Detroit Lions Pick Joey Harrington
TW
Former Oregon quarterback and Central Catholic standout
drafted No, 3
See story, page A8.
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T h e C P ity
Of Roses
Volume XXXII
Number 16
www.portlandobserver.com
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Established in 1970
4
Wednesday
ApriT2472OO2
Ron
Herndon
Speaks
2 Dead, Hundreds Hurt In Train
Collision
PLACENTIA, Calif. — A Metrolink
commuter train and mile-long freight
train collided in Orange County, killing
two and injuring hundreds when two
cars full o f passengers buckled and
derailed. Firefighters carried the most
seriously injured to triage areas.
Northeast Portland leader
tackles issues ‘unfiltered’ in
exclusive interviews
Sharon: War's Latest Phase
Over
BETHLEHEM, W est Bank — Israeli
tanks and troops pulled out o f two
W est Bank cities after a three-week
occupation. But troops remained in
Ramallah to confine Palestinian leader
Yasser Arafat to his compound and
held positions in Bethlehem, where
Palestinian gunmen are holed up in the
Church o f the Nativity.
Criticism of Bush Increases In
Volume
National unity shielded President Bush
from criticism after the Sept. 11 terrorist
attacks, but his immunity is fading.
Bush is under fire from some friends,
foes and pundits for his handling o f the
Middle East and the adm inistration’s
confusing response to upheaval in Ven
ezuela.
Blake Charged with Murder
LOS ANGELES — Prosecutors por
trayed a murder long-planned by TV
actor Robert Blake and his bodyguard.
The Baretta star, 68, was formally
charged in Los Angeles Municipal
Court, Van Nuys Division, with the
shooting death on M ay 4 o f his wife,
Bonny Lee Bakley, 44.
Girls Softball League Takes
Oregon City to Court
GRANTS PASS, Ore. — Six girls, all
members o f a softball team called the
Blaze, sued in federal court on claims
that the city is violating federal and
state laws that require equal access by
males and females to government facili
ties.
Democratic candidate for governor Jim Hill speaks with audience members Friday after a debate In
Salem. The former state treasurer and lawmaker says, as governor, he would be accessible to north
and northeast Portlanders.
photo by D avid P lechl /T he P ortland O bserver
Jim Hill Makes
Governorship Run
African American is a top candidate for
Oregon's highest governmental office
D avid P lechl
T he P ortland O bserver
te st its co m p a tib ility w ith the O re g o n eco n o m y .
by
H e a lso stresses d iv e rsific a tio n o f th e e c o n o m y ,
G ro w in g up in G e o rg ia , O re g o n D e m o c ra tic
an d n o te s O r e g o n ’s o v e rd e p e n d e n c e on the
c a n d id a te fo r g o v e rn o r Jim H ill atte n d e d sch o o ls
h ig h te c h in d u stry , w h ic h h a s su ffe re d in r e
th a t w e re " s e c o n d c la s s by la w .”
c e n t y e a rs.
Community leader and activist Ron Herndon.
The Portland Observer is proud to publish a series
o f interviews featuring community leader and activist
Ron D. Herndon.
Herndon is no stranger to our readers. His long
H e h a d th e c a rd s sta c k e d a g a in s t h im e a rly ,
H e p la n s to su p p o rt m o re p ro g ra m s lik e th e
history o f service to this community is well docu
b u t h e h a s p ro v e n h im s e lf tim e a n d tim e a g a in .
“ O re g o n G ro w th A c c o u n t” h e c re a te d w h ile
mented.
For more than 30years, he has taken part in issues
that include school desegregation and reform, police
T h e A fric a n A m e ric a n p o litic ia n is c o n s id
se rv in g as tre a su re r. T h e in v e stm e n t p ro g ra m
e re d a to p ru n n e r fo r th e s ta te ’s h ig h e s t o ffic e .
p ro v id e s seed m o n e y a n d in v e s tm e n t c a p ita l to
H ill h a s th e c re d e n tia ls to le a d . H e h a s
sm a ll and e m e rg in g b u sin e sse s.
misconduct, and social and political activism.
He is the cofounder o f the Black United Front, the
BlackUnitedFund, the Rainbow Coalition, and serves
s e rv e d 18 y e a rs in sta te g o v e rn m e n t fro m h is
H ill favors allocating resources to schools w ith
h o m e in S a le m . D u rin g h is 8 y e a rs as sta te
sig n ifican t achievem ent gaps betw een w hite and
as board chair o f the National Head Start Associa
tr e a s u r e r , O re g o n in c re a s e d its in v e s tm e n t
m in o rity students. H e calls the gaps “u n a c c e p t
Pentagon: Iraq Threatens U.S.
pilots
p o rtfo lio fro m $23 b illio n to $32 b illio n d o lla rs.
a b le .”
W ASHINGTON— Saddam Hussein is
m oving surface-to-air m issiles into
Iraq’s northern and southern no-fly
zones at the fastest pace in at least two
years, the nation’s top general said.
m a jo r is s u e s fa c in g O re g o n ia n s.
tion.
