Committed to Cultural Diversity
www.portlandobserver.com
June 28, 2000
50'
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Portlanders look for places to cool off
2nd Annual N/NE
Community Festival at
Kenton Park
I f you m issed it last year, the PRO PER
Event is returning to the historic K enton
Park for its second continued year
E x p e r ie n c e n o n s to p m u sic an d
perform ance arts show case with poetry,
storytelling, drama and dance. Enjoy food
and fund w ith new friends, gam es and
prizes for all. Establish relationships
through the inform ation alley for whole
p e r s o n h e a lin g ( f in a n c ia l, le g a l,
educational, mental, spiritual booths, it
goes on). Call Pastor T yrone Sampson,
Directorat 503/286-1488.
Portlanders sought areas o f
shade and cool yesterday as
temperatures reached record
highs. The heating trend is
supposed to continue today
with highs in the mid-nineties
with cooling towards the end
o f the week to the comfortable
seventies.
Picnic in the Park at
Woodlawn Park
“ Picnic in the Park” is a special, family-
oriented, neighborhood-based event to
celebrate the re-opening o f W oodlawn
Park in the W oodlaw n neighborhood.
Featuring turning on - for the very first
tim e - o f the “Splash Pad, ’ the chi Idren ’ s
fountain located in the new playground.
There will also be local music groups,
basketball contests, raffle draw ings,
com munity organization information and
education tables, and blacksm ithing
dem onstration, and food booths. The
event will be held on Saturday, July 1,
from 11 am. to 6 pm. A dedication
cerem ony w ill begin at noontim e. Call
503/813-3898.
Camp Ky-o-Wa Offers
Fun for All Kids
Cam p K y-o-W a, a sum m er day camp for
children ages 5-11, serves children with
and w ithout disabilities. Three one-week
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, O R. Bus transportation to and
from camp is provided from Portland and
Gresham . A ctivities include swimm ing,
fishing, boating, tram poline, songs, field
gam es, and m any other fun activities.
C ost is 4115 for residents o f Portland,
$173 for non-residents. There is lim ited
scholarship money. Call 823-4328.
Summer Tennis Camp
This sum m er K ids N ’ Tennis, Inc. will
sponsor tw o tennis cam ps. O ne will 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). The cam p at
St. Johns is for T ournam ent Players
(Junior “A " and Cham ps). Call 503/823-
3629o r503/823-3630.
Save On Your Water/
Sewer Bills!
4
The sum m er garden season is upon us,
and soon after: high w ater and sewer
b ills. L eant how to keep these bills low er
by attending a free W ater C onservation
W orkshop. W e will discuss the changes
in the w ater and sew er bill that give you
m ore control over your bill. You will also
learn how to m inim ize w ater use in the
garden, how to detect leaks around your
home, control your water-sewer bill, repair
leaky faucets and toilets, and more. Call
the Com m unity Energy Project at 503/
284-6827 w ith questions or to register.
The Comedic Tragedy of
Macbeth
Six O n S h ak esp ea re p resen ts “ T he
C om edic T ragedy o f M acbeth”. This
original com edy version o f the play,
found in the B ard 's lost “ Port Folio”,
follow s the hilarious hijinks o f the
am bitiously im paired Thane ofG lam is as
his quest for the crow n goes horribly
awry. Will the m ost notorious and cursed
play have its day? W ill the brave actors
survive theatrical superstitions? Find out
Thursday-Saturday, July 13 - A ugust 5,
8 pm. at the M iracle Theatre,525 SE Stark.
Tickets are $10 general/$8 students and
seniors. Call 788-8558.
Education Crisis Team tells School Board, “ W e
CONTRIBUTED STORY
io r T iie P ori land O bserver
M onday June 26, 2000, Portland’s School
Board meeting was disrupted for m ore than an
hour, by the organization called The Education
Crisis Team a group o f Educators, Parents
and professionals, as well as representatives
from all walks oflife not claiming membership
in the group, but concerned citizens about the
business o f education and accountability for
low -incom e and students o f color w hich
included parents, m em bers o f the business
com m unity, m ultnom ah county services,
rep rese n tativ es o f the state le g isla tu re,
independent teachers and students, all with
the same m essage “W e can not and will not
w ait for a system that supports or purports
gradualism or procrastination as a solution to
rem edy the docum ented persistent under
achievem ent by some o f our students. It was
by far the best attended protest staged by the
organization as they gain support for the
im plem entation o f a strategic plan that has
design for results NOW . That notion was
supported by the words o f a hired national
expert Kati Haycock, who told Portland leaders
that, “Portland’s plan for raising persistently
low achievem ent by m inority students is
inadequate and, unless changed prom ptly,
w ill consign more children to an academ ic
Vt and we won’t w ait”
“death sentence”.
