‘City of Roses’
Established in 1970 Committed to Cultural Diversity
www.portlandobserver.com Volume XXXX1, Number 7
Wednesday • February 16, 2011
Best New Artist Spalding impresses music world with Grammy CLIFF PFENNING THE PORTLAND OBSERVER The popular music culture expanded significantly when Esperanza Spalding, a home grown Portland musician won the Grammy for Best New Artist Sunday in Los Angeles. Spalding, a jazz bassist, won the award over heavy favorite Justin Bieber, who has quickly become part of popular culture due BY
Esperanza Spalding thanked her friends in Portland, along with her mother as well as her teachers, during her acceptance speech for Best New Artist at the 53rd annual Grammy Awards Sunday in Los Angeles.
to his own success within popular music. Spalding, 26, has performed for President Barack Obama and even taught at the renowned Berklee College of Music in Boston, but is a virtual unknown among the general public due to her lack of radio airplay and trendy public appearances. “I certainly did not expect to even be considered for that type of nomination,” Spalding posted on her web site Monday.
“My being a little old jazz musician and everything.” Spalding is the first jazz artist to win the Grammy award for Best New Artist. She thanked all of her friends in Portland during her acceptance speech in the nationally televised ceremony. She also performed during the show. Spalding is scheduled to return to the Rose City and perform before a sold-out crowd at the Newmark Theater on Friday,
Feb. 25, one day after teaching a one-day Masters class at Portland State University. Spalding, who grew up in northeast Portland and attended King Elementary as a child, attended PSU for a year before moving to Boston to study and perform. Along with her stylish Afro, she has earned a reputation for her depth of musical talent, which includes vocals and skill with the violin, oboe, clarinet, upright bass and bass guitar. She’s been active as an artist for the past 10 years. Her third album, released independently in August, is Chamber Music Society. Spalding was born into a single-parent household in Portland in 1984. She credits cellist Yo Yo Ma for inspiring her to learn the continued
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Proud Diversity Etched in Stone Construction to begin on heritage markers BY LEE PERLMAN
A small triangle park is one of a series of heritage markers that will memorialize the diverse neighborhoods, past and present, along Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. An artist’s rendering from the Portland Development Commission gives a perspective on what one of the memorials will look like on southbound MLK just north of Broadway.
THE PORTLAND OBSERVER The pride of some of north and northeast Portland’s most diverse neighborhoods and histories is being etched in stone, literally, on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Construction will begin this spring on the Portland Development Commission’s Heritage Marker project. A large traffic island on Northeast
Grand Avenue at Hancock Street, the point at which MLK becomes a two-way street, will be transformed into a gateway into the area. The main feature will be four stone markers, each square in shape and 20 feet high. On each of the 16 faces of the markers will be text about the history of the area covering six themes: community, civil rights, commerce, culture, migration and immigration. continued
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Page 2 St. Helens Earthquake
The
Portland Observer
Week in The Review
A pair of small earthquakes struck Mt. St. Helens Monday, according to the United States Geological Survey. The quakes, one registered at 4.3 and the other registered at 2.5, day, saying she and President were centered 37 miles northeast of Obama work to keep themselves Longview, Wash. grounded through their spunky attitude, even after 19 years of marFirst Lady: On Love riage. “We keep each other smiling First Lady and that’s good,” she said. Michelle Obama says SI Swimsuit Cover laughter is a Sports Illustrated rekey to a lastleased its annual swiming relationsuit issue Monday, ship. She shared her advice with and Irina Shayk, a 24reporters on Valentine’s Day Mon- year-old model who is
Black History Month
dating soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, is the cover model. Shayk is a native of Emangelynsk, Russia, and is in the swimsuit issue for the fifth time.
Newton Endorsement Cam Newton, the Auburn University quarterback who won the Heisman Trophy and led his team to the NCAA championship against Oregon, has reportedly landed an endorsement deal with UnderArmour worth more than $1 million, making it the richest con-
tract ever for an NFL rookie.
Fire Sickens 14 Inmates A fire in a small laundry room sent 14 inmates at the Washington County Community Corrections Center in Hillsboro to a hospital Sunday night. The fire forced the evacuation of more than 200 inmates, who were moved to the Washington County Jail.
Landslides Delay Trains Landslides along a section of Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad track just north of Vancouver, caused Amtrak to charter buses to move travelers between Portland and Seattle on Monday.
February 16, 2011
Obama to Visit Friday The White House announced plans for President Obama to visit Oregon on Friday to discuss the Importance of out-educating U.S. competitors on the world stage in order to win the future. Obama will stop at the Intel Corporation campus in Hillsboro to tour the world’s most advanced semiconductor manufacturing facility with Intel Chief Executive Officer Paul Otellini. The president will also learn more about Intel’s STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education programs and Intel’s efforts to better prepare the next generation to compete for high-tech jobs and be the minds behind the next great inventions. In his State of the Union, President Obama outlined a plan for winning the future by preparing our children to be competitive in the global economy.
Obama: Egypt Power Shift Holds Promise (AP) -- The peaceful departure of Hosni Mubarak as Egypt's president marked "a beginning" holding the promise of greater democracy for the world's most populous Arab nation, President Obama declared Friday. But he added soberly, "There will be difficult days ahead." Indeed, while Obama and other U.S. officials voiced optimism, they were also concerned over who will end up in control of the Egypt and whether the United States will emerge with the kind of stable partner it badly needs in the volatile Middle East. Also at issue: whether the unrest that brought down Mubarak will spread to other nations in the Middle East, including oil-rich autocratic neighbors, and whether the Egyptian military will make good on its pledge of promoting free and fair elections. At the White House, Obama's words were alternately celebratory and cautious after Mubarak ended three decades of iron rule and turned over his authority to the military. "Today belongs to the people of Egypt," Obama declared at the White House. In Cairo, Egyptians celebrated into the night. Obama's only mention of Mubarak, a longtime strong U.S. ally, was at the beginning of his remarks: "By stepping down, President Mubarak responded to the Egyptian people's hunger for change," he said.
February 16, 2011
The
Portland Observer
INSIDE BLACK HISTORY
SUSTAINABILITY
pages 2-23
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LOCAL NEWS
pages 8-9 Portland Adventist Medical Center came under criticism last week for failing to help a heart attack victim who crashed his car in the hospital’s parking lot. But Tuesday, the medical center released surveillance video to show they did dispatch a paramedic to help the man, 46 seconds after being notified of the emergency.
HEALTH
Adventist Video Shows Help
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CALENDAR
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Black History Month
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Nurse dispatched paramedic 46 seconds after notification Police Chief Mike Reese has stepped back from criticism officers leveled at Portland Adventist Medical Center where a 61-year-old Portland man was dying in a parking lot last week and officers were told to call 911. Reese appeared at a press conference Tuesday with Adventist Hospital officials who said medical workers did everything they could and should have done — except communicate well with the officers. Reese says it's clear that hospital workers were "preparing a response" to help Birgilio Marin-Fuentes, a Cuban-American from southeast Portland who was first thought to be a car crash victim. But he suffered a heart attack while driving to the hospital. Hospital officials replayed surveillance camera video they said showed an emergency room charge nurse
dispatching a paramedic within 46 seconds of being notified that the man was in trouble. At the time of the incident, police found MarinFuentes unconscious and unresponsive and they began cardiopulmonary resuscitation. A third officer went to the ER intake desk and told them what was happening. Police said the person at the ER desk told them they couldn’t come out and to call 911 emergency services. The officers said they did not receive any medical assistance and were left to fend for themselves until the ambulance arrived and the crew wheeled MarinFuentes the short distance to the emergency room aboard a gurney. U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer said Friday he has asked the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services to conduct an independent investigation to make sure that the law was followed requiring hospicontinued
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Fire Kills Brothers, One Survives pages 13-19
CLASSIFIEDS OPINION pages 22-23
FOOD page 24
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Counseling and emotional support was being given to students at Concord Elementary School in Milwaukie Monday after an apartment fire claimed the life of a young classmate and his brother Saturday morning. Appolo Lemi, 6, and Ladu Lemi 4, died of smoke inhalation during the fire at the Fox Pointe Apartment complex, 4616 S.E. Roethe Road, in Oak Grove. A third brother, two-year-old Wani, and their mother, Kimberly Hasty, suffered burns, but escaped through a window of the second-story apartment. Hasty, who dropped Wani to a passerby, also suffered a broken ankle from her fall. Firefighters battled through the flames to
Wani Lemi, the survivor of a residential fire, (center) is pictured in a family photograph with his brothers, Ladu (left) and Appolo, who both died in the inferno. reach the two older brothers, but not before smoke claimed their lives. A cause for the fire has not
been determined, but the mother told KATU Tuesday she believes it started from a baseboard heater that caught a couch on fire.
