www.portlandobserver.com
Committed to Cultural Diversity
February 14, 2001
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o m nt u n i t o
a I c n b a r
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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