December 04, 2002
www.portlandobserver.com
Committed to Cultural Diversity
CÍIÍic ^ o rtla n h (Dbsrrtn'r
Super Development
Inches Forward
ommunity
a le n d a r
C
Adopt a Pet
The Oregon Humane Society is
extending its outreach efforts to
several area pet stores this month.
Help the Humane Society bring
homeless pets into the commu
nity, call 503-285-7722, extension
204 for more information.
Emotional Remedies
New Seasons Market - Concordia
, welcomes Dr. Tim Shannon, ND,
to address the use of homeopathic
drugs to replace traditional drugs
• in the treatment of anxiety and
depression. On Thursday, Dec. 5
from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Shannon will
strive to empower patients with
self-sustaining healing remedies.
Call 503-288-2323 to reserve space.
A proposed urban renewal site on Martin Luther
King Jr. Boulevard.
photo by M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bser veer
Planners eye magnet store,
minority businesses on King
Holiday Home Tour
The public is invited by Ainsworth
Elementary School to tour five
prestigious P ortlan d H eights
properties on Thursday, Dec. 5
from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in an
event to benefit Ainsworth El
ementary School. This years tour
features a 8,000 square-foot na
tional historic registry home, a
1917 Colonial Revival, a Roscoe
Hemenway Dutch Colonial.a 1932
English Tudor and the historic
Ascension Episcopal Parish. Tick
ets are $20 per person which can
be ordered by calling 503-916-
6288.
by L ee P erlman
T he P ortland O bserver
Truth and Lies:9-ll
Former narcotics officer with the
L. A.P.D., Mike Ruppert has been
blowing the whistle on the C.I. A .’s
involvement with drug trafficking
for the last twenty years. Hear him
speak on topics ranging from
motivations for a w ar on Iraq to
the erosion of civil liberties in the
U.S. Saturday, Dec. 7 at 7p.m. at
Liberty Hall, 331 N. Ivy St. Sug
gested donation is $2-5.
Diversity honored
Join the M orning Star Baptist
C hurch for the annual C hrist
mas G ala A ffair to honor A fri
can A m erican m em bers o f the
Portland Police and Portland Fire
-D epartm ent. This spectacular
event will feature a gourmet din
ner, as w ell as speakers Ben-
’ jam in H ooks, Rev. K enneth
D upree and Rev. D ale Sanders,
Sunday, Dec. 8, at 5p.m. at the
Em bassy Suites H otel A irport,
7900 N.E. 82nd Ave.
Festival of Trees
Beautiful C hristm as trees, m u
sical entertainm ent and Santa’s
W orkshop aw ait fam ilies at the
20th annual Providence F esti
val o f the Trees. This y ear’s
three-day festival also includes
gift shop, stocking shop, g in
gerbread houses and “Mad S ci
ence” shows. Proceeds benefit
cancer research, patient care
program s and ch ild ren ’s ser
v ic e s . T h e e v e n t is o p e n
Fri- Sat, Dec. 6-7, from 10a.m.-
9p.m ., and Sunday Dec. 8 from
10a.m.-6p.m.
Jasmine Proctor, 3, plays with a puzzle before recess at the Community Learning Center, a faith-based
private school that serves inner city students.
Miracle on 42nd Street
Community Learning Center Celebrates 10 Years
in \V> m » e D yi «/T he P ort j w
p
O bne in i.«
‘We had a vision and a mission that became a reality. We 're
very happy about where we came from and where we 're going.
— Dr. Carl Parker, founder of the Community Learning Center
Doctor Carl Parker didn ’ t know how he was going to fix the
problem, but he wanted to take a stab at it.
It was the mid-80s. Each day when he opened up his
morning paper he found more discouraging news about the
troubles for Portland’s inner-city public schools. Reading
and math skills were below those of other school districts by
two or three grade levels. Suspension rates were two to three
times as high as other schools.
So in 1985, Parker and his wife Audre, devised a plan: They
would offer tutorial services to inner city children through a
program called Citizens Involved in Teaching Youth. Parker,
then a counselor for Portland Community College, enlisted
the help o f college students to serve as tutors. By 1992, the
program had served more than 700children with 40,000 hours
of tutorial services.
In 1991, the citizens group evolved into the Community
Learning Center, a private school with Christian-based
roots, serving about 13 children in a 1,500-square-foot home.