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February 16, 2011
Black History Month
Portland’s Jazz Legacies Celebrated Show honors rich history of black musicians CARI HACHMANN THE PORTLAND OBSERVER Black History Month honors Portland’s rich history of jazz music with a two-weekend run of “Sherman: A Jazz Opera,” a show about the post World War II jazz scene around Broadway and North BY
Thara Memory Williams Avenue and the reclaimed talents of jazz musician Sherman Thomas. Composed by Portland musician Thara Memory and produced by S. Renee Mitchell, an award winning-
journalist, poet and public speaker, the story is based in the 1940s1950s and loosely tells the story of Thomas, a Portland saxophone player who died tragically in the 70s, and also highlights the jazz-themed art of the late Portland artist Philemon Reid. The production, also starring Janice Scroggins, Reggie Houston and Rita Marquez, opens Friday, Feb. 18 at Ethos at the Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center, 5340 N. Interstate Ave., with shows continuing through Feb. 27. The show is a prelude to a larger production scheduled in 2012-2013 by Portland Opera. “The story of Sherman Thomas is a story of northeast Portland, but it's also a story of many countless musicians throughout the country,” said Mitchell, who provides the libretto for the show. As a gifted star among the milky way of jazz legends, it is said that when Sherman Thomas wrapped his full lips around the mouth of his saxophone, the fierceness of his notes electrified Portland’s smoky jazz blues, sending brown-skinned women’s hips to swaying and married jazz lovers to make promises they couldn’t keep. Though his natural talent pleased listeners and lovers alike, Sherman sought a high that only harder drugs seemed to satisfy. He soon lost
touch of his jazz music and sweetheart, Marion, until his life too, faded in history’s memory like a sweet and melodic tune. “No matter whether people knew about Sherman or not, the appeal is really in the story and in the lessons
S. Renee Mitchell his life can teach us about our own. Like any other art form, this show reflects the energy, creativity, hopes and dreams of all of us and can be a positive force in building community,” Mitchell says. For those who have forgotten about the rich history of inner north and northeast Portland, this show will help people recognize the shoulders they stand on and appreciate the music that was played and birthed from the musical geniuses that lived and died here. Sixty years ago, before Trail Blazers bound up and down Rose Garden courts, before the tall glass piers of the Memorial Coliseum scraped
city skies, and before the I-5 freeway carved through Portland’s eastside over the Willamette River, post-war era’s most aspiring jazz legends, Sherman Thomas, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Billy Holiday and many others, jammed in their favorite Portland hideout between Los Angeles and Seattle, two of the most prolific jazz scenes on the west coast. Smokey jazz clubs lined Portland’s North Williams Avenue known then as “Black Broadway,” a ballooning hub of black community and backyard entertainment. Home to black-owned grocery stores, black-owned clothing stores, blackowned restaurants, at least 10 clubs bellowed jazz music night and day. During World War II, black musicians from the East Coast arrived by rail along with tens of thousands of African Americans travelling westward to build war ships in local Kaiser Shipyards. “More people need to recognize that Jazz unified us, it inspired us, it is truly an American art form, and it's always been a powerful bridge that crosses the boundaries of age, race, sex, ethnic background, and nationality,” says Mitchell, who interviewed various people about Sherman after agreeing to write the libretto for Memory, the project’s brainchild. After meeting Sherman Thomas decades ago, Memory was stricken
by the jazz artist’s legendary talents. An accomplished musician who has played music professionally for more 45 years, Memory began working on a score for the project on and off for several decades. Later, he was commissioned by the IFCC to write the score, but financial problems stalled the project for almost a year until the Portland Opera and Ethos helped bear the weight of the production, and Sherman: A Jazz
Reggie Houston Opera was finally born. As a teaching, the show will remind viewers of important jazz lessons; improvising, group interaction, developing an individual voice, continued
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February 16, 2011
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Portland Observer
Black History Month
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The
Portland Observer
Black History Month
February 16, 2011
February 16, 2011
The
Portland Observer
Pioneers Exhibit Comes to Portland The Pacific Northwest Black Pioneers Exhibit will be at City Hall in downtown Portland, 1221 S.W. Fourth Ave. throughMarch 11. The exhibit depicts the experiences and challenges black pioneers faced while settling in Oregon, Washington, and Alaska from 1870 to 1990, There will be an opening ceremony and Mayor's Proclamation on Thursday, Feb. 17, 2011 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Portland City Hall, spon- Louis A. Southworth (1830 – sored by the Portland 1917)played a fiddle to work his way Chapter of The Links, Inc. out of slavery and migrated to Oregon Other sponsors of the where he became a respected hometraveling exhibit are the steader, blacksmith and later donated World Arts Foundation, land for a schoolhouse. City of Portland, Regional Arts and Viewing hours are Monday through Culture Council, and Portland Com- Friday 8:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. Guided munity College. tours are available from 11 a.m.-2 Admission to the exhibit is free. p.m.
Jazz Legacies continued
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and being open to different musical possibilities. All performances will conclude with a question and answer session, and a showing of History, Hope and Harmony, a documentary that interviews the few remaining jazz elders who knew about Williams Avenue. Mitchell ends with an expected note of wisdom, “unless we open our hearts and ears to it, the art form dies. We may not be to blame that the art form of jazz seems to be fading, but we are to blame if, once we recognize that, that we don't pick it back up and reclaim it, revive it and keep it going for future generations.” Thanks to the combined efforts of the show’s creators, musicians, and the community at large, the electrifying jazz sounds of Sherman Thomas will continue to carry on as
Janice Scroggins a familiar tune in Portland’s own collective memory. Shows begin 7 p.m. at Ethos@IFCC. Tickets are $15 seniors and $10 students, available at Reflections Bookstore and Geneva’s Salon, both on Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and online at ethos.org.
Adventist Video Shows Help continued
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tals to help any critically ill patients on their premises, including parking lots. On Tuesday, Tom Russell, Adventist Medical Center president and chief executive, said while he believes the video showed that the hospital responded reasonably, they have made some changes to protocol following the
incident. “I wish that we would have said, ‘we’ll be right there with you…. And we will dispatch an ambulance,’” Russell said. Hospital officials said they don’t have a policy against responding to emergencies in parking facilities on campus and that their practice is to always to call 9-1-1 and also send their own staff to respond to incidents.
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The
Portland Observer
Black History Month
February 16, 2011
SUSTAINABILITY
The Oregon Convention Center has taken a big step towards conservation by replacing some 2,000 light bulbs and fixtures with a mixture of induction and LED lighting along with compact fluorescent light bulbs.
