&
Passion
The Grotto’s
Choral Festival
Exhibit tells
story o f
African-
Atnerican baseball
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Heaven and
earth sing with
nightly concerts
See Metro, page 9
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Read back issues of the Portland Observer at www.portlandobserver.com
'City 0 /Roses’
Volume XXXXI, Number 50
Wednesday • December 14, 2011
Established in 1970
Committed to Cultural Diversity
communin' service
Audit Check
Sinks CEO
t< 12
Urban League fiscal
practices threaten services
by M indy C ooper
T he P ortland O bserver
After Urban League of Port
land President and C hief Execu
tive O fficer M arcus Mundy re
signed Friday in response to
scrutiny surrounding his spend
ing practices, the non-profit,
w hich has served vulnerable
populations throughout the city
for decades, is trying to find a
way to move forward.
“We will continue t© pursue
and address this issue,” Lolenzo
Poe, Board C hair for the Urban
League of Portland, said M on
d ay . “ W e w ill w o rk w ith
M ultnom ah County to ensure
that all the things that need to be
in place are there.”
A ccording to David Austin,
com m unication spokesperson
for M ultnomah County, if the
Urban League does not provide
proof of fiscal controls this week,
the county has an obligation to
continued
on page 4
photo by M indy C ooper /T he P ortland O bserver
The North Russell Street offices o f the Urban League o f Portland is decorated with historical figures
who led the civil rights organization over the years. Multnomah County threatens to pull its financial
assistance to the non-profit after a recent audit found questionable spending practices.
Shelters Exceed Capacity as Cold Hits
Whole families take
refuge in east
Portland church
by C ari H achmann
T he P ortland O bserve
PHOTO BY C A R I HACHMANN/THE PORTLAND OBSERVER
Joe and Cristal Moreno take refuge from the cold in an east Portland homeless shelter opened exclusively for
families through the work o f the non-profit group Human Solutions.
On another bone-chilled night, the doors were
open to the Homeless Family Winter Shelter at East
Presbyterian Church where 90 families sought ref
uge from the wintry cold, more than one third were
children, a record-high since the shelter opened
three-years-ago.
A baby cried, as bundled mothers and fathers
rolled up with strollers and belongings. Some chil
dren clung to their parent’s warm chests, while
others laughed and squirmed about the foggy court
yard, unknowingly making the best of an otherwise
dismal situation.
Late fall and winter sounds the alarm for non
profits to open emergency shelters in Portland, like
the church space at 12505 N.E. Halsey Street, which
is run by Human Solutions. Last month, the agency
continued
on page 5
(