Hiliií
' Jäorthm ii (©bserlier
years,
community service
(d W
1 í
itu n f R n c o c ’
‘City
of Roses
T e n s o f th o u ­
sa n d s o f p ro ­
te s te rs r a llie d
T h u rs d a y
in
Jena,
A rk.
a g a in s t w h a t
th e y see as a
double standard o f prosecution
for blacks and whites. The plight
of the so-called Jena Six becam e a
flashpoint for one the biggest civil-
rights dem onstrations in years. See
story, page A2.
Protests in Myanmar
T housands o f people protested
against the m ilitary governm ent
M yanm arT uesday, the eighth day
o f street dem onstrations in the
country which was formerly known
as Burm a. P resident Bush an ­
nounced new U.S. sanctions ac­
cusing the m ilitary dictatorship of
im posing "a 19-year reign o f fear"
that denies basic freedom s o f |
speech, assem bly and worship.
Minimum Wage to Rise
Oregon has announced a 15-cents-1
per-hour cost-of-living increase,
effective at the end o f this year, for I
m inim um -w age workers. T he in­
crease to $7.95 an hour is signifi­
cantly higherthan the federal m ini­
mum w age o f $5.85 an hour. See |
story, page A3.
Food Bank Hurting
T h e O re g o n
Food Bank is
hurting for do­
nations as its
w areh o u se
s h e lv e s
go|
em pty. In the
last few weeks, |
w eekly offer­
in g s
have I
dropped by 25-
75 percent and
statew ide de­
liv e r ie s a re
dow n 200,000 pounds per week,
officials said. See story,page A i l . [
A Portland Public School District
em ployee accused o f an insider
theft ring pleaded no, guilty in
court T uesday. Police arrested
Cristan M ocan, 24, as he got off of
a plane returning from a honey­
m oon in Fiji last week. Tw o others
also faced charges in the case.
Race for the Cure Record
TheK om an Race for the Cure drew |
nearly 50,fXM) people Sunday, a
record for the annual Portland
event raising m oney to fight and
prevent breast cancer.
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Wednesday • September 26, 2007
24-Hour Fitness next in line
for major MLK development
bv L ee P erlman
T he P ortland O bserver
"A t this moment, things are look-
ing great," Ray Leary says.
The reference is to the local A f­
rican-A m erican leader’s V anport
Square, a m ajor developm ent o f
m inority-ow ned business in the
hear, o f northeast Portland’s black
community.
The first store com ing to an en ­
tirely rem olded block at 5225 N.E.
Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. will be
the beauty supply outlet Living
Color, set to open this month. Four­
teen other com m ercial spaces in the
blo ck 's 30,000 square foot struc­
ture have been sold and are ex ­
pected to open by the end o f D e­
cember.
In addition, dem olition has b e­
gun on what wil 1 be the site o f Phase
II o f V anport Square: the Pacific-
N orthw est’s first M agic Johnson
24-H our Fitness facility, a signa­
ture sports fitness endeavor ow ned
by the form er Los A ngeles Lakers
star. It will take up an entire block
north o f A lberta Street on M LK
with tw o gym nasium s and full line
o f athletic equipm ent.
O th er b u sin e sse s w aitin g to
open in the first phase are M arco
Shaw , ow ner and head ch ef o f Fife
restaurant, who will establish his
new H ard S h ell re s ta u ra n t in
V anport; Alem Grebrehi wat, ow ner
o f the Q ueen o f Sheba Ethiopian
restaurant; E dw ardo N orell, w ho
will m ove his Norell Design bilin­
gual sign business from his garage
to Vanport; Laurie Cary D esign;
Nghi Tran ’ s State Farm office; C. P. A.
Rick Harris; and Hung K im ’s Living
Color.
In a pioneering m ove, m ost of
the new businesses will also own
their sections o f building, making
Vanport Phase I, a com m ercial con­
dominium.
V anport Square is a trium ph for
Leary and his partner, northeast
Portland resident Jeana W oolley,
but a hard-fought one. W hen the
Portland Development Commission
selected them to develop the site in
1999, they w ere part o f a develop­
m e n t te a m th a t f e a tu re d th e
G erding-E dlen Co., creator o f the
Pearl D istrict’s five square block
Brewery Blocks project, and one of
the city ’s largest and m ost prolific
developers.
The original plans w ere for a
500,000 square foot m ega-project
that included rental housing, town
homes, retail and office, and a 60,000
square foot grocery. At the tim e,
Leary w asn ’t even an independent
agent; he w as an em p lo y ee o f
A didas, for whom he had helped an
outlet store on N ortheast M LK and
A lberta Street.
But w hen no m ajor grocery or
o th e r a n c h o r co u ld be fo u n d ,
G erding-Edlen dropped out. W hen
Leary and W oolley secured a c all­
ing center to occupy the space,
neighbors who had bought into the
original concept felt betrayed; not ’
only did they oppose the new plan,
but som e o f they called for Leary
and W oolley to be replaced as d e­
velopers.
continued
on page A5
photo bv
M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver
Ray Leary stands next to his major development “ Vanport Square, " soon to open on Northeast
Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in the heart o f the African American community.
Diversity Embraced on Killingsworth
Three new
minority-owned
restaurants open
w ith g r e a t b a r b e q u e in S t.
