May 7. 2008
www.portlandobserver.com
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Stop That Snoring!
M etro
OHSU answers concerns on
common sleeping disorder
See story, page B3
iri!l Jklnrtlattb (JOhserrier
om m u n ity
C a l e n d a r
Cascadia
Casino Night
T h u rsd ay , M ay 8, from 7 p.m . to I a.m .
U ptow n B illiards. I2 0 N .W . 23rd A ve.,
h o sts a benefit fu n d ra ise r for M ovie in
the Park and N iche Film and M usic
F estival featuring live m usic by Brika,
a buffet and prizes.
in Crisis
Uncertainty rattles
mental health system
Mother’s Day Tours
Sunday, May 11 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.,
mom can enjoy free adm ission to the
beautiful Pittock M ansion and grounds.
3229 N.W. Pittock Dr. For more informa-
tion.call 503-823-3623.
Garden Cleanup Party
.
Saturday, May 10 fro nt 9 to 11:30 a.m.,
volunteers are needed at the M cCoy
C om m unity G arden, North N ewm an A v­
enue and Fessenden, to clean up the
garden. T o volunteer, call 503-823-1612.
Remodeling Seminars
S atu rd ay , M ay 10. begin n in g at 9:30
a.m ., N eil K elly S ho w ro o m s at 804 N.
A lberta St., and 15573 S.W. Bangy Road
in L ake O sw ego, w ill host free kitchen
an d bath rem o d e lin g sem inars. For
m ore inform ation, visit n eilk elly .co m
o rca ll 503-335-9204.
Cosmic Catastrophes
The Planetarium Sky Theater at Mt. flood
C om m unity College - G resham Cam pus,
will explore the m ysteries o f C osm ic C a­
tastrophes, on M onday May 12 at 7 p.m.
and 8 p.m.; $ I adm ission.
OHS Doggie Dash
Saturday, May 10 at 9 :15 a.m., the annual
Oregon Hum ane Society tw o-m ilc fun
run/w alk for everyone and their dog be­
gins at Naito Parkw ay continuing along
W aterfront Park. The event is followed
by a day o f fun for all.
Educate, Empower, Engage
T hursday, May 15. the Portland NAACP
Branch Freedom Fund Dinner will take
place at the Sheraton Portland Airport
Hotel, 8235 N.E. Airport Way, doors open
at 6 p.m. and dinner is at 7 p.m. Visit
pdxnaacp.org.
Bicyclists: Know Your Rights
W ednesday, May 14 from 6 to 7:30 p.m.,
jo in the free vehicle-law class sponsored
by the Bicycle Transportation A lliance at
233 N.W . 5th Ave. T o register, call 503-
226-0676.
Great Slough Clean Up
Saturday, May 17 from 9 a.m. to noon,
volunteers will enjoy a m orning paddle
w hile 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.
photo ka
Rn
m om » R endi eman /T he
P orti
ami O bserv er
With some reassurance, Essie Mae Morphis (left) hears about the future of medical, counseling and housing
services at Cascadia Behavioral Healthcare's Garlington Center in northeast Portland from Rene Tucker,
program manager.
bv R aymond R endi . eman
•
Tut P ortland O bserv er
The m ajor prov ider o f mental health and addic­
tion services for P ortland's disadvantaged has
bought tim e from a financial crisis so an indepen­
dent audit can determ ine if other agencies can
absorb clients or if it can obtain a governm ental
bailout. Either option could further strain a system
already nearing a breaking point.
Cascadia Behavioral Healthcare's more than 1 .(MX)
em ployees serve 23.000 people, most at o r near
poverty level, in the five most populous Oregon
counties that include Portland, Salem and Eugene.
The agency, with its $58 million budget, has already
laid o ff a fifth o f its staff and stopped taking new
patients.
When news came last week that Capital Pacific
Bank suspended C ascadia’s accounts, panic be­
cam e an overw helm ing em otion for many regular
patients who assumed that the troubles meant an
end for care that often included housing and m edi­
cations. Even em ployees, w hose paychecks went
through last week because M ultnom ah County
paid bills earlier than usual, were left in the dark
about the scope o f the predicament.
cun tin ued
on page H4
Urban Growth Leader Next PSU President
Selection sets course for the future
A co lleg e ad m in istra to r w ith b ack ­
g round in u rb an -g ro w th advocacy has
been nam ed the next president o f P ort­
land S tate U niversity.
W im W iewel (pronounced Vim Vee-
vell), provost and senior vice president
o f the University o f Baltimore, will re­
place interim president Michael Reardon
w ho has served in the position since last
sum m er with the resignation o f former
president Dan Bemstine.
W iew el says P ortland rem inds him
o f A m sterdam , the N etherlands, w here
he grew up and a city that represents
w hat a liv ab le city should be like.
"M y fam ily and I are very excited
about join in g the PSU com m unity, and
I’m thankful fo r the o p p o rtu n ity to
se rv e s tu d e n ts an d O re g o n ia n s ,"
W iew el said. “ I believe w e have the
a c a d e m ic a n d r e ­
search stren g th s, and
co m m u n ity in v o lv e ­
m en t e x p e rie n c e to
pro m o te a shared v i­
sion o f en g a g em en t
and su stain ab ility in
o u r co m m u n ity , our
state, and b ey ond."
S ta te B o a rd o f
H ig h e r E d u c a tio n
P r e s id e n t
K irb y
D yess said the new
P SU
p r e s i d e n t 's
strong acad em ic, ad ­
m in istrativ e and u r­
ban and public affairs
Wim Wiewel
background m ade him
“ a w o n d e r f u l m a tc h w ith P S U 's
stren g th s and vision for the fu tu re."