Today, the Community Learning Center stands tall on the
com er o f Northeast Prescott and 42nd in a 7,600-square-foot
state o f the art educational facility. Hundreds of inner city
children have been served in the last 10 years. When Parker
reflects on those years, one word comes to mind - Blessing.
“Its truly a miracle on 42nd Street,” Parker said. “We had
a vision and a mission that became a reality. W e’re very
happy about where we came from and where w e’re going.”
As Parker looks forward to the future, he hopes to be able
to draw more students into the center. Presently the school
continued
on page B5
Become Tree Friendly
Neighborhood Trees program
training is on Saturday, Dec. 7
firom9a.m. to3p.m. at the Bethesda
Christian Church located at 109 N
Emerson. Participants in this train
ing will help build community
though the protection and expan
sion of urban forest and by foster
ing environmental stewardship
thro u g h street tree plan tin g
projects. On Saturday, Dec. 14
from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the
Sunnybrook Service Center at
9101 SE Sunnybrook Blvd. in
Clackamas, attendees can learn
how to enhance degraded urban
natural areas. For more informa
tion, call 503-282-8846ext. 12.
Students in the pre-kindergarten class cast shadows on the floor by waving their hands through light
coming from e window in a play room at the Community Learning Center.
PHOTON BY W y M »
*
D m . r ZT he PORTI^N d O i ISERV ER
►
Plans for a major new retail development on Martin
Luther King Jr. Boulevard are still alive, backers say,
but the Vanport Square Project may turn out to be
drastically scaled down from its original version.
The mixed-use development by Ray Leary, Jeanna
Wooley and the Gerding-Edlen Co. was originally con
ceived as a Killingworth to Alberta retail strip, covering
the equivalent of five square blocks on the west side of
Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
Planners envision a full-service grocery, other retail
and office space, a public plaza and more than 100
rental and row house units with underground parking.
Another scenario, the developers recently told
about 50 people at the Northeast Multicultural Senior
Center, is an 87,000 square foot project on two thirds
of the designated area that that will include a small
market, another 18,000 square feet of retail, office space
and 13 row houses, with surface and rooftop parking.
Other schemes are in between these extremes.
The final product could be shaped by the following
four factors:
• M oney: The city is pursuing $250 million in federal
funds under a “New Market Tax Credits” program that
givesincome tax deductions for urban renewal projects.
The monies would be targeted to inner north and
northeast and the Gateway district of east Portland.
• S u p erm arket: Vanport partners had plans for a
60,000 square foot supermarket near Alberta. But an
executive change within that company has set the deal
back and thrown it into question.
continued
y^
on page B6
Public to Hear Plans
for Villa Upgrade
The Housing Authority o f Portland is hosting a
public open house to discuss planning underway for
the New Columbia project on Saturday, Dec. 7 from 1
p.m. to 4 p.m. at Portsmouth Middle School, 5103 N.
Willis Blvd..
Those who attend will have an opportunity to hear
about New Columbia and comment on various aspects
of the project.
New Columbia is a $ 150 million effort to replace the
aging, isolated Columbia Villa public housing in north
Portland with a new mixed-income neighborhood that
has a range of housing choices. When complete, the
New Columbia neighborhood will be a gathering place
where residents and neighbors can come together to
work, play, learn and shop.
“Our residents and neighbors have worked hard
with HAP to guide the project on everything from
relocation to design to how it affects the neighbor
hood," said Penny Rose, co-chair of the New Columbia
Community Advisory Committee. “We get lots of
questions from residents and other neighbors who
want to know more about New Columbia. We hope
they will come and give us their ideas.”
The event is open to all. Children are welcome.
Visitors are invited to drop by at any time throughout
the afternoon. An overview on the project will be
presented at 2 p.m., and progress on the master plan
and site design will be presented at 3 p.m. Participants
will have an opportunity to talk individually with
members of the New Columbia team, as well as to give
their comments.
Columbia Villa was developed by HAP during World
War II as temporary housing for defense workers.
Today its housing stock and infrastructure is dis
tressed and its street patterns isolate the public hous
ing community from the surrounding neighborhood.
For more information on the open house, contact
John Keating, HAP. 503-802-8522 or Elaine Cogan,
Cogan Owens Cogan, 503-225-0192.