( n in iiiit t c d to ( i illu iu l
Dixersih
xx xx x x .p o rtla n d o b s e rx c r.c o n i
.h in n a n
(Tin' ^ n rtla n h (Ohsrriuu-
5 0 , 20 0 2
SECTION
B
“SSiidcfitig, 3*a>Matid ô C am m unitieô”
n ui ui n u i t u
a I e u b a r
National Pancake Day
The International House of Pancakes
is flipping for National Pancake Day.
The family-friendly restaurant chain
will offer a free short stack of pancakes
for all guests visiting any Oregon IHOP
location between 7 a.m. - 2 p.m. on
Tuesday, Feb. 12. All of the IHOP
restaurants are participating.
Old Town History Project
The Old Town History Project pre
sents a series o f 45-minute walking
tours of Old Town led by former resi
dents, business owners and workers.
All tours begin at 12:15 p.m. at the Old
Town History Project’s storefront
gallery at 612 NW. Davis St. and end
in a local restaurant for an informal
group discussion and no-host lunch.
On Feb. 8, JoAnne Hong will give a
presentation called “Chinese New
Years Remembered.” Call 225-0198.
OMSI’s Brain Exhibit
Grant Civics
Team is Best
in State
Students prepare for national
finals in Washington, DC
Grant High School in northeast Portland is celebrat
ing a state championship in civics.
The team of 34 students won Oregon’s ‘We the
People... The Citizen and the Constitution’ civics com
petition and is now preparing for the national finals to
be held in W ashington, D.C., in May.
The state competition was the culmination o f stu
dents’ research on the history and principles o f the U.S.
Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
Placing second was Grant’ s cross-town rival Lincoln
High School. Held at the state capitol in Salem, the
tournament drew the best teams from the state’s five
OMSI is having an exhibit entitled
“Brain: The W orld Inside Your Head”
until May 5. Designed to appeal to all
ages, “Brain” will employ innovative
special effects, 3-D reproductions,
virtual reality, hands-on learning ac
tivities, and interactive technology to
help demystify the inner working of
the brain. The exhibit will be at 1945 SE.
W ater Ave. Call 797-4000.
A
Dana Pfaffle (left) and
Kimmi Kent o f Grant
High School enjoy a
brief moment away
from the competition
at the state "We the
People... The Citizen
and the Constitution ’
civics competition at
the capitol in Salem.
Beat Arthritis Campaign
Boston Celtics legend and NBA Hall
of Famer Bill Russell is coming to Port
land as part o f the B.E.A.T. Arthritis
campaign, an ongoing national effort
to educate the public about the signs
and symptoms o f arthritis. The event
will be at the Greenwood Inn’s Pine
Room, 10700 SW. Allen Blvd. in
Beaverton. Call 800-860-5519.
Grant High
School's winning
civics team along
with some o f their
adult advisors.
<
PHOTOS BY
Volunteer With Friends of Trees
Th Friends of Trees planting this year
is on Sunday, Feb. 24. Volunteer tasks
include working on a planting team,
driving your pickup truck to help de
liver trees and mulch around the neigh-
» borhood or helping to set-up in the
morning or at lunch time. To volun
teer, call Paul Garrahan at 493-8022.
St. Johns Community Pride
In recognition o f St. John’s long his
tory o f community pride, the neigh
borhood will be having a dinner party
foralltoenjoy on Wednesday, Feb. 13
at 6 p.m. at James John School. Reser
vations can be made by calling Bill
Smith at 283-9652.
P eter W agner
congressional districts.
Modeled after a congressional hearing, groups of
students appeared as expert witnesses before a panel of
judges who acted as congressional committee mem
bers. Teams were judged on their understanding of
issues, application o f constitutional principles.
reasoning, supporting evidence, responsiveness to
questions and participation.
Team coach Diane Thelen-Sager credited volunteer
attorneys from the downtown Portland law firm of Davis,
W right and Tremaine with helping the kids get ready for
the competition.
