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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 8, 2004)
Committed to Cultural Diversity D ecem b er 8. 2 0 0 4 M etro 'ri" JJorttanö © hseruer Voices of the City Local authors share their latest works at this Write Around Port land event from 6:30to8:30p.ni. Thursday, Dec. 9 at First Con gregational Church, 1126 S.W. Park Ave. For ore information, call 503-796-9224. Kwanzaa at Kaiser The A frican A m erican schol a r s h ip p ro g ra m at K a is e r Perm anente for high school se niors will benefit from the 8,h annual K aiser K w anzaa C e l ebration, Friday, Dec. 10 from 6 p.m . to 8 p.m. at the K aiser Tow n Hall, 3704 N. Interstate Ave. Featured entertainm ent in c lu d e s th e A ndy S to k es Band, Kids o f K w anzaa, story teller A skari, and gospel choir Genesis. Healthy soul food will be served. T ickets are av ail able by calling 503-813-4500. The all-new Interstate Fred Meyer store opens to extremely heavy crowds and busy cash registers as area residents flock to get re-aquainted with a northeast Portland institution. Crowds Jam New Fred Meyer P hotos by T roy K yles for THE P ortland O bserver Yuletide Celebration P o rtlan d ’s new est holiday tra dition is attending the O regon S y m phony’s B roadw ay-style Y uletide C elebration at the A rlene S chnitzerC oncert Hall with tap-dancing Santas from Dec. 17 through 21. T ickets range from $29 to $72. For tick ets, call 503-228-1353 or 800- 228-7343. Revel in the Holidays Portland Revels present the 2004 Christmas Stage Show through Dec. 12 with matinee and evening shows available. Tickets range from $20 to $25 with discounts for seniors and students. For tickets, call 503-274-4654 or visit www.portlandrevels.org. Bazaar for Pets Find unique, crafty gifts at the Oregon Humane Society’s Holi day Craft Bazaar from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Dec. 11 and noon to 6 p.m. on Dec. 12 at l()67N .E.Co lumbia Blvd. For more informa tion, call 503-285-7722 or visit www.oregonhumane.org. Get Schooled Learn how to help to improve schools and jobs at a forum with State Superintendent of Public Instruction Susan Castillo and President o f Oregon’s AFL-CIO Tim Nesbitt at 7 p.m. Jan. 13 at the Hollywood Senior Center, 1820 N.E. 4O‘\ Free and spon sored by the Multnomah County Democratic Party. Get Fit, 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. Creative Space For Dance Aurora Dance Studio, 5433 N.E 30th (at Ki llings worth ), offers an array o f classes for children teens and adults at all levels of ability. Call 5O3-249-O2OI or visit online at w w w .hevanet.com / auroradance for additional in formation. Work For Change Com m unity Advocates invite 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. call5O3-28O-l388. 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-be throughout the su m m e r by v isitin g w w w.providence.org/classesor call 503-574-6595. Community gets reacquainted with local institution An impressive new Fred M eyer store has opened to huge crowds at North Interstate and Lombard. The Interstate Fred M eyer store is re claiming its place as a dominating force in local retail with a two-story, 150,000 square foot replacement store at the same location it has served area neighborhoods for de cades. The Interstate store opened Dec. 1 with lines of new isles choked with customers and parking lots jam m ed with cars. Fred M eyer is a local institution in Portland’s inner city neighborhoods. The grocery, apparel, home electronics and jew elry chain outlet was started by the late Fred Meyer who dominated the grocery busi ness in Portland with his one-stop shopping centers. The grand opening celebration opened Prison Book Project Begins with a salute to the community and support for local non-profits. “Because customers come first at Fred Meyer, the company tradition for opening day is to have acake-cutting ceremony rather than a ribbon cutting,” said Scott Miller, Interstate store director. By vacating North M ontana A venue on the east edge o f the Interstate site and building a tw o-level replacem ent store, Fred M eyer was able to add nearly 30.000 square feet to its