Committed to Cultural Diversity
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BLACK.
_____ WHITE
M etro
Families Swap
Race in TV
Reality Series
2'1?e ^lo rttan ò © bseruer
Kells St. Patrick’s Party
C elebrate at the c ity ’s largest St.
P atrick’s Day festival at Kells
Irish Restaurant and Pub. Three
ja m -p a c k e d d a y s o f D ublin
bands, prizes, and authentic Irish
dishes. Festival kicks off at 11:30
a.m. on Friday. March 17 through
Sunday M arch 19 at Kells, 112
S.W . 2nd Ave.
Anti-War Peace Rally
Mobi I i ze agai n st the w ar to mark
three years since the Iraq inva­
sion. A netw ork o f over 125 o r­
ganizations issues call to action
for a m arch and rally on Sunday.
M arch 19 at W aterfront Park.
G ather at 1:30p.m . Event begins
at 2 p.m.
Minority Networking
O regon A ssociation o f M inor­
ity Entrepreneurs (OA M E) Busi­
ness A fter H ours Q uarterly N et­
w orking event. Thursday, March
16 from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the
O A M E Cascade Plaza, 4134 N.
V ancouver Ave. Cost is $5 m em ­
bers, $ 10 nonmembers. For more
inform ation, call Patricia G arcia
at 503-249-7744.
W here does a chipm unk sleep?
O regon M useum o f Science and
Industry (O M SI) provides an­
sw ers in a new exhibit. Features
text panels in English and Span-
ish.O M SI, 1945 S.E. W ater Ave.
For more inform ation call 503-
797-OMSK6674).
Right to Choose
D efend L ovejoy S urgicenter,
protecting a w om an’s right to
choose. Show support for cli­
ents and staff o f the w om en's
h e a lth c e n te r on S a tu rd a y ,
March 18,8:30a.m .M eet at north­
w e st c o r n e r o f N o rth w e s t
Lovejoy and 25,h Ave. C ontact
Radical Women at 503-240-4462.
Get Wet at City Parks
All March, spring break extended
h o u rs at C o lu m b ia , M a tt
D ishm an, Mt. Scott and South­
w est C om m unity C enter pools.
Open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. with
open sw im tim es starting at 1
p.m. R egister for spring classes
by calling Portland Parks and
Recreation at 503-823-5130.
Courageous Moms
Seminar
Rick Johnson will present C ou­
rageous M oms: Raising Boys to
Becom e G ood M en. M arch 18,9
a m. to noon at Parkrose High
School and C om m unity Center,
12003 N.E. ShaverSt. C hildcare
and activities for kids provided.
C ost is free. To register call 503-
6 6 5 -3 7 6 1
or
e -m a il
rick@ betterdads.net.
Parenting Classes
N ew borns d o n 't com e with in­
struction m anuals but parents
and parents-to-be can attend
c la s s e s th ro u g h P ro v id e n c e
Health System s to learn about a
variety o f topics from pain and
childbirth to breastfeeding to
infantC PR and much more. F ora
schedule o f events, call 503-574-
6595
or
v is it
w w w .providence.org./classes.
Relay For Life
Local residents unite to fight
against cancer through Relay For
Life. Team s o f eight to 15 people
will cam p at Portland Christian
School and take turns jogging or
walking around the track on Aug.
5 and 6. For more inform ation,
visit http://acs.kintera.org/relay/
o r /n e p o r tla n d . o r c o n ta c t
H eather Sayah at 503-795-3971.
years
J
see page B3, inside
Crossing Cultures
Excursions build
friendships, confidence
An innovative club is helping international students
adjust to Portland Com m unity College and the city o f
Portland.
It’s called the Saturday Excursion Club and it began
last tall. Since then, students have jo in ed staff at a
Portland State University football gam e, shopping at
Saturday M arket, tours o t the PCC Cascade Public Ser­
vices Building, attended P C C ’s Annual W inter Powwow
at the Sylvania Cam pus, and enjoyed films at the 16th
A nnual C ascade Festival o f A frican Films.
"Students who speak English as a second language
often d o n ’t know the city o r have ideas about w hat to do
socially on the w eekends,” said Penny Thom pson, co ­
o rd in a to r fo r the PC C L earn in g C e n te r, 705 N.
Killingsw orth St. "S o we decided that for three Saturdays
each term we would give them acro ss cultural experience
and introduce them to Portland.”
"The dad o f one o f the students follow ed us fo ra while
ju st to m ake sure that we w ere legitim ate,” she added.
"T hat student proved his m aturity to his m ore traditional
father and is now skiing out o f town on Spring break.”
It is that kind o f socialization and confidence in getting
around tow n that organizers were looking for. T hom p­
son along with instructor Pat Sem ura and educator
M arcio Lem os has opened the excursions to all PCC
students, not ju st international ones.
The club is sponsored by the A ssociated Students o f
Portland C om m unity C ollege at the C ascade Cam pus.
