Committed to Cultural Diversity
C
o in m u n i t y
a le n d a r
Homes for Pets Wanted
The explosive gro u p o f H is­
panic dancers w ho took P ortland
Explosive dance
group captures
H ispanic-American
culture
by storm during sold out p erfo r­
m ances in February 2000 is back to give the rainy city
som e warm Latin inspiration. B allet H ispánico will do
a single show at the A rlene S chnitzer C oncert Hall on
W ednesday, Feb. 12 at 7:30 p.m.
sion 204.
HospiceTralningAvallable
Kaiser Perm anente provides free
hospice training to volunteers [
wi lling to give physical and em o­
tional support for terminally ill
patients in the Portland area and
p ro v id e re s p ite fo r th e ir)
caregivers. The training isin Port­
land on Tuesdays and Thursdays
from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. through
Feb. 27, with one Saturday ses- ]
Juanita Oliver at 503-499-5285.
W idely considered the forem ost dance in terp reter o f
H ispanic culture, B allet H ispánico boasts an innovative
repertory that unites ballet, m odern and
Latin dance forms into a spirited im age
o f the contem porary H ispanic-A m eri-
can w orld.
Ballet Hispánico will dazzle
audiences with a steamy, theatrical
and vibrant performance at the
Alrene Schnitzer Concert Hall on
Wednesday, Feb. 12 at 7:30 p.m.
The dance company is known
as the foremost dance
interpreter of Hispanic
culture in the United
States.
F ounded in 1970 by V enezuelan-
born A rtistic D irector T ina R am irez,
the dau g h ter o f a M exican bullfig h ter
a n d P u e rto
Rican mother,
B allet H ispánico
t
\
?
C om pany has per­
Slavery Reparations
Discussed
Randall Robison, author o f sev­
eral books on African American |
issues, w ill lead a lecture at the
Kaul A uditorium at Reed C o l­
lege on W ednesday, Feb. 5 at
7:30 p.m. on what A m erica owes
to blacks. R obinson is w idely
recognized fo rh is lead ersh ip o l
the Free South A frica M ove­
m ent to end apartheid in South |
A frica. He has w orked to h ig h ­
light the effect o f globalization
on A frica and th eC arib b ean ; to
win support for rep aratio n s for
A frican A m ericans; and alert [
A m ericans to the causes and
im plication o f A m erica’s b u r­
geoning prison industrial co m ­
plex.
AIDS Awareness Day
The Urban League SeniorC enter |
will host an AIDS Awareness Day
groupm eetingat 3:30p.m. on Fri­
day, Feb. 7 followed by a march.
There will be AIDS testing avail
able.
Aslan American New Year
C om e celebrate the New Y ear |
with Hm ong, Laotian, V ietnam ­
ese and C hinese cultural tr a d i- )
tions during an A sian A m erican
New Y ears festival on S atu r­
day, Feb. 8 from noon to 4 p.m.
at the U niversity Park C o m m u ­
nity C enter, 9009 N Foss St. The
afternoon o f culture and en ter­
tainm ent will feature food, m u ­
sic, dancing, vendors, speakers
and more. Form ore information, J
February 05. 2003
‘Latin Inspiration
The O regon H um ane S ociety is I
extending its outreach efforts
to area pet stores this m onth. To
help the H um ane Society bring
hom eless pets into the co m m u ­
nity, call 503-285-7722, exten-1
sion on Feb. 8 from 9 a.m. to4 p.m.
Form ore information,call Kaiser
hospice volunteer coordinator!
www.portlandobserver.com
form ed for tw o m illion peo p le in three continents
and the Ballet H ispánico School o f D ance in New
York City offers year-round professional training in
bal let, Spanish and m odern dance for m ore than 600
students. Jen n ifer Lopez is one o f the sc h o o l’s
alumni.
P o rtland ’s p erform ance w ill feature three new
high-energy w orks by three outstanding
choreographers. The first piece. C lub H a­
vana, is choreographed by sen io r com pany
m em ber Pedro Ruiz and set against the back­
ground o f a sm oky nig h tclu b in the late 40s.
The ensem ble piece features the in toxicating rhythm s o f
the C uban m am bo, cha-cha-cha and rum ba.
ated the final piece. Ritmo y Ruido. It is a hip-sw iveling, red-
hot dance set to the irresistible pulse o f A fro-C uban
The second piece, Eyes o f the Soul, is choreographed by
acclaim ed Spanish choreo g rap h er Ramon O iler as a tribute
rhythm s by p ercussionists and vocalists Philip H am ilton
and T obias Ralph.
to Joaquin R odrigo, one o f S p a in 's g reatest com posers.
C reated the 100-year celeb ratio n o f the blind co m p o ser’s
Tickets for the show range in price from $18 to $40 plus
service charges. They can be purchased at the PCPA Box
O ffice at SW Broadway and Main, Ticket Central in Pioneer
birth, the dance reflects the ard u o u s path o f his creative
spirit.
Square and at all Ticketmaster outlets. Fortickets, call 503-224-
Tony A w ard-w inning choreographer Ann R einking cre-
4400 and for information or groupdiscounts, call 503-245-1600.
State Cuts
Result in
Lawsuit
Oregonians who lost
medical assistance
when Measure 28
failed have filed suit
(A P)
An advocacy group for the dis­
abled and elderly filed a lawsuit Thursday
demanding the restoration o f state funds fot
thousands o f Oregonians who lost medical
assistance with the failure o f M easure 28.
The lawsuit, which names Gov. Ted
Kulongoski, D irectorofthe Oregon Depart­
ment of Human Services Jean Thom e and
the Department o f Human Services, claims
that lawmakers violated federal law by elimi­
nating the state’s Medically Needy pro­
gram.
