Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current, May 12, 2004, Image 1

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ffîbsertier
‘Qty of Roses
Established in 1970
www.portlandobserver.com
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Volume XXXIV • Number 19
T,Weekin
ThcReview
Wednesday • May 12. 2004
Superintendent Chuck Moore shows o ff New Columbia 's paved streets
and infrastructure with Shelly Marchesi of the Housing Authority of
Portland and Leslie Esinga, the project's resident community liaison. The
new roads are connected to streets in the surrounding neighborhoods,
eliminating the isolation o f the now demolished Columbia Villa.
Mandela Criticizes
War in Iraq
photo by
M
ark
W ashington / T he P ortland O bserver
Nelson Mandela looked frail and
joked about being an old man, but
the former South African presi­
dent remained combative Mon­
day, lashing out at the United
States and Britain over Iraq in a
speech billed as his swan song
before Parliament.
Teen Chooses Not
to Blow Himself Up
A Palestinian teenager who de­
cided against blowing himself up
in Jerusalem caused panic in a
West Bank security office when
he went for help.
Dispute Over
Custody of Saddam
The United States has pledged to
hand over Saddam Hussein and
dozens of other suspects to Iraqi
authorities by the time the U.S.-
led coalition transfers power to
Iraq next month, the head of Iraq’s
war crimes tribunal saidTuesday.
The Pentagon disputed the re­
port.
Poll: British Want
Troops Out of Iraq
A majority of Britons surveyed in
an opinion poll published Mon­
day want British troops to leave
Iraq by the end of June.
Red Cross: Iraqi Abuse
Widespread
A Red Cross report disclosed
Monday that U.S. officers mis­
treated inmates at the notorious
Abu Ghraib prison by keeping
them naked in totally dark, empty
cells. While many detainees were
quickly released or no longer mis­
treated after interrogation, high-
ranking officials in Saddam
Hussein’s government - includ­
ing those listed on the U.S.
military's deck of cards - were held
for months in solitary confine­
ment.
Newspapers
Sue Over Erasure
The Associated Press and the
Hattiesburg American filed a law­
suit Monday against the U.S.
Marshals Service over an inci­
dent in April in which a federal
marshal erased reporters’ record­
ings of a speech Supreme Court
Justice Antonin Scalia gave to
high school students.
New Columbia Construction Begins
Neighborhood
designed for pride,
high morale
by J aymee R. C u n
T he P ortland O bserver
The biggest neighborhood redevelop­
ment in the history of the Housing Author­
ity of Portland is moving into its next phase:
construction.
Demolition is complete for Columbia
Villa’s 462 units in north Portland, making
way for New Columbia, which aims to de­
concentrate poverty by building a mixed-
economy development including market
rate and affordable homes for sale, apart­
ments and duplexes, public housing and
section-8 units — 850 homes in all.
“You’ll live in a neighbi rhood where
you’re not distinguished by your income,”
said Shelly Marchesi, Housing Authority
communication director.
A Columbia Villa reunion planned for
July 21 is an opportunity for staff to touch
base with former tenants, ask them about
their current housing and whether they
plan to return to New Columbia in 2005. A
poll taken last summer indicated that 70
percentofColumbia Villa residents wished
to return after renovations were complete.
Officials at the Housing Authority iden­
tified relocation as their biggest challenge
with the project and appointed a relocation
manager to ease the process.
With relocation behind them, one of the
latest challenge to strike the housing agency
was not receiving an expected $6.4 million
demolition grant.
To recoup costs, Marchesi said the bud­
get was reconfigured, using more demoli­
tion and less deconstruction.
Despite that multi-million dollar setback,
New Columbia is right on target, according
to Marchesi, on schedule and on budget.
The project is scheduled for completion in
2006, with re-occupancy beginning in the
summer of 2(X)5.
Besides a federal Hope VI grant, totaling
$35 million. theCity of Portland has pledged
$20 million to the project and the Housing
Authority has procured $90 million of in­
vestment from pubic, private and charitable
sources. The project is at $ 145 million of its
projected $ 150 million budget.
Besides sound plumbing, electrical, ven­
tilation, fire safety and disabled accessibil­
ity, New Columbia Residents can expect
vast neighborhood improvements from
Columbia Villa.
continued
on page A2
Investments to Boost Northeast
Aimed at revitalizing
Martin Luther King
Boulevard properties
Tax credits and loans totaling $100
million are earmarked to revitalize areas
along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard
and other parts of northeast Portland.
ing and Shaver streets. The Family of
Funds organization will take up residency
there, fueling a mixed-use commercial
retail project now possible by having a
tenant.
Money will also be allotted to various
projects along a 12-block span on King,
including the Vanport Square project be­
tween Alberta and Killingsworth Streets
and investment in Lents, Interstate Av-
Economic
Productivity Rises
The productivity of America’s
companies rose solidly in the
opening quarter of this year, and
new filings for jobless benefits
plunged last week to their lowest
level in more than three years,
good news for the country’s eco­
nomic health.
photo by M ark
W
ashing ton / T he
P ortland O bserver
Roosevelt High School mural artists Alex Clay (from left), Ashley Elliott, school
monitor Phil Thompson, Bounmy Sittthiso, Steve Him andJamele Sanders.
Roosevelt Diversity Celebrated
Students, faculty create timeless mural
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Civic leader Carl Taitón and Bridget Bayer of the Northeast Coalition o f Neighbor­
hoods welcome a commitment o f federal funds to revitalize properties along
Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
Mayor Vera Katz made the announce­
ment last week of the $196.5 million of
federal tax credits allocated to the city,
$ 100 million will go to the Portland Family
of Funds, an investment bank created by
the Portland Development Commission
for projects in northeast Portland.
The money will be filtered through eq­
uity investments and low-interest loans,
beginning with the historic Heritage
Building on the boulevard between Fail-
enue and in other low-income neighbor­
hoods.
The Vanport project, under the direc­
tion of African American business leader
Ray Leary, is a major focus of the urban
development effort with plans to make
several blocks into a shopping district
with a major retail store as magnet to
shoppers.
continued
yf
on page A2
A new mural at Roosevelt High
School is dedicated to the diversity of
students and faculty, past and present.
The mural painting
project began in 2(X)I,
with a service learning
project collaboration
betw een R o o sev elt's
painting class and Uni­
versity of Portland stu­
dents.
The mural has since
evolved into a tribute to Roosevelt's
diversity with the images of people who
makeup the school's multicultural popu­
lation and an image of the St. Johns
Bridge as a symbol of the school as a
bridge to a greater world.
The faces are semi-portraits, largely
based on real Roosevelt
students. One recogniz­
able figure in the mural is
Phil T h o m p so n , the
school’s campus moni­
tor, who is retiring after
many years.
The mural, which was
recently completed, was
designed and created by noted muralist
Isaka Shamsud din from Portland State
University and students of Roger Friedel,
the art teacher at Roosevelt.
The faces are
semi-portraits,
largely based on
real Roosevelt
students.