DECEMBER 14, 2016
Portland and Seattle Volume XXXIX No. 11
25
CENTS
News .............................. 3,8-10 A & E .....................................6-7
Opinion ...................................2 Slager Mistrial ................9
Calendars ........................... 4-5 Bids/Classifieds ....................11
CHALLENGING PEOPLE TO SHAPE A BETTER FUTURE NOW
PHOTO BY JERRY FOSTER
SOUL CHRISTMAS
The average monthly rent in Portland rose 7
percent between 2015 and 2016, with increases
between 12 and 18 percent in 1, 2, and 3-bedroom
units. Forty-five percent of households are renters
with a median income just over $30,000 per year.
State of
Housing
Report
New report finds grim
reality for renters,
communities of color
E
arlier this month, the Portland
Housing Bureau, led by Commis-
sioner Dan Saltzman, released a
State of Housing report for 2016.
The document analyzes Portland’s
housing affordability and encompasses
24 neighborhoods in the city.
Despite definite wins such as the
voter-approved Affordable Housing
Bond, which allots $258 million toward
affordable rental housing programs,
the lifting of the state preemption on
mandatory inclusionary zoning, and
a 90-day notice for 5 percent rent in-
See HOUSING on page 3
Howard Moore,
Jr. to Speak at The
Skanner Foundation
Martin Luther King,
Jr. Breakfast
Attorney Howard Moore,
Jr. earned is B.A. degree
in 1954 from Morehouse
College. He obtained his
LL.B. degree from Boston
University School in
Law. In 1962 he joined
the Atlanta law firm of
Moore, Alexander and
Rindskopf. As one of only 10 black lawyers in
Georgia, Moore worked long hours and traveled
on Sundays with Vernon Jordan. Moore has
represented both Julian Bond (1966) and Angela
Davis (1971-1977).
Neo-Nazi Dropout
Program
page 10
PHOTO BY SUSAN FRIED
By Melanie Sevcenko
Of The Skanner News
Children visited Santa at Northwest African American Museum Dec. 10 as part of the museum’s Soul Christmas event, held during the first two weekends
in December.
Work Begins on Alberta Commons Lot
Plan Moving Forward for retail center for minority-owned businesses
By Melanie Sevcenko
Of The Skanner News
I
n early 2014, it seemed
as though the long-va-
cant lot at the intersec-
tion of Northeast Mar-
tin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
and Northeast Alberta
Street would remain in
purgatory, after Trader
Joe’s pulled out from nego-
tiations amid community
backlash.
Critics of the grocery
store deal, namely the
Portland African Amer-
ican Leadership Forum
(PAALF), felt the Portland
Development Commission
(PDC), which owns the lot,
was only furthering gentri-
fication and displacement
in the once-predominately
Black neighborhood.
PAALF, backed by a
wealth of local activists,
saw the lot as a ripe oppor-
tunity to build much-need-
ed affordable housing in
the MLK corridor, which
has experienced a decline
in its African American
population.
But by mid-2015, the PDC
had finalized a deal with
the California-based devel-
oper, Majestic Realty Co.,
who purchased the land
for just over $500,000 —
about $2.4 million under
the appraised market val-
ue.
After securing the Col-
orado-based Natural Gro-
cers as the new anchor
tenant — and a reshuffling
of optimistic timelines that
fell short by about a year —
the hammers have finally
fallen at the site, just weeks
ago.
Colas Construction, an
African American fami-
ly-owned company, is on
board as the development’s
prime contractor. “We’re
tracking at about 50 per-
cent minority business
participation overall,” said
Andrew Colas, president
and COO. “That’s pretty un-
precedented for a project
of this size and this nature.
Not only are we getting
the opportunity, but we’re
bringing a whole bunch of
other minority sub-con-
tractors and businesses
along for the ride,” Colas
said.
Called Alberta Com-
mons, the new develop-
ment will dedicate 50 per-
See VACANT LOT on page 3
Clark County Officials Seek Information on Cold Case
Investigators are looking for more information
about Martha Morrison, who was killed in 1974
By Christen McCurdy
Of The Skanner News
M
artha Mare Morrison was
just 17 when she disappeared.
In October of 1974, hunters
discovered a skeleton buried
in a shallow grave in the hills of ru-
ral Clark County — which were posi-
tively identified with DNA testing as
Morrison’s last year.
At the time of her disappearance,
Morrison had been living in Portland
with her boyfriend and had not been
in close contact with her family, so
relatives were not able to provide in-
vestigators with many details about
her life. But deputies working with
the Clark County Sheriff ’s Office are
asking for public help with the case
— and specifically, they’re looking
for more information about Mor-
rison’s boyfriend at the time of her
See MORRISON on page 3
Martha Marie Morrison