Convention Center Reduces Energy New fixtures, lights to cut demand by half and more Workers started changing thousands of lights in the Oregon Convention Center in mid-January and finally finished the big job last weekend. It gives new meaning to the classic joke, "how many people does it take to screw in a light bulb," when some of the 2,000 bulbs and fixtures are installed up to three stories high. The answer is: it takes a four-person crew about five weeks to do it, and it may save the Convention Center more than $130,000 a year. Ryan Thorpe, OCC's director of operations, applied for federal stimulus money for the project in 2009. After additional incentives from the Energy Trust of Oregon and the
Oregon Department of Energy, the Convention Center expects to pay just $125,000 for the $760,000 project. "By using some of the money that's available for energy conservation projects, we can maximize our investment, conserve resources and provide jobs to the community, Thorpe said."At the same time, OCC is significantly reducing its carbon footprint." The Convention Center is switching to a mix of induction and LED lighting along with compact fluorescent light bulbs. The new fixtures and lights are expected to decrease energy usage by half and upwards of 90 percent in some areas. "In some cases, our new lights are ten times more efficient and last seven times as long," Thorpe said. "Plus we get brighter, more natural lighting throughout the building." The lights' efficiency and longer lifetime will add up to savings and decrease annual energy usage by 2.7 million kilowatt hours.
Green ‘Water House’ Tours The Portland Water House, a sustainable demonstration house in northeast Portland, was viewed by over 750 curious community members at its January opening. The Water House, located at 1616 N.E. 140th, just north of Halsey, will continue to be showcased at specific times for the remainder of the year. Upcoming open houses are scheduled for Friday, Feb. 11 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Friday, March 11 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Sunday, March 27 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.; Friday, April 8 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.; and Sunday, April 17 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. If you have a group who would like a tour, call 503-823-3520.
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Black History Month
SUSTAINABILITY switches to Better on the Environment Meals-On-Wheels compostable bamboo trays Portland’s Loaves & Fishes Centers is the first Meals-On-Wheels operation in the country to adopt the daily use of compostable bamboo trays for its meals. Manufactured by Bamboo EcoEnterprises in Clackamas, the black three-compartment trays were manufactured specifically for Loaves & Fishes Centers to meet the specifications of existing equipment located in their central kitchen. The trays are used for the hot portion of the 2,700 meals sent out each weekday to homebound se-
Loaves & Fishes Centers is the first Meals-On-Wheels operation in the country to adopt the daily use of compostable bamboo trays for its meals.
niors throughout the greater metropolitan area. Loaves & Fishes Centers used Styrofoam trays for its meals for more than 30 years and switched to a recyclable tray a few years ago. “We knew we needed to get away from a polystyrene product, but until recently, there was not another product on the market that held heat as well and was cost-effective,” said Food Services Manager Tom Maier. “The recyclable tray we used for a few years was very expensive
and the seniors did not recycle them. This new compostable tray is cost effective, better on the environment and is more visually appealing than the trays we were using previously.” Each compostable tray costs 17.6 cents per unit, compared to 14 cents a unit for Styrofoam and 24 cents a unit for the recyclable tray. Maier estimates that the bamboo tray will save the nonprofit organization up to $39,000 a year in packaging costs.
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The
Portland Observer
February 16, 2011
Black History Month
HEALTH MATTERS For Your Health Making Healthy Lifestyle Choices
Dr. Billy R. Flowers (above center) and his skilled staff are ready to help those in need.
Part 5. WHIPLASH: It doesn’t take a serious accident to cause serious damage.
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February is a time each year when heart-shaped chocolate, candies and cards take center stage. But there’s another heart of the non-confectionary variety we should also take time to think about this month – the one in our bodies. Like an engine to a car, the human heart is responsible for keeping other organs working and our bodies moving. We know how important it is to conduct regular maintenance on an engine to prevent issues with the entire car. Heart health is no different. Yet cardiovascular diseases, which include heart attack and stroke, are the leading causes of death in the United States. In fact, more than 81 million Americans live with various forms of cardiovascular diseases, which led to one quarter of all deaths in the U.S. last year. These numbers are especially startling for the African-American community where more than 40 percent of all adults suffer from high blood pressure, one of the most critical – yet preventable – indicators of cardiovascular health. Preventing high blood pressure could mean the difference between life or death: African Americans today are 1.5 times more likely to suffer a heart disease-related death than other Americans and are nearly twice as likely to die because of a fatal stroke. What’s more: Nearly half of us are unaware we’re living with high-blood pressure. Alarmed by these figures? You should be! Let them serve as a wakeup call about the importance of maintaining your heart’s health. Many common causes of cardiovascular diseases can be eliminated by reducing their major risk factors, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking, diabetes, lack of exercise and poor nutrition. When it comes to heart health, lifestyle choices, like what you eat and how much you exercise, play a critical role in preventing potentially devastating diseases. As someone who has lived with high blood pressure for more than 20 years, I know a thing or two about lifestyle choices. I keep my heart healthy by taking the stairs instead of the elevator, visiting my doctor for regular cardiovas-
BY LARRY
LUCAS
cular check-ups and properly taking my prescribed medicines. It’s these small steps that mean the most, and making the right choices can help curb the risk of heart disease, enabling you to live a longer, healthier life. It’s also important to remember that many lifestyle choices that lead to heart diseases later in life, like diet and tobacco use, begin when we’re young. It takes years, and in some cases decades, for them to catch up with us – which is why young people should know their future heart health is shaped by the choices they make today. Making healthy choices can help prevent heart disease, but there are other risk factors that you can’t control – like age and family history. In addition to lifestyle changes, you and your doctor may decide that prescription medicines are the best way to help keep your heart healthy. Fortunately there are nearly 300 medicines in development for heart disease and stroke by America’s biopharmaceutical research and manufacturing companies – all of which are either being tested in clinical trials or awaiting approval by the Food & Drug Administration. Developing these medicines means very little if patients in need can’t access them. Luckily, there are programs available to help patients find and pay for their prescriptions. Since 2005, America’s biopharma-ceutical researchers and manufacturers have supported the Partnership for Prescription Assistance (1-8884PPA-NOW; pparx.org), which helps connect patients in need to 475 assistance programs that offer more than 2,500 medicines for free or nearly free. In addition to thinking about your special someone this month, be sure to keep your own heart in mind by making an appointment to visit your physician to gauge your current heart health. Awareness is the first step in preventing heart diseases and ensuring there are many more Valentine’s Days to come. Larry Lucas is retired vice president for Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.
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Portland Observer
Black History Month
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HEALTH MATTERS Alcohol’s Risk Factors Grow Worldwide Kills more than AIDS, TB or violence (AP) -- Alcohol causes nearly 4 percent of deaths worldwide, more than AIDS, tuberculosis or violence, the World Health Organization warned on Friday.
in Brazil, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Russia, South Africa and Ukraine, and rising elsewhere, according to the WHO. "Worldwide, about 11 percent of
Rising incomes in heavily populated countries have triggered more drinking, yet alcohol control policies remain a low priority for most governments. Rising incomes have triggered more drinking in heavily populated countries in Africa and Asia, including India and South Africa, and binge drinking is a problem in many developed countries, the United Nations agency said. Yet alcohol control policies are weak and remain a low priority for most governments despite drinking's heavy toll on society from road accidents, violence, disease, child neglect and job absenteeism, it said. Approximately 2.5 million people die each year from alcohol related causes, the WHO said in its "Global Status Report on Alcohol and Health." "The harmful use of alcohol is especially fatal for younger age groups and alcohol is the world's leading risk factor for death among males aged 15-59," the report found. In Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States, every fifth death is due to harmful drinking, the highest rate. Binge drinking, which often leads to risky behavior, is now prevalent
drinkers have weekly heavy episodic drinking occasions, with men outnumbering women by four to one. Men consistently engage in hazardous drinking at much higher levels than women in all regions," the report said. Alcohol is a causal factor in 60 types of diseases and injuries, according to WHO's first report on alcohol since 2004. Its consumption has been linked to cirrhosis of the liver, epilepsy, poisonings, road traffic accidents, violence, and several types of cancer, including cancers of the colorectum, breast, larynx and liver. "Six or seven years ago we didn't have strong evidence of a causal relationship between drinking and breast cancer. Now we do," Vladimir Poznyak, head of WHO's substance abuse unit who coordinated the report, told Reuters. Alcohol consumption rates vary greatly, from high levels in developed countries, to the lowest in North Africa, sub-Saharan Africa, and southern Asia, whose large
Test Gets Syphillis Cases Wrong (AP) -- Hundreds of people may have been told they tested positive for syphilis when they didn't actually have the disease, health officials say. A study of five U.S. labs shows about 18 percent of the positive results from a test method used since the 1980s were actually negative, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday. Experts previously thought the statistic was much lower — under 7 percent. The CDC recommends additional
testing when this particular test gives a positive result. But even if most doctors retest, the new research suggests that some people have unnecessarily worried they were infected with an infamous sexually transmitted disease. It also may mean some patients have been given unnecessary treatment — probably penicillin, which can have side effects. Syphilis testing is recommended for all pregnant women and for people considered to be at high risk for sexually transmitted diseases.
