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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (June 16, 2004)
www.portlandobserver.com Committed to Cultural Diversity M etro Zoo Celebrates Summer Concerts Series kicks off with Mary Chapin Carpenter 11,1 JJortlanb (©bserucr C lune 16. 2004 See story, Page B3 o m ni u n i t y it I e n cl a r Fireworks Pack a picnic lunch and loved ones for a Fourth of July celebra tion o f music and fireworks at Blue Lake Regional Park, be tween Northeast Marine Drive and Sandy Boulevard off 207th Avenue. Live music begins at 4 p.m. and continues through 10 p.m. Parking is $7 per vehicle. For m ore inform ation, visit www.metro-region.org. Donate for Life L o cal ja z z g re a t N orm an Sylvester and other local m usi cians will headline the second annual Juneteenth Blood Drive on W ednesday, June 23 at the Red Cross Portland. 1331 N. Vancouver Ave. from noon to 6 p.m. For more information, call 503-284-1234. Arts Scholarship Extended The African American Visual Arts Scholarship at Portland State U niversity application deadline has been extended to July 31. The com mittee is seek ing young A frican-A m erican artists and offering to pay $3,(XX) per year. For information, call 503-725-3397 or503-725-5560. Ya Gotta Regatta You gotta go to the 10'h annual Columbia Slough Regatta small crafts show and paddling event from 9a.m .to 1 p.m. Sunday, July 26 at the lower Columbia Slough. Birth Ready W hether you need childbirth preparation classes, or just a refresher, Providence Health Systems has a workshop for you. Prepare for pain, take a weekend seminar or prepare big sisters and brothers-to -b e throughout the su m m e r by v isitin g www.providence.org/classes or call 503-574-6595. Canine 101 The Oregon Humane Society explains problem pooches at Canine 101 classes on Saturday, June 19at 11 a.m. A$IOdonation is suggested. For more informa tion, call 503-285-7722 or visit www.oregonhumane.org. Women Speak W omen have a voice at Women in NAACP, a new w om en’s group, meeting from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. the first Saturday of each month at the American Red C ro ss B u ild in g , 3131 N. Vancouver. For questions, call 503-249-6263. Interest in Adoption? A free information meeting for prospective adoptive parents is held the third W ednesday of every month from 7 to 8:30p.m . at Belmont Public Library, 1038 S.E. 39"’ Ave. For more informa tion, call 503-226-4870 or visit www.openadopt.com. A Healing Song Sankofaa Health Institute offers a free diabetes support group from 6 to 7:30 p.m. every third Thurs day at Alberta Simmons Plaza, 6707 N.E. MLK Blvd. For more information, call 503-285-2484. Finds New Use Upgrade wanted for affordable housing by J aymee R. C vti T he P ortland O bserver In its peak, the Ramada Inn in north Port land hosted touring sports teams, playing at Memorial Coliseum. Its next phase will allow 175 working area residents find affordable housing. Central City Concern, a nonprofit hous ing agency, is planning to buy the hotel, which was built in the 1960s, upgrade plumb ing, electrical and safety features and call it home for those earning between $7 and $9 per hour, housing that is a rare commodity in the neighborhood. “T here’s very little workforce housing in the Lloyd District,” said Richard Harris, di rector o f Central City Concern. “This is designed for those who have just entered the workforce so they can afford to have a roof over their head when they’re getting back on their feet.” The hotel’s viability faded with the suc cess o f the Rose Garden Arena in 1996. Its profits dropped as the Coliseum was used less frequently for athletic events and the building o f other hotels in the area added to photo by the competition. The purchase is slated for July 9, with renovations taki ng about a year to complete. The hotel would offer 175 studio apart ments and single occupancy rooms at be tween $350 and $500 per month. According to Harris, the purchase of the Ramada Inn is affordable, too. Central City plans to purchase the property from the owner. Pacific Roots Investments, Ltd. for $4.9million,andsinkanother$3 million into renovations. This breaks down to $45,000 per unit, compared to the