...Week ¡n
lhe Review
Hall of Fame Inductees
Baseball Hall o f Fame in­
ductees Jim Rice and Rickey
Henderson posed for photos
during a New York news
conference, T uesday after
being voted into the presti­
gious group. Henderson, who
played for 9 teams, will go in
with an Oakland Athletics cap
on his plaque. Rice stayed
with the Red Sox his entire
career.
Church Murder Arrest
A man wanted in connection
with last m onth’s fatal shoot­
ing at a funeral in north Port­
land was arrested in Hay­
w ard, C alif. In vestigators
believe the church shooting
has spawned a spree o f vio­
lence, including two murders
o n N ew Y e a r ’s E v e in
Gresham .
Cell Phone Ban Wanted
A national safety group is
advocating a total ban on cell
phone use while driving, say­
ing the practice is clearly dan­
gerous and leads to fatalities.
See story, p age A2.
Drum Majors for Dr. King
Sisters
Work for
Justice
bv L ee P erlman
T he P ortland O bserver
A lthough M artin Luther King
Jr. is best know n for his fight for
racial equality, he was increas­
ingly concerned with the rights
and welfare o f the econom ically
d isa d v an tag ed . H ad he liv ed
longer, and worked in Portland,
he might well have made common
cause with Sisters o f the Road
Café.
A fixture at 133 N .W . Sixth
A ve., since 1978, S isters is best
know n as a place w here those
w ith little o r no m oney can get
a nutritio u s m eal fo r ju s t $ 2.50
and in an atm o sp h ere free o f
ju d g m e n t and the th reat o f v io ­
lence.
T he café serves an average of
400 meals each day. A new addi­
tion to the q u arters provides
space to wait for a table out o f the
cold; inform ation and jo b referral
services; and hygiene supplies
for cash or barter points, the credit
system in people can earn points
for meals and other needed es­
sentials o f life.
Supporters o f the non-profit
contribute to the cause by volun­
teering or contributions. For ex ­
am ple, when form er M ayor Neil
G oldschm idt heard that the Café
BBS«
PHOTO BY It ARK W a SHINGTON/THE
’ orti . and O bserver
Sisters o f the Road Café Executive Director Monica Beemer (second from left) outside the non-profit's downtown headquar­
ters with supporters John (from left), Juan, Mary and Dakota
was in trouble financially, he came The Sisters’ Civic A ction Group
down, had a glass o f tea, and left registered 4,000 people to vote in
the last election.
$200.
Through a grant, the group
Like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,
Sisters is rooted in the philoso­ has also conducted and recorded
phy o f non-violence. A nyone is in-depth interviews with some 600
w elcome, but violence is not tol­ hom eless people, the m ost exten­
erated and the rule is enforced sive such research project ever
undertaken in the city. The inter­
w ithout the use o f force.
A lso like Dr. King, the local views were the basis o f Voices
organization is not content to just from the S treet, av ailab le at
serve the homeless. It advocates Pow ell’s and other local book­
politically for the disadvantaged. stores.
Sisters’ representatives have
spoken against the city ’s “Sit-
Lie” ordinance, w hich m akes sit­
ting on public sidew alks a m isde­
m eanor punishable by a fine or
even jail; and fought against the
city ’ s Drug and Prostitution-Free
Zones, which allow ed police to
order people “excluded” from
certain parts o f town.
Sisters of the Road Executive
D irector M onica Beem er charac­
te riz e s th e se a p p ro a c h e s as
criminalizing people because they
are poor.
“It d o esn 't help them to break
out o f hom elessness,” Beem er
said.
B ecause o f the effo rts o f S is­
ters and o th er ad v o cates, the
z o n e s h av e b ee n a b o lish e d ,
w hile the sit-lie o rd in an ce has
been revised. T he C ity C o u n cil
has ag reed to install m any new
continued
on page A9
Inauguration Saturation
In all their planning to cover
B arack O bam a's inaugura­
tio n as the
nation's 44th
p re s id e n t,
television net­
w o rk s have
paid particu­
lar attention to
those who will
be near a com puter, not a
TV. Even still, the broadcasts
will be more extensive then
ever. See story, page A2.
