Committed to Cultural Diversity mvw.portlandobserver.com M etro Homecoming Romp Jefferson makes good when NFL great Mel Renfro visits his old school See Sports, page B6 Îlîl ^ îa rtla n b (Dhserüer rro in m unity 1 e n d a r Home-Buying Fair Saturday, Oct. 27, from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., the Portland D evelopment C om m is­ sion will be sponsoring an A frican-Ameri­ c a n H o u s in g F a ir to p ro m o te h o m e o w n ersh ip o p p o rtu n ities at the E m anuel H ospital M edical Building Atrium, 501 N. Graham. Visit pdc.us/hous- ingorcall 503-823-3400for more informa­ tion. Sorority Waffle Breakfast Saturday, Oct. 27, from 9 a.m. to noon. D elta Sigm a T heta will serve delicious w affles with a sm ile at the A ugustana Lutheran Church. 2710 N.E. 14th; $5 tick­ ets are available at the door. Widmer Evening Out T uesday, O ct. 30, from 4 to 11 p.m., fans o f W idm er Brew ing and the W idm er G asthaus, 929 N. Russell, can spend an enjoyable evening out w hile helping to feed hom ebound seniors; half o f all pro­ ceeds benefit the M LK Loaves & Fishes Center. Call 503-281 -3333 for reservations. St. Charles Spaghetti Sunday, Nov. 4, from noon to 6:30 p.m., St. Charles Church, 5310 N.E. 42nd Ave., invites guest to enjoy the delicious four- course spaghetti dinner and raffle. T ake­ out service is available; adults $9, kids $5; for m ore inform ation, contact 503-281 - 6461. Weatherization Workshops T hursday, Oct. 18, from 6 to 8 p.m., the C om m unity Energy Project, 422 N.E. A lberta St., will host free educational w orkshops to self-w eatherize your home, qualifying participants will receive a free w eatherizing kit. Free w eatherization is available for seniors. Call 503-284-6827 to register. Annual Rummage Sale The C atlin G able Rum m age Sale opens T hursday evening, Nov. I , and contin­ ues with 10 a.m. openings through S un­ day, Nov. 4 at the Portland Expo Center. A dm ission is free. Green Gift That Grows Friends o f Trees is offering the gift that keeps on grow ing, plant a tree or a grove in honor or memory o f som eone; form orc inform ation, visit friendsoftrees.org. Raymond Alexander Art T hursday, Oct. 25, at 6:30 p.m. and Satur­ day, Oct. 27, at 5 p.m., the Talking Drum B ookstore, 446 N.E. K illingsw orth St., invites guest to experience special guest R aym ond A lexander’s m astery o f Abaca Art; for m ore inform ation call 503-288- 4106. Brown-Bag Lectures M onday, Oct. 22, Portland Com m unity C ollege, 4040 N.E. Tillam ook St., spon­ sors the lunch and learn lecture series final installm ent H o w to G et Along With M ost A nyone,’ in w hich guest speaker Judy Pearson will bediscussingelem ents o f social interactions. F orm oreinform a- tion, call 503-614-7308. Monroe Joins Potter’s Team Mayor calls on long­ time public servant Norm Monroe, who has spent more than three decades working with the Portland community, in government and ti e nonprofit sector, has joined Mayor Tom Potter’s staff as a policy advisor. Monroe was most recently the Vice President for Cultural and Community Development for Cascadia Behavioral Healthcare. Before that, he worked with the Metropolitan Family Service, a re­ entry agency for ex-offenders, and spent 13 years with Multnomah County, including eight years by Oregon State University with its Alumni Fellow Award for his career in public service, addressing the needs of inner-city residents through housing, working for the Commission Chair as a neighborhood revitalization and justice liaison to public and private agencies and programs. coordinating public safety initiatives. Monroe has a MA in social work and Monroe has also developed and super­ has completed coursework in the doc­ vised programs for the County Department toral program in Urban Studies at Port­ of Social Services and the Department of land State University. Justice Services. He created a model to He will work part-time in the mayor's revitalize impoverished neighborhoods office, working to implement the Human through economic, social and community Relations Commission, and on public- empowerment. He also has worked with a safety issues. number of foundations on initiatives fo­ “I’ve known Norm for 30 years, and cused on children and families. there is no one betterqualified to help me Norm Monroe He has served as deputy director of the put in place the critical programs the Portland Urban League, and was honored in 1993 community has said it wants,” said Mayor Potter. Accident Prone New traffic engineering plans, en­ forcement, and education-based solu­ tions are proposed for implementation over the next two years to improve