Committed to Cultural Diversity
C
www.portlandobserver.com
lune 23. 2004
o ni ill u n i t y
¿i I e n d a r
SPfODIFlG
TH€ WORD
Good in the Neighborhood
The 12'*’ annual Good in the
N eighborhoo d m ulticu ltu ral
music and food festival is Satur­
day and Sunday, June 26 and 27
at King School Park on North­
east Seventh Avenue just south
o f Alberta Street.
Leisure Hour
Llondyn Elliott, 7, (from
left) Deone Peoples and
Tatyana McDonald, 10,
canvass door-to-door in
their neighborhood with
leaflets about this
weekend's multicultural
Good in the Neighborhood
festival. The two-day music
and food celebration of
north and northeast
Portland's diverse popula­
tions takes place Saturday
and Sunday at King School
Park on Northeast Seventh
Avenue, south of Alberta.
The Leisure Hour Junior G olf
Program holds picture day and
sponsor appreciation day with a
thank you barbecue from 3 to 7
p.m. on Sunday, June 27 at the
Mayfield's House, 9216 N.E. 25**’
Ave., Vancouver, Wash. RSVP
to Debbie Scott at 503-936-8568.
Fireworks at Blue Lake
Pack a picnic lunch and loved
ones fora 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.
photo by M ark
W ashington /
T he P orti ani »
O bserve
Arts Scholarship Extended
The African American Visual
Arts Scholarship at Portland
S tate 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 $3,000
per year. For information, call
503-725-3397or503-725-5560.
Wellness Within Reach
The African American Health
C oalition announces several
classes throughout the month
o f June at Matt Dishman Com ­
munity Center, Colum bia Pool,
and Salvation A rm y. The activi­
ties include W alk to Run, C hi­
cago Step and Water Exercise.
F or m ore inform ation, visit
www.aahc-portland.org.
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
th e su m m e r by v isitin g
www.providence.org/classes or
call 503-574-6595.
Diversity Insured in Huge Waterfront Development
Workforce objectives
added to plans
by
L ee P erlman
T he P ortland O bserver
The Portland City Council has adopted a
workforce diversity strategy by amending
plans to build a gigantic new waterfront
community on the southwest edge o f dow n­
town Portland.
It means that the developers o f 31 acres
of formerly industrial land east of Southwest
Macadam A venue— the Portland Develop­
ment Commission, Oregon Health and Sci­
ences University and North Macadam In­
vestors — agree to seek benchmarks of
having 35 percent of the project’s workforce
be women and minorities.
The agreement also calls for reducing the
dropout rate for women and minority ap­
prentices seeking journeym an status, which
i s now 85 percent compared to 50 percent for
white males.
“ W hat this boils dow n to is good busi­
ness,” said PDC C om m issioner N oelle
W ebb, an A frican A m erican. A single
parent w ho has the opportunity to go
through this program and earn $31 an
The workforce now is not diversified
and this lays the groundwork for
correcting that.
- Andre Baugh, a spokesperson for a coalition seeking
minority participation In the South Waterfront Development
hour, th a t’s a significant impact. They can
purchase a home, provide m edical co v er­
age for th eir ch ildren."
Significantly, the amendment also re­
ceived support from trade union representa­
tives, including the C olum bia Building
Trades Council, the Carpenters Union and
Canine 101
The Oregon Humane Society
explains problem pooches at
Canine 101 classes on Saturday,
July 17at 11 a.m. A $10donation
is suggested. For more inform a­
tion. call 503-285-7722 or visit
www.oregonhumane.org.
Women Speak
Women have a voice at W omen
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 8:30 p.m.
at Belmont Public Library, 1038
S.E. 39,h Ave. Form ore 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
Thursday at Alberta Simmons
Plaza, 6707 N.E. Martin Luther
King Jr. Blvd. Formore informa­
tion, call 503-285-2484.
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.
Operating Engineers Local 701.
P o rtla n d C ity C o m m issio n e r Jim
Francesconi even called for the agreement
to be extended tootherconstruction projects
in other parts o f town.
The Community Coal ition, an ad hoc fed-
eration of chambers o f commerce, minority
contractors, Trades Union Women and oth­
ers first raised the diversity workforce is­
sues in 2002.
“Women and minorities consume a lot of
social resources if they're unemployed. With
this approach, we can see income coming
back to our communities. It's a hand up,”
said Andre Baugh, a spokesman for the
coalition.
“The workforce now is not diversified
and this lays the groundwork for correcting
that,” Baugh later told the Portland Ob­
server. “In the next generation a majority of
the workforce will be minorities and women.
They w on’t have to be pioneers, they will
have mentors, their participation will be
normal."
He noted that there was early resistance
by trade unions to change workforce diver­
sity goals.
“What I heard this week was that the
unions are embracing this, which is a mindset
change,” he said. “Some o f the issues have
been addressed, not all, but at least the
fram ework’s changed. We can move for­
ward without having to argue the basic
points. We heard a lot o f excuses, a lot of
posturing, but at the end o f the day they
embraced it."
■M M
Fish Advisory Issued for Willamette River
Chemicals found
in catfish and
other species
Fish taught from the W illameiie River In
toxic, according to an advisory
from the Oregon Dept. of Human Services.
Due to the high levels of chemicals found in
fish sampled within Portland Harbor, DHS has
developed special recommendations for the
Willamette between the Fremont Bridge, down­
town and the mouth o f the river at Sauvie
Island.
High levels o f polychlorinated biphenyls,
called PCBs, are found especially in carp, bass
and catfish. The chemicals are known to cause
cancer and liver, thyroid, immune system and
developmental problems.
Those who should avoid eating resident fish
from the harbor include women of childbearing
age, particularly those who are pregnant or
breastfeeding, children, and those with weak
immune systems or with liver or thyroid prob­
lems.
Others should limit their consumption of
resident fish from the harbor to no more than 8-
ounces o f fish per meal, per month.
The health concerns do not apply to non­
resident and migratory fish, such as salmon and
steelhead,which are considered an excellent
high-protein, low-fat food source.
Health Department officials will host a public
meeting on Tuesday, June 29 at 6:30 p.m. at St.
Johns Community Center, 8427 N. Central, to
discuss recent fish data and public health impli-
cations.
’
. V 1 J , i f
P o rt land may be
photo by M ark
W ashington /T he P o rtiand O bserver
W arnings a b o u t dangers on the W illam ette River sta n d the te s t o f tim e. Now h e a lth d e p a rtm e n t o fficia ls have issu e d a
new a dvisory th a t fish caught in the river betw een dow ntown P ortland a n d th e m o u th o f the C olum bia River m ay be toxic.