Committed to Cultural Diversity
www.portlandobserver.com
August 22. 2007
Art Out of the Shadows
M etro
Homeless youth paint r
unifying mural downtown
See story, page B2
'¡jlnrtlanb OObscruer
SECTION
o m m u n it y
C a l e n d a r
Fading Tribute to War Dead
Seaport Celebration
Saturday, Aug. 25, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m
the Port of Portland will host the third
annual Seaport Celebration, at 7201 N
Marina Dr.. Terminal 6; children of all
ages will enjoy this pirate-filled fun! For
m ore
in fo rm a tio n ,
visi
portofportland.com or call 503-944-7010
Craftsman Workshops
The Northwest Woodworking Studio is
registering participants for fall workshops,
classes and lectures. Explore woodcrafts
manship and learn the art. For details,
visit northwestwoodworking.com or call
503-284-1644.
Festa Italiana Portland
The 16th annual Festa Italiana will take
place at Pioneer Courthouse Square, on
Thursday, Aug. 23, thru Saturday, Aug
26. Enjoy Italian music, food, dancing
and culture at this family event.
Subs on the Slough
Friday, Aug. 24, from 11:30 a.m. to
p.m., enjoy lunch at a hidden gem o f a
canoe launch along the C olum bia
Slough at Northeast 166th Avenue at
Airport Way while learning more about
groundw ater resources and the ways
in which our water is protected. For
reservations and more information, call
503-281-1132.
Iron Artist Sculpt-Off
Saturday, Aug. 25, from 12:30 to 8 p.m.,
SCRAPwill host its 5th-annual sculpture
competition and fundraising event in the
comer lot o f North Vancouver Avenue
and Failing Street. Be amazed as the 12
teams of local artists “sculpt-off” in a
fierce competition rewarding creative re­
use of materials.
Summer Meals Program
The Salvation Army will be feeding chil­
dren of all ages free hot meals currently
through Friday, Aug. 3 1 at 5335 N Will­
iams Ave. Meals served Monday thru
Friday, with breakfast served from 10a.m.
to 11 a.m. and lunch served from 2 p.m. to
3 p.m.
Names stretch
across city
sidewalks
by S arah B lount
T hf P ortland O bserver
The names are carefully printed in chalk
on Portland sidewalks.
Nancy Hiss and her husband of 20
years, Dan Berkman, started the Iraq Names
Project early this summer, an effort to
reflect upon U.S. servicemen and women
killed in Iraq since the war began in March
2003.
Hiss, 51, a professor of design at
Marylhurst University, was inspired by
Maya Lin's Vietnam Memorial in W ash­
ington, where names are simply listed
chronologically.
“A lot o f my students are doing politi­
cally charged work," she said. “I want it to
be totally neutral.”
Unlike the names etched into the Viet­
nam Memorial, the chalked names quickly
fade, especially in the rain. But as of early
this month, nearly 2,000 names have
stretched across four and a half miles of
Portland sidewalks, passed and viewed
by thousands of people each day.
“Forme, I’m visual,” Hiss said. “There’s
something about seeing names. It’s the
magnitude.”
On a recent morning. Hiss and Berkman
made their way up the sidewalk along
Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boule­
vard and Shaver Street. Clarence Larkins
approached from Irvington Covenant
Church to see what the couple was up to.
Larkins directs a ministry program for the
church, and his first reaction was to sus­
pect controversy. Berkman took Larkins
aside to tell him about the project.
“I was just hoping they weren’t doing
something controversial involving the
continued
'y f
on page H5
photo by S arah
B i . ount /T he P ortland O bserver
Nancy Hiss chalks in the name of another U.S. service member killed in the Iraq War. She and her husband have
sketched nearly 2,000 names on Portland sidewalks since last May.
Dive-In Movies
Combine swimming and "Cars” the movie
as Portland park pools kick off “Dive-In
Movies” on Wednesday, Aug. 22, at 8
p.m. at the Montavilla Pool, 8219 N.E.
Glisan. For more information, call 503-
823-5130.
Elders in Action
Advocates volunteers are needed to as
sist seniors in finding solutions to cur­
rent issues. Training classes start in Sep­
tem b er. F o r m ore d e ta ils, v isit
eldersinaction.org orcall 503-235-5474
Tax Help in Rockwood
VITA tax aide for low-income families wi II
begin to assist clients at the Rockwood
Community office, 18709 S.E. Stark. Cli
ents are seen by appointment only. Ap
pointments will be made on Wednesdays
onlyfrom 1 p.m. to5p.m ., by calling 503-
816-1530.