The activities consist o f meeting students at different
spots and show ing that they have to do som ething to get
involved in the city.
Thom pson, who has been at PCC-Cascade for 28
years, has been the coordinator o f the Learning C enter
since Septem ber when the different Learning Center
sites w ere com bined into one location at the new space
in Terrell Hall. She has concentrated her academ ic sup­
port on international students and those who speak
English as a non-native language.
" I'v e seen the num ber o f students grow in num bers
and d iversity," she said. “T he goal is to get more faculty
and students involved.”
F or m ore info rm atio n , co n tac t T h o m p so n at 503-
978-5455.
Penny Thompson (back row. center) leads a group of PCC international students on a tour of
Portland's Saturday Market.
Clara Vista Homes are ‘Affordable and Green’
Opening doors
in the Cully
neighborhood
C lara V ista Tow nhom es has opened its
doors for fam ilies with lim ited incom es with
new environm ental “green” hom es in the
Cully neighborhood o f northeast Portland.
The 34 three-bedroom and 10 four-bed­
room tow nhom es serve households that
earn less than 60 percent o f the area median
income. 14 tow nhom es have project-based
rent subsidies to increase affordability for
very Iow- i ncom e families, those earn i ng less
than 30 percent o f the area m edian income.
T he developm ent was m ade possible
through the H aciendaC oinm unity D evelop­
ment Corp, and is m anaged by Cascade
M anagem ent.
Financing for construction included low-
i ncome housing tax credit equity from Enter-
prisc H ousing Partners and a m ulti-investor
fund that included Fannie Mae. Freddie
Mac, J.P. M organ C hase Bank and Merrill
Lynch & Co.
Enterprise supported the project through
its "G reen C om m unities” initiative with the
Natural Resources Defense Counci I to build
more than 8,500 affordable hom es that d e­
liver significant health, econom ic and envi­
ronm ental benefits for low -incom e families
and com m unities.
“ H acienda is setting an exam ple for af-
5335 NE CULLY B LV D .
A developmeni 1\\ IL icicinL i U IX
photo by I saiah B o i ii / T hi
P ortland O bserver
Pedro Bisset Puebla, property manager, welcomes residents to the new Clara Vista Townhomes, an affordable housing
development on Northeast Cully Boulevard, just north of Killingsworth Street.
fordable housing developers nationw ide
who think housing should be built afford­
able and green," said Kate Allen, director.
Enterprise Portland.
The housing features Energy Star light­
ing, ro o f top solar hot w ater systems, and
form aldehyde-free particle board cabinets
and countertops. Energy efficient building
system s include hydronic heating systems,
fans with tim ers and delays, high perfor­
m anceelectriclighting and fixtures, low (low
plum bing fixtures, controls, and w ater effi-
cient appliances. Each townhome has a whole
house ventilation system and an ultra-quiet
bathroom fan to help prevent mold growth.
For inform ation on unit availability, co n ­
tact C ascade M anagem ent at 503-284-3985.
Black Panther Coming to Oregon
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of
•^community servì ice
1
SECTION
/ionini li l i i t y
V al e n d ar
Animal Secrets Exhibit
M a rth 15. 2 0 0 6
Corvallis NAACP
to host party founder
Bobby Seale
Black P anther Party fo u n d er B obby Seale
is c o m in g to O reg o n to serv e as the keynote
sp e a k e r at the C o rv a llis-A lb a n y Branch
N A A C P annual F reedom Fund B anquet
A cam era crew w ill reco rd the S aturday.
M ay 27 ad d ress in C o rv allis for use in a
d o cu m en tary film on the 4 0th an n iv ersary of
the B lack P an th er Party to be released in
O cto b e r o f this year.
H uey N ew ton and B obby S eale founded
the Black Panthers O ctober 1966 in O akland.
C alif. T he P anthers p racticed m ilitant self-
defense o f m inority com m unities and w orked
to e sla b lish rev o lu tio n ary socialism through
m ass o rg an izin g and co m m u n ity based p ro ­
gram s. T he p a rty 's agenda included e s ta b ­
lishm ent o f eco n o m ic, social, and p o litical
eq u ality acro ss g en d er and co lo r lines.
A lth o u g h largely rem em b ered for the
policy o f arm in g the urban black pop u latio n
in se ll-d efen se ag ain st police, the party also
created the first m odels for H ead S tart and
fed erally funded school lunch p ro g ram s.
T he P an th ers o p erated p u b lic h ealth clin ics,
sch o o ls and co m m u n ity social cen ters. T hey
w ere the in sp iratio n for the G rey P an th ers, a
p o litical force that still rep rese n ts the in te r­
ests o f retire es today.
By the m id 19 7 0 's the Black P anther Party
w as d estro y e d by p o lice in filtra tio n , a s s a s ­
sin atio n s and crim in al p ro secu tio n o f its
leaders B obby S eale has been a su ccessfu l
continued
on page N5
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