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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (March 23, 2016)
MARCH 23, 2016 Portland and Seattle Volume XXXVIII No. 25 25 CENTS News ..........................3,9,10-12 A & E .................................... 6-8 Opinion ...................................2 Autonomous Cars ............9 Calendars ........................... 4-5 Bids/Classifieds ....................11 CHALLENGING PEOPLE TO SHAPE A BETTER FUTURE NOW PHOTO BY STEVE MORGAN (CC BY-SA 3.0) CLINTON V. SANDERS Transit activists have asked TriMet to implement a low-income fare similar to its reduced honored citizens fare for seniors and people with disabilities. BRU Asks For Low- Income Fare By Christen McCurdy Of The Skanner News L ast week organizers with Bus Rid- ers Unite — an advocacy group for transit-dependent people affiliated with OPAL Environmental Justice Oregon — rallied in Southeast Portland to ask TriMet for a low-income fare. Earlier this month TriMet released its proposed budget for fiscal year 2017, which includes plans to expand service, improve system reliability and add 50 new buses to its fleet. The agency also plans to complete infrastructure con- struction and begin testing the Hop FastPass electronic fare program using See TRIMET on page 3 PHOTOS BY SUSAN FRIED Organization says TriMet needs to reduce the burden on riders Both major candidates for the Democratic nomination in the 2016 Presidential race visited the Northwest this week for speaking engagements around the region, including stops in Vancouver and Spokane, in advance of Washington’s Democratic caucus Saturday. Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is shown here addressing an enthusiastic crowd of supporters March 22 at Rainier Beach High School in Seattle. Sen. Bernie Sanders spoke at Key Arena March 20. Sanders will return to the area Friday, speaking at Portland’s Moda Center at 10 a.m. and at SAFECO Field in Seattle at 4 p.m. the same day. BICEP Aims to Reclaim Northeast Portland ‘SOUL District’ would connect and showcase minority-owned businesses By Arashi Young Of The Skanner News A Movies Opening this Weekend Batman v Superman and Another Greek Wedding page 6 Syrian Refugees Train for the Olympics page 10 new vision is emerging for the development of North and Northeast Portland — that in- cludes a bustling commercial corridor hosting African American businesses. The streets would be home to soul food restaurants, hip- hop and jazz nightclubs and emerg- ing Black-owned technology compa- nies. And what is the foundation of this vision? Commercial property owner- ship. BICEP, the Black Investment Con- sortium for Economic Progress, has developed a plan to reclaim the area as an economic hub for Black-owned businesses (see excerpt at right). The plan, dubbed the SOUL District, would be a targeted set of property developments connecting and show- casing minority businesses. Carl Talton, president of BICEP for- mation board, said it is very import- ant to control the economics of the community through the acquisition of property. “Commercial property, in many ways dictates the lifeblood of the community,” Talton said. Talton is a long-time resident of “We propose developing a geographically concentrated collection of commercial economic, social, and cultural assets located near the N.E. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, which will not only provide an economic base for the African American community but will also, provide greater diversity and vitality to the economic revitalization occurring in Northeast Portland. “We envision Portland having the best MLK Jr. Blvd. in the country. All over America, MLK Jr Boulevards serve as a true monument to the struggle and triumph of the African American community.” —from SOUL District report See SOUL on page 3 Affordable Housing Emergency Comes to Gresham Officials say they’re trying to catch up with help from Multnomah County By Lisa Loving Special To The Skanner News H ousing activists shut down the Gresham City Council last week, protesting the closure of a major illicit outdoor camping area in a city that has very few homeless shelters. Seven people were ar- rested last Tuesday and charged with disorderly conduct after testifying before the Gresham City Council on the housing Is- sue. “I can tell you this,” one man told city leaders, “when you make things hard on the homeless you make them desperate — and then you do have com- munity problems when people are desperate. Des- perate times call for des- perate measures, you can’t just shift it off on Portland or ship them off to Utah or someplace else.” Another man told the Gresham City Council about his personal con- cern regarding homeless veterans. He described his proj- ect of renovating two East County buildings into a single-room occupancy hotel that could house 178 people — technical all the homeless people in Gresh- am, according to the bi-an- nual count which many people consider to be far too low. “They’ve put out that all the veterans have found housing — they haven’t,” he told the Gresham commis- sioners. “I hear a lot of people See GRESHAM on page 3
