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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 23, 2000)
Committed to Cultural Diversity www.portlandobservcr.com August 23, 2000 I a r a » 5 ^5 ^ a r tla n h (©itsertier ZlT n in nt u n i t o V -U t 1 f it ò a r SECTION Vancouver Police kick off free gun lock distribution Un August 18,2000Interim Vancouver Police Chief Stan Reeves held a News Conference to announce that the Vancouver Police Services will begin distributing 3500 free gun locks. Project Home Safe, a nationwide program o f the National Shooting and Sports foundation has distributed thousands o f gun lock kits to law enforcem ent agencies across the nation. Vancouver was the fir s t Washington city to apply fo r the gun locks and recently received the first shipment o f 1800, with another 1700 expected in the next fe w months. The vinyl-covered steel cable locks, which lock much like bicycle locks, are threaded through gun magazines and barrels and prevent the gun's action from closing. A representative from Project Home Safe was on hand to answer any questions and to present Chief Reeves with a certificate o f thanks fo r p a rtic ip a tin g in the gun lock distribution. The free gun locks were available immediately after the news conference at each o f the Vancouver Police precincts. Block Party on the Beech T h e B e e c h S tre e t N e ig h b o rh o o d C o m m u n ity a n d F rie n d s w ill be launching its first annual block party entitled “B lock Party on the Beech” located at N orth B eech Street and N orth V ancouver on A ugust 26 from 1 p.m. to 8 p .m .. T his neighborhood festival is for the purpose o f reclaim ing the streets o f Portland from crim e; one neighborhood at a tim e. W e w ill be show casing local talent and guest speakers as w ell as h o ld in g an e x p o to p r o v id e o u r neighborhood youth w ith options other than the crim e around them. The party if free to all neighborhood residents. N on residents w ill be charged $2 for single adm ission, $5 for fam ily adm ission. “Instant Piano” for Busy People L earning the piano doesn’t have to be a tortuous regim ent o f scales, exercises, n o te -rea d in g , co u n tin g and theory. People w ant to be able to play the songs th e y lik e , b e c r e a tiv e a n d h a v e fun.Traditional piano teachers might not approve, but thousands have learned to play piano w ithout reading music. O n T uesday, A ugust 29, from 6:30 - 9:30 p.m. at the O regon Info Courses in the City ofPortland, ins tructorT odd W alker w ill teach his natio n ally renow ned “ Instant Piano W orkshop” . For m ore info. O r to register, call 503/224-5959. The Art of Forgiveness Oregon Peace Institute (OPI) will present a w orkshop on “T he A rt ofForgiveness” w ith R obert G ould, PhD , the director o f th e G ra d u ate P ro g ram in C o n flic t R esolution and the chairm an o f the Philosophy Department at Portland State U niversity, on T hursday, Sepatem ber 7, 2000 from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at the First United M ethodist Church, R oom 13 4 ,1838SW Jefferson Street. A donation o f $ 10 would be appreciated. Call 503/725-8192. Portland Area Council of Camp Fire T his fall, the Portland A rea Council o f C am p Fire will provide service and leadership opportunities for co-ed K -12 participants and adult volunteers. These group leaders and their young m em bers design service learning projects, plan special interest w orkshops, and m ake lasting relationships w ith neighbors, mentors, and schoolmates. Call 224-7800. Mt. Hood Huckleberry Festival & Barlow Trail Days T h e 16,h A n n u a l M o u n t H o o d H uckleberry Festival & Barlow Trail D ays will be held on A ugust 2 5 ,2 6 and 27 at the Mt. H ood V illage (6500 East U.S. Highway 26 in Brightwood, Oregon). T he events are free. T here will be live entertainm ent, Salmon Bakes, Campfire concerts, hucklebarry pancakes served, W aterm elon launch contest, and more. For m ore information, call 503/998-7813 o r inform ation on cam ping/cabins, call 503/622-4011. V olunteers N eeded at Blind Slough Sw am p Preserve T he N ature C onservancy o f O regon invites anyone interested in preserving B lin d S lo u g h S w a m p , lo c a te d in Brow nsm ead 12 miles east o f Astoria, to participate in a volunteer w ork party on S aturday, A ugust 26. B lind Slough Sw am p Preserve is the best exam ple o f tidal Sitka spruce sw am p rem aining in O regon, and provides habitat along the C olum bia R iver for bald eagle, osprey, riv er o tte r and beaver. R egistration required. Call 230-1221. City Garden Fair A C ity G arden F air will be held on Saturday, Septem ber 9, from 8 am. to 1 pm . at the Portland Farm ers M arket at South Park Blocks by Portland State U niversity. There will be produce and flow er ju d g in g . B ring produce and flow ers forjudging betw een 8 to 10 am. Judging will begin at 10 am. Kids welcome w ith ac tiv itie s for them . For m ore inform ation, call Com m unity Gardens at 823-1612. B Stan Reeves, Interim Vancouver P olice C h ie f discusses the fr e e gun locks during a press conference Vancouver's, Hazel Dell on a streak at World Series Last to arrive, first to surprise. It’s nothing new for the Little Leaguers from V ancouver, W ash. T hey stunned the C alifornia pow erhouses to win the W estern Region tournam ent last week, and they carried it o ver in being the last o f the eight team s to play their Little League W orld Series opener on M onday night. V a n c o u v e r, o n ly th e th ird te a m fro m W ashington State and first since K irkland N ational w on the title in 1982, got big hits, strong defense and a dom inating pitching perform ance to beat Bellaire, T exas, 5-0. “ W e’re trying to m ake a statem ent for the com m unity,” said m anager Tom Peavey, w h o ’s m aking it a habit o f explaining exactly w here V ancouver— on the Oregon border— is located. “The