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Aumist 19. 1998
Committed to cultural diversity, http://www.portlandobserver.net
Volume X X V II, Number 85
. 4
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(Ehr ^ n rtla n h Ûftbserüer
“I Have A Dream”
Youth Symphony
A u d itio n s fo r n ew m e m b ers fo r th e
M e tro p o lita n Y o u th S y m p h o n y w ill
ta k e p la c e on A u g u st 2 4 ,2 5 ,2 7 an d 28
and S e p te m b e r 5 ,8 , an d 9. W h ile all
in stru m e n ts a re n e e d e d , th e re is s p e ­
cial n e e d fo r low b ra ss, b a s so o n s, v io ­
las, strin g b a s se s an d p e rc u ssio n . C a ll
2 3 9 -4 5 6 6 .
Peace Through
Meditation
A u th o riz e d re p re s e n ta tiv e s o f S an t
T h a k a r S in g h w ill be o ffe rin g a free
p ro g ra m w h ich in c lu d e s in s tru c tio n s
fo r th e in n e r L ig h t an d S o u n d m e d ita ­
tio n. T h is p ro c e ss, w h ic h b rin g s in n e r
p e a c e , ca n be le a rn e d b y y o u n g an d o ld
a lik e re g a rd le s s o f fa ith , re lig io n or
life sty le . T h e n ex t s e ssio n is on F rid a y ,
A u g u st 2 1 st at th e M e tro C o m m u n ity
C h u rc h F a m ily R o o m on 2 4 0 0 N E
B ro ad w a y an d 2 4 th , fro m 6 :3 0 - 10
PM.
Parent Mentor Program
H e lp im p ro v e th e life o f a c h ild by
m en to rin g the c h ild ’s m other. E cu m en i­
cal M in istrie s o f O re g o n ’s P aren t M e n ­
to r P ro g ram is se e k in g v o lu n te e r m e n ­
to rs to w o rk in d iv id u a lly w ith m o th e rs
w ho a re c o m p le tin g d ru g and a lco h o l
tre a tm e n t at th e L etty O w in g s C e n te r.
T h e m e n to rs v isit an d go on sh o rt o u t­
in g s w ith th e m o m s an d sh a re id e as
a b o u t p a re n tin g an d o th e r liv in g sk ills.
C a ll 2 3 1 -3 5 7 1 .
ACLU
B
Community Court Strives for
Accountably, Quick Justice
Z|T n n t n t u n i t y
Vita I c n b a r
O n W e d n e s d a y , S e p te m b e r 2 3 rd ,
from 6-9 PM , en jo y a sp e cia l v ie w in g
n ig h t at th e P o rtlan d A rt M u se u m , e n ­
title d M o n et m e ets “ I H ave A D re am "
T h e th e m e fo r th e e v e n in g fe a tu re s
C a rib b e a n C u isin e , h ig h lig h tin g th e
m a g n if ic e n t b le n d o f A fr ic a n a n d
F ren ch c u ltu re s. T h e p ro g ra m is an
E d u c a tio n E n ric h m e n t p ro g ra m d e ­
sig n e d to e n c o u ra g e stu d e n ts to c o m ­
p le te hig h sc h o o l an d go on to c o lle g e
o r v o c a tio n a l sc h o o l. C a ll 2 2 4 -5 8 1 8 o r
7 3 5 -9 4 5 5 .
SECTION
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B y L ee P erlman
Portland’s latest effort to address inner city
crime takes place every other Wednesday in a
meeting room at the King Neighborhood
Facility.DistrictCourtjudgeClifford Freeman
sits behind a desk.
Before him are a district attorney, a public
defender, various social service agency workers,
and a gallery o f people. They are teenaged to
middle-aged, white, African-American, Latino,
Asian, men and women. A few are solemn, most
are more relaxed and some are visibly impatient.
They have committed some minor crime in
inner north or northeast, and have agreed to
atone for it by giving eight hours o f free labor
through the Community Court.
In operation since March 4, the court is an
option for people accused o f misdemeanor
crimes such as shoplifting, prostitution, public
intoxication, selling alcohol to a minor, graffiti,
and “criminal trespass” (often entering an area
from whic h they have been “excl uded” for past
drug, alcohol or other offenses.) They must be
residents o f the Albina community or have
committed the crime there. They may not use
the court for violent orperson-to-person crimes,
and they may not have a criminal record that
includes serious crimes o f violence. They must
agree in advance to plead guilty or No Contest
to the charge.
