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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (May 21, 2008)
ìli Pa^cA8 c^lortlanb ffîbseruer May 21. 2008 photo B i R aymond R endleman /T he P ortland O bserver New Columbia advocate Leslie Esinga talks with Robert Gray, an employee o f Big City Produce located on the commercial ground floor o f a new mixed-use building that also contains housing in the New Columbia neighborhood of north Portland. Fightinga Stigma continued Celebrate "Diversity in Politics & Activism" with art, food, and dance from all across the globe! Featuring live music from Cubaneo, Copacrescent, lifesavas and more! For more information check out WWW ROOTS? ESTIVAL GROUPS.PDX FDU C O Pf (u jn it u s (123 C l« <Db»rrurr 2 S zipcar* UUI A0QD from Front Esinga argues that baggage from the World War Il-era Villa housing projeet is worth paying homage to, but the real struggles for New Co lumbia in her eyes are a microcosm of the same critical issues facing the city and country as a whole. She sees a population largely of color that has been repeatedly shut out of employment and affordable housing opportunities, and now works to create options in New Columbia’s 82-acre neighborhood where about 25 percent of the resi dents own their dwellings. “We do everything we can to respond to community concerns, reach out to youth, find jobs for residents and keep everyone safe,” Esinga says. “There’s no magic to creating community.” Talk with a dozen residents of New Columbia, and most will tell you that they're happy with the progress of the neighborhood and feel safe. The neighborhood isn’t without its detractors, however. New Columbia resident Judy Badon was making plans to move out as her son Dominique faced attempted-murder charges. Badon feels that a two-page list of HAP apartment-dweller rules, along with a near 24-hour patrol by North Precinct officers, creates an environment ripe for fear. Citing her African-American son’s six-foot, 235-pound frame, she said profiling was involved in his arrest at the family's home last month. Police said a crime-scene gun and bullets can be linked to a get away car that a group of friends were using. A trial was set for June 6. Esinga notices that people per ceive the police based own their personal experiences. With the in herently human element of New Columbia, she sees potential for anything to happen on any given day. Acknowledging that criminals have been attracted to the project especially during the summer, she supports training of the regular “Feet on the Street” volunteer pa tro ls to deal w ith the neighborhood’s approxim ately dozen home-spoken languages and 22 countries of origin. “You can’t expect there w on'the sustainable jobs in Morrow County. Lottery funds help build America's largest hardwood sawmill. Just east of Boardman, it stretches as far as the eye can see. A farm with over 30,000 acres - that's more than 45 square miles - of Pacific Albus trees, a fast growing hardwood. Certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, it operates using sustainable, eco-friendly methods: planted, harvested and re planted in a perpetual cycle. With funding help from the Oregon lottery: the farm will soon have an important addi tion. Built by the Collins Company, the new Upper Columbia Mill will be one of the largest of its kind in North America. The result: 85 new full-time Jobs to go along with the 150 jobs already in place at the tree farm. That's the kind of growth we can all get behind. Ta learn mors visit www.ltOoasGoodThings org Lottery gamas a r t basad on chanea and should ba playad for antartalnmant only bumps in the road,” she says. “If there were a rash of move-outs, I’d be concerned.” Another HAPemployee, Arlene Gregory, is assigned to advocate for parenting or housekeeping is sues in a way similar to a social worker to prevent complaints or larger problems. When she hears about or sees violations, Gregory ’s goal is to find the appropriate ser vices, whether for mental health, drug and alcohol counseling, or mediation. “I go to them and tell them who I am, and that I’m not there to kick them out, but to find out what the core issues are,” she says. Working in the neighborhood since the 1990s, G regory ap proaches her work with a feeling of understanding about what it will take for self-sufficiency to be reached. She expects that her job would be phased out at some poi nt, may be in a decade, saying, “I live in a community that doesn' t have some one like me, however, in a new com munity, in a mixed community, some people have different ideas about what it means to be a neighbor.”