June 22, 2005
www.portlandobserver.com
Committed to Cultural Diversity
C h a m p io n to H I V
M etro
Positive Patients
Dentists at Russell Street Clinic
serve community
®l’c ^Jortlanb (Obseruer
years
•S community service
See story, page B3
SECTION
C
o m m u n it y
a l e n cl a r
Hoops
Art Camp Help Needed
H igher Stages Arts A cadem y, a
su m m e r sc h o o l th a t te a c h e s
dram a, com puter graphics and
video arts, is seeking volunteers
that have experience w orking with
youth. C ontact Suzanne M arsh
at 5 0 3 -2 8 8 -5 3 2 0 o r em ail at
whitakerhigherstages@hotmail.com
'«Growing
Bodiesand Minds
AIDS Camp Support Sought
C am p Starlight is a program o f
C ascade AID S that provides chil­
dren affected by H IV /A IDS the
opportunity to enjoy a caring,
safe, recreational cam ping experi­
ence. T he cam p starts at the end
o f A ugust, but volunteer cam p
co u n selo rs and d o n atio n s are
needed now. Call 503-223-5907 or
visit w w w .cascadeaids.org
Inexpensive summer
basketball clinics
offered for youth
Good in the Neighborhood
T his year’s m ulticultural “G ood
in the N eighborhood” festival will
take place on Saturday, June 25
from noon to 9:30 p.m. and Sun­
day, June 26 from noon to 7:45
p.m. at King School Park on the
4800 block o f N ortheast Sixth
A venue. International m usic, arts
and crafts, food and m ore will be
featured at the free event. For
m o re
in f o r m a tio n ,
v is it
www.goodintheneighborhood.org.
Poetry Reading
Bold Sky C afé, 3943 N. M issis­
sippi St., will feature acclaim ed
w riters Dan Raphael, Christyne
Sisk and L yssa Tall A nolik on
Thursday, June 2 9 at7 :3 0 p .m .F o r
m ore inform ation, call 503-287-
0154 or visit w w w .bold-sky.com .
Summer Play Days
AU sum m er long com e jo in other
fam ilies in Irving Park every
W ednesday at 10 a. m. to gather
with W aldorf School oriented and
inspired families who wish to play,
snack and get w et in the new
w aterplay area. F orm ore inform a­
tio n , c o n ta c t w w w .s h in in g
starschool.com .
Bradley-Angle House
T he Bradley-A ngle H ouse needs
volunteers to help its outreach
a g a in s t d o m e s tic v io le n c e .
W om en o f color and bilingual
w om en are encouraged to call.
For m ore inform ation, call 503-
282-9940.
Women Mentors
W om en in Com m unity Service are
seeking volunteer mentors for fe­
male offenders at Coffee Creek
Correctional Facility. M entors pro­
vide support and encouragem ent
to women transitioning from prison
back into the com munity. M entors
must be female, 24 or older. Train­
ing is provided. Call 503-570-6614
for more inform ation.
Get Fit, Stay Healthy!
Sankofaa H ealth Institute offers a
free diabetes support group from
6 to 7:30 p.m. every third T hurs­
day at A lberta Sim m ons Plaza,
6707 N.E. M artin Luther King Jr.
Blvd. For m ore inform ation, call
503-285-2484.
Women in NAACP
W om en in N A A C P m eets from
10:30a.m . to I p.m. the first Satur­
day o f each m onth at the A m eri­
can Red C ross Building, 3131 N.
V ancouver. For questions, call
503-249-6263.
Humboldt Celebration
C om e get to know your neigh­
bors and enjoy this event spon­
sored by O ur U nited V illages. In
addition to food and fun, local
storyteller-drum m er Askari will
p e rfo rm a lo n g w ith s in g e r-
songw riter C hris G abriel. Local
bu sinesses have d o nated food
for this event. The celebration
will be held on W ednesday, June
29 at the North Star Ballroom lo­
cated at 635 N K illingsw orth CT.
at 5 p.m. T his event is free and all
ages arc w elcome. For more infor­
m ation contact C orinna Buchholz
at 503-546-7499 or corinna@ our
unitedvillages.org
B
photo by
M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver
First Step Sports Academy Coach E.J. Perm and a few o f the many basketball players that visited the
academy's first basketball session last week at Irving Park in northeast Portland.
