Committed to Cultural Diversity
www.portlandobserver.com
Xe»
M etro
3F
3:111 $ Io rtla n ò (Ji)h se m er
C
o ni ni u n i t y
a le n d a r
Prophetic Event
Evangel Temple Community
Church is having a Prophetic
C onference through Friday,
March 19 at 7 p.m. at 5417 N.
Williams Ave. For more informa
tion, call 503-287-7871.
March 17, 2004
1
NFL Star
Owens Gets
Trade Wish
•><
Sports, page B6
w.
&
Terrell
Brandon
Retires
Sports, page B6
SECTION
Student Authors at Sabin
Wellness Workshops
New Seasons Market offers a
workshopcalled Allergies: Noth
ing to Sneeze At, from 7 to9p.m .
Monday, March 29 and a class
on Optimal Thyroid Health from
7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, March 23 at
the Concordia store, 5320 N.E.
33 Ave. To register, call 503-288-
3838.
Bloomfest
Easter Seals Oregon announces
BloomFest from April 6 -10. ask
ing volunteers tocoordinate and
sell fresh-cut tulip bunches for
$5. For more information, call
503-228-5108ext. 317.
J
REHD
Heart Walk
Raise funds and save lives with
a 5K71 K Heart Walk beginning
at 8 a.m. Saturday, May 22 at the
Eastbank Esplanade, Main Street
Festival Plaza. To register, call
5 0 3 -2 3 3 -0 1 0 0
or
v isit
www.walk.americanheart.org.
Interest in Adoption?
A free information meeting for
prospective adoptive parents is
from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday,
March 17 at Belmont Public Li
brary, 1038 S.E. 39,h Ave. Meet
ings are held the third Wednes
day of each month. For more
information, cal1503-226-4870or
visit www.openadopt.com.
Reunion Watch
Former students and faculty of
Girls Polytechnic, James Mon
roe and W ashington-M onroe
high schools have the 66"’ an
nual all-school dinner at 5 p.m.
Monday, April 12 at Our Lady of
Sorrow s School, 5239 S.E.
Woodstock Blvd. Tickets are
$15. For more information, call
503-236-6557.
cnantez, i v e w reads from -Unmanned Tnp
It I11ÜV
o t be t the
h e l last
ast H
n n lf n
H r t n f the
may n not
book
about
Portland Trail Blazers coach and key play
ers, but Sabin Elem entary School pre
sented the third installm ent of their com
pleted trilogy at an assem bly, to coach
,Pe Rose Garden. - ,Pe P oor sPe a u « ™ * along
l __ i.
____ i .
__
Maurice c Cheeks
and players Darius Miles,
Dan Dickau and Jerom e Kersey, charac
ters in the story.
“Unplanned Trip to the Rose Garden,"
written and illustrated by the 300 students of
Surplus property
closer to becoming
community center
—
Packy Turns 40
by J aymee R. C uti
T he P ortland O bserver
Honor Political Women
Trees Need Friends
Friends of Trees will plant trees
and shrubs in the Piedmont and
Cathedral Park/St. Johns neigh
borhoods on March 27, and in
the G o o se H ollo w and
Montavilla neighborhoods on
April 3. If you want to be a help
to yourcommunity and environ
ment, call 503-284-TREE or visit
www.friendsoftrees.org.
Minority Business Boost
A Small Business Economic
D ev elo p m en t C o n fe re n c e
hosted by HUD is designed to
help minorities and female busi
ness owners participate in fed
eral governm ent contracting
prospects. The conference is at
the Doubletree Hotel in Jantzen
Beach, from 7:30a.m. to5:30p.m.
March 18. Pre-registration is$35.
For information, call 877-741-
3281 or visit w w w .hud.gov/
Washington.
’
Sabin in a collaborative process, is a whim
sical adventure o f a fieldtrip to the Rose
Garden gone awry from icy weather.
The experience gave Sabin kids impor
tant life skills lessons including flexibility.
patience, cooperation, pride, integrity, car
ing and teamwork.
The book was led by art specialist Chris
Lamp, fifth grade teacher Nita Kreuzer and
Principal Richard Shafer.
