Committed to Cultural Diversity
www.portlandobserver.com
lanuary 18. 2006
Top Image Award Nominees
M etro
Kanye West, Alica Keys and
Mariah Carey earn four nominations
each for the NAACP Image Awards.
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See Focus, page B3
SECTION
o m m u n ity
B
C a l e n d a r
Aquatic Fitness
Providence has a full schedule of
fitness classes including water
exercising at the Providence
Aquatic Center,4805N.E.Glisan.
For a schedule, call 503-215-6301.
African Drumming, Dance
The North Star Ballroom, 635 N.
Killingsworth Ct., hosts begin­
ning drumming and Ghanaian
rhythm classes on Tuesdays at 6
p.m. On Wednesdays, intermedi­
ate
d ru m m in g
is offered in addition to an Afri­
can aerobics and dance. Chata
Addy teaches all classes. For
more information call 503-632-
0411.
Business Meeting
North/Northeast Business As­
sociation meetings are on the first
Monday of each month from 6 to
8 p.m. at AlbinaCommunity Bank.
2002 N.E. Martin Luther King
Blvd. Morning networking meet­
ings are the third Wednesday of
each month from 7:30to9a.m . at
the Blazers Boys and Girls Club,
5250 N.E. Martin Luther King
Blvd.
Work Against Abuse
Community Advocates invites
those interested in protecting
children from abuse to become
an event volunteer, event out­
reach, technology expert, graphic
artists or office support team
member. For more information,
call 503-280-1388.
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 503-285-4499.
Swimming Lessons
Portland Parks and Recreation
offers swimming lessons for all
ages and skill levels year round at
the Columbia, Dishman, MLC,
Mt. Scott and Southwest Com­
munity Center pools. For rates
and information, call 503-823-
5130.
Free College Outreach
The first Saturday of each month,
from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. high school
students will be helped to pre­
pare for college at the Matt
Dishman Community Center, 77
N.E. Knott St., through the ef­
forts of Oregon State University.
Red Cross Teaches Safety
The American Red Cross offers a
range of safety classes for crisis
situations, from learning how to
baby sit to performing CPR. The
courses are intended for children
aged 8 through adult. For more
information visit www.redcross-
pdx.org.
Women in NAACP
Women in NAACP meets from
10:30a.m. to 1 p.m. the first Satur­
day of each month at the Ameri­
can Red Cross Building, 3131 N.
Vancouver. For questions, call
503-249-6263.
Parenting Classes
Newborns don’t come with in­
struction manuals but parents
and parents-to-be can attend
c la sse s th ro u g h P ro v id en ce
Health Systems to learn about a
variety of topics from pain and
childbirth to breastfeeding to in­
fant CPR and much more. For a
schedule of events, call 503-574-
6595 or v isit w w w .p ro v i­
dence.org./classes.
years »,
•^community service
I
photo by
M ark W ashington AT he P ortland O bserver
Minority students and women enrolled at 0HSU find mentoring and financial help at the medical school's Center for Diversity and Multicultural Affairs.
First Generation Students Excel
Diversity center helps out
in stitu tio n ’s C enter for D iversity and
M ulticultural A ffairs director.
A lot o f these students com e from av­
erage income homes, with 30 percent of
them being African A m ericans, 36 per­
cent Hispanics, 7 percent Vietnamese, and
by K haya D arko
T he P ortland O bserver
First generation m inority students and
women are excelling at Oregon Health
Science University in southw est Port­
land, according to Lesley G arcia, the
7 percent from the Ukraine and Russia.
Sixty-four percent of the students are fe­
male, said Garcia.
The center is working hard at ensuring
that these students succeed at their goals
by assisting them in many ways possible,
from fin a n c e , g u id a n c e , le a d e rsh ip ,
mentoring and more.
G arcia said without the special pro­
grams OHSU offers, under privileged stu­
dents destined for medical professions
such as doctors and nurses would not be
able to com plete their education.
The parents of many minority students
continued
on page 116
Popular Restaurateur Shares Insight
Kicks off sweat
equity series
A nita "M iss A nita” Sm ith, founder o f north­
east Portland’s nationally recognized restaurant
and catering spot, Hannah B ea’s Poundcake and
More, will headline the first installm ent o f Black
Entrepreneurs o f Clark C ounty’s Sweat Equity
Series, a quarterly program featuring success­
ful businesspeople with lessons to share.
The free meeting, held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
T hursday, Jan. 26. at Clark Public U tilities
com m unity room, 1200 Fort V ancouver W ay in
Vancouver, will feature com plim entary samples
o f S m ith ’s b e stse llin g c la ssic and lem on
poundcakes.
From obstacles and risks to m entors and
trium phs, all topics are on the table as Smith
discusses her experiences and answ ers ques­
tions on entrepreneurship, food-industry chal­
lenges and business instincts en route to cel­
ebrating her culinary co m p a n y ’s upcom ing
fourth anniversary.
Sm ith’s confections and southern savory cre­
ations have drawn national attention, including a
visit from newsm an, author and television per­
sonality Al Roker for an O ctober 2004 segment
o f Food N etw ork's Roker on the Road.
Black Entrepreneurs o f Clark County, a free
m onthly business round table and netw orking
group, offers contacts, fellow ship and the ex­
change o f expertise and ideas. All are w elcom e
regardless o f race, residence or business.
The grow ing group, averaging monthly atten­
dance o f nearly 40 entrepreneurs, executives and
prom inent leaders, has heeded the call to fill a
longstanding need, w orking to expand em pow ­
erm ent and close opportunity gaps.
Please RS VP to Shareefah A bdullah, president
o f Hot O vations Com m unications C oaching &
T r a in in g
C o.
at
3 6 0 -6 0 4 -8 5 8 3
or
shareefah@ hotovations.com .
Hannah Beas Poundcake and More owner
Anita Smith and her mom, Hannah Jo
Johnson, the person who inspired her.
■■■■ I
New Investment for Better Health on Interstate
Kaiser opens cancer treatment center
photo by I saiah
B olie /T he P ortland O bserver
Kaiser Permanente has made a $27 million investment on its North Interstate Avenue campus
with a new Radiation Oncology Center (above) and 298-car garage that sits behind the facility.
t
Kaiser Perm anente is now
treating cancer patients who need
radiation at its new Interstate
Radiation Oncology Center, .3620
N. Interstate Ave.
Inside the 17,000-square-foot
building, patients are treated
with any of three linear accel­
erators that use com puter as­
sistance to precisely deli ver high
doses of radiation in tightly fo­
cused beams to control and kill
cancer cells. Prior to the new
facility, Kaiser patients need­
ing radiation had been sent to
Legacy Emanuel Hospital &
Health Center.
The new facility brings radia­
tion treatment to the same cam­
pus where cancer patients also
receive other outpatient services,
such as groupand individual coun­
seling, pharmacy and chem o­
therapy.
About 80 cancer patients a day
will be treated at the new facility.
The center and a 298-car ga­
rage represent a $27 million in­
vestment in Kaiser's Interstate
m edical cam pus, w here the
healthcare organization’s other
outpatient cancer care services,
such as chemotherapy and coun­
seling. are also provided.