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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (May 20, 2020)
Established in 1970 Restaurants in Crisis Feed Hungry Transit in the age of COVID-19 Program is a win- win for homeless, small businesses TriMet requires passengers to wear masks See Local News, page 3 See story, page 2 PO QR code Volume XLVIV • Number 13 ‘City of Roses’ www.portlandobserver.com Wednesday • May 20, 2020 Committed to Cultural Diversity Geneva’s Closed for Good Legacy business a victim of COVID-19 M iChael l eighton P ortland o bServer e ditor Geneva’s Shear Perfection, the legacy barbershop and salon grounded in African American life in the heart of northeast Portland for the past 30 years, will not survive the loss of business brought on the Coronovaivus Pandemic. Paul Knauls Jr. and his father Paul Knuals Sr. confirmed to the Portland Observer Monday that Ge- neva’s has closed for good due the economic turmoil brought on by the Photo by S hawntell w aShington /t he P ortland o bServer public health crisis. The business, Paul Knauls (left) and Paul Knauls Jr., owners of Geneva’s Shear Perfection, a legacy barbershop and located at 5601 N.E. Martin Luther salon located in the heart of Portland’s African American community, announce the closing of their King Jr. Blvd., has been shuttered landmark business due to economic losses caused by the coronavirus public health crisis. by for eight weeks under the stay-at- home orders of Oregon Gov. Kate Brown to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Even if allowed to open under the loosening of public health re- strictions in the coming weeks, businesses such as Geneva’s would be difficult to operate amid the re- strictive actions recommended to avoid spreading the disease, Knauls Jr. posted on Facebook. In a letter, he thanked staff and explained the decision. “As you know COVID 19 has had devastating effect on so many businesses large and small includ- ing Geneva’s Shear Perfection,” he said. “It is with a heavy heart that af- ter almost 30 years Geneva’s Shear Perfection will not reopen. I want to express my sincerest gratitude to all who have stuck with our family for so many years. Thank you for your dedication and professionalism.” C ontinued on P age 5 Phased-in Openings Begin Safety and distancing requirements continue Demetria Hester reacts in court to the guilty verdicts against Jeremy Christian. (AP pool photo) Racism at Every Step Victim in Max attacks blames ‘white supremacy’ M iChael l eighton from the violence wants the com- P ortland o bServer e ditor munity, judge and jury to under- As Jeremy Christian awaits sen- stand how the legacy of white su- tencing for his deadly and racist C ontinued on P age 4 attacks on TriMet, a brave survivor by Oregon Gov. Kate Brown is allowing the vast majority of smaller cities and counties to re- open in a first phase of allowing businesses closed by the corona- virus pandemic to reopen under safe distancing requirements. Portland and the major population centers around the city expect to take similar actions over the next several days and weeks, officials said. Under the phase one guide- lines, restaurants and bars in ap- proved counties can reopen for Oregon Gov. Kate Brown sit-down service if they maintain six feet of distance between cus- tomers, limit groups to a maximum of 10 people, and require employ- ees to wear face masks. Salons and other “personal ser- vices” can also reopen in all but the Portland area for now, but only if they screen clients and follow other protocols. That screening consists of asking the customer if they feel sick, even though the coronavirus can be transmitted by infected peo- ple who feel no symptoms. Retail stores in Portland and across the state, regardless of whether they received phase one approval, can be open as long as they’re not in shopping malls or shopping centers and they limit the number of customers to maintain at least six feet of distance between people and employees in the store. The business must also post signs listing COVID-19 symptoms and frequently clean and sanitize work areas, high-traffic areas, and com- monly touched surfaces, and re- quire all employees to wear masks. “In each of these counties, we C ontinued on P age 4