The Northwest
Afrikan
American Ballet,
one o f the many
events to
celebrate Black
History Month
Honoring Portland’s Black History
T h e P o rtla n d O b s e rv e r c o n tin u e s its c e le b ra tio n o f B lack H isto ry M o n th w ith o u r s p e c ia l F o cu s
se c tio n , in sid e . C o n trib u tio n s b y A fric a n A m e ric a n s in P o rtla n d an d th e s ta te o f O re g o n a re v ery
m u ch a p a rt o f o u r ric h h e rita g e . C o lle c tiv e ly , P o rtla n d b la c k s h av e th riv e d d e s p ite d is c rim in a to ry
p ra c tic e s a g a in s t th em . P le a s e jo in u s as w e e x a m in e th e tra g ic a n d p ro g re s s iv e h is to ry o f A fric a n
A m e ric a n s in P o rtla n d from th e e a rly 1 9 0 0 ’s to 1 9 7 0 ’s.
I h r |Jnrtlanò
Volume XXXI
Number 06
PAID
PORTLAND OR
PERMIT NO. 1610
K n ig h t L ib r a r y
1299 U n iv e r s ity o f O re g o n
E u g e n e O R 9 7 4 0 3 -1 2 0 5
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Established in 1970
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Wednesday
February 7, 2001
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Portland: Now 150 Years and Going Strong
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1 in 3 urban young gay
black men are HIV-positive
CHICAGO — Nearly one-third o f
young gay black men injix U.S. cities are
infected with HIV, the AIDS virus, re
searchers reported Monday, describing
the findings as “chilling.” Young gay and
bisexual men o f all races have fared only
marginally better, with infection rates av
eraging 12.3%. Although medical care can
extend life a decade or so, AIDS remains a
fatal disease, and most ofthese men can be
expected to die prematurely.
Official says many Indian
cities vulnerable to quakes
AHMADAB AD, India — Buildings
in many Indian cities are highly vulner
able to earthquakes because o f govern
ment failure to control profit-hungry
construction companies, a Cabinet min
ister said Tuesday. The official said
construction companies and architects
were guilty o f serious safety lapses and
that state.govnrnuier-wtaiUd a> tighten
building codes despite a recent study
that found many areas vulnerable. The
overall death toll from the quake is ex
pected to rise to 30,000.
Nor’easter bombards
New England
CONCORD, N.H. — A winter storm
that has buried much o f the Northeast in
heavy snow continued to pummel New
England early Tuesday, with parts of
New Hampshire seeing up to 5 inches of
snow an hour. The powerful weather
system dropped as much as 3 feet of
snow in parts o f the state, and blan
keted other sections o f New England
with similar amounts. Heavy snow fell
Monday in parts o f Pennsylvania, New
Jersey and New York.
Former employee kills four
at Illinois engine plant
MELROSE PARK, 111.— Workers who
survived a gunm an’s rampage returned
to the Navistar engine plant Tuesday,
meeting with counselors who told them
there was almost no way to avoid such
tragedies. Employees were allowed to
stay home, but the plant reopened Tues-
day m o rning. On M onday, fired
Navistar employee William D. Baker
showed up at about 10 a m. Monday
with a golf bag filled with weapons and
shot four people to death.
The City o f Portland, also known as the Rose City o f the World, officially marks its ISO* birthday Thursday. The Mayor and City Council will have a birthday party in City Hall
to celebrate the 150th anniversary o f the bill signed by Oregon’s Territorial Governor that established the city. Mayor Vera Katz has called fo r other birthday events throughout
the year, encouraging people to take lessons from our history and asking them to play a role in shaping our future.
Canada Announces Top-Level Changes
Portland School District Superintendent
Benjamin Canada has announced a change
in the district’s top administration. The
change includes the departure o f Deputy
Superintendent Susan Dyer and two reas
signments. Dyer was with the district for
seven months, and during that time drew
criticism for how she dealt with teachers
and principals. “ Susan Dyer and the Port
land Public Schools District have agreed
that it is in their mutual best interest that
she leave the district to complete her doc
torate at Harvard University, where she
has received a fellowship to participate in
a select program for urban school educa
tors,” said Canada.
“Her departure is truly a mutual deci
sion. Ms. Dyer was not terminated or forced
to resign. She could have remained with
the district had she so chosen.
“Ms. Dyer came to the district with a
stellar reputation in urban public educa
tion,” said Canada. “While in Portland for
the past seven months she has done all
that she has been asked to do by the dis
trict under difficult circumstances. She has
done nothing that detracts from her repu
tation as a strong leader who creates a
positive education climate for urban stu
dents.”
In the interim, Assistant Superintendent
Pat Burk will be assuming the deputy’s
duties. John Lashley, a former teacher and
Job Training Center Coming to Cleanup Site
Big Construction
Project Underway
WASHINGTON — The Federal Re
serve aggressively cut short-term interest
rates another half-point to 5.5% Wednes
day in an effort to prevent the weakening
economy from slipping into a full-fledged
recession.
One acquitted, one convicted
in Lockerbie case
CAMP ZEIST, Netherlands— A Scot
tish court convicted a Libyan intelligence
officer o f murder Wednesday and sen
tenced him to life imprisonment with the
possibility o f parole after 20 years for his
role in the 1988 bombing ofPan Am Flight
103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. The attack
killed 270 people. A second Libyan was
acquitted.
New Georgia flag hoisted
The former Wagstaff Battery Company on Williams Avenue, a site designated as a Brownfield property because ofpossible
contaminations will be cleaned up and rebuilt into a center fo r training and jobs fo r people with developmental disabilities.
(P hoto by M ark W ashington /P ortland O bserver )
t
$2.5 million renovation and
construction project to pro
vide training and jo b s for
people with developmental disabilities has
begun in North Portland.
Located on W illiam s Avenue, the new
Port City Developm ent Center is the first
o f five Portland sites scheduled for de
velopm ent under the federal Brownfield
Showcase Program.
M cCarthy Contracting will completely
renovate three existing building totaling
approxim ately 17,300 square feet on the
site o f a form er battery remanufacturing
plant. In addition, a 5,800-square-foot
building will be constructed between these
existing structures to connect them. Fi
nally, M cCarthy will construct two resi
dential duplexes and a 1,500-square-foot
house on site.
The project has a 10-m onth construc
tion schedule.
“ Preservation o f older buildings is an
im portant issue to which the city o f Port
land has com m itted itself. To help in this
effort, we will be working to match exist
ing plaster facades, clay ro o f tiles, w in
dow system s and cornices on existing
and new structures to maintain a consis
tent look for the new center,” explained
M cCarthy Project M anager Julie Rich
ard.
A
Fed cuts interest rates again
ATLANTA — A new Georgia flag
with a much smaller Confederate battle
emblem was hoisted above the state
house, nearly a half century after legis
lators stamped the rebel symbol on the
state banner. The flag was raised qui
etly and quickly, much like the compro
mise that Gov. Roy Barnes began hus
tling through the Legislature one week
ago with a surprise unveiling.
district administrator, has accepted a tem
porary assignment to the vacant position
o f chief o f staff reporting directly to the
superintendent.
“Both o f these individuals have long
histories o f being involved in the district
and are respected educational leaders,”
said Canada. “In keeping with our core
values, we will continue to evaluate and
discuss ways in which the district can best
serve the needs o f our students.”
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