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