Workplaces to Go Smokefree in 2002
New law attempts to stamp out secondhand smoke
See story, Page A5
33nrtlanh ODhse
"The City Of Roses"
Volume XXXII
Number 1
KBR '
www.portlandobserver.com
Wednesday
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Established in 1970
January 02,2002
50*
OHI
n n t nt it i t i t nM
J
a I c it it a r
(C
New Year Begins on Picket Line
King Jr.
Run on
Starting
Blocks
Forested Winter Walks
M agness M em orial Tree Farm, ow ned
and operated by the W orld Forestry
C enter, is offering free guided hikes
through its 80 acres o f forested land
near W ilsonville. H ikers can enjoy a
free guided 1 -m ile hike each Sunday
at 2 p.m . T his is a perfect outing for
fam lies or youth and scout groups.
R eservations are not required. C all
2 2 8 -1 3 6 7
or
v is it
Inaugural Jan.
13 run and walk
on Martin
Luther King Jr.
Boulevard to
celebrate north
and northeast
neighborhoods
am L aa.rid f9 feslry .o rg -
Weatherization Workshop
D o n ’t let your heating bills take you
hostage. T ake action! T he C om m u­
nity Energy Project w ill be having a
free W eatherization w orkshop on
T hursday, Jan. 10, from 6-8 p.m. at the
Lane Com munity School,7200SE. 60*
Ave. Q ualified participants receive a
free kit o f m aterials w orth $150. Call
284-6827.
A n in a u g u ra l M a rtin L u th e r
K ing Jr. 5 K B irthday R u n /W alk
is sc h e d u le d S u n d ay , Jan . 13
Monster Trucks at
the Rose Garden
at 10 a.m .
F o r th e first tim e e v e r, ru n ­
n ers an d w a lk e rs w ill b e ab le to
stroll d o w n M artin L u th e r K ing
Jr. B o u lev a rd a n d c e le b ra te the
A thundering herd o f M onster T rucks
are com ing back to the R ose G arden
on Feb. 8 - 1 0 fo r a jam -packed w eek­
end o f fun. T his show will be featuring
the co u n try ’s beggest and baddest
m onster trucks. T he M onster Jam fea­
tures four-w heel drive and four-w heel
steering m otorized beasts flying over
cars and jum ps on their w ay to the
finish line. F or tickets, call 224-4400or
go online to w w w .rosequarter.com .
n e ig h b o rh o o d s o f n o rth an d
n o rth ea st P o rtlan d .
T h e e v e n t, sp o n so red b y th e
N o rth N o rth e a st B u sin ess A s­
so ciatio n , b eg in s an d e n d s at
K in g S ch o o l, 4 9 0 6 N .E . 6 th . A
Portland's Fix-It Fair
v icto ry p arty w ill c a p o f f the
fe stiv itie s at th e K in g S ch o o l
Nurses at Oregon Health Sciences University spend New Year's Eve seeking economic justice. The striking workers,
representing more than 1,500 nurses, went on strike Dec.17. Nurses are clashing with hospital executives over
working conditions, stagnant wages and the worsening shortage o f registered nurses.
H osted by the C ity o f P ortland’s O f­
fice o f S ustainable D evelopm ent, the
15* annual F ix-It F air is a free neigh­
borhood event designed to connect
P ortland residents w ith public re ­
sources that save m oney, conserve
resources and im prove hom es and
neighborhoods. The first 150 attend­
ees at the “Self-H elp W eatherization”
w orkshop w ill receive a free w eather­
ization m aterials kit. F or a schedule,
call 823-7590. Childcare available.
P ark .
T h e ru n /w a lk is a fu n d ra ise r
photo by M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver
to b e n e fit are a n o n p ro fit a g e n ­
cies. It is also a ce le b ra tio n o f
K in g ’s le g ac y an d g o o d w ork.
Max Work to Bring Road Closure
P a rtic ip a tin g a g e n c ie s in ­
c lu d e th e A m eric an R e d C ro ss,
B lack U n ite d F u n d , F rie n d s o f
th e T re es, G ra ce C o llin s C e n ­
ter, O re g o n O u trea ch , P lan n e d
P a re n th o o d , R iv ercity T ra c k
Volunteer Garden Guides Needed
C lu b , S e lf E n h a n c e m e n t Inc.
B otanical gardens and specialty parks
in the Portland area need volunteer
guides to ta lk to visitors about the
plantings. A recruitm ent fair for gar­
den guides is scheduled for Saturday,
Jan. 26. It w illbe held at Cheatham Hall
in the W orld Forestry C enter betw een
9:30a.m . and 11:30a.m. Call 823-3601.
an d N o rth sid e Y M C A .
P artic ip an ts ca n re g iste r at
th e n e ig h b o rh o o d n o n p ro fits
A new bridge
under construction
in north Portland
will carry MAX light
rail trains over the
Columbia Slough
near Denver
Avenue.
Free Environmental Workshops
PreK -8* grade educators are invited
to jo in the W orld F orestry C enter for
free “M eet P roject L earning T ree”
w o rk sh o p s d esig n ed to introduce
teachers to one o f the highest rated
environm ental education program s in
the country. Each w orkshop is from 9
a.m. to 3 p.m. and will be offered on Jan.