Family Fun Days at Irving Park
K atherine B lackmore
T he P ortland O bserver
Local fam ilies w ill attend a series
o f Fam ily Fun D ays at Irving Park in
n o rth ea st P ortlan d th is sum m er,
sp o n so red by F irst S tep S p o rts
A cadem y, the N ortheast C oalitions
o f N eighborhoods, Portland Parks
and Recreation and other support­
ers.
Each Friday afternoon from July
15 to Aug. 5, parents, grandparents,
by
aunts, uncles, cousins, siblings and
everyone else under the sun are in­
vited to leam about issues like health,
com m unity housing and local ser­
vices. H ealth check-up clinics, p am ­
phlets and not-profit representatives
will be on hand.
Johnny G age, a volunteer w ith the
O regon Action project, said the infor­
mation and services w ould help many
parents leam about resources they
never knew existed. He said it’s also
an opportunity to reach more fam i­
lies w ho need help.
E x p ectatio n s for the park are
raised as well.
The com m unity is taking owner­
ship o f the park. Gage said, letting
others know that gangs, violence and
drugs aren’t welcome at Irving. Al­
ready, h e 's noted the absence o f four-
letter w ords and people lighting up
cigarettes. The atmosphere is respect­
ful.
by K atherine B lackmore
T he P ortland O bserver
It’s a sunny day, the first sign
that sum m er is here and school is
out for a stretch. The Irving Park
basketball co u rts in n o rth east
Portland are filled with young boys
and girls, half the size o f their
coaches, running back and forth
from one hoop to the other, hop­
ing for a shot.
First Step Sports A cadem y is
giving them that shot, with b as­
ketball clinics for children at a
mere $8 a week. Com pared to the
average cost o f a basketball clinic
at $90 a week, it’s obvious that the
academ y isn 't in it for the m oney.
“It ju st cam e out o f having an
affordable clinic,” said Coach E. J .
Penn.
The program is necessary for
inner-city children who c a n 't af­
ford the exclusivity and expense
o fo th erclin ics. It’s necessary not
only for their grow ing bodies, but
for their growing minds.
“The kids needed som ething
to do with the school budget cuts.
The third, fourth and fifth graders
are being left out. W e w anted to
give them som ething at a young
age, to keep them involved in­
stead o f ju st playing N intendos,”
Penn said.
For kids like D avid Jackson-
Lyday, 10, basketball m eans the
world - and having the chance to
play in a co ntrolled en viron­
m ent o ver the sum m er is im ­
perative.
“ I love basketball. A lot o f
my fam ily m em bers play. It
m akes m e feel better,” Jackson-
Lyday said.
T he A ll-A m eric an Y outh
B asketball C linic is entirely a
com m unity effort, m ade up o f
v o lu n te e rs fro m F irs t S tep
S p o rts A ca d em y , N o rth e a st
C oalition o f N eighborhoods,
Inc., Youth E m ploym entC enter
and others. W hile jersey s, park
use and basketballs w ere p ro ­
vided by the Portland Parks and
R e c re a tio n , fu n d in g c o m e s
c o m p le te ly fro m n e ig h b o rs
w anting their children to see a
better life.
“W e w ant m ore kids to have
an effect on the com m unity.
T hese kids are at a vulnerable
stage in their lives w here they
leam good o r bad. W e w ant to
take advantage o f that by in­
stilling g ood,” Penn said.
The coaches use basketball
simply as a tool for inner growth,
presenting a different them e
each w eek for the children to
strive for. Som e ideas include
discipline, sharing, attitude and
respect.
“W e w atch th em on the
continued
on page B6
Libraries Offer
Summer Reading
Games encourage literacy
Turn off the T.V. this summer and
keep reading ! C h ild ren and teens
throughout Multnomah County can now
visit any Multnomah County Library lo­
cation to sign up for the annual Summer
Reading program. Last year, more than
47,000 children and teens participated.
An active summer reading schedule is
a proven activity that narrow s the
achievement gap between more and less
economically advantaged students, ac­
cording to Katie O ’Dell, the library
system 's reading promotions coordina­
tor.
