July 14. 1999
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Volume X X IX , Number 28
(The Ja rlia n i» © bserber
BHM
■
zjT o m m u n itg
>LLa 1 e n i> a r
Northeast Senior HUD Housing Project
Christian Poetry Reading
O n Sunday, July 18 at 3 PM, R eflections
C offee H ouse and Bookstore w ill be having
a C hristian Poetry Reading. This event is
sponsored by G reen Pickles Production.
For m ore inform ation, call 503/215-4572.
Mambo Queens
On Friday, July 23rd. concerts will be held at
the Tualatin Commons. The Mambo Queens
will introduce you to Afro-Cuban music and
culture in a program o f drumming, song, dance,
storytelling, and costumes that you w on't soon
forget Led by Cuban bom, Viginia Lopez, this
international cast hails from Puerto Rico, Ven­
ezuela, Panama, and the US, as well as Cuba.
Call692-2000ext. 932 for details and directions.
World Walk for Breastfeeding
La Leche League international's World
Walk for Breastfeeding will be held on Satur­
day, August 7 from noon to 4 PM in Lair Hill
park in downtown Portland. The one-nule sym­
bolic walk will begin at 1:30 PM on the running
track adjacent to Lair Hill Park. La Leche
League International (LLLI) is a nonprofit
organization that provides information and
support to 200,000breastfeeding mothers in 66
countries every month. Call 503 524-9616.
Largest Housing Grant Ever
Made in the History of the
City of Portland
n T u esd a y , Ju ly 13 th e re w as an o p en in g ce rem o n y for the
A lb e rta S im m o n s P laza, at 6611 N .E . M artin L u th er King
Jr. B lvd. (b etw e en P o rtlan d B lvd. A nd D ek u m ) 73 u n its o f
O
re n ta l h o u sin g for lo w -in co m e sen io rs.
H o u sin g O u r F am ilies (H O F ) is th e d e v e lo p e r o f A lb erta S im m ons
P laza. T h e o p e n in g o f th is p ro je c t fu lfills a lo n g -sta n d in g d ream o f the
B o ard o f D ire c to rs o f H O F to cre a te affo rd a b le h o u sin g for sen io r
resid en ts. H O F p a rtn e re d w ith the U n io n L ab o r R etirem en t A sso ciatio n
to a c c o m p lish th is goal.
H O F is a n o n -p ro fit o rg a n iz a tio n th at ren o v a tes, b u ild s an d rents
h o u sin g for sin g le w om en. A lb e rta S im m o n s is a fo u n d in g board
m e m b er o f H O F. H er v o lu n te e r w o rk on w o m e n ’s h o u sin g is b o th local
and n a tio n a l. A p o rtra it o f M s. S im m o n s w ill be u n v eiled at the ev en t
and w ill b e h u n g in the n ew b u ild in g in h e r honor.
Woman, Thou Art Loosed!
Women throughout the country and around
the world anticipate their largest Christian gath-
:ring to date, as they prepare to converge in
Atlanta for Bishop T.D. Jakes’ fourth annual
Woman, Thou Art Loosed! Conference at the
Georgia Dome July 29-31. “Wailing Women
Win” is theme for the 1999 conference - billed
jy the Atlanta Business Chronicle as one ot the
■op five meetings (ranked in attendance) At-
anta hosts. On-site registration will open at 10
VM on Thursday. The event is free and open to
he public, however, preferred seating has been
■eserved forpre-registrants. Call PamelaGadsen
it 214/333-6447.
Explore Africa This Summer
The Homowa African Arts and Cultures is
presenting a four-week series o f African arts |
lay camps for children ages 6-12. The day
ramps begin July 19 and run through August
13. Each week-long cam p occurs Monday
hrough Friday from 9 AM until 3 PM. The
series begins July 19-23 at the East Portland
Community Center, 740 SE 106th Ave. The
second camp follows July 26-30 at W hitaker
Middle School, 5700 NE 39th. For additional
information, call 503/288-3025.
Photo* by M , Washington
Alberta Simmons receives a heartfelt handshake from Kevin Hall,
Executive Director of Housing Our Families, left. Presenters,
family and friends look on at the unveiling of her portrait at the
Grand Opening Celebration of the Alberta Simmons Senior Citizen's
Housing Complex, above.
Unique Nike Factory Outlet
Store Breaks New Ground
Northwest Motorcycle Festival
The Portland International Raceway will be
» ld ing the Northwest Motorcycle Festival o f
speed from July 16-18. The event is the party
jf the summer for all types o f motorcycle fans.
Each year the attendance grows with thousands
showing up. The attractions are many: Y ou’ll
see the outrageous Gary Roth well Stunt Show,
Team Hammer Riding School, and much more.
Call 1-888-881-FUSA (3872).
Remembering Hiroshima & Nagasaki
An event coordinated by Physicians for
social Responsibility and W om en’s Intema-
ional le a g u e for Peace and Freedom will be
lolding an annual event memorializing the
victims o f the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bomb-
ngs and will call for theelimination ofnuclear
veapons. The event will be on August 6 from
»-7 PM at the Japanese American Historical
’laza (NW Naito Parkway and Couch St.).
Call Jennifer Aldrich at 503/274-2720.