Currently, Herndon leads a group o f community
leaders in an effort to eliminate the achievement gap
in education among minority and poor white children
H ill c ite s e c o n o m y a n d e d u c a tio n a s th e tw o
Jo h n K itz h a b e r’s p ro p o sa l to in c re a se to b a c c o ,
“T h e ec o n o m y to m e is alw ays th e m o st im p o r
tan t issue, b e c a u se it’s the m ach in e that g e n e r
Three Winning Tickets for
$32SM Jackpot
ATLANTA — Three lucky people are
holding winning tickets for the $325
million Big Game jackpot, lottery offi
cials announced. A Georgia Lottery
spokesman said winning tickets were
purchased in Dacula, Ga., Illinois and
New Jersey.
c u ts.
H is c o n c e rn fo r O r e g o n ’s a g in g p o p u la tio n
y o u r tax sy stem so w h en the eco n o m y slow s
h a s led him to c h a ir th e O re g o n R e tire m e n t
d o w n th e w h o le rev en u e system d o e s n ’t go dow n
T a sk F o rce. T he ta sk fo rc e h e lp s O re g o n ia n s
as fast and as h ard as it d o e s.”
p la n an d in v e st fo r re tire m e n t.
H ill h a s c ritic iz e d O r e g o n ’s o v e rre lia n c e on
H e h a s a lso s tre s s e d th e im p o rta n c e o f
th e in c o m e ta x , w h ic h d u rin g slo w tim e s can
a ffo rd a b le h o u sin g fo r e v e ry o n e an d e n c o u r
le a v e sc h o o ls b e g g in g fo r cash.
a g e s c re a tin g m o re o p p o rtu n itie s fo r p e o p le to
o w n th e ir ow n h o m e s.
H ill w ill b e a t Bethel A frican M ethodist E pisco
r e f o r m ,” h e said.
More full-time college students are
working longer hours than five years
ago, and nearly half o f those who work
more than 25 hours a week report that
it is interfering with their academic
achievement, a report says.
b e e r a n d w in e ta x e s to a v o id fu rth e r e d u c a tio n
ates th e rev enues. Y ou n eed to h av e b alance in
“ S ta b le fu n d in g fo r o u r sc h o o ls w ill ta k e tax
College Students Feeling
Crunch of Longer Work Hours
H e is the on ly c a n d id a te w h o su p p o rte d G o v .
T h e fo rm e r le g is la to r re c o m m e n d s th e fo r
pal C hurch, 5828 N .E. 8th. S unday, A pril 28 at 11
m a tio n o f a ta s k fo rc e w h ic h w o u ld stu d y
a.m . as part o f a c o m m u n ity ce le b ra tio n o f
sta te s th a t a c h ie v e th is k in d o f sta b ility an d to
“W o m en s D ay.”
enrolled in Portland Pubic Schools.
This exclusive series reveals Herndon's candor and
thoughts on a range o f topics.
We asked Yugen Fardan Rashad, a past contribu
tor and correspondent fo r the Portland Observer, to
conduct the interviews.
Y ugen: Why did you choose the Portland Observer
to share your thoughts?
H erndon: The Portland Observer has a legacy o f
advocating for Portland’s black community well over
60 years. This paper has been a voice speaking out
against injustice and inequities, since the Second World
War.
And, one o f the most influential human beings in my
life was Bill McClendon, a co-founder o f the Portland
Observer. And so I thought this would be a great
opportunity for me to speak on some issues, unfiltered.
Kroeker Pushes for Job in LA
Portland Police C hief Mark Kroeker
on M onday said he w ould like to re
turn to his Los A ngeles roots to lead
one o f the n a tio n 's largest police
forces.
K roeker said he w ill apply for the
jo b o f Los A ngeles Police Chief.
The announcem ent cam e ju st hours
after Bernard Parks, the current chief
for the city o f A ngels announced he
will resign.
K roeker, 58, served a 32-year law
enforcem ent career in Los Angeles
before com ing to Portland.
“T his is a jo b I am equipped for,
m ade for," K roeker said. "1 have a
c
Portland Police Chief
Mark Kroeker
good shot at this."
Kroeker will stay on the job in Portland
as Los A ngeles conducts a national
search, a process that could take three to
four months.
In the meantim e, M ayor Vera Katz ac
cepted K roeker's prom ise to stay fo
cused on the day-to-day operation o f the
Portland Police Bureau.
"In the w eeks and m onths ahead we
have critical public safety issues to deal
with including the budget, staying vigi
lant in our com m unity policing to keep
the crime rate low. and m aintaining the
necessary num ber o f officers on the
street," Katz said.
Yugen: What do you mean unfiltered?
H erndon: I don’t believe that most people in the
press purposely set out to distort a story. But I have
found that a number o f individuals in the media are
uncomfortable with black people who aggressively
confront and challenge the pervasive racism in Port
land.
All o f us approach circumstances in life with our own
history, culture, and personal experiences. Most mem
bers o f the mainstream media are white, and the status
quo in America has worked fairly well for them. They,
nor their ancestors, had to protest, demonstrate, boy
cott or risk death to get the right to vote, fair housing,
access to public education, drink water from a public
fountain, or eat in a restaurant.
T hey
d o n 't
u n d e rsta n d
continued
at
a
v isc e ra l
on page A6
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