Muslim populations often abstain from drinking. Homemade or illegally produced alcohol -- falling outside governmental controls and tax nets -- accounts for nearly 30 percent of total worldwide adult consumption.
Some is toxic In France and other European countries with high levels of adult per capita consumption, heavy episodic drinking is rather low, suggesting more regular but moderate drinking patterns.
Light to moderate drinking can have a beneficial impact on heart disease and stroke, according to the WHO. "However, the beneficial cardio-protective effect of drinking disappears with heavy drinking occasions," it said.
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February 16, 2011
Black History Month
CALENDAR for February2011 SUNDAY
MONDAY Happy Birthday! Quayuana Washington From your family, we love you
6
TUESDAY
1 Black History Month
7
New Zealand Day
WEDNESDAY THURSDAY
2
8
3 Chinese New Year
Groundhog Day
9
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
4 Sri Lanka Day Portland Opera presents Turandot (runs until 02/12/11)
10
11
17
18
5 Portland Seafood and Wine Festival
12
Jefferson High School Multicultural Film
Call Me day
Portland Seafood and Wine Festival
Throw Down Your Heart 512 N. Killingsworth St. N. Portland Library
5:00-&7:30pm
13
14
15
Valentine's Day
16 Mardi Gras
20
21
22
27
28
Upcoming Event:
Intl. Friendship Week (20-26)
23
24
19 Quayuana Washington Birthday
Friendship Week (17-23)
25
Start A Romance Day
26
Forget Me Not Day
March 5th 2011 BIG SIP OREGON 2011
Double Tree Lloyd Center 12:00 noon till 4:00 p.m
THE LAW OFFICES OF
Patrick John Sweeney, P.C. Patrick John Sweeney Attorney at Law 1549 SE Ladd Portland, Oregon Portland: Hillsoboro: Facsimile: Email:
(503) 491-5156 (503) 615-0425 (503) 244-2084 Sweeney@PDXLawyer.com
Must Sell Brand New Hovaround Motorized Chair $1400 or best offer Call George at (503) 284-9906 (503) 449-9770
February 16, 2011
The
Portland Observer
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Black History Month
Arts&
Entertainment
New Radio Station goes Full Signal BY JAKE THOMAS
In a constricted office lined with cardboard boxes brimming with a sundry assortment of CDs, Denise Kowalczyk hunkers over a computer. She types at a keyboard very deliberately while clicking at a mouse, causing sporadic bursts of sound to blast from the speakers as she carefully constructs a podcast of a live performance. The small room in the heart Gresham is office, but what’s been brewing in this small space has been heralded as a new fixture in Portland’s music scene. It’s been a slow ramp up of fundraising, recruiting volunteers and forming community partnerships. But the vision of a handful of residents of the Portland area for KZME, a radio station that doesn’t just reflect the community it broadcasts to, but sounds like it, made a big leap forward when it began broadcasting on last month on 107.1 FM. Hailed as a way Portlanders can actually hear the music their city has become so famous for, the fledgling radio station could be poised to do more. It could build bridges between communities further to the east of the Willamette and central Portland, while also giving a platform to artists left out of the spotlight in the city’s indie-saturated music scene. KZME is an uncommon radio station, as are the circumstances that created it. In 2008, the Federal Communications Commission made a rare move by making noncommercial broadcasting licenses available for nonprofit organizations on unused radio bandwidth. A handful of local community groups banded together to successfully apply for a license for an open spot on the dial under the purview of MetroEast Community Media – the cable public access organization for the metro area’s east side. Rob Brading, the CEO for MetroEast, described the FCC opening as a “literally once in a lifetime” opportunity, and said that acquiring the license fit squarely in his organization’s mission to expand public access on the airwaves. The vision for KZME was a “public square,” said Brading, that would be an inclusive and organic form of community radio. Like similar stations in Seattle and Salt Lake City, KZME was conceived as a radio station that would play local music from local artists and local record labels, and would
Denise Kowalczyk, director of organizational advancement, for KZME puts together a podcast in the MetroEast headquarters in Gresham.
Cliff Stanford, who DJs under the name DJ Klyph, hopes the new non-commercial FM station KZME will be a growing venue to air local hip hop groups. broadcast local events, in a city where only smatterings of Portland’s music scene could be heard on the radio. Shortly after getting the license, MetroEast also got a permit to build a transmitter on Mt. Hood for 91.1 FM with the help of a $85,000 grant from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. A large donor stepped in to make a $50,000 donation, and pledged another $50,000 for building a studio in downtown Gresham and other costs associated with starting up the station. About the same time, KZME also got a translator for 107.1 FM so that it could better reach inner Portland. A buzz began to develop around KZME. But the station repeatedly pushed back its launch date, while it grappled with the logistical problems of getting on the air, primarily, the construction of the studio and transmitter, said Kowalczyk, the station’s director of organizational advancement. “Rome was not built in a day, nor is a noncommercial radio station,” she said. With KZME finally taking the airwaves, the station’s personality
will begin taking shape. So far, KZME has been closely coupled with “indie” music – a term Kowalczyk is still wrapping her head around. But there’s more to Portland’s music scene that white guys in skinny pants strumming guitars, and there’s more to the Portland area than the imagines typically conjured up by the mention of the city’s name. Cliff Stanford, also known as DJ Klyph, has been involved with KZME early on after hearing about
the station while co-hosting the music show “The Underground” on MetroEast. “I think we really want to try to bring to the airwaves and to the masses something that’s not already being brought to the masses, so that’s going to include people who aren’t on major labels, people who haven’t gotten a lot of the promotion thus far,” said Stanford. A native of New Orleans who made Portland home 16 years ago,
Stanford grew up listening to RunDMC, Grandmaster Flash and other pioneers of hip hop. He hopes to use the station to bring the sounds of local artists that share a similar authentic, independent ethos that marked the art form’s earlier days to listeners. “Hip-hop was a little bit different from when I was a kid, and I sort of want to bring that piece back,” said Stanford, sipping on a bottled water at Lents Commons.
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February 16, 2011
Black History Month
Arts&
Entertainment
Perseverance: Black Pioneers in Oregon -- A unique exhibit, developed in collaboration with the Oregon Historical Society and the Oregon Northwest Black Pioneers, highlights the environment and stories of early Oregon black pioneers who lived in the state prior to World War II. Now showing through April 3 at the Oregon History Museum, downtown.
performs at Salty’s on the Columbia every Friday and Saturday night. Known as the “Gentleman of Jazz,” Brown has a career spanning over 40 years. Children’s Musical -- Oregon Children’s Theatre presents Diary of a Worm, a Spider, and a Fly, now playing through Sunday, Feb. 20 at the Newmark Theatre, 1111 S.W. Broadway. The world premier musical captures all of the droll humor and whimsy of the wildly popular books by Doreen Cronin and Harry Bliss.