King’s Life-Giving Spirit Honored
Friends of Trees
volunteers Beth
Belcher (left) and
Jenny Holmes honor
the life-giving spirit
o f Martin Luther King
Jr. by preparing the
soil for planting at
the Patton
Community Garden,
4619 N. Michigan.
The American civil
rights leader once
said “Even if I knew
that tomorrow the
world would go to
pieces, I would still
plant an apple tree."
The group Friends o f
Trees sponsored the
Martin Luther King
Day event.
Civil War History Buffs Unite
Civil W ar history buffs unite: the
Friends o f History are launching a new
Ci vil W ar round table program open to
anyone in the Portland metropolitan
area with an interest in Civil War. The
first organizational meeting will be held
at Portland State University on Feb. 12
at 7:30p.m. in Smith Memorial Center
room 328, 1825 SW. Broadway. Call
774-691 lo r 725-3994.
Bear Fair at Oregon Zoo
The Oregon Zoo will soon show that
bears don’t really hibernate. All are
invited to bring their teddy bears or
stuffed buddies to this entertaining
and educational event. Lots of activi
ties for kids. A Teddy Bear Picnic will
be available for purchase. Free with
regular zoo admission on March 23,
from 10p.m .-3p.m .C all 220-3687.
photobv
M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver
Crack Down on Loitering Proposed by Retailers
Law would prohibit homeless from taking up space on benches, sidewalks
(AP) - Portland is considering an anti-loitering
law that would make it illegal to sit on a public bench
if police think it interferes with “the public use or
enjoyment" of the seat.
Another proposed law would make it illegal for
people to sit, stand or lie on a sidewalk if it forces
pedestrians to move around them.
Retail leaders have been lobbying the city to crack
down on street people who take up space on side
I
1
walks. But civil rights advocates are attacking the
proposals, saying they violate constitutional rights.
“If Portland wants to make it illegal to sit on the
sidewalk, that’s something that needs to be debated,
and many views need to be heard on it,” said Paul
Levy, chief attorney in the Metropolitan Public
Defender’s misdemeanor section.
Levy joined attorneys Marc Jolin o f the Oregon
Law Center and Andrea R Meyer of the American
!
Civil Liberties Union in a letter sent last week toCity
Commissioner Erik Sten raising questions about the
rewrite of the city’s police code. Sten said he shared
their concerns.
Tim Greve of Carl Greve Jewelers in downtown
Portland, said he didn't know the specifics o f the
proposed changes. But Greve, a member of the
Association for Portland Progress, a downtown
business group, said he thinks changes are needed.
I
A big goal now is to raise the money to pay for the
team 's travel to Washington, D.C.
Thelen-Sager said support for the team would be
greatly appreciated by sending donations to Grant High
School in care of the Constitution Team.
For more information, call the school at 503-916-5160.
Crime Rate
Drops for
Minority Youth
A new study finds that Portland has reduced racial
disparity in juvenile detention and lowered juvenile
crime.
The Washington-based Justice Policy Institute
has found that detention rates for minority and white
youth in Multnomah County are identical. That com
pares to 1994, when local minority youth were 31
percent more likely to be detained than white youth.
“This analysis shows that we’ve made our deten
tion system more effective in getting kids the services
and programs they need, without compromising pub
lic safety,” says Amy Holmes Hehn, a Multnomah
County deputy district attorney assigned to juve
niles.
Hehn said Portland can show the nation how to
help ensure that white youth and youth of color have
the same potential for rehabilitation in the community,
rather than being unnecessarily locked in detention.
Nationwide, minority youth make up 34 percent of
the youth population, but 63 percent of the youth in
custody are African American youth. Just 15 percent
of America's youth population make up 44 percent of
the youth in detention.
Multnomah County credits a series of juvenile
detention reforms to promote better outcomes for
African-American, Hispanic and Asian and Native-
American youth who get in trouble with the law.
The reforms include reducing the time youth have to
wait to have their cases processed, more objective risk
assessment instruments, hiring a more diverse workforce,
developing alternatives to detention programs in com
munities of color; racial and cultural sensitivity training
for staff, and resources for monitoring over-represen
tation in the juvenile justice system.