M W
Author Alice
Walker Visits
Portland
This Week's
Focus
Retirement
Brings New
Challenge to
PDC
See Page A6
(Ebe
Volume XXX
Number 42
(Ohs
www.portbndobserver.com
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Established in 1970
ff W V
Bulk Rate
U.S. Pottage
PAID
Portland, OR
Permit No. 1610
University of Oregon
Knight Library
. Newspaper Section
Eugene OR 97403
Wednesday
October 18, 2000
50*
m W M ? i'
Neighborhood Has Eye on New Streetscape
Plan Would Revitalize Jefferson High Campus, Create Cultural District
B\
M ichaei L eighton
P ortland O bserver
Mideast Talks End
SHARM EL-SHEIK, Egypt - Israel’s
prime minister and the leader ofthe Pales­
tinians agreed to take “immediate con­
crete measures” to end violence in the
Middle East, concluding a two-day emer­
gency summit that killed more than 100
people and shattered prospects for a peace
agreement.
Crash Kills Governor
GOLDMAN, Mo. - MissouriGov. Mel
Carnahan was killed when a plane piloted
by his son crashed in fog and rain 25 miles
south o f St. Louis. The three passengers
- Carnahan, his osn Randy,and adviser
Chris Sifford were headed to an evening
fundraiser in southwest Missouri .All three
died, the governor’s spoikesman said.
Camahan, a popular two-term Democrat
governor, was locked in a tight riae for the
U.S. Senate with incombent Sen. John
Ashcroft.
Allies to Share Power
BELGRADE, Yugoslavia - Slobodan
M ilosevic’s party signed an agreement to
share pow er with President Vojislav
Kostunica’s followers in the government
ofYugoslavia’s main republic, Serbia. The
agreement, signed by aides to Kostunica
and representatives o f the pro-Milosevic
Serbian government, represented an im­
portant advance for the pro-democracy
movement in its efforts to sweep order
from all remaining positions o f power.
Under the deal. Milosevic’s Socialist Party
will keep the office o f the prime minister.
A local neighborhood has ambitious plans
to reconnect Jefferson High School to its
surrounding neighborhood.
The idea is to tear down a barbed wired
chain-link fence that isolates the school and
replace it with a magnificent open plaza and
coliseum-type structure that allows people to
look inside.
It would be part o f a proposed new
streetscape along the school’s football sta­
dium and track on north Killingsworth.
“We are really excited about the project,”
said Carl Flipper, a member o f the Humboldt
Neighborhood Association.
Flipper is coordinator o f an economic de­
velopment grant Humboldt is using in col­
laboration with the North/Northeast Coali­
tion o f Neighborhoods to revitalize its inner
city neighborhood and central business dis­
trict.
He said the focus o f the proposed
streetscape would be to send the message to
the Portland community that this area is a
center for academic excellence and cultural
expression.
Jefferson is bordered by major educational
centers like Portland Community College, the
Multnomah County Library and the POIC
alternative high school.
But instead o f proudly standing guard
over the community, Jefferson looks as if it is
“being insulated from it,” Flipper said.
He said the new vision o f the Jefferson
High School frontage incorporates a plaza
next to the library where students and the
community can gather while waiting for the
city bus.
P o rtla n d A rch itect BiTt H a rt d re w this vision o f a p ro p o se d p u b lic p la za a n d co liseu m -typ e stru ctu re a t Je ffe rso n
H ig h School.
It creates a visual link between the street
and the high school. Street improvements
would better connect the school to the PCC
campus.
A t the In te rse c tio n o f K erb y and
Killingsworth, pedestrian friendly crosswalks
would assist in student safety. Local archi­
tect Bill Hart assisted Humboldt in drawing a
vision for the plans.
Anotherpriority identified by the Humboldt
Farrakhan Leads Million Family March in DC
Transit Deal Reached
LOS ANGELES - A transit strike that
idled buses and trains serving nearly a
half-million riders was settled early after a
marathon, all-night negotiation session
led by the Rev. Jesse Jackson. “I hope that
the MTA (Metropolitan Transportation
Authority) board will ratify the agreement
and bus drivers will ratify the agreement,”
Jackson said at a 7 a.m. news conference.
“Everybody is a winner.”
Bombing Kills 17
The lOU.S.sailors missing in the bomb­
ing o f the U.S. Navy warship in Y emen are
presumed dead, raising the death toll in
the apparent terrorist attack to 17, the
Navy said Friday. Navy officials also said
explosives experts who examined the
ship’s damaged hull have concluded that
the blast came from an external source,
adding to the evidence that the attack was
a deliberate act.
Israel Retaliates
G AZ.A CITY, Gaza Strip - Israeli heli­
copters rocketed Yasser A rafat's residen­
tial compound, Palestinian police stations
and broadcasting centers in a powerful
and swift retaliation for the brutal killings
o f two Israeli soldiers by a Palestinian
mob. The fighting has left last-ditch U.S.
peace efforts in tatters.
