Committed to Cultural Diversity
www.portlandobscrverXom
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W o r k i n g V a c a t io n
Cyclylng Alliance BBQ
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lune 2$. 2(MB
The Bicycle Transportation Alii-1
ance is holding a fundraising
barbeque at New Seasons M ar­
ket- C oncordia, to support a
healthy comm unity by making |
biking safer and more convenient.
Ride over between 11 a.m. and 5 I
p.m. Saturday and Sunday for a
gourmet twist on barbeque. $5. [
5320 N. E. 33 A ve. For more infor­
mation, call 503-288-2323.
Good In the ‘Hood
C elebrate your neighborhood I
and all that’s good this weekend
with “Good in the ‘Hood” festi­
val with multicultural music, food
and entertainment all weekend
long. The open house kickoff |
party is from 6:30 to 10:15 p.m.
Thursday at the Kennedy School, I
5736 N.E. 33rd Ave., featuring
Grooveyard, Molly Malone Irish
Dancers, M cM enamins M arch­
ing Band and more. The parade is
at 11 a.m. Saturday on Martin
Luther King Jr. Boulevard with
live music to follow from noon
through 7:45 p.m. at King Park,
4800 block o f Northeast 6'*' Av-1
enue and Humboldt.
Rite of Passage Sunday
Les Femmes Annual Debutante I
Ball will present 13 young ladies |
to the comm unity at 7 p.m. Sun­
day at the Marriott Hotel, 1400 |
S. W. Naito Pkwy. For more infor­
mation, call 503-281 -6635.
photo by M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver
Nicole W ilkes o f B e n so n High S ch o o l w orks with m e n to r Fred J o n e s a t th e mini-MBA s u m m e r c a m p a t th e U niversity o f Portland.
Air Museum Cruz-ln
The Pearson Air Museum wel­
comes you to its Cruz-in, each I
W ednesday from 4 to 9 p.m.
through Aug. 20. Come by to see
hundreds o f vintage cars, hot
rods and hogs, not to mention a
barbeque, bar and music. 1115 E.
Fifth St., Vancouver. For more |
information, call 360-694-7026.
Artists Work on Peace Dove
The O regon Peacew orks and I
Colum bia River Fellowship for
Peace is creating a living, breath­
ing painting o f a dove from noon
through 4 p.m., Sunday, Aug. 17
at W aterfront Park. Artists can
volunteer by registering a week
before the event. For more infor­
m a tio n ,
v is it
h ttp ://
www.dovein.com.
Stallions Horse Around
The W orld Famous Lipizzaner I
Stallions ride through the Rose
Garden at 2 and 7:30 p.m. Satur­
day, July 19 for “ Dancing White
StaIlions.” Ticketsare$l 9.50. For
more information, call 5 0 3 -2 2 4 -1
4400.
Art Therapy at Reflections
Reflectionscoffeeshop,448N.E. I
K illingsw orthSt.ishelpingtode-
stigmatize mental illness by host­
ing an art therapy exhibit from the
women ofProject Network. Work
will be displayed through Satur-1
day. Free.
Homowo Summer Camp
Immerse your child in African
Arts for a fun-filled week o f
Homowo African Arts and C ul­
tures IO* Annual Sum m erC am p j
at the Friendly House Commu-
nityC enter, 1737N.W. 26'*'Ave.
T hecam pisfrom July I4through
18, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. for chil­
dren aged three to five and from
9 a.m. to 3 p.m. forchildren aged
six to I l.C am pis$ l2 5 fo rth rceto
five-year-olds and $200 for six to |
11-year olds. For moreinform a-
tion.call 503-288-3025.
Jefferson High Reunion
Feel good at the Thomas Jefferson I
High School Class o f 1987 reunion
on Aug. 22 and23. Formore infbmia-
tion,e-maillhcgruy>a6(£!.csiumor |
call503-283-4901.
Area high school
students study business
in their spare time
by J avmee R. C uti
T he P ortland O bserver
Power suits, power lunches, power point presen­
tations and hard negotiations are tools mastered by
most entrepreneurs before making their first million.
For 40 students tak ing the M ini - M B A Summer Camp
at the University o f Portland campus, grad school is
way too late to learn how to knot a tie and plan a
business strategy.
While so many students are sleeping late and
resting the mind during sum mer vacation, the group
o f high schoolers is attending an intensive two-
week long camp designed to leave them with confi­
dence, networking skillsand the experience o f w rit­
ing a real business plan.
