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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 28, 2002)
C O iiiiilittv d Io C u ltu ra l D iversity h August 2S, 2OH2 u u .p o i llunilobsciN cr.com (Tin' ^ a r tla n h (Oltst'rUi'r C ommunity a le n d a r River City Celebration H arbor je t-b o a t tours, interactive trade exhibits, historical displays, lantern- m aking workshops, food booths, en tertainment and an evening illum inated procession along the c ity 's Eastbank Esplanade aw ait visitors to P ortland’ s "R iv e r C ity C elebration & Illu m in a ta Parade o f L ig h t” on Saturday, Sept. 21, fro m noon - 10:30 p.m . The daylong festival w ill be at the east end o f Portland’s Hawthorne Bridge, where S.E. Madison ST. meets the W illam ette R iver bank. SECTION Exploring Careers After High School PGE summer jobs put local students on career - > s •. j MSÍ&. S w tfë Radical Women Radical W om en hosts an evening o f thought pro vo kin g com m entary, po etry and m usic to celebrate the interna tional resistance o f w om en and w o rk ers to the new w ar order. The meeting is free and open to the p ublic. The event w ill be on Wednesday, Sept. 11, 7:30 p.m. at the Bread and Roses Cen ter, 819 N. K illin g s w o rth . T o arrange childcare, rides, w o rk exchanges o r fo r m ore in fo rm a tio n, call 503-240- 4462. Fun for the Whole Family A re a re s id e n ts are in v ite d tp a t tend the St. L u k e M e m o ria l C h u rch o f G o d in C h r is t's 3"' a n n u a l b lo c k p a rty in m e m o ry o f B re n d a J. P ie a rso n on S a tu rd a y , A u g . 31 at 2700 N .E. Sumner, fro m 11 :3 0 a .m .- 6 :3 0 p .m . T h e re w il l be fo o d , fu n , m u s ic and gam es fo r a ll ages. A n a d u lt m u st a c c o m p a n y c h ild re n J u n d e r 12. Street of Dreams The 27th annual N W Natural Street o f Dreams w ill continue to b u ild on its reputation fo r showcasing uniquely designed homes, u n ve ilin g its 2002 houses d a ily through M onday, Sept. 2, follow ed by an “ encore weekend” Sept. 6,7 and 8. Each hom e's design in co r porates the latest trends in electronic technology, e n ergy-efficiency, land scaping, consumer products, furnish ings and decor. The tour begins in A therton Heights in Lake Oswego on the com er o f Rosemont and S tafford, from 10 a m. - 10 p.m. Tomato Fest Tomato lovers unite to sample 50 va ri eties o f tomatoes, learn the difference between a plum and a pear tomato, discover hybrid and heirloom varieties, and gain structionson canningand freez ing tomatoes. Plus, kids can meet farm animals in the 4H petting zoo. The fes tiva l w ill be at the Portland Farmers Market on Saturday, Sept. 7, at PSU’ s South Park Blocks, between S. W. M ont gomery and Harrison St. Summer Cycle and Walks The Portland O ffice o f Transportation is offering neighborhood w alking tours. Takoa w alk around northeast Portland. It w ill be on Aug. 31, from 9 - 1 1 a.m. Meeting area w i II be at the L lo y d Center N o rd stro m Plaza at N .E . 9 ,h and M u ltn o m a h. Participants w ill v is it Broadw ay/W eidler and L lo yd neigh borhoods and explore several recent transportation/livability projects. Call 5 0 3 -8 2 3 -5 2 6 6 o r go o n lin e to www43ortlM dtrauy2v.ri4tiyikyig Race for the Cure S afew ay and Y o p la it y o g u rt ju s t launched the Safeway Salutes Portland S u rv iv o rs p ro g ra m , an in -s to re fundraising effort fo r breast cancer re search. Their goal is to raise $10.000. From Sept. 1 through race day. Sept. 15, Y oplait and Safeway w ill donate $ 1 for every 10. and $1.50 for every 15 Y oplait yogurt cups purchased w ith a Safeway C lub Card. The race w il I be held at Gov. Tom M cC all W aterfront Park. Jamika Johnson dreams of a career in business after exploring a choice o f careers at Portland General Electric. J anet C olw ell F or T he P ortland O bserver by Jamika Johnson was certain about one thing when she graduated from high school: She w ould go to college and have a career. But ju st how that career path w ould unfold was a mystery, and the last place she ex pected to solve it was at a u tility company. “ A t first I was very w orried about m y career direction," says Johnson, a “ summer hire” in Portland General Electric's Federal A ffa irs division, where she helps maintain legal files connected w ith major court cases. “ But w o rkin g at PGE gave me a taste o f the business w orld I was surprised at how many different departments there arc at a u tility and the extent o f PGE's role in the com m unity.” Johnson now dreams o f a career in busi ness. A fte r another year at Portland C om m unity College. she plans to transfer to the U niversity ofN evada at Las Vegas to com plete a business degree, Johnson is one o f 57 students w orking in PGE’ s Summer H ire Program, w hich helps attract talented young people to trade and professional careers at the company. U nlike many traditional internship pro grams, PGE summer jobs pay competitive wages and place students in real, hands-on positions. This year, more than h a lf o f the students hired were m inorities or women, says Joe Hutchins, program director. A m ajor focus o f the program is recruit ing m inorities and women into non-tradi- tional jobs, such as hydro-maintenance or engineering. That’ s in keeping w ith PGE's top-down comm i tment to creat i ng a di verse w orkforce the company has eight em ployee diversity groups as w ell as an advi sory committee that regularly