Page 4 The Skanner April 13, 2016
News
Events & Announcements
Community
Calendar 2016
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Portland Metro
SATURDAY, APRIL 16
WE’RE MASTER PLANNING MADISON HIGH AND WE NEED YOUR
HELP: Please participate in the Madison High Planning Design
Workshop. Help us decide what should the future Madison look
and feel like? What parts of the building and campus work well?
What parts don’t? How can Madison better support its students
and families? Free breakfast, childcare and translation. Come
early at 8:30 a.m. for breakfast. Planning workshop is at 9 a.m.
until noon. Madison High School Cafeteria, 2735 NE 82nd Ave.
SPRING ANUUAL PLANT SALE: Join us for an exciting selection
of unique plants from specialty nurseries and the Leach Botan-
ical Garden’s own collection. Hundreds of individual plants and
species in the Leach collection. 9:30 a.m. – 2 p.m., Floyd Light
Middle School, 10800 SE Washington St.
SUNDAY, APRIL 17
A VILLAGE FOR AGING IN PLACE – AN OLD IDEA MADE NEW: If you
are interested in remaining in your home as you age, North Star
Village may have the answers to those questions that have been
in the back of your mind. The talks are given in a North Portland
home. Space is limited RSVP for location at www.northstarvil-
lagepdx.org or call (503) 978-0540 2 p.m. – 4 p.m.
DOCUMENTARY SCREENING: “GUILTY EXCEPT FOR INSANITY”.
The speaker at the presentation of “Guilty Except for Insanity,”
which is about the plight of mentally ill in the criminal justice
system, and was filmed at the Oregon State Hospital. Film starts
at 1:30 p.m. in room A 108 in the church’s Buchan Building, First
Unitarian Church, SW 12th between Main and Salmon St.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20
ALPHA KAPPA ALPHA SORORITY, INC. HOST 2016 YOUTH SUMMIT:
The Youth Summit, “Navigating My Life Plan” will feature two
workshops entitled College Prep/Finances and Media Portrayal
and a forum with college students. The open discussions will be
motivational, informative and relative to issues facing today’s
youth. The Youth Summit will be held from 9:30 a.m. – 12:45 p.m.
at Grant High School, 2245 NE 36th Ave.
FRIDAY, APRIL 22
STUDENT CRAFT MARKET AT THE PSU EARTH DAY FESTIVAL: Join
us at PSU’s Student Craft Market to find arts and crafts and re-
used goods. Lots of things to do and see. 11 a.m., Portland State
University, 1825 SW Broadway St.
FRIDAY –SUNDAY, APRIL 22 – 24
2016 OREGON BLACK POLITICAL CONVENTION (OBPC): 2016 OBPC
Theme “Empowering People Thru Political Process: OBPC is open
to the public. The Oregon Black Political Convention is a nonpar-
tisan convention, and it is educational. For more details and to
register go to http://www.oaba.us/ or contact Aneesah Furgon,
(503) 910-1139. Crowne Plaza Hotel, Portland Downtown Con-
vention center, 1441 NE 2nd Ave.
SATURDAY, APRIL 23
4TH ANNUAL JANTZEN BEACH JAMBOREE! After a fun day of FREE
Kayak, Canoe and demos at Vancouver Lake Park. Join us back
at our Jantzen Beach location. We will have some free food,
drinks and free music. 4 p.m. – 7 p.m., Alder Creek Kayak, 200
NE Tomahawk Island Dr.
SATURDAY – SUNDAY, APRIL 23 – 24
24TH ANNUAL SPRING PADDLE FESTIVAL: 2 days of FREE Canoe,
Kayak, and Stand Up Paddling classes, clinics and demos. Join us
at Vancouver Lake Park. No sign up required. If you have your
own life jacket and paddle, bring them. There is also gear pro-
vided if you don’t have your own. 9 a.m. – 4 p.m., Vancouver
Lake Park, 6801 NW Lower River Rd., Vancouver.
View the Community Calendar and regularly updated
News Briefs for Seattle and Portland at
PHOTO COURTESY OF OREGON NIKKEI
Visit us at a store near you
Minori Yasui Sympsosium
Minoru Yasui, an Oregon attorney who fought laws targeting Japanese Americans and Japanese immigrant, is the inspiration for
a special symposium coming to Portland on April 23, 2016 at the World Trade Center. He is the first Oregonian to be awarded the
prestigious Presidential Medal of Freedom, and recently honored by the state legislature’s naming a perpetual commemorative Day for
him (March 28). Deadline for symposium registration is April 18. To register, visit http://oregonnikkei.org/activities.htm#symposium. In
February, the Oregon legislature voted to make March 28 Minori Yasui Day, and on march 28 local elected officials and activists (seen
here) rallied in Yasui’s honor.
