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 |Llnrthmb (10bserbe JF < > 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