makes rec ommendations to management on policy and enhancing diversity across departments. M any students spend m ultiple summers at PGE, gaining valuable experience and defraying college expenses. Some even go on to fu ll-tim e jobs at the u tility. PGE's School-to-W ork Program is an other way the company reaches out to m i nority students, says Hutchins. The pro gram targets six high schools Jefferson, Benson, Roosevelt, H illsboro, Woodburn and North Salem. Hutchins helps students apply fo r jobs, organizes field trips to PGE facilities, ar ranges for students to job-shadow PGE employees and links students w ith employee mentors. This year, a total o f 448 high school and college students vied fo r 57 summer posi tions, says Hutchins. It’ s com petitive, but everyone has a shot at a jo b , he says the Mental Health Group Names Directors Area centers for mental health strengthen, diversify board re la tio n s program at P ortland State U n iv e rs ity w here he is a d ju nct p ro fessor. He also serves on the board o f d ire cto rs at S elf-E nhancem ent, In c., is a m em ber o f P o rtla n d 's U r ban F o re stry B oard, is a fo rm e r M e tro C o u n c ilo r, and is a past p re si dent o f the P ortland chapter o f the Tualatin V a lle y Centers, a group o f clin ics that recently merged w ith a longtim e p rovider o f mental health services fo r A fric a n Am ericans in Portland, has named four new o ffic ers to strengthen and d iv e rs ify the organization. Ed W a s h in g to n and V e rn o n Baker, lo n g tim e leaders in the black c o m m u n ity , m ake up tw o o f the a p p o in tm e n ts to the g ro u p 's board o f d ire c to r s , a n n o u n c e d M a ry M o n n a t, T V C president and c h ie f Ed Washington (left) and Vernon Baker executive officer. Both men served on the board o f direc tors fo r Center fo r C o m m u n ity M ental Health, the group that merged w ith T V C in March. Baker serves as developmental disabi I i- ties manager fo r M ultnom ah County. He is an ordained m inister and has 15 years experiences as a trainer and consultant in the fields o fso cia l services and education. He is cu rre n tly w ritin g a book on the “ V illa g e Experience and the role o f the A fro -A m e rica n m an." W ash in g to n serves in the c o m m u n ity NAACP. A lso new to the T V C board arc G ilb e rto T. Lusero and Paul Zadoff. Lusero is a ffilia te d w ith the Latino N etw ork. Oregon C ouncil fo r H is panic Advancement, and several graduate and medical schools in W ashington and C alifornia. Z a d o ff has held various positions for Nike. He has 12 years o f experience in the non-profit arts w orld, w orking w ith a vari ety o f theatre, opera and ballet companies. Extreme Heat Brings Energy Help from Oregon Housing Department The federal government has awarded Oregon $1.6 m illio n in emergency funds to help low -incom e residents pay their energy bills. The Oregon Housing and C om m unity » Services department distributed the m on ies to local com m unity action agencies, service programs and partners. Persons seeking energy assistance can apply through their local com m unity ac tio n agency. “ O u r C ongressional delegates have re a lly w orked hard to o b ta in these funds. T hough there rem ains a m uch greater need fo r energy assistance funds, these t d o lla rs w ill be ve ry m uch in o u r e ffo rts to assist lo w -in c o m e households deal w ith energy cost related to extrem e heat and c o ld ,"s a id B ob R e p in e . O H C S d ire cto r. ch ie f requirements arc a w i I lingncss to learn and the a b ility to be a good team player. U ltim ately, the program is a w in -w in for everyone, he says. PGE builds a pipeline o f talented potential employees w hile students get summer jobs that give them a first-hand look at the u tility industry. "W e 're w illin g to give them an opportu n ity," says Hutchins, "and i f they do a great job, there'll like ly be another jo b w aiting fo r them next year.” PGE starts accepting ap p lica tio n s fo r sum m er p o sitio n s in m id -M a rc h . A p p lica n ts m ust be 18 as o f June I and undergo a drug test and background check. T o a p p ly, d o w n lo a d an a p p lic a tio n fro m P G E 's w e b s ite , w w w . P o r tla n d g e n e r a l.c o m o r c a ll th e com pany’ s human resources departm ent at 5 0 3 -4 6 4 -7 2 5 0 to have an a p p lic a tio n m a ile d to you. Hands to Span the 1-5 Bridge People in recovery and those who support treatment fo r drug and alcohol abuse w ill jo in hands “ across the 1-5 B r id g e " b e tw e e n P o rtla n d and V ancouver on Sunday, Sept. I . from 7 a.m .to8:30a.m . The event is planned in recognition o f National A lco h o l and D rug A d d ic tion Recovery M onth. ( Jregonians w ho have overcome sub stance abuse are also jo in in g leaders from the state's treatment field in a show o f support fo r greater treatment nnd services during a Friday ra lly a, the Hooper D e to xifica tion C enter. Invited speakers include M ayor Vera Katz. Sen. M argaret Carter, and Rep. Deborah Kafoury. The rally w ill include petitions calling on all public o fficials to increase funding fo r addictions treatment and support ser vices. Oregon Partnership w ill be calling for an increase in ( fregon' s beer and wine tax. The Recovery Association Project, the A ddiction Counselor Board o f O r egon. the ( lark County A lcohol and Drug Program, and the Oregon Partnership support both events.
