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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (July 13, 2011)
WWW . THESKANNEr . COm J uly 13, 2011 P OrTlANd , O rEGON V OlumE XXXIII, N O . 37 25 CENTS I NSIDE To be Equal page 4 Harry Potter page 7 Black Apprentice C hallenging P eoPle to S haPe a B etter F uture n ow Black Families Struggle page 10 Summer DayS Black Economic Gains Reversed in Great Recession BAlTImoRE (AP) — Growing up black in the segregated 1960s, Deborah Goldring slept two to a bed, got evicted from apart- ment after apartment, and watched her step- father climb utility poles to turn their dis- connected lights back on. Yet Goldring pulled herself out of poverty and earned a middle-class life — until the Great Recession. First, Goldring’s husband fell ill, and they drained savings to pay for nursing homes before he died. Then Goldring lost her exec- utive assistant job in the Baltimore hospital where she had worked for 17 years. The cru- elest blow was a letter from the bank, intending to foreclose on her home of almost three decades. Millions of Americans endured similar financial calamities in the recession. But for Goldring and many others in the black com- munity, where unemployment has risen since the end of the recession, job loss has knocked them out of the middle class and back into poverty. Some even see a historic reversal of hard-won economic gains that took black people decades to achieve. Goldring remembers her mother taping the window shades to the wall so no one could see them stealing electricity. She remembers each time she sat on the curb with her three brothers, surrounded by her family’s belongings, waiting for a new place to live. Sitting on those curbs, she promised to always pay her bills on time. Now, after finding herself poor again, “the only word I can say is devastated,” says Goldring, 58. “For me to live that life we were so com- fortable in, we never had to worry about finances, we always had money where I can help my kids and my grandchildren — to go to calling my daughter to borrow $100 because I can’t pay a bill …” Goldring’s voice trails off as she struggles to hold back The Calvert family enjoyed the summer sunshine at Peninsula Park, Wednesday. Pictured are: Jordan Calvert pushing his grandmother Kimberly Calvert (left) and mom Tasha Calvert on the swings, while his sister Naomi plays. After Crimes Seeznin’s Closes They labeled my bar a gang bar not understanding it’s not that at all By Helen Silvis of The Skanner News S am Thompson dreamed of running a bar that could bring people together to enjoy themselves and also be a positive force in Portland. Last December, when he opened Seeznin’s Bar and Grill on 82nd Avenue, his hopes were high. But just months down the road that dream is shattered. Now Thompson says he has been forced to close Seeznin’s for good. See RcESSSIoN on page 3 INDEX News ......................2,3 Opinion ..................4,5 Interview...............6,10 A & E .........................7 Food..........................8 Bids/Classifieds ..........9 PHoTo BY JulIE kEEfE By Jesse Washington AP National Writer Unlike most rapid restaurant closures, money isn’t the main reason. What’s at issue is how Portland deals with gangs and violence. And how Portland Police Department view Thompson’s bar and his pre- dominantly , but far from exclu- sively, young Black customers. “I called the bar Seeznin’s because that’s my name,” said Thompson. “So every time you say something bad about it that’s hurting me.” Portland Police Chief Mike Reese made his views clear in a letter he wrote June 28th, asking the Oregon Liquor Commission to immediately suspend Seeznin’s liquor license. In his letter, Reese cites the fatal shooting June 26 of Leonard Irving, on 82nd Avenue oppo- site the bar. He also character- izes the bar as a hangout for “Crip” gang members and con- nects it to the April 10 shooting death of 19-year-old Mario Marin, at nearby NE 86th St. and Sacramento. “Based on the history of seri- ous and persistent problems and the authority granted under ORS 183.430 (2), I am request- ing an emergency suspension,” Reese says in the letter. “I believe the recent events of doc- umented gang activity and two murders associated with the establishment in the last ninety days, gives you grounds to enact such order.” Thompson says Chief Reese is unfair in his conclusions. “They have labeled my bar as a gang bar, not understanding that it’s not that at all,” he main- See SEEzNIN’S on page 3 Killingsworth Station Offers Green Homes First-time homebuyers can get help with down payments, taxes T he new Killingsworth Station devel- opment at North Killingsworth and Interstate Avenue offers energy effi- cient homes with down payment assistance for first-time low-income homebuyers. First-time homebuyers don’t expect to find a home with a green roof, a solar-pow- ered water heater and energy efficient appli- ances already installed. But that’s precisely what’s on offer in Portland at the new Killingsworth Station development at North Killingsworth and Interstate Avenue. Even better, the homes include financing help for first-time low-income buyers. “If a buyer makes less than $45,600 and they are a first-time buyer or haven’t bought a home in the last three years, a Portland Development Commission- sponsored pro- gram will loan the buyer $25,000, which essentially means you have no down pay- ment,” said Ben Andrews, of Willamette Realty Group, who is managing the sales. The zero-interest loans are also forgiv- able: 25 percent is forgiven if you stay in the home for 10 years, and the entire loan is for- given after 15 years. In addition, Andrews said, property taxes on the homes are abated for 10 years, so they will be fixed at $350 a See HomES on page 3