Festival of African Films -- Portland Community College’s Festival of African Films honors Black History Month with screenings and special events through March 5. For complete listings and more information, visit africanfilmfestival.org.
Mysteries of Ancient Egypt -- Through cutting-edge modern technology, the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry will take visitors on a journey back in time to experience the mysteries and wonders of ancient Egypt in the new exhibition “Lost Egypt: Ancient Secrets, Ladies with the Blues -- Ethos Music Center at the Modern Science,” now playing through May 1. Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center presents “Sherman: A Jazz Opera” on the weekends of Feb. 18-20 and Feb. Artists Celebrate Black History -- Gallerie Rene’, 207 S.W. Pine, showcases the work of several local African 25-27. For more details, visit ethos.org. and African-American artists in the February exhibit Norman Sylvester Band -- Boogie Cat Norman Sylvester “Unity and Community.” The group of experienced and and his band performs Friday, Feb. 18 at Spirit Moun- emerging artists brings a wide range of work including tain Casino; and Saturday, Feb. 19 at the Cascade Bar quilts, paintings, sculpture, photography and fine art and Grill in Vancouver. prints. Mayhem in Sherwood Forest -- The outlaw Robin Hood is at loose and at large, disturbing the peace, breaking the law, and generally causing all manner of havoc and mayhem in Sherwood Forest. The scene comes alive in the stage production of Robin Hood, now playing through Feb. 20 at the Northwest Children’s Theater and School, 1819 N.W. Everett St.
Unsripted Crime Drama -- The Unscriptables bring improvised theater to a new level with Lawful Order: Special Puppet Unit, now playing in the Unscriptables studio at 1121 N. Loring St.
Groundbreaking Documentary -- Lewis & Clark College invites the community to celebrate Black History Month with the documentary “Black Is…Black Ain’t.” Filmmaker Marlon Riggs reveals a myriad of social forces that attempt to consolidate, reduce, and contain the lives and experiences of African Americans. Free screening on Monday, Feb. 21 at 7 p.m. in Templeton Campus Center, 3rd floor.
Discount Admission -- OMSI visitors pay only $2 per person for general admission on the first Sunday of each month as well as discounted admission of $5 to the Planetarium, OMIMAX Theater and USS Blueback submarine.
Last Polar Bear exhibit -- At the World Forest Center Discovery Museum, photographer Steven Kazlowski documents the devastating urgency of global warming’s impact on the Arctic in the photo exhibit, The Last Polar Bear: Facing the Truth of a Warming World. Show runs through April 3.
Music Millennium Free Shows -- The Music Millennium, 3158 E. Burnside, hosts in-house live performances. Enjoy free music and the opportunity to meet Mel Brown Live -- Portland jazz giant Mel Brown artists. Call 503-231-8926 for a schedule.
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February 16, 2011
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Black History Month
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Arts&
Entertainment
Still Trying to Make Mom Proud Jennifer Hudson on what keeps her going (AP) -- In a tearful interview, singer and actress Jennifer Hudson said she's still trying to make her mother proud, and that's what has kept her going since her mother and two other family members were murdered. Hudson, who has repeatedly declined to talk publicly about the killings, didn't directly address the details of the October 2008 slayings in Chicago of her mother, brother and 7-year-old nephew. But in an interview on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" that was broadcast Thursday, she discussed the source of the drive that quickly got her back on stage and in the recording studio just months after the tragedy. "I try to do everything to say, 'OK, will my mother like this? Will she be pleased? Will she be proud of that? How do I know she's happy and she's smiling down at me from heaven?'" Hudson said. "And that's what I try to go by and walk by." Shedding tears, Hudson said she could hear the voices of her brother and mother telling her to "knock it off," stop crying and keep going. In October 2008, the bodies of her mother, Darnell Hudson Donerson, and brother, Jason Hudson, were found in the family's Chicago home. The body of her 7-year-old nephew, Julian King, was found days later in a sport utility vehicle about 10 miles away. All three had been shot. The estranged husband of Jennifer Hudson's sister, Julia, is charged with first-degree murder in the killings. Hudson, 29, said she doesn't know if she's started to heal yet.
Jennifer Hudson It's such a shocking thing," she said. "It's a lot to take in. It's like, 'OK, is this real? Did this really happen?' It's hard to put it in sync with reality." Her son, born in August 2009, is a source of strength, she said, and "the cutest little baby in the whole wide world." Hudson performed her new single, "Where You At," and talked about how she lost 80 pounds by resolving to get in shape after childbirth. Three of Hudson's cousins — a bus driver, a teacher and a medical administrator — joined her on the show to talk about their own weight loss and model clothes chosen for them by "Project Runway" host Tim Gunn. Hudson, a spokeswoman for Weight Watchers, credited the program and her determination for her weight loss. Winfrey announced that audience members at the show each would get three free one-year memberships to Weight Watchers so they could sign up with two friends. Hudson said her fiancé, David Otunga, has had trouble adjusting to the attention other men are paying to her since she dropped from a size 16 to a size 6. "It's like a brand new me," Hudson said. "Sometimes I don't even recognize myself."
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Black History Month
February 16, 2011
Arts&
Entertainment
Roosevelt Theatre Rebound
Your Care
The Roosevelt High School community in north Portland is sending their praise to students of the school for winning a championship in theater. In just 3 1/2 years, Roosevelt has gone from having no theatre program at all for at least a decade to having
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one of the best programs in the state. Out of all Oregon high school theatre productions this school year, Roosevelt's production of The Yellow Boat was selected to be one of only three shows to win top honors. The students will showcase their production on the Main Stage of the
Elsinore Theatre in Salem during the State Conference, March 31-April 2 in front of nearly 1,000 fellow Thespians. “Congratulations to the cast and crew who made it happen!” said Joe Strom Lane, RHS Theatre Arts teacher.
SEI hosts Sounds of Soul Choir Self Enhancement, Inc. will host their annual community Gospel Brunch featuring the SEI Sounds of Soul Choir on Sunday, Feb. 20at the Center for Self Enhancement, 3920 N. Kerby Ave. As part of the Portland Jazz Fes-
tival, this popular concert event returns for the third year with soulstirring gospel and mouth-watering Southern cuisine. Doors open at 1:30pm with performances slated to start at 2:30pm. Tickets for the Gospel Brunch are
$30, including a delicious brunch catered by Donna Harris, or $10 for the concert only. Tickets can be purchased through SEI by calling 503-249-1721 extension 244 or by visiting the SEI website at SelfEnhancement.org.
February 16, 2011
The
Portland Observer
Black History Month
Page 17
Arts&
Entertainment For women who like a more polished look.
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Posters by Brian Methe, one of the more than 40 artists featured in a rock poster art show opening Saturday, Feb. 19 at Settlement Galleries, Third Floor, Pioneer Place Mall, downtown.
‘In Print’ Rock Posters Show Peoples Art of Portland presents "In Print," a rock posters art show, featuring more than 40 of the 40 the top poster artists in the country, many of which are from Portland.
The exhibit at Settlement Galleries, Third Floor, in Pioneer Place Mall, downtown, will also have on display some of the rare original artwork from the show posters and
Girls Got Talent Contest A talent contest for the ladies is drawing contestants to the Barracuda nightclub, 9 N.W. Second Ave. “The Girls Got Talent” competition is open to any woman 21 and over who is an unsigned artist. Any genre of music is encouraged. Preliminary events are
scheduled for Feb. 25 and March 25 with the finals set for April 29. The club will promote the artists with hand bills, radio spots, social media, Internet websites and in-house advertising. To sign up, call Keno Leighty, Barracuda manager at 503-8888409.
artists involved. The show opens Saturday, Feb. 19. A reception is scheduled 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. The show runs until March 17. Advertise with diversity in The
Portland Observer
Opening in February at 7831 SE Stark Street Portland, OR 97215
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Portland Observer
CLASSIFIED/BIDS To Place Your Classified Advertisement
Certified Lateral Police Officer
Contact: Phone: 503-288-0033 Fax: 503-288-0015 e-mail: classifieds@portlandobserver.com
$3929 - $5390/month, DOQ (up to an additional 17% of base wage incentive pay after probationary period).
