Committed to Cultural Diversity
m w . port landobserver. com
February IS. 2 0 0 6
Portland Jazz History
M etro
Fan base explodes during North
Williams Avenue golden years
See story inside, page B2
JJortlanb O bserver
SECTION
/^ o m m u n ity
C a le n d a r
Reaching for the Stars
Ockley Green School Night
Ockley Green School will host an
Inform ation N ight T hursday,
Feb. 23 at 6:30 p.m . Learn about
opportunities for students and
how to reg ister for 2006-07
school year. School tours take
place Feb. 23 at 1:30 p.m. and
M archôat 10a.m .For more infor
m ation, call the school at 503-
916-5660.
O’Jays Bring Soul Music
Tickets are now on sale for the
O ’Jays with the original M an-
hattans, featuring G erald Alston
and W infred “Blue" Lovett com
in g M a rc h 23 to th e R o se
Q uarter’s T heater o f the Clouds.
Tickets are $34.50 - $47.50 plus
service charge. For m ore infor
mation, call 203-224-4400
Tour de France
on OMNIMAX
W ired T o Win: Surviving the
T o u rd e France opens M arch 3 at
O regon M useum o f Science and
Industry (OM SI), 1945S.E. W a
ter Ave. For m ore inform ation,
call 503-797-4640.
Work Against Abuse
Com m unity A dvocates invites
those interested in protecting
children from abuse to becom e
an event volunteer, event out
reach, technology expert, graphic
artists or office support team
m em ber. For m ore inform ation,
call5O3-28O-1388.
B
Local talent signs record deal
Ralesha Boswell, a young
hip-hop star from Portland, has
signed a record contract with a
company backed by entertain
ment giant Sean ’P D iddy’
Combs.
Boswell. 17, will join her
first cousins and their group
Myxx in Atlanta, Ga. to record
under the First Lucky Label, an
enterprise backed by Combs,
rap star Ludacris and Bad Boy
Records, family members said.
The Gresham High School
student and daughter of Rose
and C harles Lott has long
Ralesha Boswell
dreamed of being a Hollywood
Her repertoire includes song,
performer. She started singing
as a little girl when her father put dance, rapping and mime. She
and her mother are well known
a microphone in front of her.
Expressions
On
for performing together in Port
land over the past few years.
Combs is one of the biggest
record producers and rappers
in the entertainment industry.
He is also known for his talent
in nurturing young hip-hop
stars and recently started a tal
ent search show “Making of
the Band" via his Bad Boy En
tertainment Co.
Hip-hop sensation Ralesha
Boswell s entertainm ent
repertoire includes perfor
m an ces in m im e during local
church services. The 1 7-year-
old has signed a deal with a
record com pany backed by
entertainm ent mogul Sean ‘P
Diddy' Combs.
from
Young Katrina Survivors
NE ALBE RIA
Creative Space For Dance
A urora Dance Studio, 5433 N.E.
30th, offers an array o f classes
for children, teens and adults at
all levelsof ability. Call 503-249-
0 201 o r v is it o n lin e at
w w w .hevanet.com /auroradance
for more inform ation.
Women in
Community Service
V olunteer m entors are being
sought by W om en in C om m u
nity Service to w ork with incar
cerated w om en at the Coffee
Creek Correctional Facility. M en
tors provide support and encour
agement for women transitioning
from prison back into the com
m unity. V olunteers m ust be fe
m ales, age 24 and up. For more
information, call 503-570-6614.
Bradley-Angle House
T h e B r a d le y - A n g le H o u se
needs volunteers to help its o ut
reach against dom estic violence.
W om en o f color and bilingual
w om en are encouraged to call.
For more inform ation, call 503-
282-9940.
Aquatic Fitness
Providence has a full schedule
o f fitness classes including w a
ter exercising at the Providence
Aquatic Center,4805 N.E. Glisan.
Fora schedule,call 503-215-6301.
African Drumming, Dance
The North Star Ballroom. 635 N.
Killingsw orth C t„ hosts begin
ning drum m ing and G hanaian
rhythm classes on Tuesdays at
6 p.m. On W ednesdays, interm e
diate drum m ing is offered in ad
dition to an African aerobics and
dance. C hata Addy teaches all
classes. For more information call
503-6324W I1.
Birth Ready
W hether you need childbirth
preparation classes, or ju st a re
fresher, Providence H ealth Sys
tem s has a w orkshop for you.