The court serves several functions. It frees
up the justice system to deal with more serious
crimes, since each Community Court case
takes only a few minutes. It brings the justice
system closer to the community. And it allows
those who misbehave to attone for it in the same
community where the crime was committed.
On the Thursday following court sessions,
offenders can meet with representatives of
social service agencies who can help them deal
with problems such as lack o f housing or
substance abuse that may have caused them to
commit the crime. In this way getting such help
is more convenient, with fewer bureaucratic
hurdles, than visiting the agencies would be.
How does it all work in practice? Court
coordinator Robin Gregory and others con­
cede that some people do in fact “work the
system” to avoid sentences that could range
from fines o f $ 100 or more to up to a week in
jail. Still, she says, 80 percent o f those accused
do show up for their hearings, and two-thirds
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Judge Clifford Freeman with Community Court advisory Board members Richard Brown (right) and Betsy Radigan (middle).
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complete their community service - a better
record o f compliance than circuit court.
Community Activist Richard Brown a mem­
ber o f the court advisory committee, sees more.
“When people come back from completing their
community service, they reactually smiling, and
shaking hands with the lawyers,” he says. “We
had one old man who worked in a children’s
garden, and loved it. When you ask i t people will
be back, the answer invariably is ‘No.’ The
courts downtown don’t seem to have a lot o f
impact. Here you can see that at least for some
people it makes a difference.”
Another member, Betsy Radigan, says, “In
the courts downtown the lawyers do all the
talking and the defendent is a warm body who
carries papers from one place to another. Being
there is an inconvenience to them; it's all about
them. Here the idea is to address quality o f life
crimes in a way that shows the offender that
they’re detracting from the quality o f life in the
O n S e p te m b e r 4 th , th e A C L U o f O r
eg o n w ill h o st th e S e c o n d A n n u al Un
c e n so re d C e le b ra tio n F ree E x p re ssio n
P arty . T h is is a c e le b ra tio n o f free
e x p re s s io n in th e v isu a l a rts, th e w rit­
ten w o rd , an d th e p e rfo rm in g a rts. Ex
p ec t m a n y sp e c ia l g u e s ts, p e rfo rm e rs,
an d su rp rise s. T h e e v e n t w ill be h eld
on th e ro o fto p o f Y am h ill M a rk e tp la c e ,
110 SW Y a m h ill, fro m 7:3 0 to 11:30
PM . C a ll 2 2 7 -3 1 8 3 .
inner city.”
Public defender Paul Newton likes the fact
that defendents see “a quick resolution o f their
cases and immediateconsequences forthe trouble
they cause. People don’t get cynical about the
process.” By contrast, he says, circuit court
"disposes o f cases without looking at w hat’s
appropriate or the reasons for the crimes. At the
is the uniform eight hours community serv ice
sentence. It was adopted as an incentive to get
offenders to use community court. Freeman,
and others, would now like to see it re-evaluated
to allow sentences that better fit the offense and
offender. “It’s one thing if this is the person's
first offense, another if it’s their ninth or tenth,
he says. “Some just haven’t gotten it.
end you get a piece o f paper that tells you you
have to do something, but there’s nobody to
check up to see that you actually do it.”
A big plus, most observers feel, is the direct
interaction between the defendent and thejudge.
Each is told to say, “in your own words, why you
think you’re guilty o f this offense.” At the end
Freeman invariably advises offenders to mend
their ways so that they will not be back.
Interestingly, Judge Freeman sees few differ-
ences between community and circuit court. He
asks “pleading" defendents to state their position
on their charges. The biggest difference, he says
"W e d o n 't w'ant to see these people
again, and for the m ost part we d o n ’t,”
Freem an says. “ W e get respectable people
w ho had a lapse in judgem ent and shop­
lifted. and they find them selves with hand­
cuffs on in a little room w here they c a n ’t
get out. W e w o n ’t see those people again.
W e have store clerks w ho may be dyslexic,
m isread som e I.D., and sell alcohol to
som eone under age. I d o n 't think w e ’ll see
them again; I m ay be wrong. I’ve had to
rem and one or tw o people back to cus­
tody.”