Neighborhood Farm Stand
Locally grown vegetables and bouquet'
of fresh flowers will be available to the
public, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Sun­
day, at the Redeemer Lutheran Church
NE 20th and Killingsworth. The stand
supports local refugees and immigrant
farmers.
Relationship Transformation
Peace-Making, a local group based on
non-violent communication and con­
scious awareness, hosts a seminar that
includes information how to have better
relationships both personally and pro­
fessionally. For more information, call
503-228-7256.
Washington Park Shuttle
Summer service isevery 15 minutes from
10 a.m-7 p.m. with more than 10 stops
including the Oregon Zoo and the Japa­
nese Garden. The shuttle runs daily
through Labor Day. RegularTri-Met fare
applies.
Interstate Farmers Market
A farmers market is held each W ednes­
day through Sept. 26 from 3 - 7 p.m. just
off Interstate Avenue between Overlook
Park and the Interstate Kaiser Permanente
Campus The market is known for its va­
riety of quality fresh local produce, baked
gtxxls, cut flowers, artisan cheese, meat
and fish.
I
B
Order Now
For Tree
Plantings
Planting a tree in your yard or park­
ing strip has never been easier.
The nonprofit Friends o f Trees now
offers an online form for ordering trees
to plant during neighborhood plantings
this fall and winter. Sim ply click on
" O rd e r
S tre e t
T re e s "
at
friendsoftrees.org and follow the di­
rections.
There is a Nov. 29 deadline for Feb.
2 plantings in Cathedral Park. Kenton,
A rbor Lodge, Portsmouth. University
Park and St. Johns; a Nov. 30 deadline
for Feb. 23 plantings in W oodlawn,
A lameda and Concordia; a Dec. 3 dead­
line for Feb. 16 plantings in Boise,
Overlook, H umboldt, Piedmont, King
and Eliot and a Jan. 3 deadline for a
March 8 planting in Roseway, Cully
and Rose City Park.
If you have questions as you place
your order, a neighborhood coordina­
tor listed on the web site's "planting
schedule" can assist you.
Costs o f trees vary by neighborhood
depending on the grants Friends o f
Trees has secured to subsidize the ac­
tual $160 cost o f the tree planting and
follow-up monitoring. All homeowners
are required to pay no more than $75
per tree, but donations to cover the
remaining $85 in costs are welcome.
If your neighborhtx)d isn't included
on the current planting schedule and
you want to coordinate a planting, please
contact Brighton West at 503-282-8846,
extension 19. Updates to the planting
schedule will be posted during the com ­
ing weeks.
Tree choices with photos and facts
are provided as part o f the online order­
ing process.
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photo by
M ark W ashington /T iii P ortl and O bseraer
Portland Development Commission project manager Carol Herzberg congratulates Humboldt neighbor Margaret
Wright (left) for her efforts in revitalizing Triangle Park from a dangerous traffic-calming device into an attractive
plaza at 4500 N. Albina Ave.
Bermuda Triangle No More
Gathering space
renovates Albina
A previously forgotten swath of con­
crete has become a tidy little park just
downhill from North Mississippi Av­
enue.
ThcTriangle Project at 4500N. Albina
Ave. was the result of collaborative
efforts between the neighboring com­
munity residents and the Portland De­
velopment Commission.
The park includes a central plaza with
two benches surrounded by trees, na­
tive plants, rockwork and a game table
engraved with a chessboard. The na­
tive plants will act as a stormwater filtra­
tion garden.
The triangle has never lived up to the
mysterious reputation of another triangle
in Bermuda, but it has created headaches
for more than a few drivers.
Origi nal ly bui 11 in the 1960s as a traffic-
calming device, it turned out to be a dan­
gerous area, according to PDC project
managcrCarol Herzberg.
“At night sometimes cars would think
it was a continuation of the road," she
said.
What the unlucky or possibly inebri­
ated drivers mistook for Albina was really
a fork, where they must either veer right
onto North Mississippi Avenue or make a
harder left onto North Prescott Street
The symbolic value of National Night
Gut celebrations on Aug. 7 brought doz­
ens of neighborhood and city leaders to­
gether for a commemoration ceremony
largely honoring Humboldt neighbor
Margaret W right, who for decades
picked up litter on the concrete triangle,
refusing to let anyone forget about the
eyesores brought on by mid-century
urban renewal.
Wright helped celebrate the rebirth
of the space by taking the microphone
to praise the three-year collaboration
between the city and the Humboldt
neighborhood.
The improvements had been a long
time coming, said Wright, standing in
the new brick plaza framed by planted
areas and decorative boulders. She
added that the space an ill be something
that neighbors will enjoy, be proud of
and take care of lor years to come.