Committed to Cultural Diversity
www.portlandobserver.com
M etro
August II. 2004
Peninsula Season Ends at Regionals
Little League all-stars run into fierce competition
See story in Sports, page B2
Œl'1' sportiani* (Obseruer
SECTION
C
o ni ni u n ity
a le n d a r
Gallery of Visual Arts
View art from talented local art
ists of all ages throughout the
month of August at the Inter
state Firehouse Cultural Center;
5340 N. Interstate Ave., from 9
a.m .-6p.m ., free.
Alberta Farm Market
Providing healthy, affordable,
high quality food, the Alberta
Cooperative Grocery offers sea
sonal produce from local grow
ers, ready-to-eat food and weekly
entertainment. Open from 10a.m.
to 2 p.m. daily, located on 1500
N.E. Alberta St. For more infor-
mation.call 503-287-4333.
The Sabbath
Spend your weekend well at the
Israelite Church of God and
Jesus Christ, 309 N. E. Wygant
St., for the Sabbath. Friday ser
vice begins at 7 p.m. and Satur
day service is at 8:30 a.m.
Fair Housing
Join the Fair Housing Council
on Aug. 12 for a discussion titled
Interpretation of Fair Housing
Laws at the Woodstock Library,
6(X)8 S. E. 49th Ave, from 6:30 to
8 p.m. Aug. 12. Register by call
ing 503-772-8825
Humane and Bazaar
The Oregon Humane Society
hosts a summer craft bazaar and
pet fairon Saturday, Aug. 14 and
Sunday, Aug. 15 at 1067 N. E.
Columbia Blvd.
Food Credits are
Defense Against Hunger
State sees
dramatic increase
in food stamps
Oregon has been ranked among the
highest in the nation in the share of eli
gible residents who received food stamps
and the numbers of people who partici
pate in the federally funded program con
tinue to rise.
Food stamps now reach more than
420,(XX) Oregonians with $35 million in
monthly benefits.
Gov. Ted Kulongoski welcomes the
assistance but laments that food stamp
benefits are not a long-term solution to
Oregon’s hunger problem.
“Because of the federal food-stamp
program, many Oregon families who are
struggling to make ends meet are able to
feed their children, protecting them from
the long-term consequences of hunger,”
PHOTO BY J a YMF-E R. C u T l/T H E PORTLAND OBSERVER
Kulongoski said.
In local stores, the Oregon Trail Card holds credit for food stamp purchases helping
DirectorofDepartmentof Human Ser
low-income residents of the state.
vices, Gary Weeks said dramatic state
Weeks said almost 170,(XX)of Oregon’s ing them, according to Patti Whitney-
wide increases in food-stamp usage resulted
in part from factors that included successful food-stamp recipients are underage 18, of Wise, executive director of the Oregon
whom nearly 124,000 are under the age of Hunger Relief Task Force, a statewide
outreach to the working floor.
12.
The state agency, food stamp advocates,
advocacy group created by the 1989 Leg
“Trust me, if kids are hungry they won’t islature.
food banks, schools and other community
partners are credited with publicizing food concentrate on their spelling or arithmetic,"
For more inform ation about food
stamps’ availability and expanded eligibil Weeks said.
stamps or to see if you qualify visit online
Still, many Oregonians who would ben at http://www.dhs.state.or.us/assistance/
ity. The state has also streamlined the enroll
efit from food stamps still are not receiv- foodstam ps/foodstamps.htm.
ment process.
Ready for School
Back to the Future School Sup
plies Give-A-Way is from 1 to 5
p.m. on Aug. 29 at the Chevron
Gas Station parking lot at 3435
Martin Luther King BI vd. at Fre
mont. Get supplies while they
last. Call 503-890-0070.
Voter Registration
Register to vote and learn how
to register your friends, family
and others in the community
Saturday, Aug. 18, 11 a.m. - 2
p.m. at Hollywood Library ; 4040
NE Tillamook St. Refreshment
will be provided. To learn more,
v isit o n lin e
at
h ttp ://
www.multcolib.org.
Interest In Adoption?
A free information meeting for
prospective adoptive parents is
held the third Wednesday of
every month from 7 to 8:30 p.m.
at Belmont Public Library, 1038
S.E. 39“’ Ave. For more informa
tion, call 503-226-4870 or visit
www.openadopt.com.