Car Seats Recalled
Century Products recalled 4 million in­
fant car seats because they have defec­
tive handles that can break and cause
serious injuries to babies. The recalled
seats have caused safety problems only
when used as a carrier, not when they are
strapped in cars. More than 200 people
have reported injuries because o f the
cracked handles.
NASA Lauds Hero
CAPE CANAVERAL- A NASA engi­
neer who spied a four-inch pin wedged
against space shuttle D iscovers fuel tank
will get a medal for possibly saving the
lives o f the seven astronauts now en route
tot he International Space Station.
community is the proposed renovation o f the
former Masonic Lodge on north Kerby into a
performing arts center.
A feasibility study will determine the cost
and requirements for both projects.
In an atmosphere o f joyous fellowship,
thousands o f men and women — and their
children — gathered amid the nation’s
monuments Monday to celebrate racial
and religious unity and the central role o f
the family in American life.
Called by Nation o f Islam leader Louis
Farrakhan on the fifth anniversary o f his
Million Man March, people ofall races and
religions spread out on blankets and lawn
chairs in the National Mall and laughed,
clapped and shouted as speakers urged
them to improve their family lives.
Farrakhan was to preside over a mass
“sacred marriage blessing” reminiscent o f
the mass weddings conducted by the Rev.
Sun Myung Moon, whose Unification
Church was a major sponsor o f the march.
The assemblage was expected to be the
largest gathering o f black people since the
Million Man March, which theNational Park
Service said brought an estimated 400,000
people to Washington but which Farrakhan
insisted had drawn more than 1 million.
The park service stopped making crowd
estimates after the 1995 event and the con-
troversy over its size. But several speakers
Monday said they thought there were at least
a million people spread out midday between
the Capitol, the Ellipse behind the White
House, the Lincoln Memorial and the W ash­
ington Monument. Large television screens
were scattered throughout the area so partici­
pants could see the speeches.
"We stand here a million strong,” said Ben
Muhammad, the Million Family M arch's na­
tional director.
Farrakhan, controversial for his anti-white
and anti-Semitic proclamations, has dropped
that language and softened his Afrocentric
message. Nevertheless, the crowd was
largely black. Some Asian-American and
white families could be seen here and
there, many carrying symbols o f the Uni­
fication Church.
Greg Odlin. a white minister, brought
his wife and four children on a bus from
Portland, Maine. “I came to show America
how important the family is to God and how
important God is to family happiness.”
said the 45-year-old Odlin, whose church
is affiliated with the Unification Church. “I
came down to fellowship with my brothers
and show there’s a lot o f Americans seri­
ous about the family.”
”I'm a white brother," said the Rev.
Michael Jenkins o f the Family Federation
for World Peace and Unification. “We
must repent for what we did to our A frican-
American brothers. In the name o f God, I
repent We must repent for what we did to
our native American brothers I repent.”
The overarching purpose o f Monday’s
event was to demonstrate that “people of
God can come together, despite our diver­
sity, for the noblest o f causes, the family,”
said Minister Rashul Muhammad, son o f
Nationoflsiam founder Elijah Muhammad.
Many speakers hit their usual themes.
"If you love your family, you protect
your family," said the Rev. Al Sharpton,
who has long criticized the New York City
police for the shooting death o f African
immigrant Amadou Diallo. “Protecting
your family is not letting one unarmed
Extraordinary Wellness Village Opens Saturday
The Fifth Annual African A merican
Wellness Village will take place a, 9 a.m. 5
p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 2 1, at the Center for Self
Enhancement, Inc., 3920 N. Kerby Avenue.
Admission and all events are free and open to
the public.
Kick-off for the day will begin at the Afri­
can American M en’s Prayer Breakfast and
Health Forum, to be held at 7:30 a m. on
Saturday
Mt. Olivet Baptist Church will play host to
nearly 300 people, as the men greet Dr Tho­
mas Pitts, an endocrinologist and Associate
Professor at Northwestern University in Chi­
cago.
An extraordinary event for all people, the
Fifth Annual Wellness Village, will run from
9a m ,-5 p .m
The Wellness Village brings together all
segm ents o f the A frican A m erican com-
m unity for free health screenings, in sp i­
rational speakers, w orkshops, dem on­
strations. and other a ctiv ities for the
entire family.
Screenings for diabetes, blood pressure,
cholesterol, and glaucoma will be offered, and
more.
In addition, a variety o f teen workshops,
sponsored by the Portland State University
Health Career Connections Project, will be
4
presented by students representing both
Benson and Jefferson High Schools.
A “ H ealthy Soul Food C o o k - o f f and
salsa dancing classes prom ise to add
spice to the event w hile the Peaceful
Pam pering Room offers low lighting, fa­
cials and foot care
Facepainting and story time will takeplace
in the Children's Hut. a special spot for those
10 and under.