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May OS. 2002
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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
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