Committed to C u ltura l Diversity
May 22, 2002
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Student Named Board Representative
Benson activist
assumes duties on
policy-making panel
Oregon Humane Society
The Oregon Humane Society hosts
an adoption outreach event to bring
companion pets into the community
for adoption. The event will be at
Nature’s, 3016 S.E. Division on May
25 and at Petco, 10730 S.E. 82nd on
Saturday. May 25, from 11 a.m. - 3
p.m. Call 503-285-7722or go online to
www.oregonhumane.org.
lUXUiJJXU ‘ M i H i U l b i i l
OHSU on Women’s Health
T he O regon H ealth & Science
University’s Center for W om en’s
Health is sponsoring a brown bag
discussion series on health care is
sues. The next one will be given by
faculty member Anne Nedrow, M.D.
She will be speaking on health prob
lems that can be diagnosed and
treated with both conventional and
alternative forms of medicine. The
talk will be given on Thursday, May
23, 1 p.m. at the OHSU Hospital,
Room 8B-60. Call 503^194-0515.
Noon Time Rides
Portland noon time bicycle rides will
be held every Mondays and Thurs
day, between noon and 12:10 p.m.
They are fast rides with hills. To
participate, meet at the S.W. com er
o f Pioneer Courthouse Square, be
tween Yamhill and Broadway. Call
Ray Thomas at 503-228-5222 with
questions or meet at start.
Johnell Bell, a junior at Benson High
School, has been named Student Rep
resentative on the Portland School
Board for the upcom ing year.
Bell is no new com er to student ac
tivism.
He becam e the first student m ember
of the Citizens Budget Review Commit
tee earlier this year. He was also in
charge of the com m unications system
for the most recent Martin Luther King
Jr. Day celebration.
Bell will take over the non-voting
board position from Jennifer Lewis of
M adison High School who graduates
in June. Lew is and two previous stu
dent representatives are creating a book
to help Bell and other future board
m em bers navigate the board territory
and new responsibilities.
A district wide student advisory coun
cil named Bell board representative.
He and other applicants for the po
sition faced a series of questions rang
ing from their views on school budget
priorities and how they would repre
sent the d istric t's 54,000 students and
parents.
Portland Farmer’s Market
The W ednesday Portland Farm er’s
M arket calendar will grow by three
w e e k s th is s e a s o n , ru n n in g
throughout the sum m er until Oct.
1 6 ,from 1 0 a .m .- 2 p.m. This bus
tling m id-w eek m arket, located in
the Park Blocks near the Portland
A rt M useum , treats P o rtla n d ’s
business com m unity and dow n
to w n re s id e n ts to ju s t-p ic k e d
edibles for lunch and other treats.
continued
4 confident Johnell Bell o f Benson
High School puts his leadership
skills to the test as the next student
representative on the Portland
School Board.
photo by M ark W ashington
T he P orti ani » O bserver
on page B3
Planning a Future for St. Johns Neighborhood
Improvements sought for beloved neighborhood and Lombard corridor
Mt. Hood Jazz
Fest Ends 20
Year Run
Organizers hope
popular event will
return after debts paid
Traffic enters the St. Johns community o f north Portland from the majestic St. Johns Bridge.
L ee P eri . man
T he P ortland O bserver
by
The city is beginning a planning pro
cess for St. Johns and North Lombard
Street, prompting community reactions
that range from “at long last!” to “so
what?”
The plan will cover the central St. Johns
business and residential district, ju st east
of the W illamette River, and a long swath
along North Lombard to North W oolsey
at Columbia Park.
Work on the project has been ongo
ing, with two open houses earlier this year
drawing 175 people. The city has also
sponsored a series of recent walks to
allow people to observe existing condi
tions firsthand and make recommenda
tions about what should be done to im
prove them.
St. Johns is one of the last communities
in north Portland to receive this detailed
planning work. The Albina Community
Plan of 1994 took in several north Portland
photo by
M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver
communities, but none west of North
Chatauqua.
According to city planner Barry Man
ning. the St. Johns plan likely will deal
with strategic development opportuni
ties and the scale and character of new
development.
Other issues that have surfaced are the
need to strengthen small businesses along
Lombard, to make it more pedestrian
friendly, and to make downtown St. Johns
a more viable gathering place and shop
ping location.
Steve W eirof the North Portland Busi
ness Association and Pat, Opdyke of the
Community Association of Portsmouth
have similar goals, although they have a
different emphasis.
W eir would like to see “constructive
rezoning" o f the Lombard corridor, and
“infrastructure improvements" in the form
of better streets, sidewalks, lighting and
new crosswalks.
continued
on page H2
(AP)— For the first time in 20 years,
there won’t be a Mount Hood Jazz
Festival this year.
The festival's board canceled this
year’s event after months of trying to
wipeout its $169,000 dollar debt.
Organizers say they still hope a
grant from a charitable foundation will
help them re-employ artistic director
Bill Royston, who was laid off last
year. Royston could help the festival
find new sponsors and grants and
organize fund-raisers to pay creditors.
“I’m still keeping my fingers
crossed,” said board member Wayne
Thompson of Portland.
Creditors range from the company
that sold the souvenir posters and T-
shirts to the company that built the
stages.
In the meantime, a group of Gresham
area music fans led by festival board
member Sue O ’ Halloran plans to plug
the gap with a concert in Main City
Park this year. The concert would be
held the first weekend in August —
the jazz festival's normal berth on the
calendar.
In its early years, buoyed by jazz
headliners such as Ella Fitzgerald and
Dizzy Gillespie, the festival could sell
out the Mt. Hood Community College
football stadium and make hundreds
of thousands of dollars for its non
continued
on page R2