Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 20, 2004)
Committed to Cultural Diversity M etro <Lt l |Jo rtla n b ÖOhserüer O cto b er 2 0 . 2 0 0 4 Make a Difference Vote Voters who have ehanged their names or addresses can still vote in the Nov. 2 presidential eleetion if they make the change official at Multnomah County Elections. Call 503-988-3720. SECTION C o in ni u n i t y a le n d a r DNA Safety Safety Program prom otes aw are ness and educatio n for parents and children about violence p re vention. Parents can receive a free and non-invasive DN A "fin g erp rin t" o f their child at the A cura o f Portland. 12020 S.E. Stark St. from 10 a.m . to 4 p.m. S aturday. O ct. 23. F o r m ore in f o r m a tio n , v is it w w w .d n a - lifeprint.com . Learn about Lupus A L upus Education Sym posium is from 1 to 4 :3 0 p .in . on O ct. 30 at Good Samaritan Medical Build ing, First Floor A uditorium , 1040 N .W . 22nd A ve. Free. F or m ore inform ation, call 877-774-2992. Blanket, Towel Drive A local teen and M ultnom ah C ounty A nim al S ervices v o lu n teer. Jen n ifer C ross, is o rg an iz ing a drive fo r donated tow els an d b la n k e ts to be u sed by county shelters fo r stray dogs and cats throughout the w inter m onths. T he public is en co u r aged to d ro p o ff used blankets and tow els at the C o unty A n i mal S helter, 17(X) W. H istoric C o lu m b ia R iv er H ig h w ay in T routdale through O ct. 24 T u es d ay, T hursdays and Fridays from 11 a.m . to 6 p.m ., W ednesday, from noon to 6 p.m . and w eek ends from 11 a.m .to 4 :3 0 p .m .F o r information, call503-988-7387or visit w w w .m u ltco p ets.o rg . Learn to Swim Fall Sw im m ing Lessons are avail able at the C olum b ia Pool, 7701 N. C hautauqua B lvd and M att D ishm an Pool, 77 N.E. Knott. For inform ation, call the A quatic Division at 50 3 -8 2 3 -5 130. Business Conference A G o v ern o r's M arketplace busi ness co n ference for m inorities and w om en will be held T h u rs day, Oct. 21 from 7:30a.m . to4:30 p.m . at th e H o lid a y Inn in W il s o n v i ll e . V is it w w w .govm p.org fo r a full pro gram schedule and on -lin e reg istration. B Success Brings Growing Pains Queen of Sheba needs more space by L ee P eri mas T he P ortland O bserver For A lein G ebreh iw o t. success in the restaurant business h asn ’t brought a life o f leisure, ju s t new challenges. A fter 10 years his Q u een o f S heba E thiopian restaurant at 2413 N .E. M artin L u th er King Jr. Blvd. has becom e such an institution th a t's often full to capacity. T h a t's w hy A lem is looking fo r a larger space to b etter serve his public. His preferred location would be in o r near the Eliot neighborhixxl where he has set down rootsm one with good access to a freeway, a nice-sized kitchen and especially off-street parking, which his current space does not. " I t's a nice co u rtesy o f service w e 'd like to o ffer,” he says. M ost o f all. A lem w ould like to o w n the building. "I w o u ld n 't m ind b uilding on an em pty lot, m aybe w ith h o u sin g ,” he says. "It w o u ld n ’t have to be fancy; w e 'd m ake it co m fortable, with the taste o f E thio p ia." A lem ’s path to the Q ueen o f Sheba is both a series o f accidents and a natural extension o f his background. Bom inTigray, Ethiopia, the son o f a school adm inistrator, he taught school in A ddis A baba, the capi tal, then studied fixxl science in B ulgariaon a scholarship. A civil w ar made it im possible for him to com e home, so he m ade his way to Athens, then to B altim ore, and eventu- Emergency Food Needs Set Record PHOTO BY M ARK W ASHINGTON/T h E PORTI ANI) ÖBSERV ER Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard has been good to Alem Gebrehiwot