J o h n s. T h e e n th u s ia s tic c u s ­
to m e r c o m m e n ts th a t he
p ro u d ly p o sts on his w e b site
d o n ’t m is re p re se n t w h at y o u ’ll
h e a r m ost p e o p le say as th e y
le av e th e re sta u ra n t.
by R aymond R endi . eman
A lth o u g h th e n e ig h b o rh o o d
T he P ortland O bserver
a lre a d y h as m an y p o p u la r
I t’s d iffic u lt to fin d tw o m in o r ­
b a rb e q u e sp o ts . H a rriso n a t ­
ity -o w n e d b u s in e s s e s w ith in a few
trib
u te s his su c c e ss to fin d in g
b lo c k s o f o n e a n o th e r th e se d a y s on
a
street
that lack ed a " rib o lo g ist"
M ississip p i A v en u e o r A lb erta S treet,
w
h
o
u
ses
real sm o k e an d fre sh ,
h a v e n s fo r th e A fric a n -A m e ric a n
n
atu
ra
l
m
eats.
c o m m u n ity a d e c a d e ag o . B ut on
B u sin ess h as b een s lo w e r fo r
N o rth K illin g sw o rth S tre e t th is y ear,
J
a
m
a l's o v e r th e p ast h a lf y ea r,
a b u m p e r c ro p o f m in o rity -o w n e d
th e s a m e a m o u n t o f tim e
re s ta u ra n ts h as a p p e a re d .
H a ro ld ’s h as b een o p en .
T he harvest o f restau ran ts there is
“ So far it's g o in g good, but w e
no accident, either. H aro ld ’s B arbeque
n
e
e
d m o re c u s to m e r s ," sa y s
o w n er H arold H arrison m oved clo ser
J
a
m
a l's W a el M o u sa , w h o se
to the city ce n te r to take ad v an tag e o f
u
n
c
le
o w n s th e r e s ta u r a n t.
b u sin e ss-lo a n d e a ls, E ’N joni C afé
“
People
are co m in g back, though,
Wael and Atef Mousa welcome customers to their new restaurant, Jamals Café, located at
ow ner
Sonya
D a m te w
sees
becau
se
they like the fo o d .”
K illingsw orth as P o rtla n d 's p rem iere 300 N. Killingsworth St.
A sm all g ro u p o f d ieh ard s has
p ilo tos by M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserv er
area to celebrate im m igrant co m m u ­
already
d isco v ered the im p re s­
nity and J a m a l’s C afé hopes to use the
siv
e
list
o
f eight fish on the back
street to repeat the su ccess o f a sim i­
o
f
Ja
m
a
l's
m enu. O n the front
lar restaurant that the fam ily runs in a
the
m
enu,
y
o u ’ll find the sta n ­
div erse part o f C lev elan d .
d
ard
set
o
f
M
idw estern hot sa n d ­
N um erous factors thus co n trib u te
w
ic
h
e
s
an
d
h a m b u rg e rs th a t
to th e su rg e in m in o rity v en tu res,
M
ousa
ex
p
ects
to be his bread
including targeted in v estm en t through
and
b
u
tter
d
u
rin
g
the school year.
o rg an izatio n s like the P o rtland D evel­
M oney seem s to be alm o st a
opm en t C om m issio n , a strong legacy
ns
n
o
n
-issu e for D am tew , on the
o f div ersity in the area and still rela­
o
th
e
r h an d , as she o p e n e d
tiv e ly low re n ts c o m p a re d to the
E ’N jo n i's d o o rs for the first tim e
am ount o f pedestrian traffic.
last m onth. S ay in g that if she
R estaurants hope to attract a high
earn
ed an y th in g , m ost o f it w ould
volum e to ov erco m e large o v erh ead
g
o
to
c h a rity , she sta rted the
costs asso ciated w ith such a rapidly
restaurant
m ostly as an e x p e ri­
g en trify in g area, and the new co m ers
m ent in co m m u n ity building.
to K illingsw orth are o ff to a d ecent
A fter w o rk in g w ith A frican
sta rt.
refu
g ees for 10 years. D am tew
H a r o ld ’s d re w th e m o st im m e d i­
becam
e sick o f the form al natu-
a te s u c c e s s , p r o b a b ly b e c a u s e
Harold Harrison, owner o f Harold's Barbecue, 902 N. Kilingsworth St., uses real smoke and
H arriso n had a lre a d y tie d h is n am e
conlinued
on page A5
I T
; '2 S
3> s a
= 'S 3
¿ - , tu
www.portlandobserver.com
Vanport Square Near Complete
Standing Up for Equality
School Theft Ring Busted
See story, Section B
,
.Week ¡n
The Review
Nike Tuesday unveiled what it said
is the first shoe designed specifi­
cally for A m erican Indians, an ef­
fort aim ing at prom oting physical
fitness in a population with high
obesity rates. The com pany says
the A ir N ative N 7 is designed with
a larger fit for the distinct foot
shape o f A m erican Indians, and
has a culturally specific look.
Í
Established in 1970
Volume XXXVII, Number 37
Shoe for American Indians
Z < t\
V
fresh, natural meats to keep customers coming back.
I
’T fl