WWW . THESKANNER . COM
J UNE 27, 2012
P ORTLAND , O REGON
V OLUME XXXIV, N O . 26
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C HALLENGING P EOPLE TO S HAPE A B ETTER F UTURE N OW
New FBI
Building’s
History
REFLECTIONS CLOSES
Developer/owner
Molasky has past link
to organized crime
The FBI Gets a New Building
Standing at 9109 Cascades Parkway, close
to Portland International Airport, the new
FBI building employed more than 1000 dif-
ferent craftsmen and women, an average of
150 people a day, during the 16 months it
was under construction.
“More than 80 percent of the labor came
from the Portland area,” said George
Northcroft, Regional Administrator for the
United States General Services Administra-
tion. “That is true economic development.”
At 134,000 square feet, and four stories
tall, the building brings together all the
FBI’s local staff, until now scattered in dif-
ferent locations.
PHOTO BY JULIE KEEFE
T
he Skanner News would like to tell
you what the FBI’s brand-new $60
million building looks like inside.
We’d like to tell you about the art – we hear
it’s wonderful. And about the sustainable
features that developer Irwin A. Molasky
says probably will earn it the U.S. Green
Building’s LEED Gold certification –right
now it’s at LEED Silver.
We’d like to tell you more. But we can’t,
because media were not allowed to enter the
building. At the grand opening about 100
guests were offered tours. Reporters? Sorry.
Not even without a camera.
But secrecy is not the only intriguing
aspect of the FBI’s move to Airport Way.
For one thing, the government does not
actually own the FBI building; it’s leasing it
from the Molasky Development Group,
which also owns three other FBI buildings:
in San Diego, Minneapolis and Cincinnati.
But there’s more. Irwin A. Molasky, the
group’s founder, has a colorful history that
includes links to mob money, Hollywood
and a 1994 racketeering investigation.
Surprised? There’s more. Another guest
at the Portland event, married to a co-owner
of The Molasky Group, served time for
fraud, but now builds stunning beachfront
properties in Southern California.
Gloria McMurtry, owner of Reflections Coffee and Books, is closing her store on Saturday after 17 years in the
community.
Major Community Center — Gone
Owner says she’s ready to move on, locals not ready to let go
By Bruce Poinsette
Of The Skanner News
T
wo old friends sit in a
corner of Reflections
Coffeehouse. If you
closed your eyes to listen to
their exchange, you’d think
the place was packed. Howev-
er, there are only four people
in the room, including this
reporter.
Suddenly one man calls over
to the counter.
“Young man come over
here,” says Darrel Griffith.
“You remind me of my grand-
son.”
He and longtime friend Tom
Boothe are regulars at Reflec-
tions. They come to drink cof-
fee, talk about current events
and trade jokes. The men have
become known personalities at
the store. However, their days
of
convening
at
Reflections/Talking
Drum
Bookstore are coming to a
close.
After 17 years, the store will
be closing at the end of June,
to the dismay of many in Port-
land’s Black community.
“This means the demise of
one more Black business that
will shrink the community
even smaller,” says Boothe.
“I’m just glad someone is cov-
ering this. So often these
things just happen.”
Reflections/Talking Drum
has served as a Black hub and
meeting place for a variety of
community members in
Northeast Portland. Neigh-
bors, community organizers
and politicians alike have
come to embrace the store as
the place of choice to gather
and exchange the news of the
day.
Boothe has been a regular at
Reflections for the last two
years but he’s resided in Port-
land since 1963. Throughout
his years in Northeast Port-
land, he says few Black busi-
nesses have survived as long.
He notes that the surrounding
community has transformed
over the years, with many
Blacks moving out to East
Portland and Gresham.
See GLORIA on page 3
See FBI on page 3
INDEX
News ................2,3,8,9
Opinion ..................4,5
A & E ............6,7,10,11
Food..........................8
Bids/Classifieds....9- 11
East Portland Youth Get New Programs
From family services to kids’ activities, more volunteers are needed
By Helen Silvis
Of The Skanner News
P
ortland Police have moved their gang
specialists to East precinct for the
summer, and Multnomah County
Sheriff’s Office is stepping up patrols and
partnering with the Rosewood Initiative to
support neighbors and youth.
“We have a ton of youth who live in this
neighborhood and there’s not a lot for them
to do here,” said Jenny Glass, executive
director of the Rosewood Initiative. The
Rosewood Initiative has opened The Rose-
wood Café on S.E. 162nd and Stark as part
of its mission to build community and sup-
port youth and families in East Portland.
“We are trying our best to create things for
them to do. The needs are really immediate.
We can’t wait to deal with these things.
Summer is here.”
Glass was one of about 40 people who
turned out to the East Portland Youth Vio-
lence Prevention Community Meeting, June
20. The crowd at Papa’s Pizza was about
half the size of the last meeting, probably,
Glass said, because the café had hosted two
See YOUTH on page 9