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