M
World Expeditions From a Northeast Shop
Like its Biblical namesake, Sheba and Solomon ’s merges cultures
See Story, Metro section, inside
íín rtla n h ©fase
"The City Of Roses”
Volume XXXII
Number 2
www.portlandobserver.com
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Established in 1970
Wednesday
President Visits YO Center
Jessie McDaniel
gets a visit o f a
lifetime Saturday
when President
George W. Bush
meets area
residents at the
One Stop Career
Center and Youth
Opportunity Center
at 3034 N.E. Martin
Luther King Jr. Blvd.
The president said
he wanted to show
support for
programs like One
Stop and YO that
work with
community colleges
to help people get
hired for jobs. Bush
also gave a speech
on the war against
terrorism and his
economic priorities
during a visit to ' •
Parkrose High
School.
Bush to Sign Education Legislation
W A SH IN G TO N — President Bush is
signing education legislation to require
public schools to test students in read
ing and inath in grades three through
eight. Supporters say it will give parents
and schools information needed to help
improve. But critics say it will crow d out
subjects not on the tests, cost too much
and stifle creativity.
Fla. Teen Sympathized with 9/11
T A M P A — T he 15-year-old w ho
crashed a small plane into a skyscraper
wrote a note expressing sym pathy for
O sam a bin Laden and support for the
Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Police said
Bishop was a loner with few friends, and
that the boy wrote that he acted alone.
Israel Says Palestinian Arms
Shipment Intercepted
JE R U SA L E M — A U.S. envoy held
truce talks w ith Israeli and P alestinian
leaders, as Israel announced th e inter
ception o f a ship sm uggling in 50 tons
o f Iranian-m ade w eapons to the P ales
tinians . Israeli troops also raided a W est
B ank village, lolling a Palestinian and
arresting tw o others.
Snow Creates 'Unreal' Air Delays
A T L A N T A — A snow storm that blan
keted die South from M ississippi to
Virginia on Thursday left som e airline
passengers stranded on the tarm ac here
for more than nine hours waiting for jets
to be de-iced. The snow led to m ore than
1,500 accidents in South Carolina and is
blam ed for at least 10 deaths.
D on R yan /
A ssociated P ress
P hotographer
Jobless Claims Increase Sharply
W A S H IN G T O N — N ew claim s for
unem ploym ent insurance shot up for
the second w eek in a row , suggesting
many w orkers are still suffering from an
econom y that is trying to claw its w ay
out o f a recession. Claim s jum ped to the
highest level since the beginning o f
December.
Thousands Flee Firestorm
in Australia
SY D N E Y , A u stralia— T housands o f
evacuees sheltered on beaches w hen a
fast-m oving firestorm isolated tw o
coastal villages after burning as m any
as 20 houses in a third ham let. A bout
7 ,000people ran for their lives w hen the
inferno raced into Sussex Inlet.
Bloomberg Inaugurated
As N.Y. Mayor
N EW YORK— During his inauguration
speech, M ayor M ichael Bloomberg is
sued a call for shared sacrifice, but he
pledged to avoid tax increases and to
w ork to keep businesses in the city as
theystruggleintheafterm athofSept. 11.
Hormone is Best Protection
Against Ovarian Cancer
W A S H IN G T O N — T he h orm one
progestin in contraceptive pills pro
vides the highest level o f protection
against ovarian cancer, according to a
study released by D uke U niversity re
searchers.
c
1
Continued Care for the Community
health center
The staff o f the North
Portland Health Center
start the New Year
welcoming clients to their
new location at 9000 N.
Lombard and New York
Avenue in the St. Johns
community. The
Multnomah County Health
Department clinic offers a
wide range of health care
services with fees
discounted based on
income. The center
formerly was located on
North Woolsey Avenue.
9000 N lomraro
hours
Mon-wa-ftt
it
OC
50«
January 09,2002
* MOP™
9
photo by M ark W ashington /
T he P ortland O bserver
American
Dream of
Freedom
Celebrated
Annual Martin
Luther King Jr.
tribute set for
Monday, Jan. 21
at University of
Portland’s Chiles
Center
The W orld A rts F oundation,
Inc., w ill host the 17th annual
Rev. Dr. M artin L uther K ing, Jr.,
C elebration at the U niversity o f
P ortland’s C hiles C en ter M on
day, Jan. 21.
