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/^om iriu nity
C a le n d a r
A p ril 30. 2008
Responding to Rising Food Costs
Courthouse Tours
W ednesday, April 30 from 9a.m . to 3 p.m.,
the public is invited to a free tour o f the
M ultnom ah County C ourthouse and Jus­
tice C enter, 1120 S.W . Third Ave. The
tours are m ade available as part o f C om ­
m unity Law Week.
Mayoral Candidates
W ednesday, April 30, from 5:30 p.m. to 9
p.m.. Reflections Coffeehouse and Book­
store, 446 N.E. K illingsw orth, will host a
Red Beans & Rice d inner as an opportu­
nity to meet P ortland’s m ayoral candi­
dates. For more information, call 503-445-
1321or503-267-8713.
Chosen Generation Concert
Friday, May 2, Chosen G eneration at 7
p.m. will be undergoing their first live
recording at the C rossroads C om m unity
Church, 7708 N.E. 78th St. in Vancouver.
All are invited to attend. For m ore infor­
mation, call 503-577-9239.
Garden Clean-Up Party
Saturday, May 3 from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m „
the Portland Parks & R ecreation’s com ­
munity gardens project will sponsor the
spring clean-up o f the Cully C om m unity
G arden at N ortheast 4 2 nd Avenue and
K illingsw orth Street. To volunteer, call
503-823-1612.
Local markets shift
products, strategies
tóy
*
T.
by R aymond R endleman
T he P ortland O bserver
E ven if you d o n ’t d riv e, the ev e r-c lim b in g co st o f oil
will hit y o u r w allet in the su p erm ark et.
A shopping basket filled with 16 basic food items asked 8
percent more from consum ers on average in M arch than in
Decem ber, according to the Am erican Farm Bureau F edera­
tion. The organization expects the trend to continue as the
reliably higher price o f gas during the sum m er contributes to
packaging and transportation expenditures.
L o o k in g fo r w ay s a ro u n d th e s e e x p e n s e s , m o re
P ortland ers have been cro w d in g farm ers m ark ets and
buying in bulk.
T he effec ts o f the u n u su ally rap id rise in p rices have
becom e ev id en t in m ore than the nu m b ers at the New
Seasons M arket on N o rth east 33rd A venue. T he sto re ’s
butchers have b egun stocking m ore pork and ch ick en as
dem and in creases for ty p es o f m eat that w ill fill the fryer
at the old costs.
continued
on page H4
Gardens Children’s Day
S unday, M ay 4 from noon t o 4 p.m ., the
P o rtland Ja p an ese G ard en s, 611 S.W .
K ingston D r., inv ites fam ilies to enjoy
the beauty o f the g ard en s fo r c h ild re n ’s
day. For m ore inform ation call 503-542-
0280.
May Day Celebration
Sunday, M ay 4, at 1 p.m., the Freedom
Socialist Party and the Bread & Roses
Center, 8 19 N. Ki 11 ingsworth St., wi 11 host
a lunch ($8) and discussion o f "V iva la
Raza; A History o f C hicano Identity and
Resistance,” with the author and activist
M ega Cornish.
OHS Doggie Dash
photos by R aymond R endi . eman /T he P ortland O bserver
Saturday, M ay 10 at 9 : 15 a.m., the annual
Oregon H um ane Society tw o-m ile fun
run/w alk for everyone and their dog be­
gins at N aito Parkway continuing along
W aterfront Park. T he event is follow ed
by a day o f fun for all.
New Seasons Market butchers in northeast Portland are among those making changes in response
to the rising cost o f food.
A Manager’s Passion
Cosmic Catastrophes
The Planetarium Sky T heater at Mt. Hood
C om m unity C ollege - G resham Cam pus,
will explore the m ysteries o f C osm ic C a­
tastrophes, on M onday May 12 at 7 and
8 p .m .;$ l adm ission.
Educate, Empower, Engage
Thursday, May 15, the Portland N A A C P
Branch Freedom Fund D inner will take
place at the Sheraton Portland A irport
Hotel, 8235 N.E. Airport W ay; doors open
at 6 p.m., and dinner is at 7 p.m. Tickets
m ust be purchased by M ay 7. V isit
Pdxnaacp.org for more inform ation.
Bicyclists: Know Your Legal
Rights
W ednesday, May 14 from 6 to 7:30 p.m.,
join the free vehicle-law class sponsored
by the B icyc le Tran spoliation A11 i ance at
233 N.W. 5th Ave. T o register, call 503-
2264)676.
Great Slough Clean Up
Saturday, M ay 17 from 9 a.m. to noon,
volunteers will enjoy a m orning paddle
while searching for and rem oving litter
from a tw o-m ile stretch o f the C olum bia
Slough. To get involved, call 503-281-
1132.
