Volume XXXII
Number 18
www.portlandobserver.com
Wednesday
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Established in 1970
May 08,2002
Church Touts Changing Demographics
Multicultural ‘Ainsworth in the City’ events celebrate diversity
Memo Implicates Enron
W ASHINGTON — A confidential
Enron document released by federal
energy regulators shows how Enron
traders drove up power prices during
California’s energy crisis. The memo
randum outlined practices similar to
those described by California officials,
who allege the energy trading com
pany created phantom congestion to
increase electricity prices.
Worker Productivity
Surprisingly Strong
W ASHINGTON— Worker productiv
ity, a key ingredient to the econom y’s
long-term vitality, shot up at an annual
rate of 8.6% in the first quarter, the best
performance in nearly 19 years. The
jum p in productivity followed a strong
5.5% rate of increase in the final three
months o f 2001, the Labor Department
reported.
AINSWORTH
CHURCH OF CHRIST
Promoting a
m ulticultural
celebration at the
Ainsworth United
Church o f Christ are
Andrea Cano (from
left), Helena Ellison,
Ashley Cooper and
her father, also
Ashley Cooper.
‘THE GOSPEL £
ACCORDING TP£
photo by D avid G iezyng /
T he P ortland O bserver
Pipe Bomb Found In Texas
OMAHA — A pipe bomb similar to 17
others found in four other states was
discovered in a rural mailbox in Texas,
the FBI said. The bomb was found near
Amarillo, Texas. “It’s another pipe
, bomb. It looks sim ilarto the others,” an
FBI agent said.
Sharon Brings Peace
Plan to U.S.
JERUSALEM— Israeli Prime Minister
• Ariel Sharon was due to arrive in W ash
ington, bringing with him a peace plan
and what Israel says is conclusive evi
dence that Palestinian leader Yasser
Arafat is an unreformed terrorist who
will never lead his people to peace.
Draped on the brick wall o f Ainsworth
United Church of Christ is a banner which
reads “A Multiracial, Multicultural, Open
and Affirming Community,” — a message
that rings true to many people in this
northeast Portland neighborhood.
Throughout the years, church mem
bers have noticed and responded to the
changing demographics of the neighbor
hood and in greater Portland.
To celebrate the diversity in the com
munity, the church is hosting a three-day
Chirac Declyes
Victory In France
Naimah
Johnson, 18,
discusses a
play sh e 's
writing for a
McCoy
Academy
psychology
class with
school principal
Donna White.
Johnson says
McCoy
teachers give
her a lot more
attention than
she got at
Jefferson High
School.
PARIS — President Jacques Chirac
was re-elected in a landslide over ex
treme-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen
after a dramatic race that shook France
to its foundations. In exit polls, all three
of France’s major polling firms gave
Chirac 81 % to 83% o f the vote.
• U.S. Split Over Ousting Saddam
W ASHINGTON — President Bush’s
hopes o f building a strong insurgent
group to replace Iraqi President Saddam
Hussein have been set back by feuding
among U.S. officials over who should
lead the opposition, adm inistration
sources say.
Second Space Tourist Returns
AST AN A, Kazakhstan — Internet mil
lionaire Mark Shuttleworth, the world's
second space tourist, landed safely in
Kazakhstan and said his space voyage
was “the best thing I’ve ever done.”
Bush Approval Not
Just Wartime Bounce
Built on the faith Americans showed in
President Bush following his response
to terror attacks on Sept. 11, a new poll
shows that almost eight months later
Bush has developed an image among
most Americans as a strong, compe
tent, leader who shares their values and
has elevated respect for presidency.
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community event called “Ainsworth in
the City,” from Friday, May 17to Sunday,
May 19.
The non-profit Portland Opportuni
ties Industrial Center is a community part
ner in the celebration and will benefit from
event proceeds.
“Ainsworth in the City” opens with a
gala dinner, dance, silent auction and jazz
concert featuring Marilyn Keller, a popu
lar local jazz vocalist at Shenanigans Res-
continued
on page B4
Whose
America
is This?
Portland Summit Hears
Famed Champion of Justice
PHOTO BY
D avid P lechi ?
T he P ortland
O bserver
Mission Gets Tougher at McCoy
Northeast alternative school is down, but far from out
by D avid P i . echi .
T he P ortland O bserver
Donna White, principal at McCoy Academy on Martin
Luther King Jr. Boulevard, describes the alternative
school’s goal as “helping students who are not able to
be successful in a traditional school."
That mission just got a little harder since last month’s
decision by the Portland School Board to cut funding
to the school after its two-year charter expires this June.
“W e thought if there were issues, they would work
with us and help us set up a school improvement plan,"
W hite said. “That didn’t happen."
The board cited poor attendance and unpaid debts
as its major reasons behind its decision.
The school provides a small student to teacher ratio
and is designed to allow students the opportunity to
catch up where traditional schools have left them be
hind.
The school has existed in one form or another for 15
years, and has gone only one year with out any public
funding. White explained.
“That year put us in debt," she said.
Though discouraged by the news, founder of McCoy
and executive director of Oregon Outreach, Rebecca
Black says, “The school will remain open.”
Enrollment will likely be cut back, but supporters hope
private donations, grants, and loans will keep the school
afloat.
The school has four sites in Portland, one in Molalla,
and one in Washington County.
The minimum attendance rate set by the board was 80
percent, which the school reached at all o f its locations
except at the MLK site. The school enrolls 45 students.
Most students eventually graduate. Some will catch up
and return to conventional schools.
O f the school’s success at helping kids turn their
educations around. White says, “Some kids just need a
smaller environment. Some have had drug or alcohol
issues or trouble with the law. Some of the kids are
homeless."
continued
I
on page A6
Morris Dees speaks o f hope and tolerance at
Diversity Summit.
S usan V ogt
F or T he P ortland O bserver
by
A lifelong champion of justice, who is devoted to
the teaching o f tolerance, the value o f understanding
and the beauty in acceptance, had dramatic words that
echoed in the minds of nearly one thousand people
during Diversity Summit 2000.
“W hose America is this?” Morris Dees, asked the
Oregon Convention Center crowd. T he battle for that
answer will play out during the next century as whites
move into the minority.We must make room for all
continued
on page A6
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