www.portlandobserver.com Committed to Cultural Diversity February 14, 2001 ^ o rtla n ù O bsew er o m nt u n i t o a I c n b a r (Ü ABSOLUT Winter Festival T he coolest place to be on T hursday, Feb. 15 and Friday, Feb. 16 is the A BSOLU T W inter Festival at T he Rose Q uarter be tw een the R ose G arden and C oliseum in Portland. T he festival is open to the public w ith FREE adm ission for all ages. From 11 a.m . - 7 p.m ., w orld-fam ous ice sculptors will com pete to qualify for the W orld Cham pionships at the 2001 W inter G am es. Keeping the Spirit Alive O n Feb. 17, an exhibition o f over 90 pieces o f A m erican Indian A rt from the collection ofDr. and Mrs.Robert B. Pamplin, Jr., w ill open at the O regon H istory C enter (O H C ) in dow ntow n Portland, 1200 SW Park. T he largest exhibit to open at the O H C in three years, “K eepin the Spirit A liv e” explores the im portance o f N ative cultural traditions and celebrations. A s a gift to the public, the m useum and exhibit galleries w ill be open free for the entire opening day, 10 a.m .- 5 p.m. C all 503/222- 1741. Seafood and Wine Festival T his y ea r’s 2001 N ew port Seafood & W ine A m ateur W inem akers T ournam ent festival will be held Feb. 23,24 and 25. This w ine co m p etitio n is op en to am ateur w inem akers only and offers an opportu nity for these individuals to have their w ines independently evaluated by a panel o f judges. F or m ore inform ation, call the G reater N ew port C ham ber ofC om m erce at 1-800-COAST-44, or checking the web page at w w w .new portcham ber.org/ s w f . Dr. Seuss Birthday Party O n Thursday, March 1, McMenamins Kennedy School throws a Birthday Party for Dr. Seuss. Stop by Kennedy School from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30p.m. for birthday cake and perfor mances by the Phoenix Theater group, whose actors will invite all family members to join in honoring the author with interactive, descrip tive readings ofyour favorite Seuss tales. A free celebration. Call503/249-3983. Hot Spots of the Planet Earth Dr. M itterm eier w ill be giving a talk on “B iodiversity: H ot Spots o f the Planet E arth” on T uesday, Feb. 27 at 7:30 p.m. in the O regon Z o o ’s C ascade C rest B anquet C enter. H is latest book, “H otspots,” is the definitive com pilation and status report on the E arth ’s richest and m ost threatened reservoirs o f plant and anim al life. T o order tickets, call 503/525-4281. Indoor G ardening for C hildren T he O regon G arden presents “Indoor Gardening for Children” on Saturday, Feb. 17 from 9:30 a.m. - 1 2 p.m. This is a fun event for children ages 3 - ,4. A ctivities include m aking an ivy topiary, designing a milk carton herb pot and m aking seed tapes. Janet Smith ofT he Ladybug Roadshow will be presenting storytim e at 10 a.m. and again at 11 a.m. Call 503/874-8249or 1-877-2733, e x t 8249. Convention Center Expansion Begins Future o f Coliseum in Doubt Portland officials are think ing w hat once seem ed unthink able: dem olish the M em orial Coliseum. The coliseum was once hom e to O regon's biggest events: Port land T rail Blazers basketball gam es, auto and boat show s, and concerts. N ow m ost o f the b ig -n am e, b ig -m o n ey events have m oved to the new er, larger R ose G arden. The landm ark coliseum needs expensive repairs and renova tion. A nd it is in the m iddle o f a four city-block area that plan ners think could be used to cre ate a m ore vibrant urban neigh borhood. At the request o fP o rt- land M ayor V era Katz, planning consultants began a review o f the R ose Q uarter last fall. They are to subm it their recom m enda tions later this month. T heir op tions w ill include possible d e velopm ents w ith, and w ithout, theC oliseum . The biggest prob lem w ith the venue? The 12,000- seat arena is too sm all for m ajor league sports but too big for m an y college and high school ev en ts. VS8B8SS ■a Mayor Vera Katz takes the controls o f a backhoe to mark the groundbreaking o f an expanded Oregon Convention Center. (P hoto by M ark W ashington /P ortland O bserver ) G riffin N am ed to N u m b er 2 P ost at H um an Services Donnie Griffin o f Portland has been named interim deputy director of the Oregon Department o f Human Services. Griffin, 48, joined the state’s health and human services agency as personnel di rector in August 1999. He started his new job on Feb. 1, taking responsibility for day-to-day operations o f the state’s largest agency. The department has about 9,500 em ployees and a two-year budget o f $7.3 billion. It’s now planning its first funda mental reorganization in 30 years, which will be presented to the 2001 Legislature. “Donnie has rich experience in organiza tional change and development,” said Bob Mink, DHS interim director, who Donnie Griffin appointed Griffin to the deputy position. “He will ensure that our effective ser vices continue as we reorganize the de partment.” Gov. John Kitzhaberappointed Mink to lead the agency after Director Gary Weeks announced in January that he had accepted a position with the Annie E. Casey Foundation in Baltimore. For 20 years, Griffin held various posi tions with US West Communications in Portland, Seattle and Denver. After leav ing the utility in 1996, Griffin started an organizational change consulting busi ness, The Griffin Group, and also taught business leadership courses at Marylhurst University’s business management de partment. Computer Lab Opens at North Portland Branch A Friendly Odyssey Friendly House, a