transportation safety along 82nd Av­ enue, the worst Portland street corri­ dor for accidents. The Portland Office of Transporta­ tion has spent the past year meeting community, business and neighbor­ hood members, collecting feedback leading to the development of the Transportation Safety Action Plan. The effort covers 82nd Avenue of Roses from Northeast Killingsworth Street to Southeast Clatsop Street, and will identify improvements within the existing right-of-way. The proposed improvements will allow the corridor to continue to serve vehicles, transit and pedestrians while utilizing traffic safety tools to reduce injuries and fatalities for all modes of transportation using or crossing this seven mile stretch of roadway. The 82nd Avenue of Roses has the highest rate of traffic crashes for an arterial street in the City of Portland. It saw 3,747 reported crashes be­ tween 1997 and 2006, including 119 involving pedestrians, and 11 fatali­ ties. The Action Plan is intended to pro­ vide quick response solutions to a wide variety of motorist, pedestrian, bicyclist and transit-related transpor- Pedestrians negotiate small sidewalks and jammed-packed streets along Southeast 82nd Avenue, the Portland's worst corridor for traffic accidents. tation safety issues that have been identified along the corridor through community input and technical analy­ sis. Open houses to find out what’s planned for this project are scheduled Portland C om m unity C ollege is offering the hands-on training to create art from recycled m aterials; classes will be held at the ReBuilding C enter, 3625 N. M issis­ sippi A ve.: contact 503-731 -6622 for more information. Holiday Ale Festival 4 - 8:30 p.m. at Fire Station 12/Central Northeast Neighbors' Community Room, 4415 N.E. 87th Ave. For more information, call Kirsty Hall at 503-823-6981 or em ail Kirsty.Hall@trans.ci.portland.or.us. Concordia Learning Center Approved Learn to Make Recycled Art Literacy Volunteers Needed for Thursday, Nov. 29, 6 - 8 p.m. at Montavilla Community Center, 8219 N.E. Glisan St.; Tuesday, Dec. 4,6:30 - 8 p.m. at St Anthony’s Catholic Church Parish Room, 3618 S.E. 79th Ave.; and Wednesday. Dec. 12, 6:30 An artists' rendering shows the pro­ posed new library and open plaza coming to Concordia University in northeast Portland. Kenton Puppet Shows The V olunteer Literacy Program at P ort­ land C o m m u n ity C o lle g e 's C ascade C am pus needs v o lu n te er tutors to p ro ­ vide free in d iv id u alize d in struction in basic literacy , E nglish language, and m ath skills. C o n tact 5 0 3 -244-3898 or v isit o rc g o n litc ra c y .o rg . 82nd Avenue Action plan goes before public P enny’s Puppet Productions and the his­ toric K enton Fire House, 8105 N. Bran­ don Ave., team up to present regular puppet show s featuring: ‘Sw eet Tooth the G h o st' on Friday, Oct. 26, at 10 and 11:15a.m. Visit PennyPuppets.com orcall 503-282-9207 for more information. B eginning T h u rsd ay . N ov. 29 through Sunday, D ec. 2, from 11 a.m. to 10p.m ., the 12th-annual festiv al at P ioneer C o u rth o u se S quare, 7 0 1 SW 6th A ve., p ro v id es b eer lovers the op p o rtu n ity to sam ple som e o r all o f the 36 rare beers featu red . V isit h o lidayale.com o r c o n ta c t 5 0 3 -2 5 2 -9 8 9 9 fo r m ore inform ation. October 17. 2007 Construction could begin in May The Concordia University Board of Regents has voted to recommend that the northeast Portland College begin construction of a 74,000-square-foot learning center in May. The building will double the capac­ ity of the current university library. and expand space for academic pro­ gram centers, meeting rooms and fac­ ulty offices. The estimated cost of construction is $ 15 million. “This project will transform our campus and our neighborhood com­ munity," said Concordia University President Chuck Schlimpert. “Our ability to develop the learning center supports the vision that a university engaged in the community can pro- vide expanded opportunities for its students and help its neighborhood thrive.” Concordia University officials have made a point of including community interests in all its plans for campus development. Neighbors will have access to library resources and meet­ ing rooms in the learning center, and a new athletic complex will also be open to community use. The learning center will be built on the current site of the university's soccer and baseball fields, and con­ struction will finish in August 2009. Concordia will temporarily vacate its current athletic field until the new athletic complex iscompletein March 2010. The athletic complex will occupy continued yf on page H6