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pages A4-A8
__ Final Touches
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See page A3, inside
® ISartíanú (Observer
‘City of Roses
Established in 1970
Volume XXXVI, Number 13
.W eek ¡n
The Review
Midwest Storms Leave 28 Dead
T hunderstorm s packing torna
does and hail as big as softballs
ripped through eight states last
weekend, killing at least 28 people,
injuring scores and destroying
hundreds o f hom es in the South
and M idw est. T e n n e sse e w as
h it h a r d e s t, w ith to r n a d o e s
strik in g five w estern co u n ties
S unday and k illing 23 people,
in c lu d in g an in fa n t a n d his
g ran d p a re n ts and a fam ily o f
four.
Academy Withdraws From Jeff
The staff o f a proposed alterna
tive school has w ithdraw n its pro
gram on the Jefferson High School
cam pus. The A cadem y o f C har
acter and Ethics, a nonreligious
program aim ed at at-risk students,
was proposed by Mt. O livet Bap
tist C hurch, but concerns from
Jefferson parents about religious
issues entering the curriculum led
the academ y’s staff to look else
where.
Red Cross Cleans House
Facing criticism after Katrina, the
American Red Cross is relinquish
ing control over som e aid dollars
and cracking dow n internally on
w aste and abuse. The nation’s
la rg e st c h a rity p ro m ise d 1 the
changes in a statem ent to a Sen
ate panel M onday, follow ing its
acknow ledgm ent last year that its
$2 billion response to the G ulf
Coast storm fell short. See sto ry ,
page A2
Portland School Closings
Tarnish Image
School doors are slam m ing shut,
chipping aw ay at P ortland’s sta
tus as one o f A m erica’s m ost “liv
able cities” , the A ssociated Press
reports. T hey said the school
system ’s sizable deficit and drop
in enrollm ent is an impetus for
parents m oving tow ard lower-
priced housing in the s u b u rb s ,,
Hollywood Films Sold Online
“Brokeback Mountain” and “King
Kong” will be the first m ajor m ov
ies available to own online, as
H ollyw ood studios will start sell
ing digital versions o f film son the
Internet this week. The film scan’t
be burned onto a disc for viewing
on a DVD player, but six studios
said M onday that sales will begin
through the dow nload W eb site
www.Movielink.com
Focus on Warming Disasters
An ad cam paign from the advo
cacy group Environm ental D e
fense hopes to convince A m eri
cans there’sstill tim e to do som e
thing about global w arm ing, but
many scientists are n 't so sure it
can be avoided. "I'm not sure that
anyone can stop it," John W alsh,
w ho studies global change at the
University o f Alaska in Fairbanks.
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www.portlandobserver.com
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Wednesday • April 5. 2006
Seven Portland Schools Will Close
New budget
means 17 schools
expand to K-8
by S arah B lount
T he P ortland O bserver
Portland Public Schools Superintendent
V ickie Phillips proposed $7.2 million in cuts
and $6.6 million in new spending at a budget
proposal Monday. The follow ing morning,
Phillips announced a four-year district plan to
clo se seven sch o o ls: R ieke, H um boldt,
H ollyrood, C larendon and Rose City Park
elem entarles, Kellogg M iddle School and an
u n d e c id e d s o u th e a s t e le m e n ta ry . 17
elem entaries will reconfigure into K indergar
ten through eighth grade. Phillips said clo
sures will be phased in over m ultiple years -
w e’ll see little m ovem ent this fall, and more
dram atic m ovem ent next year. School sizes
will stay the same, around 4(X)-600 students.
2(X)6-07 budget proposals include: no wage
or health benefit prem ium increases for PPS
em ployees. Preserving O utdoor School and
high school athletics, but making further cuts
in central adm inistration and services, saving
alm ost $8 million. T h ey ’ll reduce custodial
costs by 10 percent, and elim inate most non-
m andated school bus routes.
District-wide closures and reconfigurations mean students at Humboldt Elemen
T he budget proposal does not continue tary (4915 N. Gantenbein) will soon move to the expanded Ockley Green Middle
one-tim e priority funds approved last year.
School (6031 N. Montana) PH oto BY M ark W ashington /T hf . P ortland O bserver
The school district will redirect dollars to
invest in textbooks and curriculum m aterials,
staff to help principals and supports for
special programs.
The additional revenue will allow Portland
P ublic S ch o o ls to p h ase in the school
reconfiguration plans.
In north and northeast Portland, Rose City
Park will close and students will m ove to G re
gory Heights, expanding to K-8. T hey’ll phase
o u t P o rts m o u th an d c lo se C la re n d o n
elementaries, and expand Astor and Peninsula
elementaries to K-8.
H um boldt Elem entary will close, and stu
dents will move to O ckley G reen M iddle
School. The district will phase out and annex
H ollyrood Elem entary, m oving students to
Fem w ood M iddle School and expanding to
K-8,alsoexpanding Laurelhurst and Irvington
elem entaries to K-8.
T h ey ’ll close Rose City Park Elem entary
and expand to K-8 at G regory H eights el
ementary.
