m
o m m n n i t n
a I e n ò a r
Camp Ky-o-Wa Offers
Fun for All Kids
North Portland residents urged to voice Bill Schonely
concerns considering urban renewal
by M ikeD elm an
for The Portland O bserver
C am p K y-o-W a, a sum m er day cam p for
children ages 5-11, serves children with
and w ithout disabilities. T hree one-w eek
sessions are being offered: July 17-20,
July 24-27, and July 31-A ugust 3. The
cam p is located at Roslyn Lake Park, near
Sandy, OR. Bus transportation to and
from cam p is provided from Portland and
Gresham . A ctivities include sw im m ing,
fishing, boating, tram poline, songs, field
gam es, and m any other fun activities. Cost
is 4115 for residents o f Portland, $ 173 for
non-residents. There is limited scholarship
money. Call 823-4328.
considerable change. Once proposed as a
corridor four blocks wide, it has ballooned to
3700 acres, m aking it by far the largest such
district ever in Portland. If approved, it would
place 12.3 percent o f the city’s land in urban
renewal districts, and the law limits their total
size to 15 percent. There would be only 2600
acres available to any other part o f the city
that w anted this type o f assistance.
P D C ’s John Southgate, staff to the project,
says that in briefings o f Council mem bers or
their staff, “I’ve heard them say, ‘Gee, th at’s
pretty big.’ 1 haven’t heard anyone say
categorically that they w ouldn’t support a
district that large.”
They might well balk at another Steering
Domino’s Pizza Stores
Unite to Save
I a Life
All D om ino’s Pizza stores in the Portland
m etro area w ill sponsor a w eek-long
prom otion to raise m oney for Brandy
S troederof M cM innville, Ore., who needs
fin a n c ia l s u p p o rt fo r a p o te n tia lly
lifesaving lung and liv er transplant.
D om ino’s will donate $1 for each large
pizza purchased at regular m enu price
starting Friday, June 23 through Thursday,
June 29.
Women and Sports
Join Radical W omen forapublic discussion
about w om en and the politics o f sports.
Special video clips will be show n from the
film, “ W e G ot N ext,” highlighting the
in a u g u ra l s e a s o n o f th e W o m e n ’s
National Baseketball Association. The flee
m eeting will b e o n W ednesday, July 12,7
pm ., at the N orthw est N eighborhood
Cultural C enter, Low er Level, 1819 N W
Everett, Portland. Call 503/228-3090.
The historic Paul Bunyon statue at the corner o f Interstate and Denver marks the
entryway into the newly proposed Interstate Urban Renewal District.
“Save a Life Summer”
PortlandT rail B lazer D am on Stoudam ire
hosts his fourth annual “ Save a Life
Summer” for A m erican Red Cross Pacific
N orthw est Regional Blood Services. This
fun, family and youth-oriented celebration
focuses on educating youth about the
im p o rta n ce o f b lo o d d o n a tio n s and
participating in their com m unities. The
event will be on Saturday, July 29, from
7:30 am to 1 pm at the A merican Red Cross
Pacific Northwest Regional Blood Services
(3131 N. V ancouver A venue). C all 503/
284-0011,ext. 152.
2000 Cooking Demo
Season
T he farm ers are back in the park and so are
the chefs. South Park blocks w ill once
again play hom e to the Portland F arm ers’
M a rk e t. T h e W e d n e s d a y s e a s o n ,
com plete w ith live c h e f dem os, will be
sponsored by Southpark Seafood G rill &
W ine Bar and T he H eathm an Restaurant
& Bar. C hefs from those tw o restaurants
will appear each W ednesday through
S e p te m b e r 27 w ith s p e c ia l g u e s t
appearances from other restaurants. Call
503/241-0032.
Summer Tennis Camp
T his sum m er K ids N ’ Tennis, Inc. will
sponsor tw o tennis cam ps. O ne w ill be
held at Irving Park and the other at the St.
Johns Racquet Center. Both cam ps will
offer a series o f three sessions for you to
select from. All sessions will start with
program m ing running M onday through
Thursday. T he Irving Park cam p is for
beginners to advanced players (check
registration form for tim es). T he cam p at
St. Johns is for T ournam ent Players
(Junior “A” and C ham ps). Call 503/823-
3629or503/823-3630.
