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March 03,2004
Local Business Promotes Max Safety
A contract to address security and
public safety issues on the new Interstate
Max light rail line in north Portland has
Daniel
LaVista
been extended for a local business.
CEC, Inc., 8245 N. Interstate, has been
in charge of public safety and security
during construction of the 5.8-mile line
front the Rose Quarter to the Expo Center.
The company, owned by Charles Cais
son, an African American, is now provid
ing education services to address safety
James
Middleton
issues for kids in nearby schools and
daycare centers.
Caisson is helping local kids learn the
U niversity o f Iow a.
F orm er PC C President Jesus
“Je ss” C arreon left the college
in July. T he board hopes to
have the district p resident po si
tion filled by late M arch, w ith a
start date in July.
P o r tla n d
C o m m u n ity
serves I OO.(MX) students and o p
e ra te s th re e c o m p re h e n s iv e
cam p u ses, including the C a s
cad e C am p u s in north P o rt
land, along w ith five w orkforce
train in g and ed u catio n centers,
a sm all business d evelopm ent
c e n te r and ed u catio n outlets in
h u n d red s o f co m m u n ity and
b u sin ess locations.
dangers surrounding the tracks. Because
the trains are quick and quiet they can
surprise someone not looking both ways
when approaching the line.
Bill Bruce of Stacy and Witbeck, Inc.,
project manager for the Max construction,
said Caisson’s firm has done of great job
of keeping security during the construc
tion and addressing public safety issues.
TriMet recently hosted the first ride
along theentire Interstate Max line. About
160 guests attended the “First Ride to
Expo” event, including elected officials
area business owners and area residents.
The running of test trains will continue
on the line as Tri-Met prepares for a May
1 grand opening.
photo by M ark
W ashington /T hf : P ortland O bserver
Darryl Peterson o f CEC, Inc. (from left), Bill Bruce, Interstate Max project manager for Stacy
and Witbeck General Engineering and Contractors, and Charles Caisson, owner o f CEC, a
north Portland inspection and safety business, pause during a recent celebration marking
the Interstate Max's first ride to the Expo Center. The line opens to the public in May.
Moonstar Beams
with Energy
Since M oonstar opened its
doors in December at 7 4 1 O N E .
M artin Luther King Jr. Blvd.,
patrons have been enjoying the
elegant lounge and family res
taurant rivaling any downtown
bistro.
Moonstar is enticing the neigh
borhood to sample its all-Ameri
can soul food and full bar at a
grand opening party from 8 p.m.
to close on Friday, March 5.
The night will feature free ap
petizers and specials, no cover
charge, festive decor and live
music with The Noah Peterson
Soul'Tet and DJ Breeze.
Moonstar has a conference
room for private parties and meet
ings and happy hour specials
seven days a week foom4:30to7:30
p.m. and 11:30 p.m. to close.
Deejays spin jazz, blues and clas
sic rhythm and blues five days a
week, with live shows on Fridays.
Well-known northeast Port
land entrepreneur Jack Chung is
the ow ner o f M oonstar and
Yosief Embaye is the general
manager. Chef A1 Brinson cooks
up adi verse and tantalizing menu,
sure to please nibblers and din
ers alike.
For more information, call 503-
285-1230.
A Man with Answers
continued
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C ommunity R adio
from Front
ancing o u t p o p u la tio n and
a c h ie v e m en t d is p a ritie s at
schools on Portland’s east and
west side.
“If you have (a surplus of )
buildings on the eastside, and
overcrowding on the westside,
how do you attract west side stu
dents to eastside schools?” he
asked.
Poe explained the district’s
need to feature special focus pro
gram s, in c lu d in g language
emersion instruction and top rate
teachers in eastside schools.
“Had we done that with Meek,
we would still have that school
for community kids," said Poe,
referring to Meek Elementary
School in northeast Portland,
which closed last May because
of budget cuts and low enroll
ment.
Poe and Derry Jackson, the
other African American on the
school board, were the only board
members voting against closing
Meek.
MOONSTAR B ar & G rill
GRAND OPENING
C ome C elebrate w ith us
With four newly-elected school
board members, Poe speculated
that the elementary school would
have remained open had the vote
taken place today.
“I believe the new board would
have considered a number of fac
tors besides school size and are
more in tune to (the impact of) the
ment of Schools and Community
Partnership.
“I’ve always been into youth
development,” said Poe. “How do
you build the next generation?”
To address his question, Poe
has founded several nonprofit or
ganizations aimed at educating
high-risk youth, including the
We have to inspire our youth,
especially African Americans,
to move toward financial
independence so all
communities can succeed
economically.
- Lolenzo Poe, Portland School Board co-chalr and director of the
Multnomah County Department of Schools and Community Partnerships.
closure of a school on one side of Youth Empowerment Coalition,
the river versus the other," he said. which provides employment place
Poe’s day job also reflects his ment for under-achieving groups
passion for education. He is the and the House of Umoja, a residen
director of the county’s Depart- tial education facility for gang-in
volved youth.
“We have to inspire our youth,
especially African Americans, to
move toward financial indepen
dence so all communities can suc
ceed economically,” Poe said.
With so many common sense
answers toproblemsafflicting Port
land, Poe may extend his sphere of
influence to city politics.
“I’m not running for mayor,” he
assures, “but if the city really says
it needs minority representation, 1
would stand for it.”
According to Poe, running for
office today would be political “sui
cide.”
“I’m not sure Portland wants
African-American representation,”
he said, citing the few minorities
holding public office or appointed
to powerful commissions and com
mittees in the city.
“I'm discouraged about the num
ber of African Americans running
for public office and I think the
entire city should be outraged and
asking the question, how much
longer?”
Again, he offers a solution. Poe
suggests creating leadership and
development programs to train
people of color to ft II city leadership
positions.
“I think w e're one issue short of
being a great city,” said Poe. “Can
we really live up to celebrating di
versity and inclusivity at all lev
els?”
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