracking your progress.
Registered walkers receive a water bottle,
map and mileage log, and are eligible for
bi-weekly prize drawings. Call 255-5805.
Beverly Stein
special open house celebrat
ing the incredible renovation
o f M u ltn o m a h C o u n ty ’s
N ortheast H ealth C enter happened on
A ugust 5 from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm at
5329 NE M artin L uther King Jr. Blvd.
The entitle com m unity was invited to
share in the m ultitude o f events planned
for adults and children.
M ultnom ah C ounty chair Bev Stein
(L-R) Theresa Williams-Stoudamire, Dir of the NE Health Center, and Shirley
and noted artist A drienne Cruz w ere only
Graham prepare for the dedication of the center celebration o f it's renovation.
a few o f the many dignitaries to be on
(Photo by Larry J. Jackson Sr.)
hand to greet the public. The dedication
the Healthy Birth Initiatives program . As
our clients or our programs. Now w e’ve
was scheduled from noon to 12:30 pm,
a result o f the extensive renovation, ser
not only increased our efficiency, but we
public tours w ere given from 12:30 to
vices are now located on both the first
have a great looking building as well. We
2:00 pm.
and second floors o f the building.
have to com pete with the private sector
Festivities began at 11 am and w ere
The W alnut Park building also houses
and we fell that the renovation gives us a
enhanced by a variety o f m ulticultural
a
num
ber o f im portant program s under
com petitive edge." she said.
entainm ent and refreshm ents were served.
the
A
ging
S ervices D ivision. N ortheast
The N ortheast Health C enter is located
A driene Cruz, the artist selected to
M
ulticultural
Senior Services C enter op
in the south end o f the W ainut Park Build
enhance the building’s exterior is a n a
erated
by
the
U
rban L eague is located in
ing. It is a full service County health
tionally known quiltm aker and has exhib
the
building
as
well
as Loaves and Fishes/
facility serving over 12,000 clients annu
ited her exceptional quilts throughout the
M
eals
on
W
heels.
T ri-M et provides a
ally. It includes a medical clinic, dental
U.S. and Brazil.
lift
program
and
Legal
Aid S ervices o f
clinic, tw o field services units o f com m u
A c c o rd in g to T h e r e s a W illia m s
fers assistance. The Y ellow B icycle
nity
health
nurses
who
provide
visits
to
Stoudam ire, the c lin ic ’s director, the
program had sp a c e d o n a te d by the
the home. WIC supplem ental food pro
building was badly run down and d ilapi
County.
gram
,
pharm
acy,
optom
etry
services
and
dated. "T he layout w asn’t efficient for
A
»
t
Light rail
meets
community
needs, but
questions
remain
B y L ee P erlman
Tri-M et, M etro and the city have made
most decisions about how, when and with
what funds a proposed south-north light
rail line will be built.
In north portland, however, there are
still a few unknowns, and the uncertainties
are more o f a problem than any decision
that could be made, say local leaders.
For the most part the current plan, re
cently approved by the Metro Council, the
Portland City Council and other local ju
risdictions, was a series of careful compro
mises between cost savings and benefits to
local communities.
For instance, a three-level station in the
Rose Quarter com bining both light rail
lines and local buses was scrapped for
economic reasons. Elsewhere:
*The line will cross the W illlamette River
south o f downtown via a new bridge near
Southeast Caruthers Street, serving the
Oregon Museum o f Science and Industry
and the Brooklyn neighborhood. An alter
native would have crossed further south,
across Ross Island, and served the pro
posed N orth M acadam developm ent, a
planned com m unity o f up to 5,000 resi
dences.
♦It will proceed through downtown along
the Southwest Fifth and Sixth avenue Tran
sit M all, have a stop at Union Station, and
cross back to the east side over the Steel
Bridge. An alternative, using the existing
MAX line, would have left the growing
River D istrict underserved, but saved $73
million. Some downtown businesses and
transit advocates had called for using other
streets, saying the line would overburden
the mall.
♦In the Eliot segment, north o f the Rose
Q uarter, the line will hug the east side o f
the 1-5 Freeway, with a bridge over N orth
east Broadway, then switch to North Flint
Avenue and a station at N ortheast Russell
Street. The route is a com bination o f two
earlier proposals. One was favored by the
Trail Blazers and Lloyd D istrict com m u
nity because it w ould be less disruptive to
traffic, the other by the Eliot N eighbor
hood A ssociation because its Flint-Russell
station would give the best service to that
com m unity. The hybrid route is midway
betw een the two alternatives in terms o f
cost. However, it maximizes the amount o f
private property that will have to be taken,
to the dism ay o f some housing and historic
preservation advocates.
♦North Portland had one o f the most
important route choices: through North In
terstate Avenue, or along the west side o f
the 1-5 Freeway (a faster and $44 million
cheaper choice, but less attractive to rider
ship.) The chosen route will hug 1-5 part o f
the way, then switch over to Interstate
som ew here north o f North Killingsworth
Street and go through downtown Kenton.
T he c ro sso v e r co u ld o c c u r at N orth
Ainsworth Street or Portland Boulevard.
Earlier in the process, planners looked
at routes along N ortheast Martin Luther
King Jr. Boulevard, and one that stayed on
the east side w ithout going downtown at
all. The MLK route was abandoned be
cause it would have required removing all
buildings along one side o f the street. An
all-east side route would be faster and
cheaper, but w ould not function for down-
tow n-bound riders, who w ould be most o f
the passengers, planners concluded.
One o f the biggest cost com prom ises is
the tim ing o f the construction. Plans call
for first building from M ilw aukie to the
Rose Quarter, then extending the line south
and north to C lackam as Town Center and
M ilwaukie, then finally to O regon City and
V ancouver. This could change depends on
when and if funding is secured, including a
$475 m illion bond Tri-M et will bring to
voters in November.