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL METRO SUSTAINABILITY CENTER NATURAL AREAS INFORMATION SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT RFP 11-1848 The Metro Natural Areas Program, a metropolitan service district organized under the laws of the State of Oregon and the Metro Charter, located at 600 NE Grand Avenue, Portland, OR 972322736, is requesting proposals for development of an information system for tracking and management of natural areas owned by Metro. Details concerning the project and proposal are contained in this document. Sealed proposals are due March 8, 2011 until close of business in Metro’s business office at 600 NE Grand Avenue, Portland, OR 97232-2736, Attention: Sharon Stiffler, Procurement Analyst, RFP 11-1848. The goal of this project is to create an electronic information system for the tracking and management of natural areas acquired by Metro as part of the 1995 and 2006 bond measures. The initial scope of the project will focus on the deliverables in Priority Group A – Core Data Management (Attachment D). However, Metro may choose to include in additional deliverables in the Scope based on negotiations with the successful proposer. See the Proposal Instructions for more information on how to structure the proposal. Proposal documents, (including plans and specifications depicting the work) may be viewed on Metro’s website at http:// www.oregonmetro.gov under “Doing Business With”, “Requests for Bids and Proposal”. Metro may accept or reject any or all bids, in whole or in part, or waive irregularities not affecting substantial rights if such action is deemed in the public interest. Metro extends equal opportunity to all persons and specifically encourages minority, women-owned and emerging small businesses to access and participate in this and all Metro projects, programs and services. Metro and its contractors will not discriminate against any person(s), employee or applicant for employment based on race, creed, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, religion, physical handicap, political affiliation or martial status. Metro fully complies with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and related statutes and regulations in all programs and activities. For more information, or to obtain a Title VI Complaint Form, see www.oregonmetro.gov
February 16, 2011
Black History Month
Position performs all aspects of police duties. Requirements that must be met in order to be considered as a Lateral Police Officer include: DPSST Basic Police Certification or equivalent out of state certification, (only state certifications recognized by Oregon DPSST will be considered must provide proof of certification at time of application). All positions require a valid Oregon driver’s license (or ability to obtain prior to appointment), must be 21 years of age and a U.S. citizen. Prior to appointment, successful candidate must pass preemployment testing and screening process. Application packets (including PreEmployment Personal Profile Questionnaire) may be downloaded from the City’s website,www.westlinnoregon.gov; West Linn City Hall, 22500 Salamo Road, West Linn, OR 97068; or by calling (503) 657-0331. Completed application materials must be returned to the West Linn City Hall by 4:00 p.m., Thursday, March 31, 2011. EEO.
Babysitter needed for my two kids. $460/week, includes use of car. Qualified applicant must pass background check. Contact me at werthun@gmail.com
City of Portland Water Bureau Water Security Specialist Monthly Salary: $3,608 - $3,879 The City of Portland, Water Bureau is seeking an experienced Water Security Specialist. The Water Security Specialist provides security and proactive patrol to ensure the safety and protection of buildings, employees, facilities and grounds of the Water Bureau. For additional, more detailed information or to apply online, visit http:// www.portlandoregon.gov/jobs/. Hardcopy application packets can be obtained at, 1120 SW 5th Ave., NE corner of the lobby. Women and minorities are encouraged to apply. The City of Portland is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
Project Name – Powell Butte Reservoir No. 2 Phase 2 Owner – City of Portland Bid Date – March 8th, 2011 @ 2:00 pm PCL is requesting scope of work and bids, Monday, March 7, 2011 @ 1:00 pm PCL Construction Services, Inc. 15405 SE 37th Street, Suite 200 Bellevue, WA 98006 P – (425) 454-8020 F – (425)454-5924 Description of Work: New twin-cell 50 MG Reservoir, pipelines, new valve and flowmeter vaults (both inside and outside of the Powell Butte Nature Park) and modifications to existing piping & vaults in the ROW. The project also includes new interpretive center building with perimeter enhancements and new parking lot, a maintenance building and yard, single-family residence, trails and other park improvements, civil /site improvements, landscaping, electrical/ instrumentation improvements and incidental construction. We are requesting bids from Subcontractors and Suppliers, including Minority and Women owned businesses, and Emerging Small Businesses for the following: concrete – forming, placing, and reinforcing steel; masonry; metals; rough and finish carpentry; waterproofing; sheet metal; doors and windows; painting and flooring; fire suppression; plumbing and equipment; HVAC; electrical work; earthwork; exterior improvements; utilities; waterway and marine construction; piping and support; and handling equipment-cranes. Documents are available on PCL FTP site or in PCL’s office in Bellevue, WA Email – seattlebids@pcl.com for FTP site information Questions regarding site work, vault and reservoir related work contact Glen Lamoreaux @ 480-829-6333 Questions regarding park center, maintenance building, singlefamily residence, park trails, fencing, landscape and irrigation contact Derek Pizzey @ 425-519-7325.
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Attention: The waitlists for Beacon Manor and Powell Blvd Apartments are closed as of February 7, 2011. The waitlists are closed due to excessively long wait times on all floor plans. Please check our website at www.reachcdc.org periodically for updates and openings. These buildings are managed by REACH CDC.
Accounting Manager sought by Iberdrola Renewables for Portland, OR ofc. DESC: Ld finance resource & contact for Wind Ops Sup. Tm & liaison w/ sr. mngmt., etc. REQS: BS in Finance or Acct., + 7 yrs prog., post-bac. exp. working w/in industry or public acct. rel. to job rqmts, IFRS, etc. Reply to: Job# 100209, 1125 NW Couch Street, Ste. 700, Portland, OR 97209 or https://iberdrolaren.taleo.net/ careersection/2/jobsearch.ftl?lang=en
February 16, 2011
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Black History Month
Proud Diversity Etched in Stone continued
from front
The Oregon Convention Center has pledged to provide ongoing maintenance for the gateway. The cost of the first phase will be
$500,000, paid for by tax increment funds from the Oregon Convention Center Urban Renewal District. Phase Two will be smaller markers at six strategic locations on the avenue, each providing text about
the historic significance of the location or the structures upon it. The project started in 2007 when PDC formed an advisory committee and established a web site to get public input for the designs. The results were “tons of interesting stories,” said project manager Irene Bower. Panels will discuss the first major migration of the African-Americans to Portland; first from a small neighborhood around Union Station in the 1920s, later to the east side near Broadway and Williams Avenue and later from people disclosed from the flooded Vanport housing project after World War II. There will be descriptions of the native populations before the great western migrations; and how earlier immigrant groups, including people from Ireland, Poland, Germany and the Scandinavian countries were drawn to the old Albina neighborhood in the 1880s after the completion of transcontinental railroads. Other panels will discuss the cultural institutions of the area, past and present. The community centers, including the Williams Avenue YWCA completed in 1926. The
churches, including the Mount Olivet Baptist Church, the first such institution built for an AfricanAmerican congregation. The civic organizations throughout the area’s history will also be honored, including African-American groups like the Colored Women’s Council who blazed a trail for the inclusivity of racial and ethnic populations in the local neighborhoods. Other panels will speak to the historic struggles for equality, both nationally and locally and pay tribute to such organizations as the NAACP , the Urban League of Portland, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, the Black Panther Party and the Albina Ministerial Alliance. The heritage markers will pay tribute to black community leaders such as the Reverends J.J. Clow, John Jackson and O.B. Williams, Dr. and Mrs. Unthank, and Otto and Verdell Rutherford. Finally, there is a brief history of the street itself. Once a footpath, it was originally named Margaretta in honor of pioneer developer Edwin Russell’s wife. In 1891 it was re-
named Union Avenue together with Grand Avenue as a tribute to the Civil War’s Union army, then renamed for civil rights hero Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Pauline Bradford, an advisory committee member, and longtime African-American community resident and activist, hopes the project informs both visitors and local residents about the community. It could bring more attention to the area, which would be good for local businesses, she says. “Other parts of town are always tooting their own horns,” she told the Portland Observer. “We should do the same.” Phase II of the project calls for smaller markers, also accompanied by text, at each of four locations along the avenue: Northeast Knott Street, where there will be two markers, Northeast Fremont, Failing and Ainsworth Streets, and one at the Vanport Square. The accompanying texts will discuss nearby “buildings, events, people who lived or worked here, but all will be about the neighborhood,” Bowers says. “What transpired here, what were the stories?”