Portland News Briefs
OPB Celebrates Jazz Appreciation
Month with New Documentary
Oregon Public Broadcasting is celebrating Jazz Ap-
preciation Month in April by examining the vibrant
history and impact of jazz in Portland that followed
World War II.
Premiering on television at 9 p.m. April 25 on OPB
TV and online at opb.org, the new Oregon Experience
half-hour documentary “Jazz Town” examines the
eruption of music and nightlife in North and North-
east Portland in the 1940s and 50s. A colorful and sig-
nificant chapter in the city’s cultural narrative, this
short-lived period is largely unknown to many Ore-
gonians.
In advance of the television premiere, OPB is host-
ing a free, public screening of “Jazz Town” on April
21 at the PCC Cascade Campus in North Portland. The
event begins at 7 p.m. (doors open at 6:30) and will
feature the full-length documentary and a Q&A with
OPB Producer Eric Cain.
The program was written and produced by Eric
Cain and edited by Bruce Barrow.
In addition to the documentary, opb.org/jazztown
is an OPB online presentation that further explores
Portland’s jazz past and its impact on the jazz scene
today. Special features include Spotify playlists of
jazz “then and now” curated by KMHD Jazz Radio, five
places to listen to jazz in Portland today, animated
videos about jazz, never-before-seen historical pho-
tos and a narrative history of jazz in Portland.
Throughout the month of April, KMHD will high-
light on-air stories of jazz musicians in Portland,
both past and present. Interviews include historical
perspectives from some of the jazz artists and others
featured in the “Jazz Town” documentary. KMHD will
also speak in-studio to musicians playing at the Soul’d
Out Music Festival running April 13-17. All interview
content will also be posted online at kmhd.org.
NOAH Closes on First Land
Acquisition in Cully
Thanks to a new partnership between the Network
for Oregon Affordable Housing (NOAH) and the City
of Portland, Habitat for Humanity Portland/Metro
East has purchased a piece of land in the Cully Neigh-
borhood which will be the future site of 15 new af-
fordable homes for first time homebuyers.
The Portland Housing Bureau (PHB) announced
on February 5th, 2016 that it had invested $1 million
in the Oregon Housing Acquisition Fund (OHAF), a
revolving fund administered by NOAH, a statewide
nonprofit corporation that provides financing and
technical assistance for affordable housing develop-
ment. The fund was established so that developers
could move quickly to acquire land for affordable
housing development when opportunities become
available. In a hot real estate market such as Port-
land’s, purchasing land for future affordable housing
development is an important strategy and is seen as a
key anti-displacement measure.
Since the fund was announced, NOAH has received
several inquiries from local nonprofit and for-profit
development entities regarding potential land pur-
chases. NOAH is leveraging the City’s money with
capital from Meyer Memorial Trust, the Mac Ar-
thur Foundation, Oregon Housing and Community
Services, private banks and NOAH’s resources. The
City’s additional investment allows for flexible loan
terms with minimal equity, bringing the down pay-
ment required from 20% down to 5%. It also lowers the
interest rate from 5% to 2%.
Portland Parks & Recreation
Welcomes Ankeny Square Proposals
Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R) is looking for
partners/vendors to help activate (hold activities and
events at) Ankeny Square in the North Park Blocks,
located at NW Ankeny and W Burnside. Successful
proposers will pay only $1 a year (for up to two years)
to rent the park space. PP&R welcomes creative ideas
for cultural, retail and other possible endeavors at
this bustling central city plaza. Proposals are due by
April 20, 2016.
The idea for more cool happenings at the square
came from neighbors and businesses surrounding
the park, and is fully supported by Portland Parks
& Recreation. PP&R would like to create positive
experiences for the neighborhood and for visitors
to the North Park Blocks. Across the PP&R system,
programmed activities are found to create a vibrant,
engaging, and positive environment for parks and
neighborhoods. The bureau also suggests that this
opportunity may also provide a way for micro-busi-
nesses to generate revenue.
More information on the Ankeny Square endeavor,
including instructions on how to apply and the evalu-
ation criteria, can be found on our website here.
PP&R hopes that the Request For Interest (RFI)
encourages a competitive environment for this ex-
citing opportunity. The bureau welcomes multiple
proposals and is open to accepting several which
could work in conjunction with each other (events/
activities which could operate on different days, sea-
sons, etc.) The RFI is designed to give all who may be
interested an opportunity to suggest public-private
partnerships, including those for permits or lease
agreements depending on the nature of the response.
Ankeny Square is located between West Burnside
and SW Ankeny, and between SW 8th Ave and SW
Park Ave on the edge of the Pearl District in down-
town Portland. Ankeny Square sits at the southern
See Briefs on page 5