Those connections have proven prosperous for
St. Johns
Bridge to
Close for
49-Days
T h e St. Jo h n s B rid g e in
north Portland w ill close com ­
pletely for up to 49 days to
replace the deck at the w est
end o f the bridge beginning at
8 p.m. on T hursday, July 10.
A f te r th e fu ll c lo s u r e ,
bridge work will continue with
d a y tim e b rid g e tr a ffic r e ­
s tric te d to o n e lane in each
d ire c tio n w ith b rid g e c lo ­
su res n ig h tly from 8 p.m . to 5
a.m.
T h e tw o -a n d -a -h a lf-y e a r,
$33-m illion bridge reh ab ilita­
tio n p ro je c t in c lu d e s c o m ­
p le te rem o v al and re p la c e ­
m ent o f the c o n c re te b rid g e
deck and sid ew alk s, u p g rad es
o f th e b rid g e d ra in a g e and
lig h tin g sy stem s.
The p ro ject sh o u ld be co m ­
p leted in late 2005.
Fred Jones, a University o f O regon student who
scored a free trip to W ashington, D.C., not to men­
tion an outstanding resume builder when he was
named the national 2003 Mentor o f the Year because
ofhis work with Mini-MBA Summ erCamp.
Jones attended the program in 20 0 1, and returned
as a mentor the following summer.
“ I believe the high schoolers feel more connected
to people closer to their age,” Jones said.
He plans to own a business someday, for the
“freedom to have your own creative ideas."
Program leaders say the curriculum students are
studying prepares them to do just that, down to the
nitty-gritties o f market research, employee insur­
ance and the paperwork that comes with owning a
business.
This graduate level program came free o f charge
to students this summer, thanks to a grant from
Rewarding Youth Achievement and the U.S. Depart­
ment o f Labor.
Besides learning which fork to use at the power
lunch, students dove headfirst in an interactive
negotiations seminar, taught by Dave Ellis, associ­
ate dean o f Lewis and Clark College law school.
The group also expects guest speakers from
various successful businesses such as J.P. M oss,
president o f Portland Sw im w ear, Roy Jay, presi­
dent o f the A frican A m erican C ham ber o f C om ­
m erce, M ichael H olton, head coach o f the Port­
land U niversity’s m en’s basketball team and Sen.
Ron W yden, D-Ore.
Business professionals often dread proposing
their dream to financial backers, and this program is
no different. The final project will be to present a
business idea to city officials, with hopes o f opening
a completely student-run convenience store in the
University Park Community Center.
Cam ille Kent, a 15-year-old Grant High School
student, is taking the program because she would
like to start a non-profit organization directed toward
young people and political issues.
She said, “This is a great opportunity. The best
part for me has been the negotiations because I’m not
a talkative person."
Battle on to Save Head Start
Local activist lobbies
Congress on
reauthorization
by J aymee R. C uti
T he P ortland O bsery er
Portland comm unity activist Ron Herndon
has taken to the halls ofC’ongress to save Head
Start.
The federal program for economically disad­
vantaged pre-school age kids is up for reautho­
rization this year. Herndon fears a Bush admin­
istration proposal to give control o f Head Start
to the states will adversely affect minority
children by diverting money to other uses.
Almost 70 percent o f children enrolled are
minorities, with the majority being Hispanic
and about a third who are black.
“Head Start makes a mockery o f the myth
that poor people d o n ’t care about their kids,
w o n 't get involved in their ch ild 's education
and can 't made decisions about programs that
help their children," said Herndon.
• As o f last week, parents and Head Start sup­
porters have sent 55,(XX) letters to Congress,
urging them to oppose the president's plan.
“W e've got to keep pushing and pushing,
over and over again, because our future is
literally depending on it,” said Elijah Cummings,
D-Md.. the chairman o f the Black Congres-
Ron H erndon
sional Caucus.
Head Start, bom during the civil rights era.
provides academic, social and nutritional help
to roughly a million children a year.
Cummings and other black caucus members
contend the Republican-led plan to shift con­
trol to some states will weaken standards, cut
parental involvement and divert money from
the program.
A proposed House bill aims to increase learn­
ing standards for pre-kindergarteners, require
more teachers to have college training and im­
prove performance monitoring o f centers. It also
offers an experiment by giving up to eight states
the freedom to manage their federal Head Start
money so they could better cw rdinate the pro­
gram with other preschool efforts.
Democratic and other House mem bers, par­
ents and program leaders oppose any reduc­
tion in the federal role. They also balk at a
provision that would allow religiously oriented
groups to refuse to hire Head Start w orkers o f
different faiths if it would interfere with the
organization’s work.
For more information about the Head Start
struggle, visit w w w .i
I