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local news Festival continued from page 1 and other community groups, such as the ‘Restore the Village’ campaign, will meet up at the PROPER festival and form relationships that connect ’s efforts to help youth. Kyna Harris, who leads Oregon Action’s healthy kids initiative, will speak at the festival. Harris, who earned an MBA from , has also worked for the Black Parent Initiative. Children, teenagers and adults all will find something to enjoy at the festival, including games, a bas- ketball shootout with prizes, a skate- board ramp and activities, also with prizes. A stage will showcase spoken word poets, dancers Bobby Fouther and GNC Ministries, rappers Concrete Evangelists, comedian David Little, the 25th Hour Band, Blue Reign, Chris Mondaine, and festival co-founder E.D. Mondaine, who performs with ‘Belief.’ E.D. Mondaine and Belief recently released their new album, fea- turing ‘Cry Loud’ a tribute to the resi- dents of Another draw at the festival is the annual transportation and awards Free health screenings will be on offer through the afternoon. Don’t eat or drink for three hours in advance, if you would like to have your blood sugar checked – a test for diabetes. E.D. Mondaine, senior pastor at , created PROPER along with Pastor T y r o n e Sampson, who passed away, last year. P R O P E R stands for: P e o p l e Reaching Other People Expecting Restoration. Sampson’s widow, Deborah Sampson, worked with Michael Hunter, Niani Norman and Robin Gordon to create this year’s festival. PROPER is also known for its annu- al Thanksgiving dinner, a collabora- tion with Po’Shines Café at 8139. The group usually holds two summer events, but because of tight finances, this year has focused on the festival. K E N TO N PA R K show which brings classic cars and unusual and interesting vehicles. If you want to bring a show car, or any vehicle, simply register – for free –with Pastor Gordon at 503-890-5393. Youth nonprofits, churches, schools, recovery organizations, mentor organ- izations and support groups will have booths at the festival, offering infor- mation about resources and networks. OPENStrEEtMaP cONtrIButOrS, cc-By-Sa Find Good Food, Great Music and Networking for Youth at the PROPER Festival. PROPER will host the multicultural, everyone welcome, festival Saturday Aug. 27 delta continued from page 1 accomplished by a racially diverse group with about $800,000 to spend. “It’s history making because we took a brownfield, which was a toxic site, and made it into a green building,” she said. “We had basically chosen to take the high- est level of green building and take it high- er to the Living Building Challenge.” The June Key Center is named for the Delta soror who first came up with the idea in the early 1990s and pushed for it among the local com- munity as well as city and regional government bureaus and nonprofits. Key, who donated the property to the Deltas, died several years ago before seeing how far her vision would come. Watch a before-and-after slideshow of the project, set to a Stevie Wonder instrumental from “The Secret Life of Plants,” on their website, http://www.key-delta-living-build- ing.com/ . June Key Center has been consistently por- trayed by observers as being in competition with the Portland State University Oregon Sustainability Center, a high-rise, multi-use building in downtown Portland which has yet to break ground. The two projects were juxtaposed last year at the Seattle Living Future semi- nar which featured Poole-Jones and a team for the community center along- side representatives from the Sustainability Center, a mammoth $80 million project now slated to begin construction in early 2012, according to its website. So far only three buildings in the world have been certified as “Living —Chris Poole-Jones Buildings,” and they’re located in Missouri, Hawaii, and New York; a most advanced measure of sustainability in fourth has achieved partial recognition. A the built environment possible today and building must operate within the Living acts to diminish the gap between current Buildings guidelines for one year before limits and ideal solutions,” Living Future achievement official certification. “If they can achieve ‘Living Building’ says on its website. “Whether your project is a single building, a park, a college cam- after a year that will be truly significant,” pus or even a complete neighborhood com- said PDC spokeswoman Anne Mangan. munity, Living Building Challenge provides “The place it has in the neighborhood is a framework for design, construction and really important.” the symbiotic relationship between people and all aspects of the built environment.” Historic Milestone In the Living Building Challenge, the Marcelo Bonta, a member of the Verde Created by the International Living Future Institute, the challenge offers an array of standards touching on seven areas of build- ing consideration: “Site, Water, Energy, Health, Materials, Equity and Beauty.” “The purpose of the Living Building Challenge is straightforward – it defines the ‘We had basically chosen to take the highest level of green building and take it higher to the Living Building Challenge’ living Building challenge A cutting-edge environmental standard in building construction and redevelopment, the Living Building Challenge is an interna- tional movement to promote green building practices in local communities. outreach board as well as the founder and executive director of the Center for Diversity & the Environment, says the June Key Center could be a boost for similar projects on the future. “My organization works on diversity, inclusion and equity in the environmental and sustainable energy movements, and what’s wonderful about this project is – it’s by and for people of color and a perfect resource in the North Portland community,” he said. “Communities of color have been engaged in sustainability and the environ- ment for a long time, and it’s great to have a project such as this to gain the attention of a city like Portland as well as getting the attention of mainstream environmentalists.” Bonta says the crucial issue is access to the funds and resources to make similar ideas into reality. “I see projects like this coming more and more in the future, and communities of color have the commitment and skills and interest to do this work but they may not have adequate resources to do them,” he said. “Access to the funds and resources are important, but when it comes to engaging a Read the rest of this story online at www.theskanner.com Equity continued from page 1 Center; third, at Gilbert Heights Middle School; and finally at Zenger Farm. At each stop on the Equity Ride, speakers from sponsoring groups will explain how their work impacts equity and diversity issues, and what’s possible for future projects. Among the sponsors are: the Portland Opportunities Industrialization Center, the Latino Network, the Immigrant and Refugee Council of Oregon, the Asian and Pacific American Network of Oregon, the Audubon Society, the Center for Diversity and Environment, and The Skanner Foundation. Enjoy a tamale, courtesy of Hacienda CDC and find out more about transit in East Portland, as you discover the joy of biking on the new path along I-205. That project includes the planting of 10,000 trees and bushes along the edge of the freeway, help- ing to shield surrounding neighborhoods from air and noise pollution and creating a greener environment. Through it, METRO’s ‘Nature in Neighborhoods’ capi- tal program, working through the nonprofit Friends of Trees, created 31 temporary tree- planting jobs for youth through the Rosemary Anderson High School POIC program. “They get paid training as Friends of Trees crew leaders,” Romero said. “And the nonprofit Verde will help with establishing these trees, watering them and making sure they survive the first three years. “I think the users of this path are enjoying them.” “This event encourages people to network, so there may be some partnerships that come out of that. And we want to show that there is a way for equity to be an integral part of development.” -- Shelley Romero of ODOT LINKS http://eastportland.org/Eastneighborhoodsgatewaypagehttp://www.portlandon- line.com/shared/cfm/image.cfm?id=214221faststatsaboutEPO http://zengerfarm.org/ The Portland Skanner august 17, 2011 Page 3
