WWW . THESKANNER . COM
A UGUST 10, 2011
P ORTlAND , O REGON
V OlUME XXXIII, N O . 41
25
CENTS
I NSIDE
Tea Party Impasse
page 4
‘The Help’
page 5
US Debt Downgrade
C hallenging P eoPle to S haPe a B etter F uture n ow
Census
Expert
Speaks
page 8
Swim for Safety
We are not who we
think we are. So who
are we?
By helen Silvis
of The Skanner News
hElEN SIlvIS photo
T
erryl Ross can predict the future. He
will be telling all about it next
Tuesday, 11:30 am, Aug. 16 at
Portland City Hall. How can he do that?
Ross doesn’t have a crystal ball or a time
machine. What he does have are the latest
census figures. And they tell a powerful
story about Portland, about Oregon and
about America. Come along, he says, and
watch the data shatter some outdated, yet
persistent myths.
“We are not who we think we are,” Ross
says. “We are making decisions based on
false perspectives about who Americans
are.”
“The Changing Face of America: What
the 2010 Census Isn’t Telling You” is the
title of a presentation that will explain what
Ross means when he says we don’t know
who we are. It will cover key trends
revealed by the census, including the truth
about our diversity, the wealth gap, migra-
tion and more. What you’ll learn will give
you new insights into the real challenges we
face, and how we can solve them for future
generations.
“It’s data driven: this won’t be about what
I think. It’s about what the data says,” Ross
told the Skanner News. “I want to people to
examine this for themselves. We’ll look at
how this is affecting us and what it all
means.”
Ross, who has a Ph.D. in educational
communication and technology, argues we
can create better solutions if we simply rec-
ognize the truth about ourselves. For exam-
ple, one in every three Americans is either a
senior or a baby boomer who soon will be a
senior. And one in every four people has at
least one parent who is an immigrant. If that
surprises you, Ross has plenty more facts to
fire you up.
“Everything is going to change – it’s
already changing,” he says. “People feel
Olympic gold medal swimmer Cullen Jones visited the Wattles Girls and Boys Club to talk about why all kids should
learn to swim, before bringing five of the boys and girls who attend the club to the Multnomah Athletic Club for a
special lesson. The American Medical Response River Rescue Team will distribute copies of Portland Parks and
Recreation’s swim lesson schedules to all parents at Safe Kids Water Training: 10:30 am Aug. 18. at Troutdale Parks
and Recreation’s Glen Otto Park. The AMR team also will be providing water safety information from 10am-2pm Aug.
27 at Clackamas Town Center Safety Fair.
North Williams Avenue – 1956
Much-discussed corridor has long history of gentrification
By lisa loving
of The Skanner News
D
octors’ offices, bike
shops,
groceries,
churches and an ice
cream store. Manufacturing,
greenspace, boutiques, salons
and plenty of affordable hous-
ing.
If ever the City of Portland
wanted a model for a 20-minute
urban neighborhood, Albina in
1956 was it.
Until city leaders opted to
bulldoze it for “urban renewal.”
The current debate about
North Williams Avenue – once
the heart of Albina’s business
district — is only the latest
chapter in a long story of devel-
opment and redevelopment.
the Skanner news this week
unveils our special tribute to the
families who lost their homes
and businesses over the past 60
years with this interactive
Google map feature listing
every business along North
Williams Avenue in 1956 –
including
Dr.
DeNorval
Unthank’s medical office —
paired with a street view of what
is on North Williams now.
Go to our website at
www.theskanner.comto read the
map, “Portland Gentrification:
The North Williams Avenue
That Was -- 1956.”
a Fateful Era
For Albina, the district which
included the city’s traditionally
African American neighbor-
hoods, 1956 represents the
height of home ownership, busi-
ness success and tightly-bound
family connections.
See Who on page 3
INDEX
News ................2,3,6,8
Opinion ...............4,6,7
A & E .........................5
Food..........................6
Bids/Classifieds ..........7
It was a watershed year for
other reasons as well: Terry
Doyle Schrunk won election to
mayor on an urban renewal plat-
form, firmly laying the track for
creation of the Portland
Development Commission two
years later – the arm of city gov-
ernment which carried out
wide-scale demolition of neigh-
borhoods for decades to come.
It was the year voters
approved
construction
of
Memorial Coliseum in the Eliot
neighborhood, ensuring the
See avENuE on page 3
What’s a Mayor to Do? Jobs, Crime, Sports
We asked candidates for mayor in 2012 to lay out their priorities
N
ow Mayor Sam Adams says won’t
be running for a second term, candi-
dates are lining up to succeed him.
The Skanner News asked Charlie Hales,
Eileen Brady and Max Brumm which chal-
lenges they would prioritize if elected
mayor.
We know one thing for sure about who
will be elected Portland’s next mayor: it
won’t be Mayor Sam Adams. Adams bowed
out last week, leaving the field wide open.
Candidates can file officially with the City’s
Auditor’s office from Sept. 8, but two high
profile Portlanders already have announced
they will run.
Gearing up to be Portland’s Mayor are:
Charlie Hales, a city commissioner from
1993 to 2002; and Eileen Brady, CEO of
New Season’s markets. But if the 2012 race
runs true to form, these likely frontrunners
will face plenty of opposition. Max Brumm,
a 19-year-old Clackamas Community
College student and baseball player, is one
of the first to step up to the plate. And many
others are expected to file before the closing
date March 6, 2012.
Whoever wins the mayor’s job will be
responsible for a city budget of $3.6 billion
See Mayor on page 3