B la c k H is to r y B a k e r s
These African Americans led their fields, from aviation to medicine
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"The City Of Roses"
Volume XXXII
Number 6
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Established in 1970
www.portlandobserver.com
Wednesday y
February 06, 2002
50*
Reversal
of Fortune
Accounting Worries Slap Stocks
A growing lack o f faith in the accuracy
o f accounting and worries about the
health of corporate America hammered
stocks. Investors are nervous that the
Enron accounting debacle may be the
first of more scandals to come.
Bush Unveils S2.13T Budget
WASHINGTON— President Bush sent
Congress a $2.13 trillion budget that
would provide billions of dollars in new
spending for his two top priorities —
the war on terrorism and homeland
security— but would squeeze much of
the rest of government to keep the
deficit from soaring.
Rumsfeld Warns of Threats Far
Deadlier Than Sept. 11
W ASHINGTON— Defense Secretary
Donald Rumsfeld said the USA must
prepare for surprise attacks “vastly
more deadly” than the Sept. 11 terrorist
hijackings. Rumsfeld said the nation is
vulnerable to cyberattacks, attacks on
U.S. military bases abroad and ballistic
missile attacks on American cities.
Northwest Medical Teams
Returns From Rwanda
Four emergency medical volunteers
from Northwest Medical Teams re
turned home from Rwanda last week
after caring for families who fled deadly
volcanic eruptions in Goma, Congo.
The team provided medical care at
Rwanguba Hospital in northwestern
Rwanda and treated refugees exposed
to malaria, diarrheal diseases and other
life-threatening com m unicable ill
nesses associated with poor sanitary
conditions and unclean water.
Winter Roars Through Midwest
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Snow, sleet
and freezing rain descended from the
Plains to New England, stalling airline
passengers and leaving thousands
w ith o u t electricity . T he N ational
Weather Service predicts up to 14inches
o f snow from the storm.
Doctors Back Gay Co-Parents
Saying the children o f gay parents
fare as well as those raised by hetero
sexuals, the n atio n ’s largest p ed iat
ric group, the A m erican A cadem y o f
Pediatrics, will call for state law s that
allow hom osexuals to adopt their
partn ers’ children.
New Approach to Fighting
Breast Cancer
CHICAGO — Recent studies show
that a radiation alternative called
brachytherapy is effective for breast
cancer patients. A few cancer special
ists have been using it, as it requires
about four or five days o f treatment
instead o f six weeks or more.
Commission Considers Black
History Museum
The challenges o f capturing the story
o f American blacks are starting to
emerge as the project to create the first
National Museum of African American
History and Culture crawls forward.
Bush budget would
eliminate job center
he visited last month
M c CA LL/T he A ssociated P ress
(AP) — President Bush wants to eliminate federal
funding for the same youth job center he visited in
northeast Portland last month.
Under the Bush administration budget proposal to
Congress on Monday, $545 million would be slashed
from U.S. Department of Labor job training programs—
including funding for 23 youth centers across the coun
try.
“I think it’s a bad idea,” said Jeelani Shareef, 22, who
uses the Youth Opportunity Center at 3034 N.E. Martin
Luther King Jr. Blvd. at least two to three times a week.
The youth center program, aimed at kids and young
adults 14 to 21, serves about 1,400 youth in an economic
enterprise zone established a decade ago to help revive
the poorest section of Portland.
Bush stopped at the center on Jan. 5 during a visit to
Portland to talk about jobs after the state’s unemploy
ment rate led the nation in December.
“We should be putting money towards finding teen
agers jobs, and training them,” Shareef said. “I ’ m getting
a lot of use out of this place, and so are a lot o f other
people.”
A White House spokesman said the Bush adminis
tration has found the youth center program to be inef
fective or duplicates other federal job training programs.
“The proposed budget seeks to streamline federal
government,” said spokesman Ken Lisaius.
“This is a wartime budget,” Lisaius said, “so we want
to direct funds to other programs that are working and
are working well.”
Bobby Lee, spokesman for the youth center, said it
was too soon to judge the two-year-old program be
cause it has barely reached its first evaluation point. The
grant creating the center out of an old Nike outlet store
was supposed to run at least five years, Lee said.
“It takes time to get established,” Lee said, noting the
center serves youth who need help with basic reading
and math skills, along with many who are coping as teen
by W ILLIA M
IRONIC TWIST — George W. Bush and U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore. show support for the Youth
Opportunity Center on Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. during a visit last month. Now the Bush administration
wants to cut 80 percent o f the funding for the program that serves disadvantaged youth.
D on R yan /A ssociated P ress P hotographer
parents and are fighting poverty.
