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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (June 18, 2014)
WWW . THESKANNER . COM J UNE 18, 2014 P ORTLAND AND S EATTLE V OLUME XXXVI, N O . 37 25 CENTS INSIDE: ANNUAL CONVENTION 2014 SPECIAL ISSUE C HALLENGING P EOPLE TO S HAPE A B ETTER F UTURE N OW Stories from the Street puts the culture into heart of Portland By Helen Silvis of The Skanner News A giant Hip Hop celebration is set to take over Pioneer Square in Portland from noon to 9 p.m. this Friday, June 20, followed by an after-party from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. at the Star Theater at 13 N.W. 6th Avenue. Stories from the Street, will include per- formances from some of Portland’s most innovative MCs and DJs, as well as break dancing, freestyle battles, and graffiti artists who will create a wall mural at the site. A crew of local food vendors will keep the Hip Hop faithful fed. Underground Hip Hop pioneer LuckyIam of Living Legends is one of the biggest names on the playbill along with local favorites The Resistance, Mic Crenshaw, Th3ory Hazit and Tope. The after-party includes performances from Young Mil, Think Tanx, C3, Scarub of Living Legends & C Rayz Walz. Break dance crews include: Ripcity Kingz, Zulu Nation and Portland City Rockers. The event aims to raise funds for home- less youth and to spread the message that Hip Hop can be a force for good in our com- munities, said organizer Talilo Marfil, who works at the nonprofit New Avenues for Youth. LuckyIam is doing the gig for free because it is a benefit. “I have a lot of respect for him for donat- ing his time,” Marfil said. “Everyone knows him. He is a legend in the underground com- munity.” A recovery and transitions advisor with New Avenues, Marfil says he has seen first- hand the positive effects of Hip Hop. Three performers: Hafa, Mars Barz, and A.R.C. have honed their skills through New Avenues’ Artist Mentorship Program. It’s a huge step to go from sleeping in a van and being homeless to telling your stories as performers at a large event, Marfil says. See HIP HOP on page 3 INDEX News ..............1,3,8-10 Opinion .....................2 Calendars ..............4,5 A & E ......................6,7 Bids/Classifieds ........11 PROUD GRAD Emerson Murray has his picture taken with his two god-daughters, Ava, 2, and Mya, 4, after attending his graduation ceremony from Seattle University Sunday, June 15 at Seattle Center. PHOTO BY SUSAN FRIED Hip Hop in the Square Rideshare Industry Mediation Mayor Murray wins kudos for brokering transportation agreement Of The Skanner News S eattle Mayor Ed Murray this week impressed polit- ical observers around the region by brokering a resolution to longstanding conflicts in the “for hire” transportation indus- try. Pulling the plug on a new city ordinance limiting the number of rideshare drivers on the road at any one time, the move in many ways brings cab- and rideshare companies onto the same page, essentially restruc- turing both. Murray says he will work with the Council to repeal the sus- pended ordinance and that new legislation will be rolled out “in the coming weeks.” Murray has been meeting since mid-April to strike a deal between taxi owners, dispatch companies, taxi drivers, for-hire owners and drivers, as well as transportation network compa- nies to find common ground in an industry that critics say has been slow to innovate locally. “The taxi industry is pleased that we can now compete and will soon offer mobile app tech- nology,” said Amin Shifow, who operates a wheelchair-accessi- ble cab. “We will soon be the only service that the public can get with smart phone, phone, taxi stand and traditional hail without discrimination.” Murray hailed what he called “Key terms of the deal:” • Transportation network companies and their drivers will be licensed and required to meet specific insurance requirements. • The City will work with the industry to clarify or change state insurance law to account for recent changes in the indus- try, similar to recent actions in Colorado. • There will be no cap on the number of transportation net- work company drivers. • The City will provide 200 new taxi licenses over the next four years. • Taxi and for-hire licenses will transition to a property right that is similar to a medallion in See RIDESHARE on page 3 Historic Re-enactments at Juneteenth Portland’s annual festival to combine Africa with Afro-America Lisa Loving Of The Skanner News O rganizers of Portland’s 2014 June- teenth event, coming up June 21 at Legacy Emanuel Field, say it’s going to be different from past years – and the best ever. Juneteenth Oregon received a community grant from the Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods, which has brought about a new educational focus for the annual festi- val — which still features great food, booths and tons of fun times in the sunshine. Juneteenth is the annual celebration com- memorating June 19, 1865 – the day Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, and enslaved Texans first learned that President Abraham Lincoln had signed the Emancipa- tion Proclamation two years earlier. Portland’s first Juneteenth parade was held on the Vanport docks during World War II by Muskogee, Okla. native Clara Peoples, now honored locally as the Mother of Juneteenth. The Clara People’s Freedom Trail Parade kicks off, as usual, at 11 a.m. on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, at N. Jarrett St., See JUNETEENTH on page 3