T h e C risis T e a m ’s
p r im a ry a rg u m e n t
seem s to be, that the
S chool
B o a rd s
Strategic Plan, which
in c id e n ta lly
w as
passed after the crisis
team m em b ers and
s u p p o rte rs le ft the
B oard M eeting, does
not
c o n ta in
th e
im m e d ia te ,
c o m p re h e n s iv e
c h a n g e s n e e d e d to
help thousands o f our
children that are so
terribly below grade
level. These children
w ill not be able to
co m p ete in to d a y ’s
world. They will only
be able to com pete for
th e lo w est p ay in g ,
least secure jo b s in our
technological society
A nd thus the assertion from the crisis team,
children will no longer be offered up for
team and it’s supporters w hich vow that they
“we are not prepared to w atch Portland Public
Schools sentence thousands o f children to a
third rate education that prepares them only
for a life o f technological servitude. O ur
sacrifice on altars o f low ex p ectatio n s,
ineffective instruction, no accountability and
racism ." T h eju ry is out, on w hat the School
Board will do to m eet the dem ands o f the crisis
w ill be a every board m eeting until the Board
is willing to m eet their dem ands or im plem ent
a com parable plan. There will b e .. no m ore
promises.
Walsh Construction and PDC unite to set new standards
O n M onday, June 26, 2000 Baruti A rtharee,
Dir. O f Housing for the PDC introduced the
p r o je c t
c a lle d
th e
“ R osem ont
Com mons". Rosemont Com m ons is a 165 unit
project to be constructed on 7.65 acres on the
site o f the V illa St. Rose, at N. D ekum Street
and N. Kerby Avenue, Portland, Oregon.
C onstruction value is approxim ately $15.0
m illion and will occur in 3 phases during the
years 2000-2002. Construction type is wood-
fram e, in 2,3 and 4 story configurations.
P ro d u c t ty p e s in c lu d e s in g le - f a m ily
residences, duplexes, row -houses and large
multi-family.
The existing V illa St. Rose convent will be
rehabilitated and placed on the National
Register o f Historic Places.
The project is a public-private partnership
with significant public investm ent by the City
o f P o rtla n d . T h e o w n e r is R o s e m o n t
C om m unity Developers, LLC (RCD), whose
members arc:
• G eller Silvis & A ssociates, Inc.
• N orthw est H ousing A lternatives. Inc.
•Tom W alsh & Co.
T h e a g re e m e n t b e tw e e n th e P o rtla n d
D evelopm ent Com mission (PDC) and RCD
Left: Andre Baugh, project director, city o f Portland Department o f
Transportation. Right: Tom Walsh, president o f Walsh Construction Co.
partner in joint venture.
C alls for a goal o f 20% participation by
m in o rity , w o m en and em e rg in g sm all
businesses in contracting opportunities at
R osem ont C om m ons. This 20% goal is
expected to be accom plished as follows:
• M inority-ow ned firm s
10%
• W om en-ow ned firms
5 %
• Em erging small businesses
5%
Prevailing w age rates will N O T apply at
Rosem ont Com m ons, except on the public
W orks contracts aw arded by PDOT. Both
union and non-union firms are expected to
participate.
O versight com m ittee m em bers, T ony Jones,
T yrone Henry. Lou Boston and Tom W alsh
will be responsible for m onthly reports to
PDC and be contract com pliance.
The H ousing D evelopm ent C enter (HDC);
C o n tra cto r S upport Program (C S P) has
p a rtn e re d w ith R o se m o n t C o m m u n ity
D e v e lo p e r s (R C D ) a n d th e P o rtla n d
D evelopm ent C om m ission (PD C) to help
m inority, w om en and em erging construction
businesses successfully secure and com plete
c o n tra c ts on th e R o sem o n t C o m m o n s
Development.
The CSP provides technical assistance to
e m e r g in g c o n s tr u c tio n b u s in e s s e s in
business managem ent. The CSP will work
(P lease see ’S ta n d a rd s ’ page 2)