people from Hazel Dell (Little League) have said we put them on the map. I think they put us on the m ap because o f their support.” Jay Ponciano pitched a tw o-hitter, and didn’ t allow a runner past second. Catcher D ustin C o rl’s tw o-run hom er in the third opened the scoring to spark the victory. Pressure? W hat pressure, said Ponciano, who said he bore dow n after getting the lead because he d id n ’t w ant “ to blow it.” “ P la y in g in th e W e s te rn R e g io n a l ch am p io n sh ip gam e, I got used to (the pressure),” he said. “It’s m y jo b , and I ’ve got to get it done.” T he loss surprised B ellaire. C om ing o f f S unday’s 3-0 victory over G offstow n, N .H ., the Texans were expecting to face apotentially nervous V ancouver squad. It d id n ’t turn out that w ay, Bellaire m anager T erry M cC onn said. “T h ey ’re a really good team and I’m not going to sit here and try to take anything aw ay from them ,” M cConn said. Bellaire ’ s loss left only one te am — T okyo— w ith a 2-0 record two days into the Series. B oth V ancouver and D avenport, Iow a — w hich beat G offstow n 5-0 in its Series opener earlier in the day — are 1 -0. In other gam es M onday, T okyo survived a six-run, sixth-inning rally to hang on for a 9- 8 victory o v erT oronto (0-1), and M aracaibo, V enezuela, evened its record at 1 -1 w ith a 3- 0 w in over D hahran, Saudi A rabia (0-1). G offstow n is 0-2. W ith all eight team s playing Tuesday, that leaves a w ide open field o f teams contending to reach T h u rsd ay ’s pool cham pionship games. Bellaire is aw are the pressure is on them to bounce back, considering they face D avenport in their final pool-round game. “W e feel w e can win,” Bellaire shortstop Zach Jam ailsaid. “W e’ve done it in state, w e’ve done it in sectionals, and w e ’ve alw ays com e back,” catcher Terty M cConn said. Public voices opinions on urban renewal aiJjXjPEKLfiMAi! o e T ue P o r iia m ) O bserver S p eak e rs from m a n y , an d c o n flic tin g , view points cam e together to urge creation o f the controversial Interstate U rban Renew al D istrict at a C ity Council hearing last week. Council is expected to approve creation o f the proposed district at a hearing A ugust 30. There is still som e uncertainty as to w hat provisions will guide the allocation o f the $300 million the district isexpected to generate, and w hat projects it should fund. There w as considerable disagreem ent about this am ong the 200 people w ho show ed up for the evening session at K aiser Tow n Hall, nearly h a lf o f whom testified. T h e lig h t ra il p r o je c t c re a te d m u sc h dissension. A bout 50 people opposed to the project picketed in front o f the hall before the meeting. However, even som e o f these people later testified that they supported the district, at least in concept. A nother issue was the funds that an urban renew al district w ould divert from county social service support. County com m ission chair Beverly Stein, who had originally raised the concern, said she was not opposed to creation o f this district - provided that the city w as w illing to dedicate $2 m illion a year to restoration o f the lost revenue. Stein added, “This is an unusual situation in w hich I ’m at odds w ith the m ayor.” Stein and m ayor V era K atz sparred briefly at the hearing as well. “ W ill you com e to us every tim e w e have a new urban renewal district?” Katz asked. “ I hope w e ’ll collaborate and com e to an agreem ent on funding,” Stein replied. “ Ifnot, you probably will hear from us again.” County com m issioners Serena C ruz and Lisa Naito also testified in favor o f the new district. A n o th e r iss u e w as c o n d e m n a tio n . In deference to dem ands by m any residents, especially representatives o f the A frican- A m erican com m unity. Interstate w ill be the first urban renewal district in Portland in which the Portland Developm ent Com m ission will not have the right to acquire property against the w ill o f owners. Y et another issue was gentrification, and measures to com bat it Some feared the district w ill raise land values, and thus force existing residents and businesses out. Alan Hipólito and PD C’s John Southgate proposed a “racial- econom ic impact statement,” such as recently proposed by Dr John Powell ofM inneapolis, to m onitor such effects. H ipólito noted, “We know people near (the new ) Billy R eed 's (restaurant) have already seen their rents go up quite a bit.” Com m issioner Dan Saltzman retorted, “ We d o n ’t need to hire a consultant to tell us that....If w e’re to spend m oney on a racial impact study on the magnitude o f the disparity stu d y _ h a lfa million dollars - 1 will be raising a ruckus to get that money into the hands o f early childhood providers.” He said he d id n ’t w ant to “get caught up in a racially correct mantra." Several m em bers o f the project advisory com m ittee spoke in favor o f the district as proposed, and lashed out at critics. Paul M ortim er declared, “Ifan y o n e d id n ’t h e a ro f th is p lan , and have an o p p o rtu n ity to contribute to it, they ju st w eren’t paying attention." Regarding the attacks on the proposed M AX line he said, “W hat you d id n ’t hear is any credible alternative." Lenny Anderson attacked Stein directly. “Not at our m eetings was anyone representing commissioner Stein, a shortcoming she should regret,” he said. To hear her concerns now was “disconcerting," he said. S ev era l O v e rlo o k r e s id e n ts sa id th ey X -“ ' r i ' v ffl&i A The outlined shaded area represents the fa r-rea ch in g size o f the d esignated renew al area. w elcom ed the chance to im prove N orth Interstate A venue, w hich they said was a b lig h t o n an o th e r w is e a ttr a c tiv e n eighborhood. O ne, C ynthia Silaski, said that to her the district designation “m eans that for the first tim e the city will significantly acknow ledge u s.”
