fe Minority & Small Business Week September 23, 2009 Page A3 Minimum Wage Won’t Change Rockwood Plaza 1 IN ED Volunteers painted a large, ground-mounted mural in the heart of Rockwood Friday. T he P laza del Sol is a painted, astronomy-oriented pattern by Michael Orelove, designed to teach children about the solar system. Gresham city officials said the event spotlighted the im portance o f having parks in urban spaces by transforming parking spaces into temporary parks, offering a unique envi sioning about the way we see and use public spaces. Labor Com m issioner Brad A vakian says that O regon's minimum wage workers won't be getting a raise next year. O regon voters approved a 2002 ballot measure to raise the minimum wage and then tie it to the Consum er Price Index, a measure of U.S. inflation. The wage gets recalculated every September. Avakian says the CPI d e clined 1.5 percent between Au gust 2008 and August 2009, so Oregon's minimum wage will re main $8.40 an hour. Oregon is one of ten states that annually adjust the mini mum wage based on inflation. The Oregon ballot measure did not include a provision for cutting the minimum wage when prices are falling. Volunteers paint a mural depicting a solar system, transforming a parking space to art in the heart o f Gresham's Rockwood neighborhood. Portland Development Under the Microscope continued ¿ ^ f r o m Front vices in our com m unity.” According to figures pro vided by the PDC, about 41 percent of people in north and northeast Portland are ethnic minorities. City wide that num ber is about 26 percent. The area also has a large quantity of small businesses, estimated at about 4,000. Roy Jay, president o f the African Am erican Cham ber o f C om m erce and m em ber of the initiative’s Community Advisory C om m ittee, wants to use the initiative to “start laying out a new roadm ap.” H e’s hoping that the initia tive will connect people from the com m unity w ith local b u sinesses. Jay suggested that the businesses be given loans that will be forgiven if they can meet certain bench marks. “PDC is a sleeping giant,” said Jay. John Jackley, director of com m unications and busi ness equity for the PDC, said that Jay and P osey’s ideas are feasible under the initia tive, pointing to sites on Swan Island that could accom m o date industrial jobs. J a c k le y a ls o p ro u d ly pointed out that last year that the PDC hit 25 percent in diversity in its contracted work force, and 22 percent o f people w ho got a c o n struction journey card w ork ing on the South Waterfront la st y e a r w ere p e o p le o f color, w hich is im pressive considering Portland is one o f the nation’s whitest cities. Jack ley also m entioned that the PD C has adopted “social equity” as one o f its overarching goals. “W e’re going to set an ex am ple fo r the re st o f the country,” he said. However, the PDC might have a rough road ahead of it. F or years the PD C has been seen by African Am eri can residents o f north and northeast as just another arm o f a city that is indifferent, if not outright hostile, to them. In the 1960s and 70s the city o f P ortland displaced black homes and businesses in north and northeast Port land w ith the build in g o f M em orial Coliseum, the ex pansion Emmanuel Hospital, and the installation of the 1-5 freew ay. Karen G ibson, associate professor o f urban studies and Portland State U niver sity, said that for years the area has experienced “dis investm ent” from housing d iscrim in atio n and banks w ithholding credit to local businesses. The PDC also neglected the area for d e cades, while it focused atten tio n on d o w n to w n , she added. G ib so n d e sc rib e d it as “ironic” that the blight in north and northeast Portland the city contributed to is the reason why the PDC has turned its attention to the area. T he P D C ’s activ ity has caused property values to soar, pricing out historic resi dents. This distrust was evident at the first of 11 public m eet ings held by the initiative’s Com munity Advisory C om mittee, com posed o f stake holders from the community, last month at the Billy Webb Elks Lodge. “Every time development comes, it jumbles the neigh borhood,” said Adrian Hamp ton, a long-time resident of the area at the meeting. Posey questioned whether the PDC had “the guts” to do what was really needed. “At the end of the day we all know that w e’re not in telligently looking at what the needs are, and applying the resources to the needs,” said Posey, before adding, “PDC is doing better.” Jackley said that the com m ission is aware of the bad blood betw een it and resi dents o f north and northeast Portland, and sees the initia tive as an opportunity to re build trust. “T h e r e ’s a trem e n d o u s amount o f past history that has to be overcome, and the only way you do it is with actu al h ard re s u lts ,” said Jackley. Gibson remains skeptical th at the PDC can slow gentrification with this initia tive since it relies on rising property values to fill its cof fers. B eca u se the PD C b o r rows against future property taxes in an urban renew al area to fund its programs it has a vested interest in see ing them rise, which displaces re sid e n ts and b u sin esses, explained Gibson. Such a fi nancing arrangement is "the definition of gentrification,” she said. The PDC is looking to ex pand the boundaries o f its urban renewal areas under the initiative, which presents com m unity members with a big bargaining chip, she ex plained. W ELLS FA R G O With you when you've. « c-ot^ixy of 4 Even when it feels like you’re on your own, we’ve got your back. W ith Wells Fargo, you get the support you need for your business. We offer free financial reviews, educational tools and other resources to help you succeed. As the leading small business lender in the U.S., we are com m itted to helping you find financing solutions. In 2008. we celebrated lending $1 billion to African American small businesses over the prior ten years. Now, our new goal is to lend an additional $t billion by 2018. Wells Fargo is with you to help you finance the future you ve designed for yourself Together we’ll go far wellsfargo.com •0 ?009Welh Fargo Bank. NA. 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