and his Queen o f Sheba Ethiopian restaurant. ( A P ) — T h e O reg o n F ood B ank is d is trib u tin g a reco rd n u m b e r o f e m e rg en cy fo o d bo x es. “ F o o d is fly in g o f f th e s h e lv e s a n d n o t k e e p in g u p w ith d e m a n d ,” s a id R ach el B ris to l, e x e c u tiv e d ir e c to r o f th e O re g o n F o o d B a n k N e tw o rk . " O n c e a g a in , w e h ad an in c r e a s e in th e n u m b e r o f w o rk in g p o o r, fo lk s w h o k in d o f fa ll th r o u g h th e c r a c k s ." O v er the last y ear. 7 2 1,0 0 0 b o x es have been d is trib u te d to n e e d in g fa m ilie s and in d iv id u a ls in O reg o n an d C la rk C o u n ty , W ash ., re p re se n tin g an 11 p e rc e n t in c re a s e fro m th e p re v io u s year. R e p e a te d s u rv e y s sh o w O re g o n to hav e o n e o f th e n a tio n 's h ig h est rates o f h u n g e r. In its rep o rt, c a lle d th e “ 2 0 0 4 H u n g er F a c to rs A s se ss m e n t," th e fo o d bank said allyto Lebanon, Ore. tostudy Linn-Benton Community College. He later continued his studies at Portland Community Col lege and Oregon State University. In 1991, he rented space in a bu ild ing in the heart o f Eliot and P o rtlan d 's E thiopian com m unity. At first he sold blended spices and health foods and then later assorted goods and ser vices. He put in one table so that custom ers could sample the foods. O ver time the on-premises cooking took over, the restaurant expanded into the space next door, and both w ere refurbished with help from a loan from the Portland Developm ent Com m ission. T he restaurant offers traditional recipes and others that A lem has "d e veloped over the years." T hey feature beef, chicken, lam b and vegetables, seasoned to be hot o r m erely "flav o r ful," placed in the center o f injera bread and consum ed by hand. B eer and w ine are available, but so are custom -blended coffee and teas. Each meal is cooked from scratch. In an interview several years ago Alem said, "C ooking is like a (lower. It should be fresh, not w ilted.” A long the w ay he brought his mother, his brotherG etachew , and some cousins to Portland, and all work at the restaurant. He recently celebrated the birth o f his first child, Rowie. He has acquired what hecalls “loyal custom ers" - other E thiopians, Peace C orps graduates, and people brought in by w ord-of-m outh, including a pub lic endorsem ent several years ago by actor Danny G lover. continued on page 116 O reg o n c o u ld ease its h u n g er n eed s w ith b e tte r-p a y in g jo b s , a m ore g e n e ro u s fe d eral fo o d -stam p program and m ore a ffo rd ab le h o u sin g and ch ild c a re . M ore than half the households in the fixxl bank survey said they turned to em er gency food pantries because their food stam ps ran out. O ther reasons given w ere low w ages, high rent, m edical costs and unem ploym ent. Adoption Seminar Inform ation on the process o f adoption and a variety o f ad o p tion opportunities will be shared on T hursday, O ct. 21 from 7 to 8:30 p.m . at the N ew H ope C o m m u n ity C h u rc h , 11731 S.E . S tevens Rd. in C lackam as. For inform ation, call 503-659-5683.. Aquatic Fitness P rovidence has a full schedule o f fitness classes including w a ter exercising at the P rovidence Aquatic C enter,4805 N .E.Glisan. Foraschedule,call 503-215-6301. Women in NAACP W o m e n in N A A C P , a new w om en' s group, meets from 10:30 a.m. to I p.m . the first Saturday o f each m onth at the A m erican Red C r o s s B u ild in g . 3 131 N. Vancouver. Call 503-249-6263. Children's Healthy Growth A free 4 0 -m inute sessio n on Rolling, a holistic system o f soft tissue m anipulation and m ove ment to insure health grow th and m ovem ent patterns, is available for children ages zero to 10 on Saturday, Oct. 23, from 1 -5 p.m. at Wild Oats Market. 