Help Needy Children
The L.I.F.E. (Low-Income Families Emer­
gency) Center is having its 16"' annual back-
:o-school drive for needy children (K -12).
rh e drive will continue through August 10,
1999. The Center needs new and good usable
Nothing to ensure needy children are properly
prepared for the upcoming school year. I f you
need more information or would like to volun­
teer for the giveaway, call Leslie Garth at 503
284-6878. All donations maybe dropped off
at the L.I.F.E. Center at 2746 NF. M LK Jr
Blvd. Or, call the Center for a pick-up.
Free Meditation Workshop
There will be a free workshop for National
Meditation Month. Ihe woikshop is based on a
book entitled “The WmgsofJoy”bySnChinmoy
It is being held at the downtown library (801SW
10*1) from L3O -3PM on Sunday, July 18*. Call
503/471-1588 to register.
S t B M IS SIO X S : < om m iiiiit)
( a le u d a r intuì m a llo n "ill lie giteti
pi im its il d ated l " o " e e k s
belili e the event dale.
New Store Scheduled to Open Winter 2000
A
lo n g tim e resid e n t
o f th e N o r t h /
N o r th e a s t P o r t ­
land, O re. N e ig h b o rh o o d
is m o v in g do w n th e street
into la rg e r d igs. A n d w h ile
the lo c atio n and a rc h ite c ­
tu re is ch a n g in g , on e th in g
rem a in s th e sam e: T he an ­
nual c h a rita b le d o n a tio n s
b ein g m ad e to lo cal n o n ­
p r o f it o rg an iz atio n s.
At a ceremony, N ike rep­
resentatives and officials from
th e C ity o f P o rtla n d ,
M u ltn o m a h C o u n ty an d
M etro; and Brian G rant o f
the P ortlan d T ra ilb laz ers
broke ground at the new con­
struction site ofthe N ike Port­
land Factory Outlet Store on
M artin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
N ike opened its first fac­
tory outlet store on U nion
Ave. (now M K L Jr. Blvd.)
in 1984 after discussions with
Noelle Webb, a member of Portland Development Commission; Brian Grant, Portland Trailblazers.
the Black U nited Front in Serena Cruz, Multnomah County Board of Commissioners; Kisa Clausen, General Manager for Nike
searching for w ays the com ­ Retail; and Amina Anderson, of the Black United Fund break ground at the Nike factory outlet
pany could positively impact store s new site on Martin Luther King Blvd. In Northeast Portland.
this local econom ically dis­
advantaged neighborhood.
m o n ies to cru c ial c o m m u n ity p ro g ra m s in
this co m m u n ity , the P ortland F actory S tore
Every year since then N ike has donated a
th is n eig h b o rh o o d . I ’m p ro u d to b e h ere
is m o v in g ju s t dow n the stre e t on M K L Jr.
percentage o f the profits back to the com m u­
an d to be a p a rt o f th is c e le b ra tio n "
B lv d . W e w ill co n tin u e to be a p ro u d
nity. Today, the factory store has contributed
T he new sto re w ill b e ,8 .0 0 0 sq u a re
re sid e n t o f th e N o rth e a st P o rtlan d c o m ­
m ore than $700,000 to various inner-city
feet, n ea rly tw ice th e siz e o f its c u rre n t
m u n ity , an d to co n tin u e o u r su p p o rt o f
non-profit organizations.
lo c a tio n , and w ill h av e tw o le v els; th e
w o rth w h ile co m m u n ity p ro g ra m s
T he g ro u n d b re a k in g ce rem o n y m ark s
m ain flo o r w ill c o n ta in 13,000 sq u a re feet
“ N ik e h as had a h uge im p act in th is
the b eg in n in g o f an ex c itin g fu tu re for
o f se llin g sp ace an d th e m e z z a n in e lev el
c o m m u n ity ,” said P o rtlan d T ra ilb la z e r
b oth N ike an d th e N o rth /N o rth e a st P o rt­
w ill c o n tain 5 ,0 0 0 sq u a re feet fo r sto c k -
B rian G ran t. “ T his store has been in N o rth ­
lan d co m m u n ity ,” said L isa C la u se n , G M
room and o ffic e space.
ea st P o rtla n d sin ce 1984 an d has d o n ated
o f N ik e U .S .A . R e ta il. “ A fte r 15 y ea rs in
Dig In
-V t
Ron H erndon, then executive director o f
the Black United Front, recalls that the first
grant m ade by the N ike Portland Factory
Outlet Store w ent to the N ortheast C om m u­
nity D evelopm ent C orporation, w hich “en­
abled it to get o ff the ground and eventually
grow to becom e the largest non-profit hous­
ing concern in Portland. It has built or rem od­
eled hundreds o f hom es for low, and low er
m iddle incom e fam ilies. W e [The Black
U nited Front] suggested the current location
o f th e store. I am so very pleased N ike has
decided to expand in the com m unity."
The property at the new location is ow ned
by Jim , G eorge and D ean Lam pus and their
father, Angelos. In 1935, it was the site o f
their grandfather’s restaurant. Since then sev­
eral businesses have occupied the building,
w hich w as destroyed in a 1996 fire and has
since been a vacant lot.
In M arch 1999, th e E llio itt N eig h b o r­
hood C om m ittee overw helm ingly approved
the store proposal, and A rchitect Jim Leavitt
o f R alston A rch itects led the d esig n team ,
w hich is turning the v acan t lot into jo b s and
opportunity. T he new factory store is sched­
uled to o p en in early 2000.
___I Clausen, General Manager for Nike
Retail, recognizee Nlke’a philanthropic
contributions of $ 7 0 0 .0 0 0 to the
Northeast Portland community.