PCC Board Leaders Elected
The
P o r tla n d
Com m unity College
Board o f D irectors
voted Dana A nder
son as c h a ir and
Harold W illiam s as
vice c h a ir fo r the
2004-05 school year
at its July 15 m eet
ing.
A nderson re p re
sents Zone 4, which
in c lu d e s
n o rth ,
n o r th e a s t
and
southeast Portland,
w hile W illiam s rep
r e s e n ts Z o n e 2,
w h ic h
in c lu d e s
parts o f M ultnom ah
and Colum bia coun Dana Anderson
ties.
A nderson is a partner with C o n ser
vation Services, a hearing health care
Harold Williams
consulting firm. W illiam s is president
of CH2A A ssociates, a local contract
policy, consulting and m anagem ent ser
vices firm.
The PCC Board o f
D irectors is responsible
for the budget and over
all policy direction and
governance o f the c o l
lege. Board members are
not paid for their ser
vices.
PCC is the larg est
post-secondary ed u ca
tional institution in O r
egon, enrolling nearly
100,000 students annu
a lly , a n d o p e r a tin g
th re e c o m p re h e n siv e
cam p u ses along w ith
five w orkforce training
and education centers,
a sm all business d evel
opm ent center and education outlets in
hundreds o f com m unity and business
locations.
W
in to
Group wrestles
control o f
Smart Parks
In a unanimous vote, city council com
missioners in Portland voted to award a
lucrative public parking contract to Star
Park and the Alliance of Minority Cham
bers of Commerce, to manage the public
parking garages, including all revenue
accounting and employee operations.
This is the second time that the city has
voted to award a multi million-dollar con
tract to the joint venture partners, making
it particularly unique. In 2003, the venture
partners successfully wrestled the man
agement contract from the highly influen
tial Portland Business Alliance.
The latest award takes the city’s Smart
Park contract from the politically powerful
Goodman family, owners of City Center
Parking. The Goodman family had held the
lucrative public parking contract with the
city for 24 years.
The minority chambers had to jump
through numerous hoops and participate
in high stakes politics, twice, to get the
award. An independent evaluation com
mittee, appointed by the City Council,
recommended the group last June.
However, in a last-minute appeal, the
Goodmans cried foul and claimed that they
had the best deal. Their influence was
enough for City Council members to take
a second look. But a citizen’s review com
mittee, fora second time, selected Star Park
and the Alliance of Minority Chambers,
and justified their recommendation in a
detailed two-page letter to council com
missioners.
Roy Jay, President of the African Ameri
can Chamber of Commerce and founder of
the Alliance of Minority Chambers, said
the joint venture partners had worked long
and hard to give the city the best possible
proposal.
He said, “We were very, very confident
in the process, although we had to go
through it twice."
Vice Chair of the African American
Chamber, JoAnn Bowman added, "This is
another example of minorities being able to
compete on a level playing field without
having to be minority certified. The city
continued
on page R4
Stay Healthy
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. For more informa
tion, call 503-285-2484.
BIKE Group Completes Habitat Tour
■ .rs»; £
,la
Work For Change
Community Advocates invites
those interested in protecting
children from abuse to become
an event volunteer, event out
reach, tech n o lo g y ex p ert,
graphic artists or office support
team member. For more informa
tion, call 503-280-1388.
Home Improvement
The Community Energy Project
holds free workshops on water
conservation and weatheriza
tion. For more information, call
503-284-4962.
NAACP Meetings
The Portland Branch o f the
NAACP holds two monthly ex
ecutive committee meetings, on
the second Thursday of 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.
photo by K f . n L f G ros
I
a
Members o f Bicycles
and Ideas fo r Kids
«« Empowerment (BIKE),
a local cycling group,
celebrate the Portland
finish to a cross-county
bicycle tour for Habitat
or Humanity, with
Rebecca Fausel o f Port
land, one o f the partici
pants o f the trek across
America raising money
fo r the housing
' non-profit. The kids rode
r i their bikes in the last leg
; o f the journey. A dance
k circle, food and other
entertainment followed
the July 3 1 festivities at
Jamison Sq'
downtown.