Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current, June 08, 2011, Page 14, Image 14

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    Page 14
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Avalon Flowers
520 SW 3rd Ave., Portland, OR 97204 • 503-796-9250
A full service
flow er experience
• Birthdays
• Funerals
Anniversaries
Weddings
Open: M on.-Fri. 7:30am til 5:30pm
Saturday 9am til 2pm.
Cori Stewart-
Owner, Operator
r
Website: avalonflowerspdx.com
email: avalonflowers@msn.com
We Offer Wire Services
Dentures Worth
Smiling About!
• Professional Services • Affordable Prices
Payment Plans: OAC
• Over 20 years experience
• Full & Partial Dentures • Natural Appearance
Full Service Lab • Accepting Oregon Health Plan
Melanie Block, L.D.
D enturist
503-230-0207
200 NE 20th Ave., Suite 100
Portland OR 97232
Free parking
Hodge Comprehensive Counseling Service
Portland Congress Center
1001 SW Frith Avenue. Sto 1100. Portland. Oregon 9 7 2 0 4
Phono: 5 0 3 -2 2 0 -1 7 9 0
Email: hodgehapks@msn.com
Fax: 1+ 50 3 -2 2 0 -1 8 1 5
www.hodgecounseling.com
Counseling God's Way
Services Include;
• Relationship Specialist
• Stress Management
• Grief Counseling
• PTSD
501 c.3 and Sliding Fee Scale
• Motivational Speaker
June 8, 2011
Parade Celebrates Friends of Trees
Portland General Electric will
team up with Friends of Trees
for a float for Saturday’s Rose
Festival Grand Floral Parade.
The float’s theme - Right
Tree, Right Place, Right On! -
celebrates Friends of T rees’
“Plant It Portland!” campaign, a
three-year project with a goal of
planting 16,000 street trees in
neighborhoods on the east side
of the Willamette River.
Friends of Trees supporters
will ride on the float, including
north Portland resident Mary
Harrell who has worked as the
Friends of Trees .office manager
since 1995.
a big difference,” she said.
The “Plant It Portland!” cam ­
paign helps change the city from
grey to green by bringing aware­
ness to the need for street trees.
The message is deli vered through
both whimsical graphics and
grassroots efforts, including: yard
signs, door hangers and com mu­
nity outreach.
According to Friends of Trees,
PGE and its employees have
Mary Harrell
supported the organization since
Harrell said the tree plantings its inception 22 years ago, volun­
improve both the look and health teering thousands of hours and
of communities.
supporting their several neigh­
“The trees we plant may be borhood plantings and watershed
small, but they grow up and make restoration projects.
Law Supports Doulas in Childbirth
Birth companion can improve pregnancy outcomes
Infant mortality among African-
Americans in Oregon is two times
higher than that of Caucasians. Stud­
ies show that this population group
is less likely to receive adequate
maternal care, and as a result, have
higher incidences of infant mortal­
ity and premature births.
Monday, lawmakers in Salem
passed a measure to direct the Or­
egon Health Authority to investi­
gate how doulas can improve birth
outcomes for women with dispro­
portionately poor birth outcomes.
The law, sponsored by Rep. Tina
Kotek and Rep. Lew Frederick,
Democrats from north and north­
east Portland, was sent to Gov.
Kitzhaber’s desk for signing.
“Doulas provide critical support
for moms before, during and after
birth,” said Kotek. “Doulas help
bring down costs in the health care
system, by helping moms stay
healthy and keeping their babies
healthy.”
Ilesha Johnson, who gave birth
to her daughter on May 24 says she
learned of a volunteer doula pro­
gram at the International Center for
Traditional Childbearing, a Portland
group which helped pass the new
law.
“My doula helped during my
pregnancy with transportation,
foot m assages, a listening ear and
resources. She provided labor
support, advocated for my birth
plan and she stayed with me until
the birth o f my daughter. And she
helped me after the birth with
breastfeeding and parenting as­
sistance. I highly recom m end
w orking with doula," Johnson
said.
The legislation defines a doula as
“a birth companion who provides
personal, nonmedical support to
women and families throughout a
women’s pregnancy, childbirth and
post-partum experience.”
Housing Authority Changes Name
‘Home Forward’
promotes mission
The Housing Authority of Port­
land (HAP) has embarked on a new
name, Home Forward, which it be­
lieves better reflects the organiza­
tion identity as the largest housing
provider for low income and disad­
vantaged populations in the state.
“During our strategic planning
process last year, we found that our
name was confusing to some part­
ners,” said Lee Moore, chair of the
HAP Board o f Com m issioners.
“There was strong support for
changing our name to strengthen
relationships we currently have and
establish those we want to de­
velop.”
The organization said its former
name also was no longer a geo­
graphically accurate title because
the agency serves all of Multnomah
County, including the cities of
Gresham, Fairview, Troutdale and
other east county communities.
The public co rp o ratio n has
served the community for 70 years,
providing safe, decent and afford­
able housing for individuals and
families who are challenged by in­
come, disability or special needs.
The organization hopes the name
Home Forward will better portray
the organization’s progressive, mis­
sion-based attributes and connect
it with the community in a more
meaningful way.
Steve Rudman, executive direc­
tor, explained, “In developing the
new name and identity, we are har­
nessing that momentum and re-em-
phasizing our commitment to en­
gage our residents in moving their
lives forward. Homes are just the
beginning of that process.”
No Federal Charges in Campbell Case
c o n t i n u e d f r o m page 3
criminal civil rights laws, pros­
ecutors must establish, beyond a
reasonable doubt, that a law en­
forcement officer willfully deprived
an individual o f a constitutional
right, meaning with the deliberate
and specific intent to do something
the law forbids. Neither accident,
mistake, fear, negligence nor bad
judgment is sufficient to establish
such acriminal violation, justice de­
partment officials said.
After a careful review of the facts,
a team of federal prosecutors deter­
mined that the evidence was insuf­
ficient to prove, beyond a reason­
able doubt, that the law enforce­
m ent p erso n n el w ho fired at
Campbell acted willfully, meaning
with the deliberate and specific in­
tent to do something the law for­
bids.
The Justice Department said it
was committed to investigations of
allegations of excessive force by
law enforcement officers and will
continue to devote the resources
required to ensure that all allega­
tions of serious civil rights viola­
tions are fully and completely in­
vestigated.