Committed to Cultural Diversity
www.portlandobserver.com
November 29. 2 0 0 6
Grant’s Phenomenal
M etro
(T liv
Season Ends
Football team has
best year in decades
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years-
•'community' service
See story, page B6
SECTION
Quick
Loan
Costs
Heavy
Passion
All-women dance
troupe celebrated
In the Bété language of the Ivory Coast, “T chéT ehé”
m eans "eagle," and that is a perfect symbol for the young
all-w om en dance troupe from A bidjan, Côte d'Ivoire,
com ing to Portland for the W hite Bird/Portland State
U niversity dance series, “C elebration o f International
W omen Choregraphers.”
W ith their dream s o f Hying high in a clear sky o f
People lose cars,
debts goes unpaid
(AP) — More than 1(X) Oregonians
lost theircars. and 104,000had problems
repaying after borrowing money from
payday and car title lenders last year, a
state agency reports.
The report said payday lenders
charged annual rates of interest that
averaged 528 percent and soared as high
las 2,551 percent.
contem porary choreographic creation, "C om pagnie
TchéTehé" will m aketheir Portland debut Thursday. Dec.
7 through Saturday. Dec. 9 at 8 p.m .each night at Portland
State U niversity's Lincoln Performance Hall.
Founded by Béatrice Kom bé in 1997 to "Show that
woman is not the weaker gender," Com pagnie TchéTehé
has em erged as a valiant symbol o f the power and passion
ofw om en.
TheOregon DepartmentofConsumer
and Business Services released figures
for 2005 showing payday lenders made
840,748 loans — a 15 percent increase
over the previous year. The loans were
worth more than $278 million.
The Legislature passed a law to cap
interest at 36 percent, beginning in July.
But the cap will not apply to car title
lenders, who make short-term loans us
ing car titles as collateral.
Cartitle lenders made 17.801 loans in
Oregon last year and repossessed 114
I cars.
Since the Legislature's crackdown, a
fourth of the payday lenders have ap
plied for conventional consum er li
censes, which are not affected by the
interest rate cap and enable lenders to
restructure payday loans into small in
stallment loans and continue charging
high interest.
The state agency is proposing to re
quire loans from conventional lenders to
exceed six months and be approved by
experienced underwriters.
| The department is proposing legisla
tion to extend the 36 percent cap to car
title loans and to limit check-cashing
fees, also charged by many payday lend
ers, said David Tatman, administrator
for the Division of Finance and Corpo
rate Securities.
| A coalition that includes churches,
the Oregon Food Bank and A ARP will
push for a cap of 36 percent on al I lenders
in Oregon in the 2007 Legislature, said
Angela Martin, economic fairness direc
tor for Our Oregon, a progressive non
profit group in Portland.
! The new speaker of the House. Rep.
Jeff Merkley of Portland, said he may ask
a committee to consider further regula
tions, possibly an across-the-board cap
on interest rates.
The governm ent is unfairly target
ing payday lenders, said Luanne Stoltz,
a payday lender and vice president of
the Consum er Financial Services A s
sociation.
p o m m unity
C a le n d a r
Scouting for Food
The “Scouting for Food” Boy Scouts food
drive takes place Saturday morning, Dec.
2. Scouts will collect non-perishable food
from residents door to door.
“Scrooge Lives" Craft Bazaar
Hood Community College will host
the 37th annual craft bazaar, at the Gresham
Campus Lounge; Room 1051 on Wednes
day, Nov. 29 and Thursday, Nov, 30, from
10a.m. to6p.m .
M l.
Reverse Mortgage Workshop
Thursday, Nov. 30, I p.m. to 3 p.m.. The
S.A.G.E. Computer Learning Center, 5209
N.E. 22 Ave., will host a workshop for
senior citizens on ‘reverse mortgages' to
avoid displacement from their homes. For
seat reservations and information, call 503-
287-3135.
Holiday Bake Sale
The SCRAP holiday bazaar & bake sale
is Saturday, Dec. 9, from 11 a.m .to6p.m .
at 3901A N. W illiams Ave. Local arti
sans will transform unwanted materials
to cool and creative gifts to raise rccy-
B
1 he company's signature style is powerhouse dancing at
the edge o f physical danger juxtaposed with intense and
arrest i ng sti I Iness. Through dance, thecompany reconfigures
notionsof "subservient" African wom anhood into an em
phatic reclaim ing o f pow er and purpose.
Tickets are $25 plus service fee and avai lable at the PSU
Box Ol lice, 1825 S.W. Broadway or from all Ticketmaster
outlets.
Intense and arresting stillness is a
signature style of the international
dance troupe ‘Compagnie Tche Tche.
Reflections Bookstore
Hosts Cancer Authority
An acclaim ed surgeon who has
devoted his life to the study o f
c a n c e r, p a rtic u la rly in A frican
Americans, will appear in northeast
Portland Monday, Dec. 4 for a pub
lic book signing event and recep
tion.