The Oregon Health Plan receives fund­
ing from the federal governm ent and, as
such, the state must have a medically needy
program, said Bob Joondeph, executive di­
rector o fth e O regon Advocacy Center.
"T he process by which this program was
elim inated was not authorized by law,” he
said. "W hen Oregon decided to accept a
whole bunch o f federal money to run its
Medicaid program, it agreed to have a medi­
cally needy program ."
Jim Neely, deputy directorofthe Depart­
ment o f Human Serv ices, said the cuts were
unavoidable.
“ 1 certainly understand their concerns
about this; these are very difficult cuts to
make to these programs,” Neely said. "On
the other hand, we don’t really have any
alternatives.”
The suit’s plaintiffs are six Oregonians
who received state money for the treatment
o f various life-threatening health problems
and mental disorders.
Minority Groups Counter Hate
Saturday’s march
will trace route of
the shooters
by W ynde D yer
T he P ortland O bserver
N AAC'P leaders are applauding the
prosecution o f four shooting sus­
pects accused o f driving through
northeast Portland on what police
say was a racially motivated shooting
call 503-823-3631.
spree.
The three white teenagers and an
Art Supply Swap and Sale
adult white male were indicted by a
Art on the Peninsula will host an | M ultnomah County Grand Jury on
art supply swap and sale on Sat­
state hate crime charges last week.
urday, Feb. 8 from 10a.m. to I p.m.
“This shows that this behavior will
at the Kenton Firehouse, located
not be tolerated in this city, state or
at 2209 N. Schofield. The swap
nation,” said NAACP Vice President
and sale is a free event offering
Robin W isner at a press conference
spaces and tables for people to
on Thursday.
sell or swap artist supplies, tools
The case has prompted the Port­
or craft items. F orm ore infonna
land chapterofthe NAACP, the Albina
tion, call 503-823-4099 orshow up
with your batch o f supplies and [
Ministerial Alliance, the Coalition
Against Hate Crim es, the M etropoli­
tan Human Rights Center and other
comm unity organizations to join to­
gether against hate crim es with a
March and Rally Against Hate on
Saturday, Feb. 8.
The local leaders are concerned
that the shooting spree and a sticker
found early in January on the doors o f
Roosevelt High School that read,
“ E arth's Most Endangered Species,
The White Race,” may signal the be­
ginning o f a coordinated effort by
white supremacist groups to target
area minorities.
“ It’s a rem inder that hate never
went anywhere," said Charles Ford o f
the Albina Ministerial Alliance. “Hate
just went under theblanket fora while.”
Chad Debnam, w ho lost his older
brother in a racially motivated shoot­
ing 30 years ago and had two ofhis car
windows shot out during the Jan. 19
shooting spree, said he had devel­
oped a certain callousness towards
differential treatment because o fh is
race. But the shooting in front o f the
home he has owned and lived in for
more than 18 years acted as a wakeup
call.
“As the hours turned into days,
the feeling I had became progres­
sively w orse," he said.
Debnam’s worst fear is that the
alleged acts o f the suspects, aged 18
to 21, may have been an initiation
procedure for a hate group. He said
that while he is grateful to the Port­
land Police for apprehending the sus­
pects before anyone was hurt, he
hopes they will look into whether or
not the shooting spree was an iso­
lated incident or the first o f a pattern.
photo by W ynde D yer /T he P ortland O bserver
"I want to see every rock turned," NAACP President Robert Larry (left) and Charles
Debnam said. "W e have a gang task Ford o f the Albina Ministerial Alliance make state­
force maybe we need a hate task
ments during a news conference Thursday about
force, too."
continued
on page H4
the upcoming Community Actions Against Hate
March and Rally on Saturday, Feb. 8.
swap away.
Family Homeless Shelter Reopens
The Mystery of
Black Holes
C om e learn about disap p earin g |
stars at the Mt. H ood C o m m u ­
nity C ollege Planetarium on S at­
urday, Feb. 8 and Sunday, Feb.
9 at 2 p.m . "B lack H oles” will
feature im ages o f the effect
m assive collapsin g stars have
on their surrounding celestial
environm ents. The 45-m inute
presentation will take place at
the MHCC Sky T heater at the
school's G resham location. A d ­
photo by D avid P lechl /T he P ortland O bserver
m ission is $1 on a first-com e,
Ryan Norquist s lip s onto the entrance to a renovated My Fathers
first-served basis. For m ore in­
Place shelter four months after escaping the home in a fire.
f o r m a tio n , c o n ta c t D o u g
Norquist was awakened by the smell o f smoke during the catas
McCarty at 503-491 -7297.
trophe and woke up sleeping tenants, ushering them to safety.
I
I
Shelter
destroyed by
fire offers
refuge for
whole families,
not just women
and small
children
by
D avid P le < hi .
investigators concluded.
Much o f the building was de­
stroyed. What w asn't destroyed was
severely damaged by smoke.
Insurance covered some o f the
$150,0(10 rebuilding costs. Private
donors and churches fund raisers
provided the rest.
Now four months after the fire,
five gratefu I famil ies are moving back
in.
Cathe Wiese, one o f the shelter's
founders, has worked long hours to
make all the necessary preparations.
T he P ortland O bserver
Ryan Norquist was working an
overnight shift at My Father's Place,
a homeless shelter for families w hen
he was awakened by the smell o f
sm oke that came drifting through his
bedroom window.
“It started right over there," he
said, pointing to the front porch o f
the single story building on South­
east Division.
The fire started when a cigarette
was accidentally dropped between a
space in the porch and sm oldered for
eight hours before erupting in flames.
I
continued
I
yf
on pane R6
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