Building
Bridges for
a Better
Community
Advocate follows
King’s path with
public service
Bush to Give Farewell
President George W. Bush
will give a fare­
well address to
the U.S. Thurs­
day night, billed
by the adm inis­
tra tio n as a
chance to reflect on his ten­
ure and w elcom e B arack
O bam a without fighting old
battles one last time.
■
Clinton Seeks a
‘Smart Power'
Secretary of State Nominee
Hillary Rodham Clinton said
T u esd ay that
she intends to
rev italize the
m ission o f d i­
p lo m a c y in
Am erican for­
eign policy, calling fora " smart
power" strategy in the Middle
East and implicitly criticizing
the Bush adm inistration for
having downgraded the role
o f arms control.
Israeli Forces Move Deeper
Terrified residents ran for
cover Tuesday in a densely
populated neighborhood of
G aza City as Israeli troops
backed by tanks thrust deeper
into the city and sought Hamas
fighters in alleyw ays and
.«liars.
photo by L ee P eriman ZT he P ortland O bserver
Kathy Fuerstenau follows in the footsteps o f Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by advocating for the poor and disadvan­
taged in her work as chair o f the Cully Association o f Neighbors, one o f the city’s most diverse neighborhoods.
by J ake T homas
T he P ortland O bserver
Fraternities are often associated with
chauvinistic, alcohol-fueled w ould-be al­
pha males.
But try telling that to A ntonio Jackson,
who em bodies another side o f such orga­
nizations: public service.
As tributes are paid to M artin Luther
King Jr. in honor o f the Jan. 20 National
continued
on page A9
Cully Leader Makes a Difference
Helping her
neighbors
by L f . e P erlman
T he P ortland O bserver
Kathy Fuerstenau might not remind
one o f Dr. M artin Luther King Jr., yet in
im portant w ays the Cully Association of
Neighbors chair is carry ing on his work o f
uplifting the poor and disadvantaged.
W hile the group w orks to help every­
one in its com m unity, not ju st the poor,
the Cully neighborhood in northeast Port­
land is disadvantaged, with a large share
o f people who are poor.
A ccording to a recent assessm ent by
the Portland Bureau of Planning, Cully
has a large share o f the city ’ s unim proved
and substandard streets; relatively few
retail services other than bars and liquor
outlets; a lack o f direct transit service to
dow ntow n; and a much low er ratio of
open space to residents com pared to the
rest o f city.
In the neighborhood's three public
schools - Faubion, Rigler and Harvey
Scott - students qualifying for reduced
or free lunches due to family poverty,
com prise 70 to 80 percent o f the enroll­
ment.
It is fitting that this area, with so many
needs, is represented by one o f the city ’s
strongest neighborhood associations.
The group has acquainted city offi­
cials with their problem s, taking former
M ayor Tom Potter and members o f the
City Council on guided tours.
Last year, when owners of the Col wood
G olf Club sought to rezone their .land
from open space to industrial use. Cully
joined with the Concordia Neighborhood
Association and others to persuade the
council to reject the idea by unanim ous
vote.
Also last year, when the ow ners of
The Arbor Mobile Home Park threatened
to evict their tenants. Cully held a com ­
munity meeting on the issue attended by
many residents and helped to involve
state R ep.'s Jackie Dingfelder and Tina
Kotek in the issue.
Largely because o f their efforts, the
city and M etro are about to create “green
street" improvements on Northeast Cully
Boulevard, and the City C ouncil has ap­
proved a master plan for the creation of
a new 25-acre Thom as Cully Park on a
former landfill, albeit without funds for
continued
on page A 9
photo by J ake T homas /
T he P ortland ( ) rserv er
Antonio Jackson mentors teenagers
and volunteers for public service as a
member o f the Kappa Alpha Psi
fraternity.
I