2nd floor. 3535 N .E 15'\ F orquestions about this clinic, call 503-753-7653 orem ail rolfer@ earthlink.net. In Charge T he A m erican Red C ross O r egon Trail C hapter offers W hen I'm in C harge, a 2.5 h o u r course that prep aresch ild ren ag eseig h t to 11 how to respond to and be safe in situations. T he next class is held W ednesday. O ct. 20 from 6 to 8 :3 0 p .m . at Mt. Hixxl M edi cal C enter, 24800 S.E. Stark St.. G resham . T he fee is $ 18. T o reg ister. call 503-280-1440. I Support Doubles for Youth Program SEI Tony Hopson overwhelmed by successful night S elf E nhancem ent, Inc. reached a fu n d raising m ilestone O ct. 9 w hen it raised $2 m illion at its I l lh annual A rt + Soul G ala. M ore than 5(X) people packed the C en ter for S elf E n h an cem en t's g ym nasium , w hich was converted into a ballroom , for an even in g o f food, philanthropy and perform ance. O rganizers b elieve it is one o f the m ost successful single-night fund-raising events ev er held in Portland. T he results nearly double the m ore than $ I m illion record set at last y e a r 's a u c tio n , w h ich h ad s im ila r attendance. T he event w as sold out for the fifth co n secu tiv e year. The proceeds support S E I's aw ard -w in ning academ ic p rogram s for local youth, w hich have greatly ex p an d ed this y ear to include new o fferin g s such as its new ly opened ch arter school, the SE I A cadem y. SEI program s now serve m ore than 2,(XX) underserved youth and their fam ilies a n n u ally in com prehensive in-school, after-school and su m m eracad em ic program s, the highest num ber ev er served by the nearly 25-year- old nonprofit. Kids as young ase ig h t though age 25 participate in SEI program s in school, out o f school, on w eekends and vacations through a variety o f co m p reh en siv e, results- driven program s. T his year. 98 percen t o f SEI students graduated from high school and 85 percent will go on to co llege, m any on scholarship. In addition, SEI is now o n e o f P o rtlan d 's largest m inority em ployers, with 67 full-tim e and 32 part-tim e staff, as well as m ore than K XIsum m erhires. T ony H opson, founder, p resident and C E O o fS E l, was overw helm ed by the e v e n t's photo by M ark W asiiington /T iie P or i land O bserver Tony Hopson oversees Self Enhancement. Inc. at 3920 N. Kerby Ave. SEI is an award winning academic program for local youth and one o f the Portland’s largest minority employees. success, w hich greatly exceeded ex p ecta tions. "In o ur nearly 25-year history, this year m ore than ev er w e'v e stretched our resources to help a grow ing n u m b er o f youth realize their full potential." said H opson. "O u r e f forts w ould not be p ossible w ithout the help o f the local com m unity, w hich year after year continues to am aze us w ith even greater generosity and support." A s is th e tra d itio n at A rt + S o u l, the p ro g ra m p a u se d m id w a y th ro u g h th e ev e n in g to let g u ests d o n a te d ire c tly to w ard stu d en t sp o n so rsh ip s. A reco rd $ 1 .6 m illio n w as raised d u rin g th is p o rtio n o f the e v e n in g , w ith b id d in g led by lo cal b u sin ess lead e rs and p h ila n th ro p is ts , and longtim e SEI supporters H ow ard H ed in g er and E li M organ. R eturning co-chairs for the event w ere I .inda W right. V.P. and NW R egional M an ager o f US Bank, and Jan T urner o f J.T. D esigns. M ajor sponsors w ere M aybelle C lark M acdonald Fund. P rovidence H ealth System s, US Bank. M organ Fam ily F ounda tion. R om bauer V ineyards, Sil verSea C ruise L ine, and O regon Steel Mills.
