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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (May 1, 2002)
She Shares H er Crown Peninsula Little Leaguers meet Miss America See story, page A 5 ISnrtlanh ©bse "The City Of Roses" Volume XXXII Number 17 www.portlandobserver.com Committed to Cultural Diversity Established in 1970 Wednesday \ May 01,2002 J Palestinians Leave Church JERU SA LEM — Israel decided to block a U.N. inquiry into the fighting at the Jenin refugee cam p, w hile 27 P a le s tin ia n s e m e rg e d fro m th e C hurch o f the N ativity in Bethlehem . It w as the largest num ber to exit the ch u rch since th e sta n d o ff began nearly a m onth ago. 4 Sue Los Angeles Archbishop Four men who say they were abused by a California priest decades ago filed suit Monday against Cardinal Roger Mahony, archbishop o f Los Angeles, the nation’s largest archdiocese, under a federal law originally aimed at busting organized crime. Leonard “Grandfather" Smith (above right) outside his recently reopened North Mississippi Avenue deli with Antonio Jackson, a business and marketing outreach student from Portland State University. Jerry Van Horton (left) sits In the ballroom of Mississippi Rising. A once neglected space he has renovated with help from his daughter. New Jersey Couple Hits Big Game Jackpot TREN TO N , N.J. — A husband and w ife claim ed a $58.9 m illion share o f the Big G am e lottery jackpot. Jorge M . a n d J o a n n e S. L o p e s , o f Englishtow n, held one o f the three w ining tickets from the $331 m illion prize draw n on A pril 16, the second- biggest lottery prize in U.S. history. Tornadoes, High Wind Kill Six T ornado-ravaged cities from M is souri to M aryland picked up the pieces after an unusually w ide swath o f thunderstorm s w eaved their way through the eastern h a lf o f the na tion, killing at least six people. A tornado in M aryland caused at least three deaths and 93 injuries. P hotos bv D avid P lechl / T he P ortland O bserver Mississippi Rising The color, face and energy of Mississippi Avenue is changing bv D avid P lechl T he P ortland O bserver Mississippi Avenue in north Portland stretches only a few blocks from Skidmore to Fremont. It has always been a business district in one way or another, but its colorful past is full o f dramatic change. Seventeen years ago, Leonard “Grand father” Smith, an African American busi nessman, opened his first fish house and lounge at the com er o f Mississippi and Shaver. “The streets were infested with drug dealers,” he said. “It was overrun with prostitution.” At that time, only one other business, a small convenience store, existed on the avenue. The other buildings were prima rily vacant and crumbling. Smith calls him self a community acti v- ist who single-handedly ran most o f the drug dealers away. Though he admits, he couldn’t have done it without the help o f a pair o f Portland cops who he befriended about a decade ago. “The officers used to just drive by and wave at the drug dealers,” he said. “I invited these two cops to get out o f their cars and just sit with me. In five minutes, all the drug dealers were gone.” Leonard looks sidelong and pauses. As an afterthought, he adds, "I was deter mined.” So were others who have followed in his footsteps, like Jerry Van Horton who has completely remodeled and restored the ballroom on the same comer. In the 30s, the airy space, now called continued on page.4 6 ADA Restricted W ASHINGTON — In a setback for disabled workers, the Supreme Cotirt ruled those employees are not always entitled to premium assignments in tended for more senior workers. Jus tices said the Americans with Disabili ties Act does not pre-empt company seniority systems. Blazers Forced Into Summer Retirement Lakers sink Blazers again in NBA playoffs Cardinals Agree on Abuse Policy VATICAN C IT Y — American Cardi nals meeting with Pope John Paul II agreed to adopt a “one-strike-you’re- out” policy for any priest involved in a fu tu re sex ab u se case, C a rd in a l Theodore McCarrick said. It was un certain whether a similar policy would be applied to current cases. Shaquille O'Neal shoots over the Blazers' Rasheed Wallace (left) and Ruben Patterson in the second half. (AP photo) Growth Overwhelms State Schools Fast-growing Sun Belt