Remodeling Seminars
Saturday, May 10, beginning at 9:30 a.m.,
Neil Kelly Show room s at 804 N. A lberta
St., and 15573 S.W. Bangy Road in Lake
O sw ego, will host free kitchen and bath
rem odeling seminars. For more inform a­
tion, visit N eilkelly.com o r call 503-335-
9204.
Growing Gifts
Friends ofT rees, is currently offering the
opportunity to give the gift o f trees; for
m ore in fo rm atio n , visit the w eb at
F riendsofTrees.org.
Homebuyer Programs
P D C 's h o m e b u y e r -a s s is ta n c e p r o ­
gram s ad dress the gap in hom e o w n er­
ship rates betw een w hites and c o m m u ­
nities o f color. For in form ation about
the new and exp an d ed h o m e b u y ers'
assistance program s, visit P dc.us/nhp
o rcall 503-823-3400.
Don Jones. New Seasons Market manager for the
Concordia store at Northeast 33rd Avenue and
Killingsworth Street, considers worker effectiveness
and customers ’ satisfaction as first priorities.
New Seasons Concordia store m anager Don Jones
believes there is no magic form ula for his mission to
create an environm ent that allow s em ployees to give
the best service to custom ers possible.
Jones docs have a lot o f tricks up his sleeve, from
his know ledge o f produce’s percentage o f intake to his
ability to find five types o f shredded coconut in less
than 15 seconds. D eeper into conversation, he will
argue that the keys to successful m anagem ent lie in
com m unication and flexibility.
Forexam ple, Jones is happy to let any em ployee try
out many different roles in the store.
“As clichéd as it may sound. I really do believe in
em pow ering people, training em ployees, and in giv-
continued
on page U4
Principal Tackles Child Obesity
In P ortsm outh's PE class for 6th
and 7th graders, the goal is to pro­
duce sweat. Students wear athletic
uniform s, which is not the case at
many public schools, in order to
erase worries about dirtying per­
sonal clothing and to increase ac­
tive participation with a sense of
unity.
by R aymond R endleman
Lopez sees a need for focus in
T he P ortland O bserver
the Hispanic community that makes
Healthy habits for students and
up half o f Portsm outh's approxi­
their fam ilies have becom e a crusade
mately 550 students, with another
for the principal of Portsmouth School
20 percent from each of the black
in north Portland.
and w hite populations.
To target child obesity, Antonio
Many o f the school's families
Lopez has developed regular after­
recently immigrated and have taken
school w orkshops that teach par­
to eating fast food as they lose the
ents about the im portance o f physi­
cooking routines o f their countries
cal routines through dance, cooking
o f origin. Also, they often had ac­
and healthy grocery shopping on a
custom ed to walking every where in
budget. He even hired a second physi­
their com pact com m unities, and
cal education teacher to increase
A m erica's car culture com es as a
Portsmouth students' tim e in the gym
shock to their bodies.
to at least 50 m inutes tw ice a week,
All o f the fliers advertising the
PHOTO BY R AYMOND RENDI EMAN/T i IE P o RTI.ANDO bs E RY I R
which the district has frow ned upon
classes,
including the words on the
because many schools have cut PE Portsmouth School Principal Antonio Lopez makes each student walk through a salad bar at
outside
m
arquee, list notices first in
lunch as only the beginning o f a comprehensive set o f programs that target child obesity.
due to financial constraints.
English,
then
in Spanish.
Lopez argues that extra concen­
W
hile
som
e
schools
in the district
w
ellbeing,"
he
says.
A rapid increase in obesity in neighbor­
tration on PE is essential to sustaining
stru
g
g
le
w
ith
d
e
c
lin
in
g
en ro llm e n t,
It
all
started
when
Lopez
decided
to
hood kids and in students across the
com prehensive w ellness education, in
Portsm
outh's
major
problem
consists of
bring
fruits
and
vegetables
rather
than
nation has been hard on Lopez, seeing
addition to aiding students' psyche w hile
too
many
students
fo
rth
e
num
b
ero fclass-
fried
snacks
to
a
parent-teacher
meeting.
in other classes. Citing the help o f d ed i­ diseases like type two diabetes much more
nm
m
savailable.
The
K-8
school
will have
The
M
ultnom
ah
County
Health
D
epart­
often
in
youth.
"So
it
has
been
one
o
f
my
cated group o f about 40 parent volun­
to
send
its
sixth
graders
to
G
eorge
M iddle
ment
on
April
10
presented
him
with
this
passions
that
it
is
not
only
the
educational
teers. he know s he co u ld n 't m aintain the
year's
Public
Health
Hero
aw
ard
for
co
m
­
w
ellbeing
that
I'm
in
charge
o
f
...
but
also
m ovem ent toward health in schixils w ith­
continued
on page H4
munity leadership.
h o w w e ca n s u p p o rt th e p h y s ic a l
out active com m unity support.
Portsmouth
recognized for
innovative
techniques
f
1