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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