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EDUCATIONCAREERS Special Edition
August 24, 2016
Brandi Webber, owner of Imagination Station Daycare Center, com-
pletes a Portland Development Commission program for minori-
ty-owned small businesses. Also pictured are Tory Campbell (left)
and Tavo Cruz of the PDC.
Tools for Business Growth
The Increase Project, PDC’s
pilot program to provide minori-
ty-owned small businesses with
the tools for growth and expan-
sion, recently recognized its first
class of graduates.
Each graduate spent almost 40
hours in class, as well as countless
additional hours completing prep
work and assignments, engaging
in peer-mentoring meetings, and
writing individual growth plans.
Next steps: implement those plans
and take the business to the next
level.
Congratulations to Michele
Sanders, Attic Journals; Jamaal
Lane, Champions Barbering In-
stitute; Salud Gonzalez, Don Fe-
lipe Products; Jasmine Tran, Es-
sance; Jamaal Hale, Good Green
Printing; Rachel Hestmark, Hes-
tmark Designs; Brandi Webber,
Imagination Station Daycare
Center; Ro Tam, Tanglewood
Beverage Company; Corinne
Phillips, Pretty Petals; and Jessi-
ca Chan, WinkPens.
Wheeler’s Black Leader
C ontinued from p age 2
the top press aide for current Dem-
ocratic nominee for Vice President
Tim Kaine, who at the time was the
Governor of Virginia.
“We are fortunate to have a
highly skilled manager, policy
expert, and proven leader in this
role. I expect a high degree of ex-
perience and professionalism from
my staff and Maurice Henderson
is the right person to help me build
and lead the team,” Wheeler said
in an official statement.
Henderson doesn’t have a set
start date for the position, but will
immediately merge with Wheel-
er’s administration as he transi-
tions into office this January.
Wheeler also reassigned cur-
rent Chief of Staff Tom Rinehart
into the Chief Administrative
Officer and director of the Of-
fice of Management and Finance
position. Rinehart will begin his
position Oct. 1, which entails see-
ing over finance, revenue, human
resources and other essential city
government affairs.
Club Owner Sues City
C ontinued from p age 3
appealing to black people.”
Other issues Thames says she
experienced since her takeover of
Exotica in 2010, included “dra-
conian” liquor restrictions placed
on the club, and an incident with
OLCC officer that led to Thames
being held in custody for resisting
arrest and interfering with a peace
officer. The Multnomah County
District Attorney determined the
arrest was unjust and refused to
charge her and she was released,
according to the complaint.
Club Skinn, a white-owned
strip club on Northeast Cully and
Prescott, just a 10 minute drive
from Exotica’s old location at 240
N.E. Columbia Blvd., has seen
both homicide and sexual ha-
rassment allegations and remains
seemingly untouched by the
OLCC - a point Thames makes in
her lawsuit.
She also points to a grim statis-
tic that despite a 6.3 percent black
population in Portland, there are
only three black-owned bars or
clubs, and none of them cater to
black youth in the city or the hip-
hop music usually associated with
the culture.