February 25, 2015
The
Portland Observer Black
INSIDE
The
Week in Review
page 2
C ALENDAR
page 6
J EROME K ERSEY
page 7
M ETRO
page 11
History Month
This page
Sponsored by:
L OCAL N EWS
PHOTO BY O LIVIA O LIVIA /T HE P ORTLAND O BSERVER
The Ambridge Event Center, located next door to the Oregon Convention Center in northeast Port-
land, has apologized and offered to host Portland’s Black PFLAG chapter for free after first turning
away the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender support group’s rental application.
Making Amends
Gay organization
welcomed back
BY O LIVIA O LIVIA
T HE P ORTLAND O BSERVER
The Ambridge Event Center, a
popular event space in northeast
Portland, has apologized to
Portland’s Black PFLAG chapter and
offered to provide free meeting space
for an upcoming anniversary party
after first turning away the group in
an action that may have violated
Oregon’s public accommodation
laws.
Alan Peters, Ambridge manager,
released a statement last week af-
firming that the Ambridge Center
does not discriminate against po-
pages 10-16
C LASSIFIEDS
O PINION
pages 18-19
Page 3
page 17
tential customers because of gen-
der expression, sexual orientation,
or race, among other things.
The statement was a dramatic
turnaround from two weeks ago
when an Ambridge Center employee
wrote to PFLAG saying that be-
cause Holy Rosary Catholic Church
down the street owned the event
space, they would not be welcome
because they are an LGBT organiza-
tion. The employee, Elizabeth
Gutierrez is now on leave, Peters
said.
Church officials, while initially
saying they needed to review their
contract with Ambridge manage-
ment to determine the grounds for
renting space to various organiza-
tions, now say there is nothing to
prevent the rental.
“The Ambridge is an indepen-
dent, private business that man-
ages events in a building owned by
our parish,” said Father Vincent M.
Kelber of the Holy Rosary Catholic
Church. “I have reviewed our con-
tract with Ambridge and see no rea-
son why, under the terms of our
contract, this event could not be
held there. Had Ambridge asked,
this is what we would have said.”
Multnomah County property tax
records show the Ambridge Center
is a church facility and has received
an exception from property taxes for
the past decade.
Khalil Edwards, director of
Portland’s black PFLAG chapter,
confirmed that the group would be
holding their April anniversary party
at the Ambridge, and would with-
continued
on page 4
Portland Rejoins Terrorism Task Force
A divided Portland City Council on Thursday voted
3-2 to assign two officers to the Joint Terrorism Task
Force, despite objections from The Center for Intercul-
tural Organizing, the Japanese American Citizens
League, Jewish Voices for Peace, the American Civil
Liberties Union, and notable African American leader
Avel Gordly.
The decision reverses Portland’s outlier status
nationally as the only big city that doesn’t assign
officers to participate on a full-time basis.
Mayor Charlie Hales provided the decisive vote
for the city’s involvement in the task force, joining
commissioners Dan Saltzman and Nick Fish. Com-
missioners Amanda Fritz and Steve Novick voted
against having Portland re-joining the anti-terror-
ism enforcement group, which the city left nearly 10
years ago.
Hales voted against involvement in the task force
when he was a city commissioner in 2001. But “given
events in the world, including the Boston Marathon
bombing, Hales said he now supports having Portland
re-join the force.