nonprofit social ser vice organization with a 70-year history o f serving the N orthw est Portland com m unity w ill be celebrating the future o fo u r com m u nity and raising $ 100,000to support Friendly H ouse’s programs. Featured speaker will be form erG ovem or Barbara Roberts speaking about the future o f neighborhood life. Call 503/228-4391. A Gathering of Voices A G athering o f Voices present Portland poet and author Harold Johnson w ho will read at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 16 in the Channing Room o f the First U nitarian Church, 1011 SW 12lh in Portland. Mr. Johnson wrote “D ry Boats,” a book o f po ems. and has been editor o f ’F ireweed.” Call 503/452-4634. Pop in the Pool on President's Day! School’s out on M onday, February 19, and Portland Parks & Recreation offers a great way to spend the day! C om e on in for Open Play Swim at most o f our com m unity pools. To find the pool nearest you, call 503/ 823-5130 or visit the PP&R A quatics Pro gram web page at w w w .PortlandParks.org. W hile you ’re there, check out special activi ties being offered that day at P P & R ’s com m unity centers. I Expansion o f the Oregon Convention C en te r b e g a n T h u rs d a y w ith an o f f ic ia l groundbreaking ceremony. T he $ 116 million project, w hich increases the convention center’s tradeshow and con vention capacity by 60 percent, will take 25 m onths to complete. The new facility is sched uled to open in April 2003. The project was given the green light last year. “Rarely are we able to accom plish so m uch public good for no cost to property taxpayers. The visitors industry is to be thanked for making this possible, “ said M ayor Vera Katz. rh e expansion financing is part o f a com prehensive visitor development initiative that will provide monies forperform m g arts facili ties, renovating PGE Park (formerly Civic Sta dium ), expanding T ri-M et’s fareless square light rail service to the Lloyd D istrict and regional tourism marketing. “W hile this innovative partnership gener ates considerable dollars for several projects, the O regon Convention Center is the prior ity,” said M ike Burton, M etro executive of ficer. The hospitality and visitor industry agreed to a 2.5 percent increase in M ultnom ah C ounty lodging and car rental taxes to fund the expansion and visitor initiatives. “This collaboration betw een the public and private sectors is ju st the w ay the region needs to respond to its challenges in the fu tu re ,” said M u ltnom ah C o u n ty C h air B everly Stein. “This visitor package w ill en hance the industry’s return on investm ent, generate new jo b s and position Portland on a m ore even playing field w ith its m ajor com petitors,” said Harold Pollin, chair o f the Tri- County Lodging Association. Multnomah County Library system. The lab offers free computer classes and allows the public to reserve computers fo r personal projects at no charge. The equipment was purchased with a $35,000 donation from the Gates Library Foundation. (P hoto bv M ark W ashington /P ortland O bserver .^ » He is currently chair ofthe State Board ofEducation, a volunteer position to which Kitzhaber appointed him in 1997. Griffin is co-founder o f the Black Em ployees Telecommunications Associa tion, and past chair o f the northwest chapter o f the National Conference o f Community and Justice. He is also a Class III senior fellow o f the American Leadership Forum o f Oregon, where he currently serves as a board member. He holds a master’s degree in man agement from Antioch University Se attle and bachelor’s degree in communi cation from Washington State Univer sity. He lives in northeast Portland with his wife, Ross. Forum to Address PCC Expansion P o rtla n d C o m m u n ity C o lle g e is in v it in g th e p u b lic to jo in in a d is c u s s io n o f th e fu tu re g ro w th o f th e C a sc a d e C a m p u s at 705 N. K illin g sw o rth St. A c o m m u n ity fo ru m on th e su b je c t is sc h e d u le d fro m 6 :3 0 p .m . to 9 p.m . on W e d n e s d a y , F eb . 21 in th e S tu d e n t C e n te r d in in g ro o m . T h is is o p p o rtu n ity fo r th e c o m m u n ity to h e lp sh a p e th e lo o k an d siz e o f th e C a sc a d e c a m p u s fo r im p ro v e d e d u c a tio n a l o p p o rtu n itie s . In its th ird a t te m p t on th e e le c tio n b a llo t, d is tric t v o t e rs o v e rw h e lm in g ly a p p ro v e d P C C ’s $ 1 4 4 m illio n b o n d b y an o ffic ia l “ y e s ” v o te c o u n t o f 64 p e rc e n t on N o v . 7. A p p ro x im a te ly $57 m illio n o f th e b o n d w ill b e d e d ic a te d to th e C a s c a d e c a m p u s , w h ic h in c re a s e d in e n r o llm e n t b y 16.1 p e r c e n t in to ta l h e a d c o u n t an d 13.2 p e r c e n t in F T E , d u rin g fall te rm 2 0 0 0 . L ig h t r e fre s h m e n ts w ill b e s e rv e d . P a rk in g is a v a ila b le at th e R e n a is s a n c e M a rk e t, lo c a te d at 9 0 9 N. K illin g s w o rth . A s h u ttle v a n w ill b rin g p e o p le to th e m e e tin g o n c a m p u s. T h e b u s w ill ru n from 6 p.m . to 6 :3 0 p.m . and 9 p.m . to 9 :3 0 p .m . A ll m e m b e rs o f th e c o m m u n ity are w e lc o m e to a tte n d . I f in te r e s te d p e o p le are n o t a b le to a tte n d b u t w o u ld lik e to o f fe r in p u t, P C C in v ite s th e m to s e n d c o m m e n ts to M ild re d O lle e , e x e c u tiv e d e a n o f C a sc a d e C a m p u s, at P .O .B o x 19000, P o rtlan d , O R 9 7 2 8 0 -0 9 9 0