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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (May 8, 2002)
(Oiliini t tt<l (o ( lillu i.il I )i \ e is i I \ May OS. 2002 w u u .|)(irlln ii(lo lis c i'\ cr.com (Tin' ^ n rtlan h (©bscrucr SECTION “ffividginp SPaittand ô Catntnunitieô” o nun n u itu a I e u it a r Friends of Trees O n Saturday, June 8, Friends o f Trees fans will celebrate the end o f this year’s planting season w ith a party and silent auction at Poppybox G ardens, 7295 S.W. D artm outh, in Tigard. T he Springw ood 2002 event is from 7 - 1 0 p.m. and will feature live m usic by “T all Jazz” as well as specialty desserts, hors d ’oeuvres and a no-host bar. Call 503-282-8846, ext. 16 or go o n lin e to w w w .friendsoftrees.org . OHSU on Women’s Health T h e O re g o n H e a lth & S c ie n c e Uni versity ’ s C enter for W om en’s Health is sponsoring a brow n bag discussion series on health care issues. The next one w ill be given by faculty m em ber Anne N edrow , M .D. She w ill be speaking on health problem s that can be diagnosed and treated w ith both conventional and alternative form s o f m edicine. T he talk w illb e g iv e n o n T h u rsd a y ,M a y 2 3 ,1 p.m. at the O H SU Hospital, Room 8B-60. Call 503-494-0515. Portland Farmer’s Market The W ednesday Portland Farm er’s M ar ket calendar will grow by three weeks this season, running M ay 15 through Oct. 16, from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m . This bustling m id w eek m arket, located in the Park Blocks near the P ortland A rt M useum , treats P o rtla n d 's b u sin ess com m unity and d o w n to w n re sid e n ts to ju st-p ic k e d edibles for lunch and other treats. Dishman Dollar Night T he M att D ishm an Com m unity C enter’s spring term D ishm an D ollar Night will be held on Friday, M ay 31, from 6 - 9 p.m. at the M att Dishman C om m unity Center, 77 N.E. Knott Street. D ishm an D ollarN ight includes indoor play park for toddlers, face painting, arts & crafts, gam e room play, a clow n and O pen Play Sw im in the pool. Call 503-823-3186. Water Conservation Workshop L earn how to ta k e co n tro l o f y o u r w a te r and se w e r b ills. T he upcom ing W a te r C o n se rv a tio n W o rk sh o p w ill be h eld at the P en in su la P ark C o m m u n ity C e n te r, 70 0 N. P o rtlan d B lvd. on W e d n esd ay , M ay 15, fro m 6 :3 0 p .m .- 8 p.m. Call 503-284-6827. continued on page B6 Collecting signatures for an initiative to raise the minimum wage, State Rep. Diane Rosenbaum (right), meets with Jessica Hollingshead outside the Starbucks on Hawthorne Boulevard. Hollingshead, a food service worker, says she would love it if her wages were raised. photo by D avid P lechi / T he P ortland O bserver Campaigning To Raise Wages Initiative would raise minimum to $6.90 an hour by D avid P lechl T he P ortland O bserver O regon N eeds a Raise. T hat is the rallying call o f State R ep resentative D iane R osenbaum and sup porters o f this y ea r’s initiative to in crease the w ages o f O reg o n ’s low est paid workers. Initiative 88 would raise Oregon ’ s mini mum wage from $6.50 an hour to $6.90 an hour, effective January 2003. W ages would increase every January there after in accordance with rising costs o f living. O reg o n 's last increase took effect Budget Leaves Little for Housing three years ago after a 1996 vote guaran teed the raise. As many as 177,000 w ork ers received w age increases between 1998 and 1999. Supporters o f this y ear’s initiative say at least 100,000 low -w age w orkers are not earning a living wage. R osenbaum points out that Oregon has the low est w ages on the w est coast, with California earning 25tf more an hour and our neighbors in W ashington earn ing 40(2 m ore an hour. “It’s a sm all step we can take," she says. “W hile inflation has raised the cost o f living 6 percent, w ages have stayed the sam e.” R osenbaum is w orking closely with the Portland based advocacy group, Jobs for Justice. She is confident th e y 'll have enough signatures by the July 5 cut off date to get the initiative on the ballot. “W e are calling July 5,h E conom ic In dependence D ay,” she says. R osenbaum thinks too m any adults in O regon are w orking low w age jobs. “Fifty nine percent o f low w age w ork ers in O regon are w om en,” she says. Traditionally som e restaurants and consum er groups have opposed wage increases, arguing that the cost will only be passed on to consum ers. O n th is p o in t, R o sen b au m c ite s O reg o n 's last increase and says, “Big increases did not occur.” "W hen the cost o f the staples o f life goes up, it’s only fair that w ages rise too,” she says. “T his will help fam ilies on the low est rungs o f the econom ic ladder put food on the table and a ro o f o ver their h ead s.” T o contact Jobs w ith Justice, call G eri W ashington at 503-236-5573 Helping People Find Houses, Apartments Urban renewal districts priorities strapped for cash by L ee P erlman T he P ortland O bserver The Portland D evelopm ent Com m ission must m ake some hard deci sions on how to spend a dwindling am ount of urban renew al monies; funds that could help local neighbor hoods. The Interstate Renewal District in north Portland has been particularly hard hit. Aside from the Max light rail project, there will be only $ 1.2 million .next year to spend on program s to aide low-income housing development, promote business and job growth and com bat the effects of gentrification, less than half the $3 m illion originally proposed. The shortfall stems from a recent court decision in favor o f Shilo Inns, reducing the amount of taxes paid to urban renewal districts. PDC has budgeted $460,000 for hous ing programs for the Interstate district. O f this, $100,000 will go to repairs for owner-occupied housing and $300,000 to development of rental housing. Som e have su g g ested that the money should be spent on rent subsi dies, but according to Sheila Holden, chair of the Interstate advisory com m ittee, Urban renewal funds can only I help pay for projects leading to physical im provem ents, not for ongoing programs. A nother issue may be whether money should be transferred from one district to another. Ultimately, urban renewal funds must be spent in the district in which they are generated, but districts can “borrow” from each other provided that the funds are paid back, with interest, within five years. The Oregon Convention Center Urban Renewal District, which in cludes properties on and near North east Martin Luther King Jr. Boule vard as far north as Lombard, has already lent more than $2 million to the North Macadam District. PDC officials conceded it is un likely the Macadam district can gen erate enough money to pay back the loan within the prescribed timeline, thus requiring borrowing from some other district. Public testimony will help the com mission, and later the Portland City Council, formulate an urban renewal budget for the city. A hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, May 8 at 5:30 p.m. at the Multnomah County building, 501 S.E. Hawthorne Blvd. Former City Commissioner Gretchen Kafoury navigates Portland's new “Housing Connections" website during last week's official launch of the e-government system at the North Portland Branch Library, 512 N. Klllingsworth. The site was created to help residents find quality affordable housing, a major issue in the city. Landlords who wish to list their units and anyone with access to the Internet can find the site at n w . hOUSingCOnneitlQO&dllg- photo by M ark W ashing ton /T he P ortland O bserver 1 V
