March 26, 2008
www.portlandobserver.com
Committed to Cultural Diversity
M etro
A Takeover of Spirits
Milagro Theatre to
host spectacular
traditional forces
Tl" ^Inrtlanh (©bserucr
See El Observador, page B3
o m m u n ity
C a l e n d a r
Roots and Wings
Saturday, March 29, from 10a.m. to 2 p.m.,
the Lloyd Center Mall will host this tree
family event featuring fun activities, a
ch ildren's parade and useful information
forchildren and families. For more infor­
mation, vi.sitO urcom m ission.org.
Health Wellness Fair
W ednesday, A pril 23, from 4 to 8 p.m ..
S elf E nhancem ent, Inc. w ill host the
w ellness fair to prom ote aw areness to
ch ild ren about n utrition, health and
fitn ess.
Portland Parks Board
Seeks New Members
The Portland Parks Board invites the
public to apply for one o f four vacancies
to be filled on the board. For m ore infor­
mation, call Karen Loperat 503-823-5123
or visit Portlandparks.org.
Spring Beach Cleanup
Saturday, March 29, between 10a.m. and
I p.m., SOLV needs thousands o f volun­
teers for the 24th-annual beach cleanup
to restore the coastline to pristine condi­
tion. To get involved, call 800-333-7658.
Humboldt Family and Friends
Tuesday, April I, from 5 p.m. to closing,
M cM enam in'sC hapel Pub will donate 50
percent of the evening’s sales to the
H um boldt School. Enjoy a great evening
w hile helping the school.
Buckman Art Show & Sell
Friday, April 11 and Saturday, April 12, at
Buckman Elem entary School host the
fundraiser featuring arts, crafts, ceram ­
ics, jew elry, gourm et foods, music and
d an ce. For m ore in fo rm atio n , visit
buckm anelem entary.org/artsale.
Free First Friday Nights
The Portland C hildren's Museum has
partnered with Target to provide free
adm ission to everyone the first Friday o f
each month from 5 to 8 p.m. The event
kicks off Friday, April 4.
Concordia Candidate Forum
Tuesday, April I , fro m 6 :3 0 to9,p.m „ the
public is invited to attend a free forum
featuring candidates for the PortlandCity
C o u ncil at M c M e n a m in 's K ennedy
School, 5736 N.E. 33rd Ave.
Health Inequities
T he public is invited to jo in in the
d ialo g u es w ith com m unity m em bers,
o rg a n iz a tio n s, busin ess leaders and
local elected o fficials to discuss the
root cau ses o f health inequities as w ell
as long term solutions in a this seven-
part series. For neighborhood lo c a­
tio n s , d a t e s , a n d tim e s v is it
m c h e a lth .o rg /h e a lth e q u ity .
Send in the Clowns
C haracter Clow n Corps is a three-day
w orkshop for people interested in per­
forming at the Grand Floral Parade. Twenty
participants ages 14 and up will be se­
lected through an interview process. For
details, visit R osefestival.org.
Learning English
E v ery T uesday and T hursday, starting
April 8 ending May 29, the SUN C enter
at M arshall C am pus. 3905 S.E. 91st
A ve., will o ffe r the free open E nglish as
a S econd L anguage classes to anyone
interested. For m ore inform ation, call
971-570-1384.
Kids Who Help K.I.D.S.
Sunday, M arch 30, from 9 a.m . to noon,
kids ages 12 and under w ho bring a new
clo th in g item w ith tags attached to
th eir nearest S w eet T om atoes R estau­
rant will receive a free breakfast m eal:
all clo th in g to be donated to K ids in
D istressed S ituations. For m ore in fo r­
m ation, visit sw eettom atoes.com or
k id sd o n a tio n s.o rg .
Camp Fire Incredible Kids
C am p Fire USA Portland M etro Council
invites the public to honor any incredible
child. Honorees will receive an award,
coupons and their nam e in print. The fee
is $25 per child, with registration avail­
able until March 31. For more inform a­
tion, call 503-224-7800, extension 142.
Walk Run for the Animals
Saturday, May 3, beginning at 7 :3 0 a m.,
at the Esther Short Park in downtown
Vancouver, a walk run will benefit the
Southwest W ashington Humane Soci­
ety. To get involved, visit the website
Southw esihum ane.com .
piiotobv R aymond R endi . eman /T iie P or i land O bserv i r
In J e ffe rso n High S c h o o l's C o m m u n ity R oom , K e e s h a R a s h e e d w o rks with Colin M cC orm ack, a c o m m u n ity -e n g a g e m e n t c o o rd in a to r for th e m a y o r ’s
o ffic e a n d fo rm er director o f th e N ative A m erica n Youth a n d Family C enter.
City Following up at Jefferson High
What’s happening
after the mayor left
BY R AYMOND RKNDI.EMAN
T he P or i land O bserver
“ I just hope that she tells me about some o f the real
things that go on in colleges," says Jefferson High
School ju n io r K arricha W illiams soon after meeting a
m entor from the m ayor's office.