“Our outreach staff will bring the Sum­
mer Reading program to federal lunch
sites, housing authority locations and
low-income childcare centers. We’re
going to reach far out beyond the library
walls into the communities where par­
ticipating in a summer reading program
is not a tradition, not even a known
possibility,” O ’Dell said.
The program, which is structured as a
game, encourages players to read and earn
incentives for each block of time they
read. Youth of all ages, including very
young children who are being read to by a
parent or caregiver, can participate.
Teens can enroll in a separate pro­
gram this year that was designed just for
them.
For more information, visit the library's
website at www.multcolib.org/summer/.
A listing of free summer programs at the
library is available at www.multcolib.org/
events/.
The new Club Level o f the Rose Garden Arena will include two luxurious lounges with plasma televisions, couches
and bars reserved for Club Level season ticket holders.
Rose Garden Arena Gets Facelift
Improvements
planned for
seating, lounges
The Rose G arden A rena will take on a
new look soon, with im provem ents being
m ade across the board to seating and
lounge areas.
G lobal Spectrum , the new ow ner o f the
arena, recently announced that phase one
o f the upgrades begins next month to the
Courtside Lounge, the Club Level, the
Suite Level and the back of house prepa­
ration facilities.
In sid e th e are n a bow l, new sp o rts
lig h tin g w ill be ad d ed to en h an ce T rail
B lazer g am es an d o th e r sporting events.
A p p ro x im ately 10,000 b in o cu lars w ill
be in stalled u n d er individual seats in
the C lu b L ev el, S u ite Level and 300
Level.
“T his sum m er is the start of a program
o f renovations that will continue in the
years to com e as we strive to return the
Rose G arden to the top o f the echelon in
the industry. O ur im provem ents are both
physical and conceptual.” said M ichael
Scanlon, general m anager o f the Rose
Quarter.
O ne o f the w o rld ’s m ost w ell r e ­
sp ected and creativ e sp o rts a rc h ite c ­
tural firm s, B risbin B rook B eynon, has
been selected for the aren a ren o v atio n .
B eynon is c u rre n tly o v e rse e in g the
m assive renovation o f M adison S quare
G arden in N ew Y ork C ity and w as also
resp o n sib le fo r the acclaim ed aren a
ren o v atio n s in C alg ary and E dm onton
in C an ad a, as w ell as the new , state-o f-
th e-art facilities in T o ro n to , C anada,
H elsinki, F in lan d , and H am burg. G e r­
m any.
C lub l^evel im provem ents are planned
to in clu d e tw o lu x u rio u s clu b lounges
on the east and w est sid es o f the Rose
G ard en featu rin g all-in clu siv e food s ta ­
tio n s d u rin g all T rail B lazers gam es.
I
;
T h is level w ill b e “g u tte d and strip p ed
o f its ex istin g lo o k " an d tran sfo rm ed
in to a m odern are a ex c lu siv e to C lu b
Level S eason T icket h o ld ers w ith plasm a
te le v isio n s, co u c h e s, lo u n g es, c a rp e t­
ing. and bars.
O v atio n s F o o d S erv ice s, the c o n c e s­
sio n a ire fo r the R ose Q u arte r, is e x ­
p an d in g the fo o d o p tio n s that w ill be
featu red at the C lu b L evel fo o d sta tio n s
to in clu d e m enu item s ty p ic a lly fo u n d
at lavish resta u ran ts in ad d itio n to sta n ­
d ard are n a fare.
P lan n ed co u rtsid e im p ro v e m en ts in ­
clu d e the d em o litio n o f the ex istin g
C o u rtsid e L ou n g e an d co n stru c tio n o f
a new 5 .5 0 0 sq u are feet p riv ate c lu b on
the ev en t level w ith easy ac cess for
co u rtsid e g u ests at T rail B lazers g am es
an d a v a ila b ility fo r V IP fu n c tio n s
th ro u g h o u t th e year.
T he co n stru c tio n w ill not affect any
ev en t at the R ose G ard en and all ev en ts
an d m e e tin g s re m a in s c h e d u le d as
p lan n ed .