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M ill 01. 2002
(Tbr ^ o rtía n h (Observer
SECTION
“ffiiidgdtig, P a itta n d ô Cantnuitiitteô”
o m tn n u i t u
a I e tt it a r
Interstate M ax
Takes Toll
Portland Weavers Guild
Just in time for Mother’s Day, the Port
land Handweavers Guild is sponsoring
their annual exhibit and sale of one-of-a-
kind handwoven items and other unique
creations at the Portland Convention
Center from May 3-5. Artists will be on
hand to discuss their work and demon
strate a variety of fiberart techniques.
Local artists from M ozambique, Togo,
Afghanistan and other countries will be
on hand to demonstrate their crafts and
sell their work. Call Kathy Sengenberger
at 503-638-0743.
Small music store can’t
survive light rail construction
by M ichael
T he P ortland O bserver
A north Portland business can’t survive the con
struction of light rail on Interstate Avenue.
“Max construction has killed my business,” said
Rico Liddey, owner of Music Monster, a retail outlet
which features used records, CDs, playstations and
movies at 5808 N. Interstate.
Friends of Trees
Interstate Max recently reached the midway point
Friends of Trees will be training volun
teers about how to care for recently
planted trees and how to coordinate tree
plantings in their neighborhoods. Their
first training session will be on May 4,
from 9 a.m. - 1 2 p.m. at Bridgeport Brew
ing Co., located at 1313 N.E. Marshall.
For more information, call 282-8846, ext.
11
or
go
o n lin e
to
www.friendsoftrees.org.
in a four-year construction period.
Liddey said he has tried cutting every comer to stay
in business over the last two years, but he can’t
overcome the difficulty of operating a business on a
street that is packed with construction obstacles and
no parking.
W ith the street tore apart around him, business
traffic is down 80 percent from a year ago, he said.
Liddey said he cut back on store hours when he was
OHSU on Women s Health
T h e O reg o n H e a lth & S c ie n c e
University’s Center for W omen’s Health
is sponsoring a brown bag discussion
series on health care issues. The next one
will be given by faculty m ember Anne
Nedrow, M.D. She will be speaking on
health problems that can be diagnosed
and treated with both conventional and
alternative forms o f medicine. The talk
will be given on Thursday, May 23,1 p.m.
at the OHSU Hospital, Room 8B-60. Call
503-494-0515.
L eighton
forced to take a part time job to meet his monthly living
expenses.
He said Tri-Met offered to help with low interest
loans, but compensation for lost sales was rejected.
On the loan, Liddey said he didn’t want to increase
his debt.
’
Tri-M et also helped him by distributing ads, flyers
and gift certificates, but Liddey said it hasn't been
enough.
“I don’t want to go out o f business, but I have no
other choice” Liddey said.
Rico Liddey of Music Monster is closing his store at 5808 N. Interstate. Liddey blames light rail
construction for blocking access to the small retail outlet and dramatically decreasing the amount of
people using the street, people he needs to stay in business.
photo by M ark
W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver
Cinco de Mayo Celebration
On Sunday, M ay 5, M cM enam ins
G rand Lodge in Forest G rove is cel
ebrating C inco de M ayo w ith trad i
tional M exican dancing and m usic,
ch ild ren ’s piñatas, and food and b ev
e r a g e s p e c ia ls th r o u g h o u t th e
p ro p erty ’s restaurants and sm all bars.
The event will be from 2 p.m. - 4 p.m.,
located at 3505 Pacific Ave. For more
inform ation, call 503-992-9533 or go
online to w w w .m cm enam ins.com .
Dishman Dollar Night
T h e M a tt D is h m a n C o m m u n ity
C e n te r’s spring term D ishm an D ollar
’ N ight will be held on Friday, M ay 31,
from 6 - 9 p.m . at the M att D ishm an
Com m unity C enter, 77 N .E. K nott
Street. D ishm an D ollar N ight includes
ndoor play park for toddlers, face paint
ing, arts & crafts, gam e room play, a
clow n and Open Play Swim in the pool.
Call 503-823-3186.
College Exam Practice Tests
Kaplan Test Prep will be holding a free
PSAT and SAT Practice Test event for
prospective college applicants. The
event will be from 9 a.m. until 12 p.m. on
Saturday, May 18 at the Portland Kaplan
Center, located in the Galleria Building,
600S.W . 10,b Ave. Ste.402.
Seniors Earn Strips in Adidas Competition
A dozen local seniors are proud re
cipients of $1,000 and $5,000 scholar
ships from Adidas because o f their
achievements in academics, athletics and
community service.
The high school standouts were re
cently honored as 2002 Adidas Earn
Your Stripes winners during a Trail B laz-
ers game at the Rose Garden.
