March 16. 2005 www.portlandobserver.com Committed to Cultural Diversity Jazz Returns to Portland State M etro LeRoy Virmegar opens L.V.’s Uptown' with a benefit for the university's jazz institute P o rtla n d ffibseruer See story, page B3 SECTION C B o ni ni u n i t y a le n da r Women Mentors W omen in Community Service is seeking volunteer mentors for female offenders at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility. Mentors provide support and encourage ment to women transitioning from prison back into the com munity. Mentors must be female, 24 or older. Training is provided. Call 503-570-6614 for more infor mation. Portland Children’s Museum Art Activities Portland Children’s Museum will hold a variety of art activities for children throughout the month, including mediums using mo saic, African arts and culture and garden stepping stones. For more information, call 503-223- 6500 or visit the website at www.portlandchildrensniuscTun.iMg. Used Bookstore Sale T he M u ltn o m a h C o u n ty Library ' s Title Wave Used Book store at 216 N.E. Knott St. will hold its 17lh anniversary sale all month long. Sales will change d a ily . H o u rs are M onday through Saturday from 10a.m. to 4 p.m. 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 KingJr. Blvd. For more informa- don, call 503-285-2484. Beach Clean Up Volunteers are encouraged to join th&20lb annual Great Oregon Spring Beach Cleanup sched uled for Saturday, March 19 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sign ups are encouraged at one of 42 regis tration sites all along the Oregon Coast. For more information go to www.solv.org or call 1 -800- 333-SOLV. AIDS Awareness A lbina M inisterial A lliance sponsors a bi-monthly support and education group for African A m ericans living with HIV/ AIDS at Maranatha Church at 4222 NE 12,h St. The group will meet every second and fourth Thursday of the month. For more in fo rm a tio n , call E ln ath an Hudson at 5O3-285-ÍH93 ext. 217. Women in NAACP Women in NAACP meets from 10:30a.m. to 1 p.m. the first Sat urday o f each month at the American Red Cross Building, 3131 N. Vancouver. For ques tions, call 503-249-6263. Birth Ready W hether you need childbirth preparation classes, or just a refresher. Providence Health Systems has a workshop for you. Prepare for pai n, take a weekend seminar or prepare big sisters and brothers-to-be throughout the su m m e r by v isitin g www.providence.org/classesor call 503-574-6595. Creative Space For Dance Aurora Dance Studio, 5433 N.E. 30th (at Killingsworth), offers an array of classes for children, teens and adults at all levels of ability. Call 503-249-0201 or visit online at w w w .hevanet.com / auroradance for additional in formation. Gain Computer Skills The Sun program offers a com puter class for parents at King Elementary School. To register, call503-916-6156or503-319-3425. Volunteer Option If you are looki ng for a volunteer opportunity, check out Bradley- Angle House to end domestic violence. Bilingual women and women of color are especially needed. Forinformation,call503- 282-9940. Rap artist and Portland native Bosko is reaching the top echelons o f his profession working with heavyweight performers like E-40, Limp Bizkit and Kanye West. Isoeal Isabel •Hits It Bosko propels Jus Family Records beyond Portland by K atherine K ovacich T he P ortland O bserver Bosko Kante, who usually just goes by his first name, doesn’t like to give up easily. He founded Jus Family Records in 1992 with Terrance Scott after realizing that work ing grueling day jobs w asn’t cutting it. They wanted to be, and became, their own outlet to a major label for Portland. “I was going to school studying engi neering in college and it was great, but I figured out how to make a living doing some thing I really enjoy,” Bosko said from a Los Angeles phone call. “1 went 100 percent. And it’s not something that was easy and it’s always been a struggle, but I’m strug gling doing something that I love.” Working with heavyweight performers like E-40, Limp Bizkit, Too Short and Kanye W est doesn’t seem to phase Bosko all that much. “ I never thought o f myself as being lim ited," Bosko said. “ I got a give thanks to my mom for that kind of outlook of never believ ing that I didn't have enough to make it. In a sense it was being too naive to know how difficult it was. I found