form er store, increasing it from 121,000 square feet in two b u ild ings to 150,000 square feet in one build- Because customers come first at Fred Meyer, the company tradition for opening day is to have a cake-cutting ceremony rather than a ribbon cutting, — Scott Miller, Interstate Fred Meyer store director The company demonstrated support for local residents by donating $5,0(XJ to the U rban L eag u e o f P o rtlan d N o rth east Multicultural SeniorCenter, EmmanuelCom- munity Services, North Portland Nurse Prac- titionerClinic. Educate- Ya, Albina Head Start and the Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center. mg. The new store is sim ilar to the two-level W ood V illage Fred M eyer store near Gresham. G roceries, health and beauty care, home electronics, seasonal, hom e décor, furni ture, bed and bath, appliances, toys, sport- ing goods, autom otive, hom e im p ro v e ment, garden, and a pharm acy with a drive- up window are located on the first floor. Apparel, shoes, and books and m aga zines surrounding a Starbucks coffee bar are on a second-floor mezzanine. A separate 9,000-square-foot commercial building faces Lombard. The cost o f the project, including dem o lition, construction, fixtures, and equipment, was approximately $ 19 million. Eighty em ployees returned to Interstate Fred Meyer, after working at other locations during the 11 months o f dem olition and construction. In total the store will have more that 200employees, many are new hires that live in the neighborhood. Fred Meyer Stores is headquartered in Portland. Oregon and operates 130 m ulti department stores in Oregon, Washington, Alaska, and Idaho that offer one-stop shop ping for a wide range o f food, apparel, and general merchandise. Fred M eyer is a divi sion o f The Kroger Co., which is one o f the largest grocery retail chains in the United States. Afrocentric Books Find New Home S B ooks to O rego n P ris o n e rs” is a new co m m u n ity ed u c a tio n in itia tiv e that b eg in s w ith a S atu rd ay D ec. 4 g ran d o p en in g o f the A fro c e n tric R e fle c tio n s M irro r-Im ag e B o o k sto re at 330 N. K illin g sw o rth St. T he p ro jec t en c o u rag es area re s i d en ts to o rd e r books for fam ily and frie n d s in c a rc e ra te d in the O reg o n priso n system . U ntil now , the on ly w ay to send b o o k s to p eo p le in c a rc e ra te d in sta te p riso n s w as by o rd e rin g them th r o u g h A m a z o n .c o m or " . ; ^ ^ £ . 7 ***<"»♦ P o w e lls.c o m . F or m any w o rk in g - cla ss p eo p le, th is o p tio n w as o u t o f the p ictu re. “B o o k s to O re g o n P ris o n e r s ” has s o lic ite d d o n a tio n s o f new books from p u b lish ers and d is trib u tors and fo r a $5 su g g e ste d d o n a tion, an y o n e can se le c t tw o boo k s from a sp e cia l R e fle c tio n s M irro r- Im age B o o k sto re c a ta lo g an d have them sent to an in c a rc e ra te d frie n d P hoto by M ark W ashington / T he P ortland O bserver o r fam ily m em ber. U.B. Hill opens his Reflections Mirror-Image bookstore at 330 N.Killingsworth. BOOKSTORE Reflections Mirror-Image moves near library by J aymee R. C ir r i T he P ortland O bserver O.B. Hill is ready to settle down. A Iter a year of packing and relocating— twice__ Reflections M irror-Image Bookstore moved to a permanent location at 330 N. Killingsworth, just one block east o f the North Portland Library. The Afrocentric bookstore and com m unity cen ter will continue to be a magnet for cultural events such as speakers, arts exhibits, book clubs and a new Books to Oregon Prisoners program. "There’s nothing like being literate and informed and that’s what books do," said Hill. "They open up a vista o f possibilities for people." H ill’s store is no longer affiliated with Reflec tions Coffeehouse and Talking Drum Bookstore. That »tore, on Killingsworth at M artin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in the Walnut Park retail center, is ow ned and operated by Gloria McMurtry. Hill most recently moved his bookstore from a house, also on Killingworth, at G arfield, which he says he viewed as a temporary space after the continued yf on page R6