W iew el. w ho w ill begin at PSU in the
fall, had the lead academ ic re sp o n sib il­
ity for a plan n ed 50
p ercen t grow th at the
U niversity o f B a lti­
m ore, including d e ­
velopm ent o f a jo in t
M B A . an u ndergrad u -
ate re a l-e sta te p ro ­
gram . and o th e r d e ­
g ree program s.
O regon U niversity
S y stem c h a n c e llo r,
G eo rg e P ern stein er,
said. "T here arc high
ex p ectatio n s for the
next president o f PSU,
and Dr. W iew el has
show n h im self to be
th e rig h t p erso n to
take the u niversity to the next level. W e
look fo rw ard to w orking w ith him to
keep up the m om entum and gains
m ade at PSU , and m ove even further
to m eet the in stitu tio n ’s urban and
research m ission, and focus on stu ­
dent access and su ccess."
Prior to his current position, W iewel
w as at the U n iv ersity o f Illin o is at
Chicago from 1979 to 2(X)4. He planned
and im p lem en ted the u n iv e rsity ’s
G reat C ities program , its signature
m etro p o litan co m m itm en t, w hich in­
clu d ed , am ong o th er in itiativ es, the
new C o lleg e o f U rban P lanning and
Public A ffairs, the m ulti-m illion dollar
G reat C ities Institute, the U IC N eig h ­
b o rh o o d s Initiative, ac o m p reh e n siv e
neighborhood revitalization program ,
and the C en ters for H ealth Policy.
T h ro u g h o u t his tim e in C hicago,
W iew el was actively involved in co m ­
m unity dev elo p m en t and civ ic o rg a­
n izations.
Renters Rights
The C om m unity A lliance o f Tenants is
seeking volunteers to work the peer-run
advocate renter's rights hotline. T rain­
ing class will held on Saturday and S un­
day,M ay I7and 18,from 2to6:30p.m .For
more information and to get involved, call
503-460-9702.
Gospel Fest 2008
Saturday, May 24 from 12 p.m. to 10p.m.
and Sunday, May 25 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.,
at the M ineral Lake Event Center, in M in­
eral. W ash., enjoy a w eekend o f country
gospel in the fundraiser benefiting the
Lewis County Flood Relief.
Welcome Home Vets
Saturday, May 3 1 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.,
at the O aks A m usem ent Park- picnic area
#6,7805 Oaks Park W ay, the Portland V A
C enter invites veterans o f O peration
Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom and
their fam ilies to enjoy a day o f fun. live
m usic, free rides, lunch and more. To
RSVP,call 503-808-1920.
Homebuyer Programs
P D C ’s hom ebuyer-assistance program s
address the gap in hom e ow nership rates
bet ween whites and com munities o f color.
For inform ation about the new and ex ­
panded h o m ebuyers' assistance pro ­
gram s, visit pdc.us/nhp o rca ll 503-823-
3400.
Health Inequities
T he public is invited to join in a dialogue
with community mem bers.organizations,
business leaders and local elected offi­
cials to discuss the root causes o f health
inequities as well as long-term solutions.
For neighborhood locations, dates, and
tim es visit m chealth.org/healthequity.
I
^6*611 Festival Ready for Kick-off
PCC campuses promote art forms, cultures
W idman is a well-know n and respected
Art Beat will spread across al I three PCC
cam puses and the Southeast C enter from exhibiting artist, juror and writer for The
May 12-16, offering students, staff, fac­ Oregonian. He has exhibited his work at
local galleries like Blackfish and Butlers;
ulty and the com m unity access to local,
regionally in Seattle and Salem: and inter­
regional and national artists, as well as an
nationally, such as Rome.
extensive collection o f visual art. dance,
A teacher and later dean o f the Pacific
m usic, theater and literary events to help
Northwest College of Art
expose them to art. It is
in Portland, from I960
free and open to the
through 1981. he has a
public.
history of supporting all
"A rt Beat typifies the
things art and his in­
college's mission by ex­
volvement with PCC's
p o sin g o u r stu d e n ts
longstanding art lestiv al
and com m unity to dif­
seems to be no different.
ferent art forms and cul­
Baba W ague Diakite.
tures,” said President
T e a tro M ila g ro an d
Preston Pulliams. "W e
Yoshihiro Kitai arejust a
want an agile learning
few
of the artists com ing
environm ent that is re­
to
the
Cascade Cam pus
sponsive to the chang­
in
north
Portland.
ing educational needs
Diakite
is an interna­
o f our students and the
tionally acclaim ed c e ­
com m unities we serve. Baba Wague Diakite
ramic artist, author and
"B u t m ore to the
illustrator who will present a workshop on
point Art Beat isalw aysentertainingand
his work and Malian culture from 3:30 to
fun,” Pulliams added. "And it would not
exist without the efforts and passions of 4:30 p.m., W ednesday, May 14. in Room
108 o f the M oriarty Arts and Humanities
people throughout the college and co m ­
Building. 705 N. Killingsw orthSt.
munity. W eall work together to create this
Born in 1961 in Mali. West Africa, he
w onderful event."
spent his early childhood in the small
F e a tu re d artist and a u th o r H arry
W idman will put on w orkshops and dedi­ village o f Kassaro, where he helped in his
cate his piece, titled "M other and D augh­ gran d m o th er's peanut and rice fields.
ter," during the kickoff cerem ony on M on­
continued
on page H4
day at 12:30 p.m. at the Southeast Center.
Oregon painter and author Harry Widman is the featured artist for the Art Beat
Festival at Portland Community College.
»