Best New Artist continued
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violin at age four after watching him perform on Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. A year later, she landed a spot in The Chamber Music Society of Oregon, a community orchestra open to both children and adults. She studied at the Northwest Academy when PSU professor Hamilton Cheifetz encouraged her to enroll in the school’s music program. She was awarded a scholarship and enrolled at age 16. She studied at the school for a year before moving to Berklee College as a student. She became a teacher at the school at age 20.
“Even at 16 she was a very levelheaded person with a strong sense of herself and purpose,” Darrell Grant, who teaches Jazz Improv at PSU, said Monday. “And while we loved having her here, we encouraged her to look at the East Coast, where she could be connected with the highest level of professional opportunities in Boston or New York.” In 2008, Heads Up Internnational released her first album, Esperanza, and it remained atop Billboard’s Contemporary Jazz chart for 70 weeks. It also earned her appearances on the Late Show with David Letterman, Jimmy Kimmel Live, Austin City
Esperanza Spalding Limits, and a performance at the White House. Spalding won the JazzWeek Award for Record of the Year in 2009 and the Jazz Journalists Association’s 2009 Award for Up and Coming Artist of the Year. The success of Esperanza as well as Chamber Music Society and the numerous subtle, public appearances, earned her the Grammy nomination and historic win. During her acceptance speech, she also thanked her mother as well as her teachers. “Esperanza’s story highlights the strength of our music department in Jazz,” said Barbara Sestak, dean of fine and performing arts at PSU. “We’re all very happy for her,” said Cheifetz. Spalding also plans on some other performances while in town for Black History Month and the Portland Jazz Festival. For more information, visit her web site, esperanzaspalding.com.
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February 16, 2011
February 16, 2011
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Black History Month
Catching Love with TriMet Valentine’s Day was a celebration for couples who met on TriMet. The transit agency Monday honored one lucky pair by making them Matt Haynes and Danette Burchill, a couple who met on TriMet, were honored by the transit agency during a Valentine’s Day promotion Monday.
In Loving Memory Dino Mikes Dino Mikes was born on Dec. 17, 1958 in Portland, to Billy and Minnie Mikes. On Jan. 31, 2010, God called him home. He attended Woodland and Sabin Elementary Schools and Grant High School. Furthering his education, he enrolled at Vocational Village and became a chef, later becoming a lead chef for the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Portland which is now the Embassy Suites Hotel. Dino enjoyed cooking for everyone especially his family. He was just your everyday, fun loving guy; an extraordinary husband, wonderful father and grandfather, as well as a devoted brother who loved his entire family. A man who lived up to the family name, Mikes will be remember for the way he interacted with his loved ones; how he would detail his car and drive down the street with such pride; and how he would dress to impress, smelling good from head to toe. His family misses him dearly, and will always reminisce and cherish moments shared with him forever. He leaves to cherish his wife of 21 years, Sandra Wesson-Mikes; his children Dayshawndo, Albert and Joshua, all of Portland; grandchildren Treviontae, Asianique, Amiyia, Telia, Shalayah and Zier Savage, Nevaeh Jordan, and Jashauna, Telisa, Jayontae and Joslyn Wesson; sisters Charlie Spires (Herbert Lee), Mae Warren-Kofi, Cecil Hudson and Liza Annette Mikes of Portland, Bernice Burns of Anchorage, Alaska, Billie Ruth Spires and Noble Jean Crittenden of Vancouver; and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, other relatives and friends. Arrangements by Neal's Compassionate Heart Funeral Home.
the grand prize winners of the agency’s “Did You Meet Your Sweet on TriMet?” contest. The prize was a night’s stay at Hotel deLuxe and dinner at Gracie’s. Danette Burchill and Matt Haynes of Portland were the lovebirds whose story made hearts flutter. With the city blanketed in snow, the two first spotted each other while waiting for a delayed Line 20 bus in
December 2008. According to Danette, it was Matt’s charming and playful spirit amidst a crowd of strangers that piqued her interest. Coincidence, and perhaps fate, brought them together a few weeks later. They plan to marry this summer. TriMet received love stories from 29 local couples who met their significant others on MAX, a bus or at a bus stop.
Chiropractic Auto Injury Clinic, PC Zchon R. Jones, DC 333 NE Russell St., #200, Portland, OR. 97212 (503) 284-7838 Truly making a difference in the lives of Auto Accident victims and Injured Workers for nearly 20 years. If you or someone you know has been in an accident, call us so we can help you with your needs. (503) 284-7838 We are located on the corner of MLK and Russell Street, on the second floor above the coffee shop.
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February 16, 2011
Opinion articles do not necessarily represent the views of the Portland Observer. We welcome reader essays, photos and story ideas. Submit to news@portlandobserver.com.
OPINION
Jobs and Putting People Back to Work We cannot wait for the market to solve this crisis BY EDIE RASELL
The stock market has rebounded to near its pre-recession peak. Corporate profits are at record highs. But for millions of American workers who have lost jobs, health insurance, homes and financial security, the crisis continues. Congress must make job creation its highest priority. Many families are caught in a quagmire of financial and emotional pain.
Three years into the “Great Recession,” the national unemployment rate is nine percent. But this measure includes only people who are actively searching for work, some 13.9 million. It omits those who have given up looking, decided to be stay-at-home moms since they have no other options or claim to be “retired” to conceal their fears of never working again. A broader measure that counts everyone who wants a job plus people who want full-time work when they can find only a parttime job is over twice as large: 30 million people or nearly one in five potential workers. There are roughly four job seekers for every job opening and nearly half the unemployed have been without a job for over six months. Among
people of color, young adults, and teenagers, the jobless rate is much higher. Workers and their families are in crisis. To keep pace with growth in the labor force, the number of jobs must rise by 114,000 each month. But over the past year the U.S. averaged just 82,000 a month. This is too few to keep joblessness from rising, no matter what the official counts tell us, and does not begin to shrink the backlog of unemployment. Going forward, even if job creation were double the rate of last year, it would take 19 years for unemployment to fall to its pre-recession level. We cannot wait for corporate decision makers and “the market” to solve this crisis. Congress and the Obama Administration must intervene to cre-
ate jobs. Options include a tax credit to encourage firms to boost hiring, funds for state and local governments to ease their budget woes and reduce the need for layoffs, grants to send workers back to school, and a public jobs program where the government directly hires workers. There is much work that needs to be done, from cleaning up brown fields in our cities to weatherizing homes and making repairs in our national parks. Let’s put people to work doing the things that need to be done. Creating jobs costs money and critics argue we cannot afford this when the federal deficit is already high. But we cannot afford not to. Most of the deficit is caused by the economic downturn. Unemployed
people earn little money and pay few taxes, reducing government revenues. At the same time, government expenses rise as millions of people are forced to rely on safety net programs. Once people are working again, much of the deficit will disappear. In the longer term, the deficit will return and will need to be addressed. The time to reduce the deficit is when the emergency is over, when the economy on Main Street, as well as the economy on Wall Street, is sound. Right now, Congress and the Obama Administration must create jobs and put people back to work. Edie Rasell is the Minister for Economic Justice in the United Church of Christ.