H istoric K en n ed y
S ch o o l
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ArtFire
C o m e to an A rtF ire cla ss an d learn
how to a c c e ss, g e n e ra te , ex p a n d u p o n
an d tru st y o u r o w n id e a s th ro u g h p a in t­
ing an d d ra w in g in an a c tiv e stu d io
e x p e rie n c e . A rtF ire d o e s n o t “ p la n t
id e a s” in a s tu d e n t’s m in d - it fo c u se s
on u n le a sh in g th em . W e e m p h a siz e in ­
d iv id u a l a tte n tio n . C la sse s a re sm all
an d a p p ro p ria te to all e x p e rie n c e le v ­
els, fro m n o n e to m u c h , fo r ag e s 3 -
A d ult. C a ll 2 3 5 -1 9 6 1 .
Welcome to McMenamin ’s Kennedy School that
took 22 years to preserve and transform into a
thriving commercial business offering food,
lodging and entertainment. It has brought new
jobs and sparked revitalization to the area.
This is ju s t one o f many prides o f NE.
Concordia featured in the Neighborhoods
section.)
Free Mammograms
O n W e d n e s d a y , S e p te m b e r 16th,
from 9 A M to 4 P M , 20 m a m m o g ram s
w ill b e g iv e n to w o m en 35 and o ld e r at
th e C h e v ro n s ta tio n at 1 7 8 3 0 SW
B o o n e s F erry R o ad in L ak e O sw eg o
C a ll 6 8 1 -1 1 0 0 to sc h e d u le an a p p o in t­
m ent b e tw e e n th e h o u rs o f 8 A M an d 5
PM b eg in n in g T u e sd a y , S e p te m b e r 1 st.
A p p o in tm e n ts w ill b e g iv e n aw a y on a
first co m e, firs t s e rv e d b asis.
New Amphitheatre In Portland Area To Be Developed
By Universal Concerts and Aegean Development
Learn to Negotiate
I f y o u ’re in te re s te d in le a rn in g how
to in c re a se y o u r p o w e r as a n e g o tia to r
in b u sin e ss o r at h o m e - yo u c a n ’t
a ffo rd to m iss “ T h e A rt o f N e g o tia t­
in g ” w ith p ro fe ssio n a l n e g o tia to r, lec
tu re r an d a u th o r, D av id P o llan d . H e
w ill speak at th e A sso c ia tio n o f W om en
in C o m m u n ic a tio n ’s lu n c h e o n to be
h eld fro m 11:30 A M to 1 PM , W e d n e s­
d ay , S e p te m b e r 9 th at S h e n a n ig a n ’s on
th e W illa m e tte . C a ll 2 9 9 -4 9 4 1 .
Photo by Lorry J. JocOooo Sr.
Jim McCue, Aegean’s Vice President for
facility sales and marketing, discussed with the
Portland Observer, the newly created relation-
ship between Universal Concerts and Aegean
Development Corporation for the joint develop­
ment o f a new outdoor amphitheatre within the
Portland metropolitan region.
The recent agreement reached solidifies a
significant regional partnership between Uni­
versal Concerts, one o f North America’s largest
concert promotion companies and the Aegean
Development Corporation. O regon’s largest
v en u e o p erato r. D etails reg a rd in g the
amphitheatre including its location are currently
intheprocessofbeingdetcrmined.withthehope
that construction will begin in the spring o f 1999
withcompletioninthespringof2000. “What we
need, isaregional government w illingtostepup
and make the wheels move, that will facilitate the
success o f the project, said Jim McCue.
Jay Marciano, President, Universal Concerts
said, “Throughout North America, live music is
an important and exciting part o f the culture o f
local communities. By developing a new out­
door amphitheatre, we intend to bring Portland a
high-quality live entertainment experience that
incorporates the beauty o f the region. We are
happy to partner with Aegean Development.
which operates Portland's prestigious RoseGar-
den Arena and several other venues. Together,
we will provide concert goers with world-class.
cutting-edgemusicaswellasthearea’spremiere
outdoor venue." Universal Concerts currently
owns nearly a dozen facilities.
“While the Portland area features a variety o f
outdoor venues, none meet the needs ofboth the
public and performers in one location. Building
a first-class amphitheatre will provide the ulti­
mate outdoor concert experience for the guest
while giving our performers a state-of-the-art
facility as well," said J. Isaac, Senior VP of
Business Affairs for Aegean Development
Jim McCue, VP Facility Sales and Marketing
adds, “W'orking with Universal Concerts, we
have had a long track record o f presenting
successful showsatourexisting venues. Weare
thrilled to be partners with these industry lead-
ers
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