The recipients o f $1,000 scholar
ships were A va A sher and A ileah Dorn
o f C le v e la n d ; B ritta n y H o lm a n ,
Catherine Meeker, and Nicole D olerof
G rant; Rozlyn Ram berg o f M adison;
John D avis and K atie S in n o tt o f
R o osevelt; and Paul L ubliner and
D arren N akata o f W ilson.
The two students receiving $5,000
scholarship have shown a unique ability
to maintain a high academic standard
while also participating in sports and
giving back to their communities. Those
students are
Grace B louin of Roosevelt High School
and David Huyhn of Benson.
Blouin has been active in varsity cross
country, soccer and basketball and was
Hurt Mom and Daughter Need Help
A sp ecial fund has
been started to help a
m om an d h e r y o u n g
daughter recover from
serious injuries in a tra f
fic accident.
Rianna Velasquez, 22,
and S h am yiah Ibe, 3,
were seriously injured on
A pril 9 w hen they w ere
hit by a truck w alking
across N ortheast H alsey
and 183rd A venue.
Rianna Velasquez and her daughter, Shamyiah Ibe.
Both suffered severe
head and pelvic injuries
tions in care o f the “Rianna Velasquez
and are patients at L egacy Em anuel
and Sham yiah Ibe H elp F und” at any
H ospital. They have had several surger
Bank of America branch. Any amount
ies already and will require m any months
is greatly appreciated.
o f intense m edical treatm ent.
In addition, fam ily and friends are
The fam ily, w hich also includes a 9-
p la n n in g f u n d r a is e r s . C o n ta c t
m o n th -o ld -d a u g h te r, d o es not have
R ian n a's sister, N akisha V elasquez
health insurance.
at 503-261 -1365 for more information.
Fam ily and friends urge public dona-
A group of
Portland high
school seniors
are honored for
their
achievements in
academics,
athletics and
community
service.
the student body treasurer at Roosevelt.
Utilizing herSpanish-speaking skills, she
also works with elementary school chil
dren who are learning English as a sec
ond language.
H uynh has been a dedicated m em
ber o f B enson c ro ss-c o u n ty team
fo r fo u r years. He is d e d ic a te d to
im proving com m unity h ealth , and is
in v o lv ed in a p ro je c t to reduce the
in c id e n c e o f tu b e rc u lo s is in the
hom eless in M ultnom ah C o u n ty , a
p ro je c t that is being rev iew ed by the
county fo r im p lem en tatio n in this
d epartm ent.
Bush Drug Fighter Drawn Into Debate
Portland audience questions success of 30 year old war on drugs
by WILLI A M M cCALL
A ssociated P ress W riter
John
W a lte rs,
the
Bush
administration’s drug czar, came to tout
the government’s war on drugs. But he
found himself in a debate Friday over
whether some drugs should be decrimi
nalized.
“After 30 years of the war on drugs,
couldn't you say your presence here is
an admission o f failure?” Dr. Euan
Homiman asked Walters after the offi
cial gave a breakfast speech at the City
Club.
Homiman noted that Britain and The
Netherlands have decriminalized some
drug use and offered addiction treat
ment programs instead of jail time with
out increasing the crime rate.
Walters replied that decriminalization
has failed when it has been tried in this
I
country. He singled out former Baltimore
Mayor Kurt Schmoke for criticism, say
ing addiction rates and HIV infection
from illegal drug use skyrocketed after
Schmoke relaxed drug enforcement in
the city.
“If you want an example of why it
doesn’t work ... my answer is to go to
Baltimore,” Walters said.
He said teen-agers and marijuana still
rank as the to p p rio ritie s o f the
government ’ s anti-drug program, despite
what the administration contends is a
more relaxed attitude toward drug use by
parents in the baby boomer generation.
Government surveys show roughly
one in four of the estimated 4.5 million
Americans with a drug problem are teen
agers, he said.
"I’m no Polly anna - 1 don ' t think we can
eliminate the drug problem," Walters said.
“But studies repeatedly show if they don’t
use drugs as teen-agers, they're unlikely
to use them as adults. The same goes for
cigarettes and alcohol.”
Walters came to Oregon on Friday to
talk about national drug trends, this state' s
battles against methamphetamine labs,
and local prevention and treatment ef
forts, among other matters.
In a speech at the Portland City Club,
Walters said money spent on illegal drugs
in Oregon and the rest o f the country
helps support terrorism.
The White House chief of the Office
of National Drug Control Policy said
drug money has always gone to terrorist
groups but the attack on America last
September has renewed government ef
forts to reduce drug trafficking and
abuse.
continued
on page B2
1