Dr. LaSalle D. Leffall Jr. will
discuss his book “No Boundaries, A
Cancer Surgeon's O dyssey” from
6 p.m. to 8p.m. at Reflections Book
store and Coffee House, 446 N.E.
Killingsworth and Martin Luther
King Jr. Boulevard. The reception is
sponsored by the Susan G. Komen
Breast Cancer Foundation and hosted
by Jefferson High School students.
Dr. L effell's appearance is cour
tesy o f N IC H E' Public Relations, in
association with Chrysalis M inis
tries, Reflections and Howard Uni
versity Press.
LaSalle D. Leffall jr ., m . d .
M ftoundaiws
A Cancer Surgeon’s Odyssey
photo by
Top Blazer Pick Gives Back
Brandon Roy, the new Portland Trail Blazer and one o f the top
picks in the NBA draft, serves up a holiday meal at the annual
Harvest Dinner at the Rose Garden, sponsored by Project Home
less Connect, Portland Arena management and the Trail Blazers.
cling awareness.
Holiday Wreath Sale
Christmas Tree Permits
The Portland Parks Environmental Educa
tion Department will be hosting the holi
day wreath sale on Thursday, Nov. 30 thru
Sunday. Dec. 10from9a.m. to4p.m „ at the
Mt. TaborGreenhouse, 6437 S.E. Division
St. All prtx’eeds go to scholarships for
low-income youth.
The Mt. Hood National Forest has opened
its personal use Christmas tree cutting
program. Permits are $5. limited to 5 per
mits per household, with a 12' foot maxi
mum height per tree. For more information,
call the fores, headquarters at 503-668-
1700 Monday through Friday from 7:30
a.m.to4:30p.m.
December Zoo Lights
The walk-through winter wonderland ()r-
egon Zoo Lights comes to life throughout
the month of December. The festival in
cludes a lighted zoo train, choral and en
semble music, puppet shows, and a m<xlel
train display. Festival hours are Sunday -
Thursday, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., Friday and
Saturday,5 to 8:30p.m. Closed Dec. 24and
Christmas Day.
Presents for Primates
Thursday. Dec. 14, at 10 a.m., Santa’s
Elves will give holiday gifts to the Oregon
Zoo'schimpanzecs, orangutans, mandrills
and other primates. Bring your cameras
this is a great picture opportunity. Call
503-226-1561 or visit oregonzoo.org for
i more information.
M ark W ashing ,<» s /T iie P ortland O bserver
Holiday Ceramics Sale
Mt. Htxxl Community College invites the
public to attend the 23rd annual student
works sale to be held in the Visual Arts
CenterGallery at the MHCCGresham Cam
pus on I uesday. Dec. 5 through Friday,
Dec. 8. from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and on
Saturday. Dec.9 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Work Against Abuse
Community Advocates invites those in
terested in protecting children from abuse
to become an even, volunteer, event out
reach, technology expert, graphic artists
or office support team member. For infor
mation, call 503-280-1 388.
Women in Community Service
Volunteer female mentors are being sought
by Women in Community Service towork
with incarcerated women at the Coffee
Creek Correctional Facility. The women
provide support and encouragement for
inmates transitioning from prison back
into the community. For information, call
503-5706614.
Black History Museum
The Black History Museum of Oregon is
seeking brilliant minds o f concerned indi
viduals to help in restructuring the mu
seum foundation's committee. For infor
mation, cal 1503-284-0617.
Oregon Food Bank
I lie Oregon Fixxl Bank seeks volunteers
on Mondays from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m..
and Tuesdays. 9 a m. to noon, to sort and
repack perishable foods. Cal1503-2824)555.
ext. 272 or visit Oregonfoodbank.org.
Volunteer for Crisis Line
Wan, to make a difference in your commu
nity? Volunteers and advocates are needed
lorthe Portland W omen's Crisis Line. The
needs include on-call advocates to re
spond in person or over the phone, out
reach and ed ucational e ffo rts, and
fundraising and administrative duties. Call
503-232-4176 for more information.
Home buying Classes
Portland Community Land Trust helps
f
first time and low-income homebuyers
purchase homes a, below market price.
Attend a free, one-hour class to learn more
about
the
p rogram .
C o n tact
Kelly pclt.org or call 503-4934)293.
Bradley-Angle House
I'he Bradley-Angle House needs volun
teers to help its outreach against domestic
violence. Women of color and bilingual
women are encouraged to call. For more
information, call 503-282-9940.
Parenting Classes
Newborns don't come with instruction
manuals but parents and parents-to-be
can attend classes through Providence
Health Systems to learn about a variety of
topics from pain and childbirth to
breastfeeding to infant CPR and much
more. For a schedule of events, call 503-
574-6595 or visit: providence.org/classes.
Hatha Yoga Class
In Other W ords Books and Resources
hosts Hatha Yoga classes for beginners
and all levels, every Monday. Tuesday
and Thursday from 9a.m to lO a.m .a, In
O ther Words, 8 N.E. Killingsworth. All
genders and ages and donations are
welcome.
J