This $80,000 funding cut represents a minuscule savings to the city, but would be devastating to IFCC. It represents 24% of the budget for the non-profit that operates a gallery and theatre and offers classes, shows and cultural outreach to the community.

This proposed cut was announced just as IFCC opened an exhibit showcasing the work of more than 70 North and Northeast Portland artists. The show, “Do North,” represents the unique way IFCC works to connect an extraordinarily diverse group of artists to the community.

“The conversation about diversity is deeply important to the successful growth of our City,” writes IFCC’s Creative Director Adrienne Flagg in a message to supporters. “I know you have experienced the conversation here — in the gallery, theatre, civic meetings, and classes. Please extend your support and let the Mayor and the City Commissioners know that you value IFCC’s mission to awaken cultural awareness by creating an environment for artists and audiences to explore, honor and celebrate diversity. Let them know that you recognize this vital connection to our City’s well-being.”

IFCC has been enjoying a period of stability under Flagg’s leadership, and this cut would mean significant cuts to IFCC’s ability to fulfill its mission.

Please contact your city leaders and urge them to continue their 25-year relationship with this remarkable program.

mayorpotter@ci.portland.or.us
commissionersam@ci.portland.or.us
randy@ci.portland.or.us
dsaltzman@ci.portland.or.us

The final hearing on the budget is tomorrow, May 8, 6:30-8:30 pm, at King Elementary School, 4906 NE 6th. Sign up for three-minute testimony on site.

The media landscape has changed dramatically over the last decade, with ownership concentrating in fewer corporate hands, and with declining newspaper circulation and ad revenue. Eric Alterman eulogizes the late, great big city daily in a recent New Yorker.

Our home-town daily struggles to maintain relevance with a proxy Web site, and tragi-comedically cautious style which has seen them sit on important stories (see Packwood and Goldschmidt) to protect their powerful friends, even as they pursue Pulitzers for fluffy human interest reporting.

Meanwhile, blogs have sprung up like weeds in the fertile soil once covered by paid journalists, with citizen journalists pouring forth millions of column inches daily, completely free of the stodgy old constraints of artificial objectivity.

The internet and cheap home computers have made the printing press ubiquitous and available to the masses. I have one in my office, and any joe with an e-mail address can borrow time for free on any number of commercial blog platforms.

With these printing presses, you can write any damn thing you please, ranging from what you had for breakfast, to an exposé of a high-ranking government official.

At one end of this spectrum is what I consider social networking. Sites like MySpace, Facebook and LiveJournal are full of OMG! and LOL!

At the other end is what I call public journalism, as practiced on large and small scales on many sites around the world. Writers cover issues that are important to them, with a clear point of view evident in their work. Credibility is earned through diligence and reflected in networks of interlinked blogs.

Metblogs, in my view, has walked the fuzzy line between the two, but has tended more toward social networking. My own posts here have often been fluffy (though I think I’ve occasionally engaged in some serious citizen journalism and commentary).

To be clear, nobody needs Metblogs to be one thing or another. My personal printing press allows me to regularly engage in public journalism on school equity issues and local politics (and hockey). I could do that kind of work here, too.

For example, there are contested city, county and Metro elections on the ballot next month, not to mention primaries for statewide offices and the US Senate, but there has been nary a peep about these races on Metblogs. I go to debates and talk to candidates. I could write about this stuff here. Does anybody care?

Personally, I see great potential for Metblogs to be a collaborative source of local (or hyper-local) news, policy analysis and commentary. If I owned it, that’s the direction I would steer it. But I don’t own it; I just write here.

What do you think? Social networking or public journalism? I’ll use the community’s response as a guide to my future here.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge fan of a at least one thing Canadian, and even a French Canadian or two. But there’s something about French Canadian clowns and their production sensibility that doesn’t do it for me.

Somebody will surely be able to set me straight on the shows Cirque has done in Portland, but I saw one show (Dralion?) around 1999 and another (Saltimbanco?) a couple-few years later.

There’s a lot of great things to say about Cirque du Solel — they don’t use animals, the circus artistry is top notch and comes from all around the world, and the tech is high end and extremely well executed. Both shows I saw had a variety of acts woven into a narrative acted out by clowns, musicians and acrobats. Contortion, aerial and floor acrobatics, juggling and shows of strength are all represented. (Not so much on the side show stuff, so don’t expect anything like the good ol’ Jim Rose Circus. It’s just a little different than that.)

But what I can’t take (besides the $50-$250 tickets) is the tone of the show. Everything is slicker than slick, breezy as hell, and just generally, eh, a little too twee for moi.