More than a month following the hoopla of “Jeff
W eek," when M ayor Tom Potter conducted a w eek's
worth o f city-hall business out o f the educational
building in north Portland, the m ayor's em ployees are
returning to fulfill their prom ise o f continued engage­
ment.
The government officials aimed tojum pstart progress
on the school adm inistrators' goal to find mentors for
all o f the nearly 600 attending the cam pus by starting
with some o f Jefferson's hom eless students in Project
Return.
Like the other nearly dozen potential match-ups. the
m entor working with W illiam s that day had gained
enthusiasm for working in the building.
“The school in general drew me, so this was a way
to continue being involved," says W hitney Egbert,
who was one o f the main organizers o f Jeff Week as an
assistant to the mayor.
The main organization o f the Jefferson m entoring
initiative has been delegated through a nonprofit Inno­
vation Partnership grant to a Portland State University
student. Facing shoestring budgets has made it d iffi­
cult to overcom e many obstacles, according to Daniel
Capuia, w h o 's majoring in international studies.
"N onetheless, it's beginning to com e along,” he
says,citing interest from prominent alumni. "Right now
it's looking very positive that w e're going to have
som ething significant.”
Egbert sees the m entor plan as key to the achieve­
ment o f at-risk students.
“You need someone who can be more than on the
surface," she says. "The big thing that a lot o f high-
continued
on page H4
Finalists for PSU President Announced
Candidates to visit
with students,
community
Three finalists for the new president of
Portland Stale University were announced
last week.
The finalists are Kathie L. Olsen o f the
N atio n al S cie n ce F o u n d a tio n ; W im
W iewel of the University o f Baltim ore and
Jon W hitmore of Texas Tech University.
The new president will begin PSU lead­
ership in the late sum m er or early fall to
replace interim president Michael Reardon,
w ho was appointed after last sum m er's
departure of President Dan Bernstinc, an
African American who served in the posi-
$
K a th ie L. O lsen
Wim W iew el
lion from 1997 to 2007 and left to be CEO
at the Law School Admission Council.
Olsen has served as deputy director
Jo n W hitm ore
and chief operating officer o f the National
Science Foundation since 2005. In this
role, her responsibilities include oversee­
ing program creation and adm inistration,
long-term planning, budget, day-to-day
operations and international cooperation
in research. She was born in Portland.
O regon and graduated from Cleveland
High School.
W iewel has served as provost and se­
nior vice president for academ ic affairs
and professor o f public affairs at the Uni­
versity o f B altim ore since 2(M)4. During
this tim e he has led the revam ping o f the
u n iv ersity -b u d g et m odel anil process,
created greater transparency, reorganized
enrollm ent m anagem ent, spurred signifi­
cant enrollm ent grow th, prom oted diver­
sity am ong faculty and staff, and strength­
ened shared governance.
continued
on page 114
Lost Bat Finds Identity
In a tender upcoming production
T ears o f Joy T h eatre is proud to
present its original adaptation o f the
en chanting book S tellaluna.
S tellalu n a is the story o f a baby fruit
bat, separated from her m other, w ho
finds h erself adopted by a fam ily o f
birds. She tries to fit in and be the best
bird she can, but she soon b egins to
w onder why s h e 's so d ifferent. And
d uring one secret n ig h t-flig h t she finds
out!
W ritten and illu strated in 1994 by
aw a rd -w in n in g au th o r and lib ra ria n
Janell C an n o n , S tellalu n a has quickly
becom e a classic c h ild re n 's favorite.
E m ily A lex an d er, d au g h ter o f T ears o f
Joy found ers, has adapted S tellalu n a
for the stage and created m agical, la rg e­
sized puppets lo r this ex citin g new p ro ­
d u c tio n p r e m ie r in g at d o w n to w n
P o rtla n d 's W inningstad T heatre.
A lexander fell in love with Stellaluna
after seeing a puppet production in Seattle
by a Dutch touring company . "I was deeply
touched by the sweet and tender nature of
the story," she says. "It takes you from
tears to laughter over and over again. It's
my favorite dynam ic!"
Based in northeast Portland. Tears of
Joy Theatre is nationally recognized for its
com m itm ent toexcellcnce and innovation
in puppetry for 35 years. Its touring per­
formers entertain and inspire more than
250,0(10people annually in theatres, com ­
m unity centers, festivals and schools
throughout the U.S. and abroad.
T he show runs April 5 through 20 on
S atu rd ay s at 11 a m. and Sundays at 2
and 4 p.m. at the W inningstad T heatre,
11 I I S.W B roadw ay. A special o p en ­
ing p erform ance w ill be held Friday,
A pril 4 at 7:30 p.m. to be attended by the
au th o r.
T ickets are available fo rch ild ren . $ 13
and adults, $16. For m ore inform ation,
call 5 0 3 -2 4 8 -0 5 5 7 or v isitT o it.co m .
S te lla lu n a . a b a b y fruit b a t s e p a r a te d from h e r m o th er, fin d s h e r s e lf a d o p te d
b y a fa m ily o f b ird s in a Tears o f Jo y p ro d u ctio n o p e n in g April 4 a t th e
W in n in g sta d T h ea tre d o w n to w n .