• I »
I
A Passion
for Fashion
I I
Not Running
Mayor decides
to focus on
job at hand
Jefferson grad
makes good in
New York
See page 3
See Metro, page 13
Read back issues of the Portland Observer at www.portlandobserver.rnm
‘City ^/Roses’
Volume XXXXI. Number 31
One Love
for Alberta
Wednesday • August 3, 2011
A * 3*
® »
1 '
Advocates strive to
keep the diversity
C ari H achmann
T he P ortland O bserver
by
Once largely the essence of African American
community and culture, Alberta Street has trans­
formed dramatically over recent years. Now a vibrant
arts district colored with people of all persuasion and
strewn with trendy shops, cafés, bars and galleries,
the historical hub has evolved at a lion’s pace.
Longtime residents witness from their front porches
a demographic shift taking shape as a flux of newcom­
ers, largely white, move into a once familiar neighbor­
hood. Fixed in nostalgia’s grasp, many question the
price of change, while others stroll the street unaware
o f its past.
Despite an unshared history, most living in the
area can agree that Alberta Street has always been
the heart of a northeast Portland community, where
the peoples love for the unique neighborhood is a
common one.
As final preparations are made for the annual
Alberta Street Fair coming Saturday, Aug. 13, a four-
committee team of 55 volunteers, a majority of who
are residents from the neighborhood, are striving to
make the Alberta district a better place and keep
diversity at heart.
Sharing the love for the community is Sara
Wittenburg, the executive director of the community
group Alberta Main Street.
I A
t
Established in 1970
Commuted to Cultural Diversity
A Wisconsin native and nine-year local to Port­
land, Wittenburg brings 20 years of experience in
community development and public service to her
job. Once a Peace Corps volunteer in Belize, she
worked as a non-profit consultant before turning her
attention toward another passion, Alberta Street.
Wittenburg and her volunteers rallied for a grant
that would designate Alberta as part of the Main
Street program, an approach developed by the Na­
tional Trust for Historic Preservation that advocates
a return to community self-reliance, local empower­
ment, and the rebuilding of urban and historic com­
mercial districts.
Last summer, Alberta Main Street became one of
three Portland neighborhoods, including St. Johns
and Hillsdale to receive city funding that would
begin the revitalization of the Alberta commercial
district.
“The love that people have for this community is
heart wrenching and impressive,” said Wittenburg.
“People move here to take part in a unique commu­
nity unlike other business districts,” she said.
She points across the street to the two busi­
nesses that suffered fire damage earlier this year and
describes how neighboring owners offered them
another storefront so they could stay open while
finding finances for repairs.
Along the same neighborly mindset, Wittenburg
said she is keen on keeping Alberta local, sustainable,
and diverse, defending the statistic that 68-cents of
every dollar spent at a locally-owned business stays
continued
on page 2
Astounded by the amount o f compassion
and interest residents and visitors have for
Alberta, the new executive director o f Alberta
Main Street, Sara Wittenburg, along with a
team o f volunteers, are committed to
keeping the heart o f Alberta Street commu­
nity diverse, local and sustainable.
C ari H achmann /
T he P ortland O bserver
photo by
/
Community Comes Together for Teen’s Funeral
Yashanee Vaughn
Remembered
Friends and fam ily gathered
S atu rd ay at the C ity B ible
Church to rem em ber and cel­
ebrate Yashanee Vaughn, the
young girl who went m issing
four m onths ago after she was
believed to be killed by her boy­
friend.
Police recovered her body
from Rocky Butte in northeast Portland
two weeks ago. A fter long m ourning the
disappearance of their 14-year
old daughter, Y ashanee’s fam ­
ily finally had the chance to
give her a proper memorial.
At the funeral, a group o f
girls danced and sang songs
c e le b ra tin g the frien d they
called “Bonnie B.”
Red ribbons adorned her fam­
—
_
ily and clergy matching flower
Yashanee Vaughn
g a rla n d s that d rap ed o v er
Vaughn’s casket. Near a thousand people
filled the church pews to celebrate Yashanee’s
life and grieve for her family’s loss.
“I w asn’t going to stop until I found my
baby, and I admit that,” her mother Shaquita
Louis said. V aughn’s fam ily told the audi­
ence they never gave up looking for their
daughter and thanked friends and sup­
porters who help to keep her search in the
public’s eye.
“ S h e ’s a lw a y s g o in g to be in
everybody’s h earts,” R eynelda Hayes,
V aughn’s grandm other, told Fox 12. “I’m
ju st going to rem em ber her as a happy,
bubbly carefree girl. I ’m not going to for­
get her, ever.”
Form er teachers rem em bered Vaughn
as a social butterfly, alw ays bonding with
those around her. “ Yashanee was easy to
friend and love,” Ellon Manly remembered.
Elizabeth Jenson, the principal o f Open
M eadow M iddle School where Vaughn
attended, said, “I have never met anyone
in 12 years o f working with the students
continued
on page 2