The first show I saw actually had clowns playing the guitar/synth rock soundtrack. I’m thinking, come on, people, didn’t Kiss do this in 1975? I also found myself thinking, damn, they sure do rely a lot on third-world child labor (lots of kid performers).

Cirque du Soleil is pretty much a the French Canadian Disney of the human circus industry. (And that’s coming from somebody who just spent some time at Disneyland.) It’s definitely worth seeing once, even if you (like me) don’t care so much for clowns of any kind, much less French Canadian clowns. The circus artistry and stagecraft alone are worth it, even if the production is a bit overwrought.

Cirque du Soleil’s Corteo plays Portland March 1 through April 6.

You may not know that Zednick is a former Winter Hawk. You also might not know that the only previous time an NHL player had his carotid artery cut during a game was in 1989, when Buffalo goalie Clint Malarchuk nearly died on the ice, but made it to the bench under his own power so his mother wouldn’t see him die on TV (he survived thanks to the heroic efforts of the team trainer, who had served as a medic in Viet Nam). Malarchuk was also a Winter Hawk.

Then there was the jumbotron collapse at Buffalo’s HSBC Arena in 1996, minutes after the team left the ice. And Portland’s own NHL star Paul Gaustad’s skate-cut ankle last season.

If I were Michael Funk, I’d be wearing a throat guard next time I got called up to the show. I’m thinking about getting one myself.

Here’s what the ice rink at Lloyd Center looked like soon after the mall was built in 1960, before they put a roof over it.

Note that the lower level to the east of the rink didn’t exist when the mall opened; there are stairs leading up to the second level, which was then the main level, behind the ticket booth.

If you’re still not oriented, what is now Macy’s would be to the right; the elevator and current ice rink office and concession area to the left.

Now that Paul Allen’s bought back his Rose Garden and is once again at the helm of the Rose Quarter, which also includes the venerable Veterans’ Memorial Coliseum, he’s once again talking about razing that structure.

Often maligned for being run-down and out-of-date, the 1960 coliseum has a special place in hockey fans’ hearts. It was the finest hockey arena on the west coast when it was built, and it remains a great venue to see a hockey game. Sure, it’s a little rough around the edges, but so are most hockey fans.

It’s got great bones, and it is the right size (around 10,000 seats) for a junior hockey team like the Winter Hawks. And, let’s not forget, the arena is a memorial to Oregon’s war dead. I also happen to think it’s got beautiful architectural lines, with it’s square glass curtain walls enclosing the gracefully scalloped arena bowl.

Back in ‘03-’04, the city studied options to reuse the Coliseum, with ideas ranging from a Home Depot to a public recreation complex.

The recreation complex idea, which would have included swimming pools and a public ice rink, died when a grant from McDonald’s heiress Joan Kroc fell through. I actually liked that idea, if only because it would be the sole publicly-owned ice rink in the metro area (there are currently no ice rinks in the city of Portland, the ice sheets at the Coliseum and Rose Garden notwithstanding).

But the best idea is to refurbish the Coliseum as a first-rate spectator facility. With the Winter Hawks continuing as the primary tenant, and a reasonable booking schedule for concerts, trade shows and other sporting events, the city-owned Coliseum can be profitable, as it was in the fiscal year that ended in June, 2007.

Put in luxury boxes, restaurants, and modern seating. Remodel the locker rooms and press facilities. Replace the antiquated ice plant, and replace the ice floor with a regulation size surface.

And I don’t know why nobody ever suggests this: open up the ice sheet for public skating and rec league hockey. There is ample space at the event level for facilities to accommodate locker rooms, skate rental and concessions.

Whatever we do, we definitely shouldn’t listen to Paul Allen. He’s proven repeatedly that he doesn’t know how to run a Basketball team or an arena. The brief time when he didn’t run the Rose Quarter was probably the best-booked, most profitable period in its history.

Somehow or another, the hockey season has nearly slipped by. With the Winter Hawks mathematically eliminated from playoff contention this year, that means there are just seven home games left, including against perennial powerhouse Vancouver tonight at the Coliseum.

This Friday is pink ice/cancer awareness night with a game against the Tri-City Americans.

The Winter Hawks are Canadian Major Junior hockey, the pinnacle of world junior hockey. Even in a losing season, this is the best sports entertainment value in Portland, period. Tickets start at $10 adult/$5 kids.

Of course, there are two sides to every story, but today I’m giving you the rosier side (pun intended). This is adapted from a post I started last spring, when I was seriously considering leaving Portland because of the shameful inequity in our public schools. The original title was “Ugly Beauty.” I never published it, and today I give you the “Beauty” side of things, with all the ugliness stripped out.

