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Volume XXXII
Number 21
See page .46, inside.
"The City Of Roses"
Wednesday
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Established in 1970
www.portlandobserver.com
May 29,2002
T
i
Supreme Court to Review
Bans on Cross Burning
W A S H IN G T O N — The SupremeCourt
w ill consider w hether state laws that
ban cross b u rn in g v io la te the free
speech rights o f K u K lu x Klansm en or
others. The c o u rt’ s ru lin g , expected
next year, could c la rify how fa r states
m ay go in banning a practice associ
ated w ith racial hatred and intim idation.
Russia Gets Voice In NATO
R O M E — N A T O allies welcomed Rus
sia as a ju n io r partner in the alliance set
up more than a h a lf century ago fo r the
C old W ar containm ent o f M oscow .
“ T w o form er foes are now jo in e d as
partners,” President Bush said.
Police to Re-question
Man In Levy Case
W A S H IN G T O N — Police w ant to talk
again to a man convicted o f assaulting
joggers in the same park where Chandra
L e v y ’ s remains were found. A ccording
to court papers, the man attacked a
woman on M a y 14,2001 and another on
July 1 not fa r fro m where L e v y ’ s body
was found.
Amid Partisan Rancor,
House Passes Anti-terror Bill
W A S H IN G T O N — The House passed
a b ill that w o u ld provide $29 b illio n fo r
Everette Rice leads the Oregon Commission on Black Affairs at the Capitol in Salem.
the fig h t against terrorism overseas
and at home. The measure’ s passage
came o nly after lawmakers battled u n til
nearly 3 a.m. over issues that could
resound in this fa ll’ s congressional elec
tions.
Playing an Active Role in Salem
Bush Opposes Commission
to Probe 9/11 Warnings
attainm ent o fb la c k employees is a m ajor
by D avid P lechl
T he P ortland O bserver
m ission to probe how the governm ent
dealt w ith terror w arnings before Sept.
11, saying the m atter should be dealt
w ith by congressional intelligence com
O regon’ s C om m ission on B lack A f
fairs serves as an integral lin k between
O regon’ s blacks and O regon’ s govern
Broccoli Is Good for You,
Researchers Say
W A S H IN G T O N — B roccoli and broc
c o li sprouts contain a chem ical that
k ills the bacteria responsible fo r most
stomach cancer, say researchers. In
la b o ra to ry te sts th e c h e m ic a l,
sulforaphane, k ille d helicobacter p y
lo ri, a bacteria that causes stomach
ulcers and often fatal stomach cancers.
Report: 10 Million Children
on Threshold of Poverty
W A S H IN G T O N — T henum berofchil-
dren liv in g on the threshold o f poverty
in w o rk in g fa m ilie s surpassed 10 m il
lio n in 2000 after increasing throughout
the 1990s, according to the annual Kids
C ount report.
States Seeing
a Revenue Shortfall
State governm ents are facing th e ir b ig
gest budget crunch in 11 years as rising
unem ploym ent, a sinking stock market
and a weak business clim ate are leading
to huge declines in tax revenue. To
close the gap, states are slic in g educa
tio n outlays, la yin g o f f w orkers and
h o ld in g tax refbnds.
P lechi TT he P ortland O bserver
Everett Rice shepherds agenda for blacks in government
B E R L IN — President Bush said he
opposes establishing a special com
mittees.
photo by D avid
ment.
The panel was created in 1980 by then
G ov. V ic A tiy e h as a means o f reaching
out to blacks in the state and ensuring
th e ir representation and participation in
the w orkplace and in government. The
com m ission w ill ro utinely prom ote legis
la tio n to the governor and other law m ak
ers after id e n tify in g and researching con
cerns and issues affecting the A fric a n
Am erican com m unity
"W e w o rk w ith governm ent agencies,
we look at the good and the bad, and
determine how we can be o f assistance,”
said Everette Rice, the com m ission’ s ex
ecutive director.
Rice said the ongoing recruitm ent and
focus rig h t now.
He said m any o f the problem s black
employees face on the jo b are not neces
sarily racial.
“ Sometimes the issues are ju s t cu l
tu ra l,” he said.
