Committed to Cultural D iversity
www.portlandobserver.com
May 14. 2003
Mississippi Street Fair
The Mississippi A venue business
district is opening its doors for a
com m unity celebration. The fttn
starts Thursday, M ay 15 with the
Boise-Eliot Multicultural Fair from
6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at B oise-Eliot El­
em entary, 620 N. Frem ont, with
hands-on artist’s dem onstrations,
student perform ances and food.
O n Friday, M ay 16 there will be a
talent show at the M ississippi Ris­
ing Ballroom, 833 N Shaver, from 7
¡p m . to 9 p.m., followed by the
show ing o f local film m akers work
in an outdoor theater north o f the
« Fresh Pot. On Saturday, M ay 17
there will be a street fair from 10a.m.
to 7 p.m. w ith a best rib ’s contest,
com m unity garage sale, arts and
crafts, all ages bingo, food ven­
dors, perform ance stages, horses
and children’s activities.
Gregoryiana, 6,
celebrates after
winning a foot race
with daycare provider
David Morris. The
northeast Portland
man is a living
testament to the
new Eddie Murphy
movie “Daddy Day
Care."
This is where the
Lord led me.
— David Morris, on why he decided to open up a day care service
Infant Massage Class
O n T uesday, M ay 20, at K aiser
P erm anente’sT o w n Hall, 3704 N
Interstate A ve., parentsofint'ants,
can learn how to safely m assage
a baby at this tw o -h o u r class.
C ost to attend is $25 for K aiser
m em bers and $30 for the public.
T oregister, call 503-286-6816.
Sabin Sidewalk
Art Show and Sale
O n S a tu rd a y , Ju n e 7 at th e
S ta rb u c k s C o ffe e H o u se on
N ortheast 15* and Frem ont, there
will be a sidewalk show and sale
kickoff to benefit the Sabin Elemen­
tary School art program. Students
will show o ff their talents by paint­
ing on easels, there will be student
art for sale and a silent auction on
selected pieces. Followingthekick-
off, the sidewalk sale will continue
throughout the sum mer.
Pet Photo Contest
An imal enthusiasts can enter p ic­
tures o f their favorite, furry friends
in the O regon H um ane S o ciety ’s
annual photo contest. W inners
w ill take hom e gift certificates for
local cam era stores and will have
th eir im ages featured in the H u­
m an S ociety’s sum m er m agazine
'an d p o p u larw eb site. A w ards will
go to photos o f the top dog, cat,
o th er anim al, funniest anim al and
the best photo o fa child and a pet.
E ntries m ust be labeled on the
back w ith the su b m itter’s nam e,
address, telephone num ber and
the p e t’s nam e. T here is a $5 per
household entry fee and all e n ­
tries should be sent or delivered
to the O regon H um ane Society,
1067 NE C olum bia B lvd., before
M onday, June 9 at 7 p.m.
-
»
J* 1;/
r\
k ji
...
'ti
P hotos by W ynde D yer /T he P ortland O bserver
.
David Morris races with daycare children in the front lawn of his northeast Portland home. Even though he runs three miles a day. Morris lets the kids win.
Childcare provider
shares similarities
with Eddie Murphy
character
b y W ynde D ver
T he P ortland O bserver
W hen D avid M orris w as laid o ff from
his long-tim e jo b as a shipyard forem an in
1998 he got an idea.
♦
Just like Eddie M u rp h y ’s character in the S alvation A rm y w hile he holds dow n
“ D addy D ay C are,” M orris hung up his the fort.
w orking tools and put on his kid gloves to
“ I ’m a gourm et chef, so when she gets
open up an in-hom e child-care service.
hom e d in n e r’s prepared and the house is
“ I w as tired o f w orking for the m an,” clean," M orris said.
said M orris, w ho opened Y o u rC hild’s Day
The push to open up the low er floor o f
C are later that M ay. “ I prayed for som e­ their tw o-story house on the corner o f
thing and this is w here the Lord led m e." N ortheast 29,h and L om bard cam e from
M orris adm its his daily w ork, w hich M elanie, said M orris. T he couple has four
begins w ith his first child at 5 a m., is a adopted foster children, so rather than pay
sw itch in traditional gender roles, but he for outside child-care M elanie urged M or­
says h e ’s fine with that. He likes allow ing ris to stay hom e w ith the kids.
his wife M elanie to focus on her career for
“M y w ife has a real com passion for little
Write Around
Portland Benefit
continued
on page B5
Jobless Rate Still Rising
T he Lim inal T heater at 403 NW
Fifth Ave. w ill host an A nnual |
Unemployment at
8 percent; highest
since Feb. 2002
F acilitato r R eading to ben efit
W rite A round Portland on June
l2 fro m 7 p .m .to 9 p .m .T h e re w ill I
be w ine, food, m usic, a raffle and
m ore. W rite A ro u n d P o rtlan d
fa c ilita to rs a re th e g ro u p w h o |
v o lu n te e r to w ork b eh in d the
sc e n e s o ffe rin g w o rk sh o p s that
b rin g the p o w e r o f w ritin g to |
p e o p le th ro u g h o u t th e city . A
$10 donation w ill be suggested
for the reading. For more inform a­
tion, cal 1503-796-9224.
Summer Camp at the Zoo
Children, fouryearsofage through
seventh grade, can spend five ex­
citing days at the zoo learn i ng about
various endangered species. The
camp, w hich runs from 9 a.m. to 4
p.m. June 16 through August 29,
includes daily lunch breaks and
instruction from the zo o 's most
experienced anim al keepers. For
more information or to regi ster, cal 1
5O3-22O-278I.
people,” M orris said. “She d o esn ’t call
them children o r kids, she calls them little
people because she says they feel, under­
stand, hurt, desire, need and love ju s t like
little living souls.”
M orris enrolled in early childhood de­
velo p m en t co u rses th rough T he N ew
U nited W ay and the Peninsula C h ild ren ’s
N etw ork, a group o f childcare providers
that insures all childcare givers qualify
with the proper skills to teach children.
photo Bv
M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver
O p era tio n R esto ra tio n
Rasheedah Dedmon, a student from Open Meadows High School, applies a fresh coat of paint to
Tom Cramer s 1,500 square foot mural "Machinery," on the Scientific Research Building at the
corner of North Williams and Shaver Street. Students from the school have joined the local artist
and volunteers from Metro Murals to restore the large scale mural to its original state.
i
t
(AP) — The state’s unem­
ployment jumped to eight per­
cent last month, up from 7.6
percent in March.
That’s the highest unem­
ployment has been since Feb­
ruary 2002, when the rate was
8.1 percent.
Oregon’s highest rate since
the ec o n o m ic d o w n tu rn
started two years ago was in
January 2002 when the rate
was 8.4 percent.
The national rate for April
was six percent. The last time
the national rate was higher
that O regon's rate was in July
o f 1994.
According to economists,
the number o f availabnle jobs
in the state has not kept p£
with the growth rate.
Oregon's civilian labor fon
which includes the employ
plus the unemployed, has grov
over the past two years I
32,400. During that time t
number o f unemployed has i
creased by 43,200.
In April, total nonfarm pa
roll em ploym ent added on
100 jobs at a time o f ye
when a gain o f 8,400 wou
have been the norm.
Construction was flat in Ap
w hen a gain o f 1,300jobs wou
have been typical.
Rain in some areas may ha’
delayed the start o f the coi
struction season.
Manufacturing posted sim
larly dismal numbers in April.
Trade, transportation, an
utilities added only 300 job
when a gain o f 2,300 is norma