Portland is set in a picturesque river valley, where the Willamette River flows into the Columbia, just west of the spectacular Columbia River Gorge. Downtown Portland lies between the Tualatin Mountains (a branch of the Oregon Coast Range, also known as the west hills) and the Willamette River. It is a thriving business district that has defied the national trend of death by suburbs.

Our year-round growing season means year-round greenery. My garden never stops producing.

There are ten bridges, some of them quite old and mechanically interesting, and at least one of them quite lovely, spanning the Willamette within Portland’s city limits.

On clear days, the glaciated peak of Mt. Hood looms over southeast Portland, and the often ash plume-belching Mt. St. Helens shines to the north. In a drive of a couple hours, you can find yourself at the rugged Oregon coast, hiking in the ancient forest, soaking in a natural hot spring, or scaling the heights of (or skiing down) one of several volcanoes.

In many ways, Portland really is “The City That Works”. We have a growing light rail transit system, and a commuter rail project in the works. The bus system is efficient; its fleet modern. The Multnomah County Library system is phenomenal. I mean fantastic! We have great parks and green spaces. For a city of this size, Portland is remarkably bike and pedestrian friendly. Our urban growth boundary keeps the metro area compact and commute times reasonable.

There is a large and vocal progressive and radical community in Portland. George H.W. Bush referred to Portland as “Little Beirut” because of the massive and rowdy protests that erupted when he visited in the ’90s. I was proud to be part of those crowds.

There is great espresso, micro-brewed beer and hydroponic marijuana in great abundance. The combination movie theater/brew pub was invented here. We have our own wine country just down the road, producing some of the world’s finest Pinot Noir.

We have a professional symphony, ballet and opera, and many professional theatre companies. We have many first-rate performance halls, from opera- and symphony-sized on down to tiny studio spaces. There is a great international film festival every year, and a thriving independent film community.

We have an NBA team, a WHL (Canadian Major Junior) hockey team, a AAA baseball team, and a pro soccer team. The international airport is conveniently located, and accessible by light rail. The summers are perfect, with warm-to-hot days and cool, breezy nights.

Outside of the very central core, Portland is a bucolic expanse of neighborhoods, dotted with a variety of vibrant business districts. There is a remarkable assortment of 100-year-old housing stock, much of it well preserved or rehabilitated, and very little urban decay. You can eat to your heart’s content from the local taqueria to the latest haute cuisine darling of the New York Times.

In short, Portland offers many of the benefits of a much larger city, with much of the charm and livability of a small town.

So when you hear me criticizing public policy in Portland, keep in mind that it comes from a place of love.

By the time Mayor Tom Potter finished his State of the City speech to the City Club Friday at Jefferson High School, you’d have expected the students, staff and community of Jefferson to be exhausted.

Instead, there was wide-spread excitement and a sense of converging energy that may finally return the school to its former glory. Not that anybody thinks the mayor’s one-week visit will magically transform the school. But the curtain has been lifted on the gross inequities plaguing Oregon’s only majority black high school. There is a growing, inevitable sense that the greater Portland community will no longer tolerate such blatant disregard for equal opportunity.

Mayor’s Week started Monday with an all-school assembly, followed by round-table discussions with students. My first opportunity to participate was at the school board meeting Monday night in the Jefferson auditorium.

Jefferson principal Cynthia Harris and Chief of High Schools Leslie Rennie-Hill announced their recommendation, fully supported by superintendent Carole Smith, to merge two of Jefferson’s four academies beginning next fall, a first step toward restoring Jefferson as a single, comprehensive school. (The Young Men’s and Young Women’s academies will remain unchanged for now.)

I had the good fortune of being the first to offer citizen testimony, and welcomed this announcement with the caveat that we must keep the ball rolling once the eyes of the city are off us, and that we are still dealing with a student transfer system that drains over $40 million annually from the Jefferson, Roosevelt, Madison and Marshall clusters. (I’ve posted the full text of my remarks to the school board on my blog.)

My testimony was followed by that of my Jefferson PTSA colleagues Nancy Smith, Nicole Breedlove, Annie Graves and Lakeitha Elliott, who read first from two PTSA resolutions, one calling for an end to the policy that’s brought us such inequity and one calling for a full accounting of multi-million dollar federal grant intended to benefit the Jefferson cluster from which over a million went missing.

Following the PTSA testimony, Harold Williams, Sr. and his son and city council candidate Harold Williams, Jr. took to the stage and offered their multi-generational Jefferson graduate perspective on what the district has allowed Jefferson to become.