Rice, h im s e lf experienced “ a little cu l
ture shock” when he firs t moved to Port
land from M em phis almost 10 years ago.
He recalls seeing purple hair fo r the
firs t tim e here in Portland.
“ It was a little shocking, but I like d it,”
he said. “ M aybe when I was younger, I
could have had a chartreuse a fro,” he
a d d e d ,jo kin g ly.
In Salem, the O C B A is also w o rkin g
hard w ith the g overnor’ s o ffic e to fin d
black representation fo r the state’ s 200
d iffe re n t com m issions and boards.
“ W e want to make sure the voice o f
A fric a n Am ericans is being heard,” Rice
said.
The group is conducting a d iversity
survey o f state agencies that includes
“ not ju s t people o f color, but wom en and
people w ith disabilities as w e ll,” Rice said.
the Caribbean.
Riche said he gives “ a lo t o f presenta
The com m ission is also co m p ilin g a
database o f businesses h e lp fu l to
raising cam paign."
He said the potential o f the agency is
dynam ic w ith state governm ent setting
aside an account fo r the agency that w ill
O regon’ s blacks.
"Som e people ju s t need to fin d a barber
fa m ilia r w ith black hair,” Rice said.
P rior to his current role. Rice spent five
years in the O ffice o fM ulti-C ultural Health
in Portland.
“ Oregon is adream come true fo r some
one w ho espouses d ive rsity,” he said.
Rice also points out the im portance o f
reaching out to blacks in some o f Oregon ' s
sm aller com m unities w ho are often over
looked, as w e ll as the state’ s sw elling
numbers o f A fric a n im m igrants from
places like Somalia, Eritrea, Ethiopia and
tions at churches.”
L ike other government agencies, the
O C B A has “ some funding issues.” Rice
said, “ but is about to start a m a jo r fund
match ftmds raised up to $ 10,000.
Rice says Oregonians are slo w ly be
com ing aware o f the com m ission.
The group is pressing fo r a m ove that
w ould bring its o ffic e to Portland. A move
Rice said “ w o u ld bring us that much closer
to the highest numbers o f A frica n A m e ri
cans in the state.”
Ify o u w ould lik e to contact the Oregon
Com m ission on B lack A ffa irs , ca ll 503-
9 4 5 -9 0 0 8
or
v is it
o n lin e
at
www.ocba.state.or.us.
Rose Festival Opens Thursday
Plans Evaluated for
Whitaker-Adams Site
A n advisory committee is help
ing the Portland School D istrict
lay plans to demolish and rebuild a
school fa c ility at the fo rm e r
W hitaker M iddle School-Adams
H igh School site at 5700 N.E. 39,h
rary locations.
In te rim superintendent Jim
Scherzinger recommended to the
School Board that a smal ler school
be rebuilt after an analy s is showed
that repairs to the building w ould
A ve.
The com m ittee’ s next public
meeting is scheduled fo r Wednes
day, M ay 29, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. at
Vernon Elementary School, 2034
N.E. K illingsw orth. A second pub
lic meeting and workshop w ill be
held Tuesday, June 11 at 6 p.m. at
W hitaker-Lakeside, 5135 N.E.
Colum bia Blvd.
The W hitaker-Adam s site was
closed last summer after exten
sive problems w ith roofing, m old
and radon gas. The school’ s stu
dents were moved to tw o tempo-
not be cost-effective.
The decision to rebuild the
school and redevelop the property
to include m ixed uses was made,
based on the analysis report and
input from neighborhood residents,
parents and school sta ff at two
public meetings.
School district o fficia ls said
funding fo r the new m iddle school
w ould be generated from redevel
opment o f the site, possible private
partnerships, and capital improve
ment funds, w hich can be used
only fo r construction purposes.
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Beautiful parade
floats; fun events for
the whole family; and
a wide range of
entertainment mark
the annual Rose
Festival each June in
Portland. Two weeks
of activities begin
Thursday with the
Queen's Coronation
and the opening of
Waterfront Village at
Waterfront Park. A
fireworks spectacular
is also scheduled at
9:45 p.m. Thursday
over the Willamette
River, downtown.
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