Volume \ \ l \ . Number 38
Septem ber 29, 1999
Committed to Cultural Diversity
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“(Elje ^ o rtla n h (Observer
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Community Calendar
Interstate Job Fair
The second annual Interstate Job fair
is a major event being put on by the
north Portland employer council, The
state of Oregon Employment Depart­
ment and The State of Washington
WorkSource. The concept is unique in
that it is two state agencies and the
Oregon Employer council who have
come together to help give qualified
employees an opportunity to meet over
70 outstanding public and private sec­
tor employers from Washington and
Oregon. The Interstate Job Fair is being
held at the Jantzen Beach SuperCenter
on Wednesday, October 6lh from 10 AM
to 3 PM. Call 503/280-6046.
Native American Day
Join Wisdom of the Elders as we
honor our elders and acknowledge the
role our youth and veterans play in
preserving Native American culture. All
cultures welcome to attend. “Native
American Day” will be on Sunday, Oc­
tober 10 from Noon to 5 PM at the
Smith Memorial Ballroom at Portland
State University. Call 503/775-4014.
Whitaker Middle School
All Whitaker parents are invited to
enjoy free coffee and continental break­
fast and meet teachers and other parents
in the front entry hall o f Whitaker
Middle School on Tuesday, October 5
from 9 AM - 10AM.CallShafiaat248-
3999 ext.29141.
The Wellness Village
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The African American Health Coali­
tion need volunteers to staff the 4"' An­
nual Wellness Village, scheduled for
October 23rd at the Center of Self En­
hancement. The Wellness Village is a
one day event drawing people from the
community for interactive activities
such as health screenings, physical fit­
ness, healthy cooking demonstrations,
dynamic speakers, health education
workshops and children’s activities.
Call 503/413-1850.
The Salvation Army
The Salvation Army Disaster pre­
paredness Fair is on Saturday, October
2nd, from 10 AM to 5 PM at Jantzen
Beach SuperCenter will help you pre­
pare for all types o f emergencies.
Whether it’s Y2K, earthquakes, power
failures, winter storms or fires, we all
need to be prepared to deal with the
unexpected.
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Bowl for Breath
For Halloween this year, you can
help make a difference in cystic fibrosis
research by participating in the Cystic
Fibrosis Foundation’s annual Bowl for
Breath at Sunset Bowl in Beaverton.
Bowl for Breath includes both a COS­
MIC BOWL on Friday, October 29 from
Midnight to 2 AM, and a fun-filled
BOWL-A-THON day on Saturday for
the whole family. To sign up, please
call 503/226-3435.
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Adopt-a-Dog Month
The Oregon Humane Society (at 1067
NE Columbia) will have an Adopt-a-
Dog Month where dog trainers and ex­
perts will be on hand to assist with
finding you just the right dog on Satur­
day, October 2nd from 10 AM until 6
PM. Every Super Satuurday comes with
a great adoption “thank you.” This Su­
per Saturday, every dog adoption comes
with a free Hollywood Video movie
rental and a coupon for discounts at
Doggie Daycare in Tualatin.
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Metro Council Approves
Convention Center Deal
Memorandum of Understanding with Partners Means Completion of OCC
An affirmative vote by the M etro
C ouncil today will help pro tect our
re g io n ’s econom y into the 21s' c e n ­
tu ry .
T he C o u n c il a p p ro v e d a
M e m o ra n d u m o f U n d e rs ta n d in g
w ith th e C ity o f P o r tla n d ,
M ultnom ah C ounty, the T ri-C ounty
Lodging A sso ciatio n , the car rental
in d u stry , the P ortland O regon V is i­
tors A sso c ia tio n , the P ortland D e­
v e lo p m e n t C om m ission and T ri-
Met. The MOU o u tlin es a fin a n c ­
ing stra te g y that w ill provide the
$105 m illion needed to com plete
Phase II o f the O regon C onvention
C enter.
This is som ething we have been
w orking tow ard for m o n th s,” said
M etro c o u n c il P re sid in g O ffic e r
Rod M onroe. “ We know how im ­
p o rtan t th is pro ject is to our re ­
gional econom y in term s o f the jo b s
it w ill c re a te , the b usiness it w ill
g en erate and the to u rists it w ill
m otivate to v isit our area. By com ­
p leting Phase II, we w ill be able to
keep the C onvention C enter com ­
p e titiv e in to d a y ’s m arket w ithout
any in crease in p ro p erty ta x e s .”
M etro ow ns the O regon C o n v en ­
tion C enter and o p erates it through
the M etro p o litan E x p o sitio n -R e c ­
reatio n C om m ission. Right now,
the O regon C onvention C enter g e n ­
erates about $370 m illion in e c o ­
nom ic b e n e fits for this region each
year. The com pleted OCC is e x ­
p ected to gen erate an a d d itio n a l
$135 m illion in econom ic b e n e fits
each year as w ell as 2,500 new jo b s
total.
“ This p ro je c t is one m ore huge
step for the people, who are w ork­
ing to re v ita liz e the neighborhoods
in N orth and N ortheast P o rtla n d ,”
said M etro C ouncilor Ed W ashing-
ton.
“ The jo b s it w ill create are a big
boost alone. Add to that the extra
money that visitors will spend at nearby
hotels and restaurants and shops - and
the impact will be incredible.” Coun-i
cilor W ashington represents District:
5, which include the area around OCC.
