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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 25, 2002)
Jefferson to Open Campus at Killingsworth 50¿ Laurels blocking school from street will be torn down by volunteers d ¡c See story, Metro Section, inside P i t v rk f D n c n c ’ ‘City of Roses Volume X X X II • WWW. D O ftla n d o b s e r www.portlandobserver.com F c f a h l l c h f d in 7H Established in IQ 1970 Committed to Cultural Diversity Number 38 Wednesday • September 25. 2002 Columbia Villa Resurrection Residents face relocation during complete reconstruction by W ynde D yer T he P ortland O bserver A reunion celebration for fami lies with children bom prema turely and cared for in the neo natal intensive care unit at Provi dence St. V incent H ospital draws Barbara Stone and her daughter, Amber (from left), along with Barb Ratto. U.S. Lowers Terror Alert to Yellow WASHINGTON— Two weeks after putting the nation on high alert. President Bush lowered the nationwide terror alert back to code yellow because o f disrup tions in the al-Qaeda terrorist network. Officials stressed that Americans should remain alert. Mom Who Beat Toddler Says She was Upset SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The woman caught on video beating her 4-year-old daughter in a de partment store parking lot will probably plead guilty and seek mercy from the court, her lawyer said. Miss Universe Fired, Panamanian to Take Over NEW YORK— For the first time in its 52-year history, the Miss Universe Organization has fired the woman wearing its crown. Oxana Fedorova, a 24-year-old Russian law student, was ousted four months after she won the pageant, the organization said. U.S. Poverty Up and Income Down in 2000 WASHINGTON — The U.S. poverty rate rose for the first time in eight years and house hold income fell last year, a double dose o f bad economic news that coincided with the first recession in a decade, the Census Bureau said. Britain: Iraq Has ‘Military Plans’ LONDON— Iraq has “military plans” for the use o f chemical and biological weapons, Britain in a dossier o f evidence about Iraq’s development o f weapons o f mass destruction. Illinois Reports West Nile Case In a Dog Veterinarians in Illinoishavecon- firmed the first U.S. case o f West Nile virus in a dog. The infected dog was an 8-year-old Irish set ter-golden retrievermix that may already have had a disease that weakened its immune system. Entrepreneurial Spirit Suffering SAN FRANCISCO — U.S. en trepreneurship is not what it was. For the first time in more than 50 years, entrepreneurs are failing to lead the United States out o f recession, governm ent data suggest. Fewer start-ups mean fewer new jobs and innovations. The streets o f Columbia Villa go round and round. They never seem to get any where. It’s hard to find a way in, and even harder to find a way out. Playgrounds and parking lots dot the landscape. They act as the only landmarks between nearly identical houses — houses that literally turn their backs on the sur rounding Portsmouth neighborhood. Villa children play on wide open grassy spaces as parents watch from their front steps or open windows. Residents read on plastic lawn chairs under age-old shade trees or tend gardens behind the chain length fences o f their tiny back yards. Occasionally a dog barks or the No. 4 Fessenden bus passes swiftly through. It feels like a place that time forgot. “I’m in seclusion from the rest o f the world out here,” said Sheila Ramzy, a long time resident o f the Villa. O regon’s largest public housing project, with 462 units spread out on 69 acres o f land is as rich with history as it is with stigma. Built during World War II to house shipyard workers, the Villa became the first home for many low-income minorities in Portland. After Van port was destroyed by flooding, it became a refuge for many o f the city’s ’ African Americans. During the 1980s, the Villa’s reputation was tarnished by gang violence, drug use and rising crime. Ramzy said she remembers when she knew all the police on a first name basis. When she was younger, she partied a lot. People still get rowdy, she said, but these days it’s quiet most o f the time. Even though she thinks the Villa is a good place to raise a family, Ramzy would prefer to be some place else. “I don’t want to live in a circle anymore,” she said. “My daughter is 1 1 .1 want her to live on a real street - a street with sidewalks and streetlights and a store closer than a mile away.” Soon, Ramzy will have her wish. NO ONE WILL BE DISPLACED Columbia Villa is slated for demolition. In its place will risea $ 150million mixed-income housing community with 370 public hous ing units and 250 apartments for house holds earning up to 60 percent o f the area’s median income. Also included in the plan PCC Cascade Celebrates Longtime Villa resident Shelia Ramzy, in the doorway o th e r apartment, with her niece Synovia Williams, 6, and her nephew, Anthony Barber, 10. Ramzy hopes she will g et a Section 8 rent subsidy voucher that will allow her to move to another residence. “I don 't want to live in a circle anym ore," she said. photo by W ynde D yer /T he P ortland O bserver ? My daughter is II. I want her to live on a real street - a street with sidewalks and streetlights and a store closer than a mile away. — Sheila Ramzy Columbia Villa resident will be 50 apartments with no income restric tions, 180 homes available for sale and a village square. Funding for the rebirth oFColumbia Villa comes from a $35 million grant from the federal Department o f Housing and Urban Development’s HOPE VI program, federal tax credits, bond sales and the City o f Port land. Under federal guidelines, reconstruc tion o f the site may take 54 months from the conclusion o f demolition. Deconstruction will begin no later than January 2004 and the project should be com pleted in 2006. The Housing Authority o f Portland has already stopped filling vacancies and a preliminary relocation plan is underway to find homes for the 1,300 residents during construction. “No one will be displaced,” said John Keating, Assistant Director o f Community Revitalization Services for HAP. Keating said the residents o f Columbia continued on page .46 Alliance Promotes Year Round Learning Ceremony to kick-off construction schedule The Cascade Campus o f Portland Com munity College will celebrate the expansion o f the campus boundaries and break ground on a new site at 1 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 3. The ceremony will take place across the street from the Cascade library at North Killingsworth and Kerby streets. The con struction site is the future home o f a physical education complex. The celebration, with PCC President Jesus “Jess” Carreon and Cascade Campus Executive Dean Mildred Olee, ushers in a new era for Cascade, following years o f planning that envisioned a greatly enhanced educational facility for local residents. The college has had an educational presence in north and northeast Portland for 32 years. A bond approved by voters two years ago provides $56 million for Cascade cam pus projects. In the first phase o f construction, Cas cade will add approximately 25,000 square feet to the Jackson Hall Science Building with six new science labs; building a 35,000 square foot physical education complex; and renovating the Student Services build ing. continued y^ on page AS Woody Broadnax o f the local Juneteenth organi zation and Rebecca Black o f Oregon Out reach acknowledge a new partnership at the northeast Portland campus o f McCoy Academy. M ark W ashington / T he P ortland O bserver photo by Northeast Portland’s McCoy Academy is adding classroom support for African American history and education in gen eral with a new association with Portland’s Juneteenth group. Juneteenth is the an nual event celebrating the end o f slavery in the United States, held in many parts o f the country on June 19. The idea at McCoy Academy is to make educational progress for African American kids a year-round effort with June 19 serving as a time to celebrate the culmination o f months o f effort and instruction. W oody Broadnax o f the Juneteenth or ganization and Dr. Thomas Booth o f Albina Community Bank, have teamed up to teach a year-round leadership class at McCoy, school officials said. McCoy is one ofthree alternatives school continued y^ on page A6