a way.” The artist said he works that much harder when someone tells him he can’t achieve at something. This what has made Jus Family Records take off, landing him into new op portunities via word-of-mouth. Bosko grew up in a musical household, with his mom listening to R&B to singing in the church choir as a young boy. Bosko said he started listening to hip-hop, went onto break dancing and eventually spinning as a DJ, “making tapes and trying to be like the rappers on T.V.” His songs usually originate with his mu sic tracks, where he then builds a lyrical SIS base. “I listen to a bunch of stuff that I’ve created and it gives me a direction in terms of a mood or feeling and how to expand on it. Something that 1 want to do or thought about doing and never did and just going with it,” Bosko said. “W hen you ’ re writing, it kind of takes on a life of it’s own. Each word has to rhyme. It starts to take off and I’m watching the story unfold. It's exciting at the end o f the day what comes out.” Bosko recently celebrated the release of his latest project “That Fire,” which features E-40, DMX, Lil Jon, BubbaSparxx, Kurupt, continued on page B6 Tax Help Volunteers Figure the Numbers Program provides assistance for low- income families by K atherine K ovacich T he P ortland O bserver It's tax time again and groans can be heard all throughout Port land. But doing your taxes doesn't have to be a difficult ordeal with assistance, and could possibly mean thousands o f dollars in re funds if you play your cards right. Programs are set up all over the city to help with free guidance in figuring out the numbers, the de ductions and the exemptions that could entitle local residents to its slice of the credit pie. Earlier in February, the Oregon Tax Credit Coalition held an event at Lloyd Center that featured the Internal Revenue Service. Oregon D e p a rtm e n t of R e v en u e, Multnomah County, and A A RP’s Tax-Aide Program. On board were trained volunteer tax preparers who focused on low and moderate income individuals. About 145 people had both their federal and state taxes done for free, with the average return at $ 1,550. The event was a kick-off to make people aware of the various local sites o ffered by the co alition through 22 different public and pri vate organizations. One main push is for the aware ness of the Earned I ncome Tax Credit that many are entitled to but don t Marneet Lewis Franklin Senior on State Panel PHOTOCOl RTESY LOWELLGREATHOI SE Volunteer tax preparer Jing Chin helps a local resident file for Earned Income Tax Credits at a recent special event at Lloyd Center sponsored by the Oregon Tax Credit Coalition. know about. Last year about $73 paying the rent. For other families, million in tax credits went undeliv it may be that this becomes the resource to being saving for a new ered. car or for putting a down payment “It's called Earned Income Tax Credits for a reason,” said Lowell on a home." Lowell said $338 million in federal Greathouse, Vision Council Man earned income tax credits that came ager for United Way of Columbia back to Oregonians last year, bring W illamette, a coalition partner. “This is income they’re entitled to. ing an average of $ 1,611 per house For many families, it could be that hold. “That’s pretty significant for a they’re having to struggle to make ends meet with food, utilities and low-income family," Lowell said. “Families can receive up to $4.2(X), so for some families that’s a pretty big impact." “Tax law is com plicated and even if y ou're able to com pre hend it y o u 'd rather have som e body else do it anyw ay," said Kathy Howell. Senior Tax Spe cialist with IRS of Oregon. “ About 55 percent o f the population goes continued on page HS M arneet Lew is, a senior at Franklin High School, has been named to a state panel address ing education issues. The Youth A dvisory Team is a group o f students from all over O reg o n th at re p o rt to S tate Schools Superintendent Susan C a s tillo . “ I want to have the benefit of the advice o f a diverse group of students," C astillo said. "T his group plays an im portant role in changing and im proving public education in O regon by using their experiences as students to inform state leaders, educators, and com m unity m em bers.” L ew is. 17, is a ctiv e in m any e x tra c u rric u la r a c tiv itie s, in- continued on page H6