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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 25, 2004)
August 25. 2004 JJnrtlanò (Observer New Allstate Agency Opens Vernon Norris A fric a n - American busi- | nessm an and church leader) Vernon Norris has opened an | Allstate Insur ance agency at 2435 N. Lom bard St ju s t fo u r b lo c k s ea st o f the W algreens drug store. “My staff and I are excited about opening for business,” N orris says. “This will be a full service insurance agency, offering a com plete line o f insurance products and services.” Norris comes to Allstate with several years o f insurance agency ownership and business experi ence. A resident o f north and north east Portland for the past 40 plus years, he has the advantage of knowing the area and makes it a point to get to know his clients so that they get the coverage they need. Norris is an assistant pastor and director of a teen outreach ministry that focuses on giving youth posi tive guidance and direction as they seek to find themselves. His agency will sell auto, prop erty, commercial and life insurance Free School Supplies for Local Kids With a new school year under way, local companies and commu nity groups are pooling efforts to keep kids in pencils and crayons. The Back to the Future School Supplies Give-a-W ay is from I to 5 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 29 at the Chev ron Gas Station parking lot at 3435 N.E. Martin Luther King Blvd. Free school supplies are avail able to kids from grades one through eight, w hile supplies last. F or more inform ation, call event organizer D aniel Binns at 503-890-0070. Page A3 \ IIX E D blessings : Earl’s Barbershop proprietor Earl Clark operates one the few long-time community-owned businesses on Northeast Alberta Street. /a photo bv M ark W ashington / T he P ortland O bserver ..j continued from Front that picture.” Comparing this phenomenon on Alberta to that on Boise-Elliot is not a stretch. Between hipster coffee shops and upscale boutiques, only a few o f Alberta’s long-time community ow ned and operated businesses remain. Earl ’ s Barbershop on North east 17lh and Alberta is one o f them. Earl Clark, the barbershop’s pro prietor, has been lucky. H e's been in business on Alberta Street for 10 years, long enough to see most of the other businesses that were around when he set up shop go out o f business altogether. The exit o f old businesses is often blamed on the skyrocketing rental prices. The good side, ac cording to Clark, is that the new developm ent has d riven aw ay gangs and brought more business ¿2333 and neighborhood activities to the owned businesses off Alberta, but A c c o rd in g to s ta tis tic s on area. also residents, many of whom have www.movingtoportland.net, hous "They enjoy it," Clark says of moved due to rising rents, while ing costs in north and northeast area residents. “T here’s stuff go more middle class people move in Portland have risen 18 percent from ing on.” to enjoy the rising commerce. 200 1 to 2003 alone - faster than any However, the disproportionate One area resident, Nicole Hess, other part of the city. The rising number of white business owners was happy with the new develop- costs o f housing force renters out I go to the video store, the coffee shop, the bar, the breakfast place, and / see no black people working in these establishments. There’s something wrong with that picture. - Charles Santos, an organizer with Reclaiming Our Origins Through Struggle {ROOTS) flooding the area disappoints Clark, who complains that there’s “not enough black businesses around here.” The rising value of the neighbor- hood is not only pushing locally- ments at first, but now she isn’t so of the area, and renters make up a sure. large percentage o f households in “Ithinkitispushingallthepeople these inner-city neighborhoods. who used to live here out," Hess In the Boise neighborhood, for said. example, 59 percent o f households The numbers agree with her. are renters according to the 2000 census. And because in Portland, as in the rest o f the United States, minority home ownership still lags behind, it is primarily ethnic minori ties that are being pushed out, and disproportionately whites benefit. But the development o f Alberta is just a small part o f a much larger picture. Since the 1948 H ooding o f V anport, a small community o f ship yard workers near what is now North Portland, displaced about 5, (XX) African-American working poor, the city of Portland has repeatedly red-lined and segregated poorcom- munities and communities o f color. Until the 1990s, many people were segregated in certain areas based on race or class alone, creat ing ghettoized sections o f town. Meanwhile, projects such as 1-5, th e M e m o rial C o lise u m and Emanuel Hospital displaced cen ters of African-American commerce within areas of town, taking power away from this community and pushing it farther towards the out skirts o f town. Clearly, Alberta Street develop ment has not occurred in a vacuum. Although the changes on Alberta h av e been d u b b e d " g e n tle gentrification” for its positive at tributes, there are less gentle pat terns that threaten to repeat them selves. NEW Gourmet- Grillinä MADE EASY » It may be the end of summer, but it’s not the end of the barbecue season. In fact, the barbecue season at New Seasons Market lasts all year. That’s because ou! meat departments are always loaded with prepared items that can turn an every day barbecue into something extraordinary. Our meat cases are filled with a large assortment of ready-to-grill meats, perfect for your outdoor summer barbecue, or even your winter electric grill meals. Rib aficionados will appreciate our Hawaiian style beef ribs. Beef lovers w on’t want to pass up our stuffed skirt steak. If you’re into kabobs you can choose from garlic balsamic lamb, Thai peanut chicken, spicy Thai pork, rosemary garlic beef, lemon herb turkey, and more. And don't forget about our hand crafted sausages. W e make them right here in our meat departments. Choose from a variety of turkey, pork, lamb, and chicken varieties. Try them on our own Hefe Buns made with Hefeweizen beef < they’re available in our bakery. You Shouldn't have to spend all day preparing for a barbecue. New Seasons Market is here to help. Stop in this weekend as w e’ll be grilling up a variety of marinated and read-to-grill meats. Find out which ones you, and your family, can’t live without! The, friendliest sfare, in fatati. C O N C O R D IA O R E N C O S T A T IO N N E 3 3 r d & K illin g s w o r t h R A L E IG H H IL L S SELLW OOD P o r t la n d O R 9 7 2 1 1 N E 6 1 s t & C o r n e ll R d H ills b o r o O R 9 7 I 2 4 12 14 S E T a c o m a 503 288 3838 O pen 8 am - 10pm 7 3 0 0 S W B e a v e r t o n H ills d a le H w y . P o r t la n d O R 9 7 2 2 5 5 0 3 .6 4 8 .6 9 6 8 O p e n 8 a m lO p m 5 0 3 2 9 2 .6 8 3 8 O p e n 8 a m -1 0 p m P o r t la n d O R 9 7 2 0 2 503 230 4949 O p e n 8 a m -1 0 p m