In southeast Portland, plans are to expand
to K-8 and add program s to B ridger Elem en
tary, phase out the current Binnsmead Middle
School program , and expand Clark and
M arysville elem entaries to K-8. Kellogg
M iddle School will close and students will
move to Hosford M iddle School. The district
will close either D uniway, Grout, Lewis or
Llewellyn elementaries.
In west Portland, Rieke Elem entary will
close and Skyline Elem entary will expand to
K-8.
Publicly Funded Candidates Join Council Race
Voter owned
elections introduce
grassroots contenders
by S arah B loijnt
T he P ortland O bserver
The size o f a candidate’s political cam paign
typically depends on the size o f their w allet and
reputation, often leaving little room for low-
profile contenders. This year’s race for two
seats on City Council could break through all
the “typicals” o f elections, with three candi
dates having qualified for the experim ental
V oter O w ned Elections.
A lso referred to as Public Cam paign Fi
nance, C om m issioner Erik S ten’s am bitious
voter reform is designed to attract candidates
w ithout the capital to launch a m ajor campaign.
O n his w ebsite, he calls it a “people-pow ered”
process, getting back to o u r dem ocratic roots.
The taxpayer-funded system has its share o f
opposition, but eluded a repeal attem pt spear
headed by the First Things First com m ittee,
backed by the Portland Business Alliance.
T he deadline toqualify for public fundingfor
the city elections was M arch 30, for primary
elections on M ay 16. Three candidates quali
fied to receive public funding - Am anda Fritz
fo r C om m issio n er n um ber three (running City Council hopeful Amanda Fritz was among the first to become a publicly
against commissioner Dan Saltzman), and Emilie funded candidate. Fritz is part o f the new “voter owned elections ’ system that
Boyles and Erik Sten and for seat num ber two. levels the playing field in city political races.
Lucinda Tate, w h o ’s running for num ber
th re e , file d h e r re q u e s t ju s t b e fo re
T hursday’s deadline: her request is under
City review.
I f s too early to tell how the process will
work, but in theory, here is an explanation:
The candidates decide to participate, agree
ing to run their cam paigns using only pub
lic funds and allow ed in-kind contributions
(goods or services with m onetary value).
A fter they voluntarily sign a Declaration o f
Intent to Participate, candidates m ust prove
they can rally com m unity support by co l
lecting 1.000 contributions o f $5 each.
At the beginning o f their cam paign can
didates may also accept private contribu
tions, lim ited to $ 100 from any source, but
no more than $ 15,000.
O nce qualified, th ey ’re eligible to re-
ceive an initial primary allocation of $ 150,000
for their cam paign.
If n o n - p a r tic ip a tin g c a n d id a te s
outspend certified candidates, the city will
provide m atching funds up to $ 150,000 per
office, di vided and distributed equally toall
eligible candidates.
T w o o f the qualified candidates are
grassroots citizens who may not have had a
chance in the old system. Am anda Fritz is a
perfect example. W ithacasual, non-politico
appearance, the OHSU nurse and longtime
continued
y f
on page A3
Courting A Sense of Community Housing site sees better days ahead
B y S arah B lount
T he P ortland O bserver
Between Jefferson High School and
North Sum ner Street sits a cluster o f
four aging public housing develop
ments. The co urty ard 's failing infra
structure provides bleak dw ellings for
85 households in the Humboldt neigh
borhood. but residents face big plans
for their outdated homes.
Iris Court has needed some love and
attention for many years, which made it
an ideal candidate for the Housing
Authority of Portland's second round
of public housing revitalization. The
housing authority was awarded a $ 16.9
million HOPE VI grant from the depart
ment o f Housing and Urban Develop
ment in October 2005. A total of $40
million will go toward a renovation of
the 1940’s complex that suffers from a
disproportionate number o f concrete
slabs to trees and greenery.
photo by M ark W ashington AT he P ortland O bserver
T he housing authority expects to
Humboldt Gardens residents Claudia Rhone (far left) and Azzie Winston (third from left) join
com plete the physical transform ation
community builder Myriam Demezas (second from left) and site manager Felicia Poe (right) at
by fall 2(X)8, with 129 very-low to mod-
the north Portland complex formerly known as Iris Court.
erate incom e housing units and a new
nam e H um boldt G ardens.
21 affordable hom es adjacent to the
site will attract households at or below
80 percent o f the area m edian family
income.
An on-site m ixed-use building will
include rental housing and ground
floor space, reserved for a N eighbor-
htxxl Network C enter providing co m
puter and Internet access, a H ead Stan
C enter, a C om m unity Policing contact
office, and a m anagem ent office.
Hum boldt G ardens follow s on the
heels o f New C olum bia, a larger, 80-
acre com m unity in north Portland.
M ike Andrews, the director o f co m
m unity revitalization with the housing
authority, said this new project will be
a m odest change com pared to the
$ 153 m illion HO PE VI project at New
Columbia.
“ It d o esn 't lend itself to such a
com preh en siv e alteration o f land-
conrinued
y^
on page A 2