No Time to Cut Ex Offender Programs Look at the impacts down the road BY JUDGE GREG MATHIS
One of the first places state and federal governments look to make cutbacks in an attempt to balance their ballooning budgets is in the penal system. As a result, exoffender re-entry programs that help rehabilitate those who are at risk for returning to prison are on the chopping block. Sure, cutting funding to these programs may help balance budgets in the short term. But, as exoffenders become repeat offenders and return to jail or prison, we end
up shelling out more money in the long run to incarcerate them. Additionally, communities and individuals will continue to be victimized by crime and trapped in seemingly never ending cycle. Recently, USA Today reported on these cutbacks and the impact they could have on states across the country. Florida, for example, saw a small decrease in the number of ex-offenders who committed a new felony while on probation. Instead of looking at the bigger picture and continuing to invest in programs designed to reduce recidivism, Florida, in an attempt to get its fiscal house in order, plans to cut such programs. Other states are also weighing significant budget
cuts to all parts of their criminal justice systems. This is just bad business. In many states, the number of ex-offenders committing new crimes has in-
According to a report by the Institute for Research on Poverty, Michigan has used job placement programs to cut the prison population by about 15 percent over the last four years and saved more than $200 million each year. creased, partly because of cuts to programs that help them transform their lives and stay out of prison. Any state considering such cuts should look to Michigan for guidance. Budget gaps and increasingly high unemployment rates have lead
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stitute for Research on Poverty, Michigan has used job placement programs to cut the prison population by about 15 percent over the last four years and saved more than $200 million each year. Here’s hoping other locales will
follow Michigan’s lead. With your help, maybe they can. Call or write your county, state and federal legislators and demand they not be so short sighted; ask that they avoid making budget cuts to prison reentry programs at all costs. In these difficult economic times, it is only reasonable that lawmakers conserve resources where they can. The criminal justice system, particularly ex-offender reentry programs, is not the place to make these cuts. Our lawmakers must think about the effect these budget reductions will have on our overall safety and the economic impact they will have on taxpayers down the road. Greg Mathis is a retired Michigan District Court judge and a current syndicated television show judge.
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lawmakers there to address both problems with a novel plan: help exoffenders find and keep jobs that will keep them out of prison. According to a report by the In-
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Read this Book I just read the article by Lee A. Daniels, “What is Truly ‘Exceptional’ About America: When words ring hollow,” (Portland Observer, Feb. 9 issue). A few years ago I was listening to Cecile and Celeste on KBOO-FM 90.7 and they referenced, “The Northern Refugees” by Benjamin Drew written in 1856. In their own words, those who successfully defected to freedom tell the true story of slavery. The one constant theme over and over, never enough food, never enough of the right clothes or shelter and never any medical care. I urge people to get and read this book. Thanks. Respectfully, Ed Martiszus, RN
February 16, 2011
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Black History Month
OPINION
Page 23
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Don’t Mess With the 14th Amendment Decisive step would weaken America “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws”. -- Section I of the 14th Amendment. BY MARC H. MORIAL
The immigration debate has taken another ugly turn. First, Arizona passed a law, now under federal challenge, granting unprecedented powers to police to stop and demand proof of citizenship from anyone they suspect of being in the country illegally. Now, two United States Senators, a Congressman and at least 14 states have proposed amending or reinterpreting the 14th Amendment of the Constitution to deny citizenship to U.S. born children of undocumented immigrants. The 14th amendment effectively overturned the Supreme Court’s infamous 1857 Dred Scott decision which ruled that no slave or descendent of a slave could ever be a United States citizen. Since its ratification in 1868, the 14th Amendment’s clear statements on birthright citizenship, due process
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and equal protection, have formed the basis for a large measure of social and economic reforms. In fact, the Supreme Court cited the violation of the 14th amendment’s “equal protection” clause as a major factor in its 1954 Brown v Board of Education decision ending segregation in American schools. The 14th Amendment’s most famous “birthright” defense came in 1898, when the Supreme Court, in United States v. Wong Kim Ark, upheld the citizenship of a child born in the United States to Chinese immigrant parents who lived in San Francisco but were not legal citizens. The law is clear: anyone born on American soil, regardless of race or ethnicity is entitled to automatic citizenship. For more than 100 years, that has been a fundamental principle of American democracy. But recently, anti-immigration forces across the country have claimed that large numbers of illegal immigrants are crossing the border simply to have what they derisively call “anchor babies” – children who automatically qualify for the benefits of United States citizenship. Despite the fact that this rarely occurs, Sen. David Vitter of Louisiana and Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, have introduced legislation that would amend the 14th amendment and deny citizenship to the U.S born
children of immigrants unless at least one parent has permanent resident status, or is a naturalized citizen or is serving in the U.S. military. Last year, in what appeared to be a mid-term election campaign ploy, a number of conservative Senators said they might call hearings to air their opposition to automatic citizenship for the children of undocumented immigrants. Most observers and scholars think that a push to amend the Constitution is likely to fail given that it would require votes from 67 Senators, 290 Congressmen and ratification by 38 states. But that has not stopped its supporters. On the first day of the new Congress, Rep. Steve King of Iowa chose what he believes is a less arduous route by introducing legislation that would outlaw birthright citizenship by amending the Immigration and Nationality Act. While opponents of birthright citizenship contend their intent is to curb illegal immigration, this is clearly another divisive step that would weaken America’s tradition and strength as a nation of immigrants. Our message to anyone attempting to rewrite history and the law for their own political purposes is clear: Don’t mess with the 14th Amendment. Marc H. Morial is the president and chief executive officer of the National Urban League.
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FFluffy OOD French Toast Infuse your morning with the sweet smells of cinnamon and vanilla when you whip up this light and fluffy French toast, which adds flour to the mix for a new spin on an old favorite. 10 min. Preparation Time, 20 min. Cooking Time, Ready In 30 min., 12 Servings.
Ingredients • • • • • • • •
1/4 cup all-purpose flour 1 cup milk 1 pinch salt 3 eggs 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 tablespoon white sugar 12 thick slices bread
Instructions 1. Measure flour into a large mixing bowl. Slowly whisk in the milk. Whisk in the salt, eggs, cinnamon, vanilla extract and sugar until smooth. 2. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium heat. 3. Soak bread slices in mixture until saturated. Cook bread on each side until golden brown. Serve hot.
Baked Brunch Strata For an elegant weekend brunch, this simple savory dish of smoked ham and spring vegetables can't be beat. The prepwork is done the night before, then baked in the oven that morning for a wonderful start to your day. 13 hours prep and cooking
Ingredients • • • • • • • •
9 slices bread, torn into bite size pieces 1/2 cup diced fresh mushrooms 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper 16 ounces Cheddar cheese, shredded 1/2 cup chopped onion 2 cups cubed cooked ham 8 eggs 2 cups milk
Instructions 1. Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish. Layer half of the torn bread in the bottom of the dish. Sprinkle the mushrooms and green bell pepper evenly over the bread layer. Sprinkle with half of the cheese. Top with remaining bread pieces, 2. then layer with the onion and ham. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Whisk together eggs and milk; pour over the entire pan. Cover with aluminum foil, and refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours. 3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bake covered for 35 minutes, then remove foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes, or until top is evenly brown.
Black History Month
February 16, 2011