Prepare for pain, take a weekend
sem inar or prepare hig sisters
and brothers-to-be throughout
th e s u m m e r by v is itin g
w w w .providence.org/classes or
call 503-574-6595.
years»,
•Scommunity service
Celebrating
black history in
the making
A rtistic expressions from children
who m oved to Portland from the hurri
cane and flood ravaged G u lf C oast will
be on display during the monthly event
known as Last Thursday on Alberta Street.
The Black United Fund o f O regon. 2828
N.E. A lberta St., invites area residents to
stop by their offices T hursday, Feb. 23 be
tw een 5:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. to see the
paintings from the young victim s o f the
storm.
H urricane Katrina devastated the G ulf
C oast in late August. T housands o f people
lost everything they had and evacuees spread
out across the country in search o f relief.
M ore than 800 hurricane survivors eventu
ally found their way to Portland, one way or
another.
In O ctober, about 200 o f the survivors
gathered at M att D ishm an C om m unity C en
ter i n northeast Port land for a pri vate e veni ng
o f relaxation and support. The event in
cluded m usic, dancing, sw im m ing, basket
ball, food, erafts and com m unity resource
representatives.
There was also a mural project o rga
nized by artist and art therapist Ilia Gutman.
All ages o f survivors em braced the idea
and several huge canvases cam e alive with
inspiration and paint.
Four m urals representing "F am ily ",
continued
on page B3
Amalia Alarcon Tackles Community Issues
Leads neighborhood
agency in transition
b o rh o o d s each.
O N I has added program s
over the years, including crime
prevention, neighborhood in
by S arah B lount
spections and neighborhood
T he P ortland O bserver
m ediation. Now they are ex
Portland’s natives and new com ers are
am ining w hat program s to
becom ing increasingly fam iliar with density
keep and what their future role
and diversity, so it was fitting for A m alia
will he.
A larcon, a Puerto Rican native and com m u
“ In the next year the bureau
nity developm ent veteran, to jo in the O ffice
stan d s to ch an g e d ra m a ti
o f N e ig h b o rh o o d In v o lv em en t as the
cally," Alarcon said. “ONI has
b ureau's interim director.
th e p o te n tia l to m o d e l a
A larcon brin g s 20 y ears o f relevant
“g ro u n d -u p "
ap p ro a ch .
experience in com m unity m obilization. She
W e’re trying to redesign the
w as ap p o in ted tem p o rary d ire c to r last
system to m ake it a m ore w el
m onth by M ayo r Tom P o tter as the city
com e part for folks who aren ’ t
se arch es for a p erm an en t d irec to r they
norm ally engaged."
hope to have in p lace by July. A larcon is
Alarcon said theirapproach
one o f several ca n d id a tes cu rren tly u nder
m ust be tailored to suit the
c o n sid e ra tio n .
n e e d s o f ra c e , c la s s an d
O N I, the liaison between P ortland's 95
ethnicity while identifying dif
neighborhoods and city governm ent, runs a
ferences between renters and
num ber o f program s that tackle issues o f
hom eow ners. She cited her
land-use, transportation, crim e prevention
self as an exam ple.
photo by M ark W ashington ZT he P ortland O bserv er
and livability.
Amalia Alarcon (second from left) leads the Office o f Neighborhood Involvement with John
“ I’m a Latina single mom
Alarcon has been with the City o f Port
Canda (far left) o f the Northeast Coalition, Alison Stoll (far right) o f Central Northeast, and
with tw o kids and a full-tim e
land since 1999, as form er program manager
Michael Kersting (second from right), ONI financial analyst.
jo b ," she said.
o f O N I's M etropolitan Human Rights and
About 60 people make up
N eighborhood Resource Centers. She has
A larcd n 's new position com es at a turn helped her grasp Potter’s plans to restruc the ONI staff, but volunteers m ake up the
lived in O regon for 14 years, focusing on
ing point forO N I. The agency is an important
ture O N I.
p rogram ’s core.
prevention and advocacy issues within the factor w ithin M ayor Potter visioning pro
E stab lish ed in 1974, O N I's initial role
Tom G rilfin-Valade is the director o f North
state s com m unities o f color. Prior to m ov cess, as he is charging the city bureau to
w as to p ro v id e o v ersig h t and d isp e rse
Portland N ctghhorhixxl Services O ffice, one
ing to the state, Alarcon ran a program in place more em phasis on com m unity input
m oney to P o rtlan d n eig h b o rh o o d s. Now
o f the city ’s volunteer coalitions. O ver the
New York for children with HIV, an experi and involvem ent. Alarcon said her long
O N I o v erse es seven d istric t co a litio n s,
continued
on page US
ence she described as a crisis operation.
standing relatio n sh ip w ith activ ists has
w ho in turn o v ersee about a dozen neigh-