Vision for Old School Redo
Packy. the Oregon Z oo's el
ephant which became nation
ally renowned as the first Asian
elephant bom in the Western
Hemisphere in more than 44
years, celebrates his 4O'h birth
day with a cake stomping from
10a.m. to4p.m . April l4.Com e
by to sing happy birthday to
Packy, and have a piece of cake
for yourself. For more informa
tion, visitwww.oregonzoo.com.
The Oregon Historical Society
presents a program honoring the
accomplishmentsof women in the
historic 1970s legislature (includ
ing Mayor Vera Katz) in conjunc
tion with W om en’s History
Month. Conversations are at the
Historical Society, 1200S.W. Park
Ave. from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday,
March 18. For more information,
call 503-222-1741.
300 order
' ft
photo by
M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver
Roger Konka and Gary Thomas plant a tree in front o f Star E Rose Café on Alberta
Street. They were among many volunteering to add trees to the urban landscape
after the city s Alberta Street revitalization project ran over budget.
A lberta Trees Ensured
Shop owners plant
own trees when city
breaks promise
by J aymee R. C utí
T he P ortland O bserver
Frustrated Alberta Street business own
ers and neighbors are taking matters into
their own hands, and hopefully green
thumbs.
Neighbors say their tree wells remain
empty slabs of mud despite promises from
the city to plant and replace trees as part of
a streetscape revitalization project.
Last week, Louisa Heamish.ownerofStar
E Rose Café, organized approximately 10
volunteers, mostly customers, to plant trees
in front of her business on Alberta Street
and 24,h Avenue.
“This is truly a community effort to get
the trees back," she said.
Heamish says the city promised many
im provem ents to the street, including
benches, public art and trees, but stopped
short after TriMet bus shelters were built.
Jean Senechal Biggs, project manager for
the Portland Office of Transportation, con
firmed that the Alberta streetscape project is
over budget, pushing tree plantings to the
background.
She said a request for more money to
finish the project has been submitted and a
response is anticipated in time for the fall
2004 planting season.
We really want to stick with our commit
ment,” said Senechal Biggs.
One cost-cutting option for the project
costing between $60,000and$85.000forthe
94 trees, is asking property owners to water
and maintain the trees, once planted. Usu
ally, contractors mai ntai n ne wly-planted trees
for the first year.
Jane Foreman, executive director of
Friends of Trees, says the city cut back on
continued
,,n page H6
Schools Real Estate Trust.
Commissioner Jim Francesconi called t
project his "number one priority” and Mayo!
Vera Katz committed to keeping the projec]
moving forward.
Those with a stake in the neighborhood]
including Portland Parks and Recreatior
officials, a spokesman from Public Schools
Real EstateTrust, the Buckman and Hosford]
A bernathy neighborhood associations]
Kerns Improvement Committee and South]
One community’s vision to turn a sur
plus property into a community center and
pool is a step closer to reality.
The Portland
C ity
C o uncil
unanimously en
dorsed a resolu
tion to negotiate
an agreement to
purchase at least
half o f now-va
cant Washington
High School cam
pus
betw een
S o u th e a st I 2 ,h
and 14,h avenues
and S tark and
! ii
Morrison streets.
Popular with
n eighbors is a
plan including a
community cen
ter with a pool, a
playing field, 130
to 210 housing
units, parking, re
tail outlets and
preservation o f
open space.
T he c o u n c il
p lan s
to
reprioritizeitmes
within the Port photo by M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver
land Parks and A plan moves forward to turn parts of the former Washing
Recreation bud ton High School campus in southeast Portland into a
get to fund the community center, public pool and housing.
p ro je c t. O th er
funding options would come from Port east Uplift, suggested that such a ccnted
land Parks and Recreation development would help attract people to the inner south]
charge funds, capital improvement project east neighborhiMxl and ward against urban
funds, a general fund and possibly the flight to the suburbs.
private sector.
Washington High School merged with
The actual purchase o f 4.5 acres of the
Monroe High School before closing in 1 98(
property will come before council in a fu and has been undenitilized by the district eveJ
ture meeting, after the details are negoti since. The building houses some district of]
ated between the city and Portland Public flees and a small Child Services Center.