“These are young people with probably the lowest
per capita income in the entire state,” Lee said. ‘T hese
are kids who would be left on the street if they didn ’ t have
this kind of center.”
b u t center officials noted that any cuts first must be
approved by Congress, and any funding changes likely
would not be felt for at least 18 months. Meanwhile, the
center will seek other funding, including private grants.
Still, the possibility of a federal cutback was greeted
with concern by many who use the center.
Jerry Murphy, a Persian G ulf war veteran who uses a
companion adult job center in the same building, said it
was “ironic” the Bush administration hopes to spend
U.S. job training money on the war against terrorism
when Secretary of State Colin Powell last Friday urged
an international effort toeliminate the poverty that feeds
terrorism.
“If you want to cut back on the budget, cut back an
area that doesn’t hurt the local economy,” Murphy said.
Shaneeka McKinley, 18, said the youth center is the
only place many inner city kids can find counselors and
computer equipment to help them find jobs.
“I’d say at least 75 percent of the people who come in
here are training for a job," she said, “with a lot of kids
who have no idea of how to prepare a resume.”
McKinley said the recession has hit many teen-agers
especially hard because they are looking for entry level
jobs at a time when employers try to keep more experi
enced workers.
“How can the president say this is the land of oppor
tunity when he’s cutting back on that opportunity?”
McKinley said.
Tuesday, U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore. asked the
director o f the federal O ffice o f M anagem ent and
Budget to ensure there is money in the federal budget
for the program. Smith said the center deserves con
tinued funding.
Downtown Courthouse Gets Child Care Sudden
‘CourtCare’gives
parents better access
to justice system
Unexplained
Heart
Attacks
Studied
It means we
will no longer see
children crawling
under tables in
courtrooms, or
crying in the halls
as they see a
parent led away in
handcuffs
CourtCare Director Michelle Ward gives Christian and Brandon a game to play
and a much better alternative to watching court proceedings at the new child
care center at the Multnomah County Courthouse.
- Circuit Court Judge
photo bv M ark W ashington /T hf , P ortland O bserver
C hildren now have a place to go
w hile their parents or guardians have
business at the M ultnom ah County
C ourthouse.
The county’s CourtCare is a drop-in,
no-fee child care program designed to
prevent young children from w itness
ing negative courtroom scenes and to
reduce courtroom disruptions.
The program opened Dec. 6 in a reno
vated second floor jury room and is
operated by V olunteers o f A m erica
Oregon.
)
A s tu d y by the M u ltn o m a h
C ourtC are A dvisory Board, an ad hoc
group o f judges, attorneys, child advo
cates, and courthouse staff, found that
an average of 80 children under the age
o f 12 is in the courthouse each day.
W ithout a m eans to keep these chil
dren away from court proceedings, they
can w itness frightening scenes, and
can be disruptive to court proceedings.
The “C ourtC are fills a great need in
our court,” states Circuit C ourt Judge
Janice W ilson. “ It means we will no
1
longer see children craw ling under
tables in courtroom s, or crying in the
halls as they see a parent led away in
h a n d c u ffs . W ith the o p e n in g o f
CourtC are, we take another step in ful
filling our promise of access to justice.”
The program is the first o f its kind in
Oregon.
During the first six weeks of operation,
nearly 80 percent of children were brought
to CourtCare by their mothers who were
seeking temporary restraining orders
against a husband or boyfriend.
(A P) — O regon H ealth & S c i
ence U niversity is lau nching a
yearlong study into sudden u n e x
p la in e d d e a th s in M u ltn o m a h
C ounty w ith funding h elp from
the U .S. C e n te rs fo r D ise a se
C ontrol and P rev ention.
OH SU officials say the inform a
tion will provide an accurate num
ber o f heart attacks in the county,
where they occur, and w hat condi
tions might lead up to them.
“W hile several research stu d
ies have d e a lt w ith im proving
resu scitatio n e ffo rts, few have
fo c u se d on a s s e s s in g m e c h a
nism s o f sudden d eath in this
m a n n e r.” said S u m eet C h u g h ,
O H SU card io lo g ist. “ W e w ant to
capture each and every ca se o f
cardiac a rre st.”
The study will incorporate data
gathered by the sole am bulance
service in M ultnom ah C o u n ty ,
M ultnom ah C ounty E m erg en cy
S e rv ic e s, the O reg o n M e d ic a l
E xam iner's office and 16 local
hospitals.
In O regon, sudden cardiac death
is responsible for about 4 .0 0 0
deaths a year. Up to 500 o f these
deaths rem ain unexplained.