cost o f construc tion of a new building at $100,000 per unit. The Portland Development Commission will consider contributing to this project with a low-interest loan at its July meeting. Harris perceives this purchase as a boon to the neighborhood. “The Rose Quarter is going to get a refur bished building that’s home to 175 occu pants, with 24-houraday use of the area,” he said. “I think of that as a very positive thing to go on around there." E x p a n d in g T r a n s it O p tio n s RideAbout shuttle offers rides from home Lloyd C enter, Max stations, Jantzen Beach and m any other sp o ts. RideA bout passengers can call ahead for individual pick ups or they can go on sched uled group trips w ith an o n board concierge to help rid- From the desire to help se niors and people w ith d isab ili ties safely travel from their hom es to the grocery store, cam e a strong relationship b e tw een Safew ay and the A fri can A m erican C h a m b e r o f C om m erce to im prove local transportation services. Now, the S afew ay Senior S huttle has given way to the N o rth /N o rth e ast R ideA bout Shuttle, a new free service work- ing in conjunction w ith TriM et and operating every weekday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The door-to-door transpor tation adds o p tio n s beyond the Safew ay Food and Drug in northeast Portland, meal sites and m edical centers, to include “ It’s a w onderful evolution b u ild in g on the fo undation th a t th e A frican A m erican C ham ber and Safew ay built,” s a id B r id g e t F la n a g a n , Safew ay spokesperson. O th er su p p o rters m aking the transportation link p o s sible include the American Red Cross, The Urban League o f P o rtlan d and M e tro p o lita n Fam ily Services. N o rth /N o rth e a s t R id e A b o u t s e rv e s th e K enton, A rbor Lodge, P ied m o n t, W o o d la w n , K in g , H um boldt, O verlook, Boise, E lliot, Irvington and Sabin neig h b o rh o o d s. To sign-up for a ride, call 5O3-226-O7OO. photo by M ark W ashington /T hf . P orti . and O bserver North/Northeast RideAbout driver Cupid Alexander (from left) takes care o f his passengers James Mack, Brownie Gooden, Daniel Riley and Hazel Littleton at the Multicultural Senior Center on Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. iM M H H H H M M M M H M H n Living Legends to Warm Hearts NAACP Meetings Benefit set for Multicultural Senior Center The Portland Branch o f the NAACP holds two monthly ex ecutive committee meetings, on the second T hursday o f the month and the Thursday before the fourth Saturday of the month. General membership meetings are held on the fourth Saturday of each month. For more infor mation, call 503-284-7722. Area residents are invited to enjoy an evening o f old time jazz and blues when local legends perform at the Northeast M ulticultural Senior Center’ s fundraising event on Friday, June 25 from 6 to 8 p.m. Sweet Baby’James and The Original Cats w ill headline the festivities at the center on Martin Luther King Boulevard at Killingsw orth Street. The event is as much about music, dancing and socializing for seniors and not- so-senior citizens as it is drawing financial support. But this year, the senior center Work For Change Community Advocates invites those interested in protecting children from abuse to become an event volunteer, event out re a c h , te c h n o lo g y e x p e rt, graphic artists or office support team member. For more informa- tion,call 503-280-1388. M ark W ashington ZT he P ortland O bserver Richard Harris, director of Central City Concern, points to his plans to turn the Ramada Inn, a hotel built during the 1960s when Memorial Coliseum came to life, into affordable housing for area residents. w ill add a new dimension to the celebration by honoring senior musicians who are the foundation o f Portland's jazz roots. “ The Original Cats thought it was the right time to publicly recognize the contributions these entertainers have made to our craft,” said band musician James Sweet Baby James & the Original Cats cut it up with jazz and blues. IIKIIl) <AM RTESY of S arah S teinberg Benton. Admission is $4 to benefit the senior center. For more information, visit the Cats online at www.originalcat.com.