Seating w ill begin at 11 a.m „
w ith the program com m encing at
12 p.m . w ith a national bell ring
ing cerem ony, co lo r guard and
national anthem s.
T his y e a r’s program , ‘The
A m erican D ream o f Freedom : A
Tribute to Rev. Dr. M artin Luther
K ing, Jr.,’ w ill be dedicated to
victim s o f the Sept. 11 tragedy.
This local com mem oration and
celebration o f Dr. K ing ’ s life and
legacy is recognized as one o f the
finest com m unity-based celebra
tions in the country.
“T he goal o f the program is to
educate the general public and
illum inate the ideas o f Dr. King
through high quality, diverse and
culturally rich presen tatio n s,”
said the program ’ s executive pro
ducer K en Berry.
Invited speakers and artists in
clude civic and religious leaders,
educators, school board members,
gospel choirs from across the Pa
cific Northwest, concert bands,
Japanese drummers, African danc
ers, Latin musicians, children per
formers, Buffalo Soldiers Color
Guard and many more.
The entire program, which runs
from 12p.m. until6:30p.m., will be
sim ulcast on K BO O R adio (90.7
FM ), Portland Public Schools
Television (cable channel 28) and
Portland C able A ccess T elev i
sion (cable channel 11).
D onations o f either $2 o r three
cans o f non-perishable food to
be given to local food banks are
suggested. The A m erican Red
C ross w ill hold its annual M LK
Blood D rive in low er levels o f the
Chiles Center.
T ri-M et has tw o bus lines, the
1-G reeley and 40-M ocks Crest,
that directly serve the university
w ith service running at least ev
ery 30 m inutes.
F or trip planning assistance,
see w w w .tri-m et.org o r call 503-
238-RIDE. For more information
on the King celebration, call 503-
358-6936.
Oregon Death underscores Danger in Dietary Supplement
A fatal case o f liver failure in a 26-year-
old O regonian has been linked to the
dietary supplem ent Lipokinetix, and pub
lic health officials are joining the Food
and D rug A dm inistration in urging co n
sum ers to stop using it.
“W ith this tragic death, the potential
danger o f this product really hits hom e,”
said Dr. M el Kohn, state epidem iologist.
“T he w arning is particulary relevant this
time of year because Lipokinetix is a weight
loss supplem ent. M any people gain extra
pounds over the holidays and then look
for quick solutions for taking them off.”
Lipokinetix is m arketed by Syntrax In
novations as a w eight loss product. It has
I
been im plicated in m ultiple reports o f se
rious liver problem s. T hese problem s o c
curred in persons betw een 20 and 32
years old w ho had used the product be
tw een tw o w eeks and three m onths, ac
cording to K ohn.
T he O regon case w as reported last
A ugust to the U nexplained C ritical Ill
nesses and D eaths Surveillance project
in the Dept. o f H um an Services. Staff
w orked w ith the O regon H ealth and Sci
ence U niversity to identify Lipokinetix as
one o f the potential factors leading to the
death.
C ynthia Y ounger, M .D ., m edical toxi
c o lo g ist at O H S U , rep o rted the case to
the F D A ’s M ed W atch p ro je c t w here it
w as lin k ed w ith fiv e o th e rs in w hich
L ipokinetix w as the o nly apparent cause
o f liv e r injury.
“O ur surveillance project is prim arily
geared tow ard detecting em erging infec
tions. W e feel fortunate that we also picked
up a case that, w hile non-infectious, has
p o ten tial p u b lic h ealth im p o rta n ce ,”
K ohn said.
The FDA issued its w arning about
Lipokinetix on Nov. 20. C onsum ers are
urged to discontinue its use and consult
their physician if they experience sym p
tom s associated w ith this product, par
ticularly nausea, w eakness or fatigue, ab-
I
dom inal pain, o r any change in skin color.
Lipokinetix contains the ingredients
n o r p h e d r in e ,
a ls o
know n
as
phenylpropanalom ine or PPA , caffeine,
yohim bine, diiodethyronine and sodium
usniate.
Consum ers or health cafe p ro fessio n
als w ho are aw are o f adverse effects fo l
low ing the use o f this or oth er dietary
supplem ents can m ake a report to F D A ’s
M edW atch adverse event and product
problem hotline at 1-800-F D A -1088 or via
the W eb.
M ore inform ation can be found on the
FDA M edW atch site. Y ou m ay also make
a report to the FDA .
I I