Secretary of State Phil Keisling
Announces Resignation
P o r tl a n d — P h il K e is lin g a n ­
n o u n ced to d ay his re s ig n a tio n as
O re g o n ’ s S e c re ta ry o f S ta te .
K e is lin g , w ho has s e rv e d as the
s t a t e ’s se c o n d h ig h e s t e le c te d o f ­
fic ia l fo r a lm o s t n in e y e a rs —
lo n g e r th an a ll but th re e o th e r
S e c re ta r ie s in O reg o n h is to r y —
p lan s to ste p dow n on N o v e m b e r
8, 1999.
“ A fte r long and c a re fu l d e li b ­
e ra tio n , I ’ve d e c id e d to le a v e o f ­
fice now ra th e r than w hen my term
e x p i r e s in J a n u a r y , 2 0 0 1 , ”
K e is lin g sa id . “ D oing th is w ill
p ro v id e r e a l, m e a n in g fu l tim e as
a p riv a te c itiz e n to seek new c h a l­
len g es and gain fresh p e rs p e c tiv e s
on life and on O r e g o n .”
“ In a d d itio n , s p e c u la tio n a b o u t
my fu tu re p o litic a l p lan s has led
me to b e lie v e th a t my e a rly d e ­
p a rtu re w ill b e tte r e n su re the S e c ­
re ta ry o f S t a te ’s o ffic e can c o n ­
tin u e to s u s ta in and e n h a n ce the
high r e p u ta tio n it has e a rn e d for
fa irn e s s , in te g r ity , and e ffic ie n c y
in f u lf illin g its m any im p o rta n t
d u tie s .”
“ W ords c a n n o t c o n v e y my a p ­
p re c ia tio n for the c h a n ce to w ork
w ith the S e c re ta ry o f S ta te ’s 200
d e d ic a te d em p lo y e es, O re g o n ’s 36
o u ts ta n d in g c o u n ty c le r k s and
th e ir s t a f f s .” K e is lin g sa id . “ T o ­
g e th e r, w e ’ve had the p riv ile g e to
w ork in p a rtn e rs h ip w ith the c i t i ­
zens o f th is e x c e p tio n a l s ta te , and
I ’m e n o rm o u s ly p ro u d o f w hat
w e ’ve a c c o m p lis h e d .”
As the s t a t e 's c h ie f e le c tio n s
o ffic e r, K e islin g c ra fte d O re g o n ’s
1991 le g is la tiv e re d is tric tin g plan
and led e ffo rts to in c re a s e v o te r
r e g i s t r a t i o n and p a r t i c i p a t i o n
th ro u g h such in n o v a tio n s as “ M o­
to r V o te r” r e g is tr a tio n and V ote-
b y -M a il.
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As a u d ito r o f p u b lic a c c o u n ts ,
K e is lin g w orked to e x p an d a u d it­
ing o f g o v e rn m e n t p ro g ra m s and
to tra n s fo rm the a u d itin g fu n c ­
tio n to focus on th e e ff e c tiv e n e s s
an d p e rf o r m a n c e o f p r o g ra m s .
S e c re ta r y K e islin g also p la y e d a
m a jo r ro le in im p ro v in g m a n a g e ­
m en t o f sta te ow ned lands and the
C om m on S chool F und as a m em ­
b e r o f the State L and B oard.
U n d e r K e i s li n g 's le a d e r s h ip ,
his a g e n c y has d e liv e re d b e tte r,
fa s te r and less e x p e n siv e s e rv ic e s
to O re g o n ia n s. An ex am p le o f th is
is th e C o r p o r a t i o n D i v i s i o n ,
w h ich red u ced s ta f f by 31 p e r ­
c e n t sin c e 1991, and w h ich w ill
soon o ffe r o n -lin e r e g is tr a tio n to
O r e g o n ’ s 100,000 b u s in e s s e s at
s u b s ta n tia lly re d u c e d fee s.
“ W e ’ ve a c c o m p lis h e d a lm o s t
a ll o f o u r key a g e n d a i t e m s ,”
K e is lin g said. “ C a m p a ig n fin a n c e
re fo rm is the g la rin g e x c e p tio n —
and so m e th in g th a t I w ill a c tiv e ly
s u p p o rt as a p r iv a te c itiz e n and
fo rm e r s ta te o f f i c i a l .”
W hen asked ab o u t his fu tu re c a ­
re e r p la n s , K e islin g sa id th a t he
w ill e x p lo re o p p o r tu n itie s in the
p r iv a te se c to r th a t w ill in c re a s e
h is u n d e rs ta n d in g o f O r e g o n 's
new econom y. “ I ’m m ak in g th is
a n n o u n c e m e n t w ith no jo b lin e d
u p ,” he said. “ As m any O re g o ­
n ia n s have done, I ’ m w o rk in g on
a r e s u m e .”
“ I t ’s n ev er e a sy to le a v e a jo b
one tru ly loves, but I ’m co n v in c e d
th is w ill m ake me a b e tte r c i t i ­
z e n , a b e tte r m a n a g e r, and a b e t­
te r le a d e r ,” K e is lin g sa id . “ And
s h o u ld I have an o p p o rtu n ity to
s e rv e ag a in in e le c te d o f f ic e , I
b e lie v e th is k in d o f e x p e rie n c e
w ill m ake me a m ore e ff e c tiv e
p u b lic s e rv a n t.”
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