Senior Art Show
The M ittleman Jewish C om m unity Center
and C edar Sinai Park is announcing their
first annual Senior Art Show and Exhibit to
be held the w eekend o f June 23-25 at the
Rose Schnitzer M anor, (part o f the C edar
Sinai Park com plex) 6140 SW Boundary
St., Portland. T he opening party will be
held on Friday, June 23 from 1 -3 pm at the
Rose Schnitzer Manor. All senior artist are
welcom e to subm it their artw ork for this
show, which will be juried by local artists.
Aw ards will be given out. Call 503/452-
3428.
by
ot T he
L ee P erleman
P ortland O bserver
T he people o f north and northeast Portland
will have a chance to have their say at three
hearings this sum m er on a proposed new
urban renewal district.
At the third, the people w ho count the m ost
- the Portland C ity Council - will have their
say.
T he Portland Developm ent Com m ission will
discuss and act on the proposed Interstate
Urban Renew al District at 6 p.m. today, June
21, at K aiser Tow n Hall, 3704 N. Interstate
Ave. The Portland Planning Com mission will
take testim ony on the issue, although not
necessarily action,at 12:30p.m. July 11 at 1900
S.W. Fourth Ave. City Council will hear the
m atter at 6 p.m. August 16 at K aiser Tow n
Hall.
In an urban renewal district, taxes collected
on property values above those in place are
asig n ed to special p ro jects w ith in and
b e n e fittin g th e d is tric t. C o u n c il, and
particularly m ayor Vera Katz, conceived the
district as a way to generate part o f the $350
m illion funding for the proposed Interstate
MAX Light Rail line, which would run from
the Rose Q uarter to the Expo Center along
North Interstate Avenue.
However, as developed by a 54-m em ber
steering committee, the district has undergone
Com m ittee change: they voted to cut the
district appropriate for light rail from $30million
to $ l 5 million.
Com m ittee m em ber Paul M ortimer defends
the decision, saying that the north Portland
com m unity is being asked to shoulder an
“unprecedented and inequitable” share o f
the burden for funding a regional facility. The
com m ittee wants to ensure it has funding to
meet other com m unity objectives: creating
“ family w age jo b s,” and affordable housing
to ensure that “people aren ’t forced out o f
their homes by rising rents. This is a once in
a lifetime chance to do som e important things,
and w e w ant to be sure w e have the resources
to do them .”
Some observers question w hether Council
will go along with this proposal. A s an
alternative, staff is raising the tax increment
target from the original $ 100-$ 150 million to
$200 mi 11 ion over the 20 year 1 i fe o f the district.
Elisa Dozono o f M ayor K atz’s office says she
hopes this will meet com m unity desires.
K atz has alread y c o n c ed e d to an o th er
unprecedented feature o f this district: the
lack o f power by PDC to condem n and
purchase property w ithout the consent o f the
owners. This was a coneession to African-
American com m unity leaders such as Harold
W illiams o f the Coalition o f Black Men who
harbored bitter m em ories o f large-scale
property acquisition by PDC to expand the
Emanuel Hospital cam pus and create what is
now the Rose Q uarter. O thers, such as
com m ittee members Lenny Anderson and
L a rry M ills, a rg u e d th a t s e le c tiv e
condemnation might prove crucial to achieve
com m ittee goals in the face o f recalcitrant
property owners.
When you think o f 20'h century broadcasting’s
magical voices - each recognizable at
the utterance o f a few w ords or phrases -
thesecom e to mind: Frank Sinatra, Jam es Earl
Jones, Mel Blanc, W alterC ronkite and Vince
Scully.
In the Pacific Northwest, you can add Bill
Schonely’s velvet pipes to that m em orable
lis t
of
g o ld e n
voices.
A s th e
ra d io
v o ice o f
t h e
P o rtlan d
T ra il
B la z e rs
fo r
28
seaso n s
(30 years
to ta l),
Schonely
achieved
n e a r-
legendary
status among Blazer basketball listeners from
coos Bay to BakerCity and from Klamath Falls
to Kelso. His gam e descriptions w ere carried
on a 30-station, three-state network, headed
by flagship station KEX.