Wednesday morning found the Portland City Council on the Jefferson stage, and once again I had the pleasure of speaking first. My remarks centered around the ways in which city policy and school board policy conflict (full text on my blog).

The first agenda item was about Jefferson, and six students spoke. (I wish I had taken notes, so I could give them all credit.) While all six did great, Robert Gill really stood out in my memory as one who brought up the energy level, as did Noah Kone, who also spoke at the school board meeting. Throughout the six students’ testimony (and, in fact, through most of the testimony given to the school board and city council), there was a common thread. These are bright, strong, incredibly resilient human beings, and we as a city are failing them.

The students were followed with more citizen testimony, starting off with city council candidate Amanda Fritz. Fritz had come to do child care during the council meeting, but was persuaded by Jefferson community members to testify to the council instead. She spoke movingly about the opportunities that her children had at Wilson High School across town, and how fundamentally unfair it is that Jefferson students can’t have similar educational opportunities. The PTSA again read from their resolutions, with Lynn Schore and 1955 Jefferson graduate Ron Webb adding their voices. (Willamette Week covered the PTSA resolutions on their Web site.)

Thursday night was the Jefferson CommUnity Fair, with a puppet show for the kids in the CommUnity room, and a meet and greet in the small gym. Food, fun and music was had by all, and many people had the opportunity to speak one-on-one with principal Harris, Mayor Potter and Superintendent Smith.

Friday was the Mayor’s State of the City Address, delivered to the City Club of Portland in the Jefferson Auditorium. I attended with my wife, recently hired by Jefferson to do community outreach. Before the event began, we worked our way out into the lobby for a “10-minute tour” of the school, led by two students. By chance, we were in a group with school board member Dilafruz Williams and city council candidate Harold Williams, Jr., and were treated to a tour of the empty spaces that a decade of neglect has left at the school: half-empty library shelves, the empty metal shop (partially filled with exercise equipment), a mothballed TV studio, and an empty band room. (We did not tour the mothballed auto shop, wood shop, or home ec rooms.)

Of course the State of the City Address is attended by all the movers and shakers, and I had the opportunity to meet Harold Williams, Sr., pillar of society in Portland, who introduced me to PCC Cascade campus president Algie Gatewood.

Mayor Potter’s speech was broad-ranging, and found strong resonance when calling for more racial understanding in Portland. “We must … find a way to begin a conversation in our community about race,” said Potter. ” It is an uncomfortable topic for many, but I believe race will remain an ugly, open sore on the body politic until we start talking honestly with each other…and listening.”

People who whine about minorities “playing the race card” need a reality check. Come to Jefferson High for a day, and understand what it means to walk in a kid’s shoes who is denied the basic educational opportunities afforded white students in other parts of town. Then tell me this isn’t about race. (I know, I know, it’s really about economics, but you cannot ignore the fact that Jefferson is 63% black, and has been starved for courses more than any other high school in town.)

Friday evening was a perfect capper to the week, as the Jefferson varsity boys basketball team thumped Grant in a display of athletic excellence and superior work ethic. We ended up sitting with PTSA president Nancy Smith, right next to Mayor Potter and his wife Karin Hansen (a former Jefferson teacher).

Throughout the week, I met so many incredible people at the school, and I wish I could remember more than a handful of names. Armando LaGuardia testified to the school board Monday night, representing the first of three generations at Jefferson (his granddaughter is a senior this year). Shei’Meka Newmann, a Benson alum who has become involved at Jefferson, and runs the Lunch Jones program. All the students, who showed incredible poise and eloquence, and all the teachers who continue to weather the storms. There are many, many other incredibly involved parents, alumni, retired teachers and community members doing their damnedest to support the students at Jefferson.

It’s time the city and school district stepped up to do the same.

(Sorry for the long-winded post; you can blame it on McAngryPants, who requested a recap. I’ve got even more at my blog if you’re really interested.)

In addition to the regular city council meeting Wednesday, the school board will meet at Jefferson Monday night and Potter will deliver his annual State of the City address there on Friday.

Thursday night is CommUnity night, sponsored by the Jefferson PTSA, featuring entertainment for kids of all ages, free child care, and opportunities to speak with the mayor, Portland Public Schools superintendent Carole Smith, and Jefferson principal Cynthia Harris.

The full schedule (163 KB PDF) is available on the city’s Web site, and I’ve created a citizen’s guide to civic participation detailing opportunities to address the mayor, the city council and the school board.

This is probably a great opportunity to meet some of the candidates for city council and the mayor’s race as well (rumor has it that Amanda Fritz will be helping out in the community room). This is a historic event, with many opportunities for the greater community to witness and participate in the democratic process.