and Western states are running out o f room at flag ship campuses. Money discourages building new ones. So states are tough ening. Admission standards, building satellite campuses and beefing up aca demic reputations at their other schools. Parents Warned About 24-Proaf Gelatin A national anti-drug coalition is alert ing parents about the rising popular ity o f Zippers, w hich are packaged cups o f fruity-flavored gelatin and alcohol. Zippers are being m arketed as the first com m ercially produced vernion o f “J e ll-0 shots.” Lisa “Left Eye" Lopes TLC’s Lopes Remembered Rapper-singer killed in Honduras car crash (A P) - Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes, one o f the m em bers o f the R&B chart topping group TLC, was tragically killed in a car crash in H onduras on Thursday. She was 30. Laura Sw anson, a spokesw om an fo r L o p e s ’ re c o rd la b e l A rista Records, explained that Lopes was in H onduras on a vacation. She was one o f seven people involved in the acci dent and suffered the only fatality. “No w ords can possibly express the sorrow and sadness I feel for this m ost devastating loss,” A rista presi dent L.A. Reid said. Reid was instrum ental in bringing the A tlanta-based R&B group to the forefront and helping it becom e one o f the best-selling fem ale groups in history. TLC, w hich includes other m em bers Tionne “T -B oz” W atkins and Rozonda “C hilli” Thom as, broke out on the scene in 1992 with their album Ooooooh...On the TLC Tip! à i P h ila d e lp h ia -b o rn Lopes was the ra p p e r o f the g ro u p and was n ic k nam ed “ L eft E y e” because she w ore a trad em ark condom as one o f the lenses o f her g la sse s during p e rfo r m ances. In 1994, the group scored big with its album CrazySexyCool, which won the w om en tw o o f their four Grammy A wards. “ Lisa had one o f the biggest hearts o f anybody we know ,” Thomas said in a tearful phone call to M TV’s Total Request Live Friday. “She did charity work for kids all the time for Lupus d is e a s e th a t p e o p le d o n ’t know ab o u t.” L opes’ life w as not without per sonal controversy, either. In 1994, she pleaded guilty to arson after she set fire to the m ansion o f her boyfriend, former Atlanta Falcons receiver Andre Rison. Lopes w as sentenced to a half way house and five years' probation as well as a $ 10,000 fine. I (A P)— The Los Angeles Lakers used to have a bitter rivalry with Portland. Now the only intrigue is watching how many points the Lakers can spot the Trail Blaz ers before coming back to torment them. Robert Horry took a pass from Kobe Bryant and made a 3-pointer with 2.1 seconds left to cap a furious last-minute comeback, and the Lakers completed their second straight three-game sweep o f the Blazers with a 92-91 victory Sunday. “Did I want the ball? No, I was kind o f scared,” said Horry, a veteran o f four NBA championship teams with Los An geles and Houston. “I just threw it up there, and I didn’t know if it was going in or out.” Bryant knew. “It’s cash,” Bryant said when asked what he thought when the ball left Horry’s hand. “H e’s done it so many times, it’s cash.” The finish was reminiscent o f Game 7 o f the 2000 Western Conference finals, when Portland blew a 15-point fourth- quarter lead and lost 89-84. Including that surreal game, the Lakers have won seven straight postseason meetings with the Blazers. Portland had a much smaller lead Sun day, but there was less time to watch it slip away. Rasheed W allace’s follow-up slam on a miss by Scottie Pippen put the Blazers up 89-84 w ith 39 seconds left, and W allace’s free throw made it 90-86 with 17.1 seconds left. Bryant immediately made a 3-pointer with 12.7 seconds to go, and Pippen missed one o f his free throws after being fouled. With the Lakers trailing by two, Rick Fox inbounded the ball to Bryant, who was guarded by the self-proclaimed “Kobe Stopper,” Ruben Patterson. Bryant went right and flung the ball to Horry, who was waiting in the com er o ff to Bryant’s right. Pippen, trying to help out with Bryant, was late in running at Horry, and Homy swished the jumper. “Kobe made a big shot - that 3-pointer to give us hope - and Scottie missed a free throw, and the door was open,” Horry said. “I was surprised that Pippen bit that continued yf on page B6 I