Bill has set a record o f longevity as an Oregon
sports announcer. He was the team ’s radio
play-by-play m an every season except 1992-
1993 and 1993-1994 when he m oved over to
call gam es for Blazers television. Indeed,
S chonely’s tenure as a broadcaster is second
longest in NBA history. Only Los Angeles
L akers’ vice president Chick Hearn, who is in
his 38lh season has done more NBA play-by-
play broadcasts than Schonely.
For the man who m ade the term “Rip City”
synonym ous with Portland and the world o f
basketball. Schonely’s highlight tapes are
keepsakes forthousandsofT rail Blazerfans.
He has invented more graphic phrases and
euphem ism s to describe basketball action
than Billy Packer, Dick Vitale and A1 McGuire
combined.
The most famous ofthose creations, o f course
was, w as “Rip City,” a phrase he invented in
his first season behind the mike, to describe
a Blazer outside bomb that brought down
"nothing but net.” ,n later years, the Schonz
reserved the “Rip C ity’s" designation only to
field goals that had special significance - a
( Please see 'S ch o n ely ' page 2)
Sum m er crim e su rg e can b e p r e v e n te d
by L orraine -M ichelle F alsi
or T he P ortland O bserver
On Friday, June 16 the Portland Police Bureau,
along with its partners, announced Operation
Refocus V. In its fifth yearrunning. Operation
Focus is a crim e prevention program that uses
e d u c a tio n , r e c r e a tio n a c tiv itie s , an d
employment to refocus kids away from criminal
activity over the sum m er months.
“T he biggest problem in regards to youth,
from kindergarten all the way up, is not having
a positive w ay to express yourself,” said
Sergeant Kevin M odica o f the Portland Police
Youth and Crim e Prevention Division.
T he statistics confirm M o d ica’s beliefs.
According to the Oregon State Department o f
Education, 80 percent o f prisoners are high
school dropouts. A ccording to the Portland
Police Bureau’s trend statistics, a large portion
o f juvenile crim es occur during the sum m er
m onths w hen children are unsupervised.
The goal o f O peration Focus V is to give
chi ldren things to do during summ er vacation.
O peration Focus V is a partnership between
the Police Bureau, the Boys and Girls Club,
Portland Parks and Recreation. W orksystems
Inc., M ultnom ah A thletic Club and many
other groups.
“ If you are looking forward to summ er
vacation and you w ant som e things to do, we
have a program for you,” said Modica.
M any o f the program s involve physical
activities. T he M ultnom ah Athletic Club
provides sports cam p scholarships for kids
involved in a variety o f sports from football to
basketball to w restling.
The Boys and G irls Club seek to promote the
t
physical, m ental and emotional well being o f
children.
They will beoffering programs that include an
African dance class, the OM SI Boys and Girls
Science Club, a breakfast club, a Girls I ate-
Night Basketball program and field trips.
These program s will we held sim ultaneously
with their daily drop-in schedule, which is
available form em bers
P ortland Parks and R ecreatio n w ill be
organizing activities that include arts and
crafts, gam es, hot w eather activities, federal
lunches, w ading pools and field trips Their
newest program isth e T ra v e lin ’ M ovie Jam,
a van that comes into the neighborhood,
shows movies and provides refreshments,
gam es and prizes for free If they prefer
studentscan find sum m er jobs. W orksystems
inc. provides programs for children from 14 to
21 years old. Students can find help in
developing their resum es, preparing for
interviews and job placement. Younger kids,
between I4and 16. can participate in programs
that incorporate science curriculum with
w orksite-based ex p erien ces
T here are
programs even that offer high school credit.
O peration Focus m ay be accom plishing its
goal o f reducing juvenile crime. A ccordingto
M ultnomah County statistics, the num ber
juvenileoffenders decreased 15 percent from
1993 to 1998. Anyway, the program w ants to
allow kids alternatives to crim e.
O p e ra tio n F o cu s V o f fe rs c h ild r e n
opportunities to be active, involved and
fo c u se d on c o n trib u tin g g o o d to th e
com munity. M odica said, with a sm ile on his
face: “There is no excuse for kids not to have
som ething pro-social and proactive to do,
and to have fun."
*