12. Reservations are required. Call 228-
1367,ext. 108.
M ark
W a sh in g to n / T he
P ortland O bserver
photo
by
w ith h a lf o f th e re g istra tio n fee
g o in g d irec tly to th a t o rg a n iz a ­
tion.
E v e n t o rg a n iz e rs w a n t th e
ev e n t to rein fo rce n o rth an d
north east P o rtlan d as “T h e Soul
o f P o rtlan d ,” a v ib ran t u rb an
m u lti-cu ltu ra l se ttin g w ith e m ­
p lo y m en t, eatin g , sh o p p in g an d
en tertain m en t easily accessible.
T h e sp in e o f “T h e S o u l o f
P ortland” is M artin L u th er K ing
Jr. B o u lev a rd , d e sc rib e d as th e
“ B o u lev a rd fo r S p o rts in P o rt­
lan d ” w ith tw o o f th e w o rld ’s
la rg e st ath letic g e a r m a n u fa c ­
Improve Your Handwriting
N o rth P o rtla n d ’s In terstate M A X c o n ­
stru c tio n w ill red u c e traffic la n es o n C o ­
lu m b ia B o u lev ard an d clo se P o rtlan d
B o u le v a rd at I n te rs ta te A v e n u e th is
W ant to im prove your handw riting?
Learn how for free. Portland State U ni­
versity will be hosting National H and­
w riting Day with a H andwriting Im­
provement W orkshop on Saturday, Jan.
26, from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. at the Smith
M em orial Center, located at 1825 SW.
Broadway, Smith Center Ballroom, Rm.
355. Call725-4891 or 1-800-547-8887.
m onth.
P o rtlan d B o u lev a rd w ill be c lo se d to
th ro u g h traffic at In te rsta te w h ile track s
are in sta lle d at the in te rsec tio n . T h e c lo ­
sure w ill la st n in e d ay s, sta rtin g on S a t­
u rd ay , Jan. 12 th ro u g h S u n d ay , Jan. 20.
W e stb o u n d tra ffic w ill be d eto u re d from
P o rtlan d an d In te rsta te to L o m b ard and
In tersta te. E astb o u n d tra ffic w ill be d e ­
to u re d to A in sw o rth .
C o lu m b ia B o u lev ard traffic w ill be re ­
d u ced to on e la n e in each d irectio n w here
th e D en v e r v ia d u c t cro sse s o v e r C o lu m ­
b ia B o u lev a rd . L an e re stric tio n s in the
area start W ed n esd ay , Jan. 2 and w ill last
fo u r to fiv e w eeks.
rh e re stric tio n s w ill allo w fo r u tility
istru c tio n , d rain a g e w o rk an d d ig g in g
on h o le s fo r a new M A X b rid g e o v e r
C o lu m b ia S lough.
W hen th e M A X lin e o p en s in S ep tem -
2 0 0 4 it w ill ru n alo n g In tersta te A v-
îe to th e E x p o C en ter, lin k in g n o rth
rtland to d o w n to w n by c o n n e c tin g to
e x is tin g M A X lin e at th e R o se
tu res o n th e b o u le v ard . T h e
ev e n t also en c o u rag es ath letic
an d c o m m u n ity p a rtic ip a tio n
in th e lo cal n eig h b o rh o o d s.
A d d itio n a l in fo rm atio n an d
rac e a p p lica tio n s are av a ila b le
b y ca llin g th e N o rth N o rth ea st
B u sin ess A sso c iatio n at 503-
2 8 4 -3 0 9 3 .
1
Wilshire Neighborhood Teen Murder Linked to 1997 Assault
Portland police detectives
have determ ined that there are
strong indications the m urder
and sexual assault o f a teen­
ager in the W ilshire neighbor­
hood in northeast Portland is
linked to a 1997 sexual assault
near Jefferson H igh School.
M elissa B ittler, 14, w as
found dead Dec. 14in the back­
yard hom e o f a neighbor ju st
past the tim e she norm ally w ould catch a
A four-year old
drawing shows a
suspect in a 1997
assault near
Jefferson High
School who now is
a suspect in the
murder o f a girl in
the Wilshire
neighborhood.
bus to school.
Police say on Nov. 5 , 1997al4-year-old
fem ale victim w as w alking to school,
grabbed, pulled lietw een tw o houses, and
then sexually assaulted. In both assaults
the crim e occurred near a busy street.
D etectives believe the suspect in the
1997 assault m ay be the sam e person as
the perpetrator o f the M elissa B ittler ho­
m icide and are re-releasing his descrip­
tion in the hope that som eone in the area
w ill be able to identify the person.
The 1997 suspect w as described as a
m ale black, 30 -4 0 years o f age, 5 ’ 9" - 6 ’0 ",
m edium build, d ark com plexion, bald or
shaved head, w ith no know n facial hair or
glasses. This description is now four years
old, the suspect m ay currently have a
different hairstyle and m ay have gained
or lost weight.
Portland Police Bureau H om icide d e­
tectives are urging anyone w ith inform a­
tion in this investigation to call 503-823-
4731.
J