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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 7, 2002)
August 07,2002 ______________________ÎC fye I J o r t l a n h © b s e r u e r __________________________ Page A3 Search Ruled Illegal Judge's decision means Blazer guard will not likely face felony marijuana charge (A P )— Portland Trail Blazers guard Damon Stoudamire likely will not face trial on felony drug charges after a judge rejected the two strongest arguments pros ecutors made to justify a warrant less search of his home that turned up a large bag of marijuana. Judge John Lowe ruled Tues day police had no legal justifica tion to enter Stoudamire’s home after neighbors in suburban Lake Oswego reported his front door was open and a burglar alarm was beeping an hour after Stoudamire left for a game on Feb. 23. Lowe also ruled there was no express or implied consent to search the home just because Stoudamire had installed an alarm system. Police testified they found the marijuana behind an attic door while following their longtime policy of searching for intruders after finding an open door or win dow at an unoccupied home with an alarm. The judge said he would issue a written opinion later on whether the city of Lake Oswego could establish an administrative policy allowing police to search for in truders after an alarm system is activated. But S toudam ire’s attorney, Stephen Houze, said cities can only regulate searches in public places, such as airports or courthouses. Any search of a private home requires a warrant because it “is the ultimate bastion of privacy in our society," Houze said. If Lowe also rejects the pros ecution claim, the city of Lake Oswego could set search policy, he could dismiss the charges. Prosecutors could appeal or drop the case. Stoudamire declined to com ment, but his attorney said he was “very pleased” with the ruling Tuesday. “Everyone is entitled to the pro tection of our Constitution, whether you are an anonymous citizen or you are famous,” Houze said. Stoudamire was ready to plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge in May, but the Oregon Court of Appeals ruled that a similar search in an unrelated marijuanacase was unconstitutional and Stoudamire withdrew his plea only to face more serious charges after pros ecutors submitted his case to a grand jury. Deputy District Attorney Steve Griffin said he was disappointed, but he understood the judge was taking a conservative position because there were no other cases in the country dealing with police routinely searching homes for in truders without a warrant simply because a burglar alarm had been reported. “We looked everywhere for other cases, there just w asn't any thing out there,” Griffin said. Damon Stoudamire with his father, Willie, at an earlier court appearance. (AP photo) City Plans Russell Face Lift Two views of North Russell Street give a look of desertion, but the area bolstered by the popular McMenamins White Eagle Tavern and Widmer Brewing Co. is expected to grow with the arrival o f a light rail station. photo by D avid P i . echi / T he P ortland O bserver continued from Front “Streetscape design includes pretty much every thing you would find on a street,” she told the group o f neighbors, business owners, and church members. "W hat belongs on Russell and how should those things be ar ranged?” she asked. Vanderslice also introduced the “green tools,” planters, street trees, flowers and small “pocket parks" that would give the street a softer edge. The addition o f street crossing and accessibility tools, like cross walks and curb extensions, were suggested to make the area safer for walkers. A lot of people men tioned they would like to have some pedestrian scale street light ing. Everyone agreed that busi High School Graduates Honored Portland’s graduate chapter o f the first African American sorority. Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., has honored 10 young women fortheir outstand ing academic and social contri butions. Each year, the sorority con tacts local high schools seeking nominations for their “Finer W omanhood Award.” T his y ear, the h o norees w ere not only aw arded c e r tificates o f app reciatio n , but receiv ed co lleg e care b a s kets w hich con tain ed an a s sortm en t o f gifts from p e r sonal care products to w rit ing utensils. The recipients honored are M arshae Sylvester, B ridget Johnson, T iffanie D uBoise, Alisha Howard, Celeste Jones, Kim ilia Kent, Bethany M iller, Claudine Kabera, Aljaree W il liam s, and L aT asha M arie Brown PCC Begins SE Center Expansion The future is now for Port- landCom m unityCollege’snew Southeast Center. The college is hosting a “wall razing” cerem ony from 3 to 4 p.m. on W ednesday, Aug. 14 at the site o f the new center, located at the com er o f South east 82nd Avenue and D ivi sion Street. T here will be a brief cerem ony and photo o p portunity at 3:15 p.m. when part o f a vacant building comes dow n to make w ay for new construction and rem odeling. A trackhoe w ith a bucket/ thum b attachm ent will be used to dem olish a portion o f the building. The center, targeted to open in fall o f 2003, will allow the college to bring more lower- division college courses to outer Southeast, as well as English as a second language classes, alternative high school offer ings, pre-college and profes sional-technical classes. Stu dents will be able to com plete their first year o f college trans fer courses on site. A pproxi mately l,400m ore students will be able to take classes at the new 94, (XX) square feet cen ter. The college purchased the 10.3-acre property for $5.7 m illion, which consists o f a form er Builder’s Square outlet and an A lbertson’s grocery store. Proceeds from a $144 million bond in 2000, and sale of the current site and other college property will pay for the new center. The construc tion o f the new center is ex pected to cost about $18 m il lion. nesses thriving in the area should be taken care of. Some saw a need for more park ing. Others disagreed, arguingthat more parking might only bring more congestion and make the area less welcoming for pedestri ans. b e c o m e m o re p e d e s tr ia n friendly. Attendees at the forum effec tively contributed to 5 different plans. City Hall will consider those plans and an advisory board will approve the final recom m enda tions for implementation. Gary Hampton owns a building and has lived on Russell with his wife, since 1985. “We lived here when it was in d u strial razor w ire around everyone’s property,” Hampton said. He w ould like to see the area Portland City Council Award Starts ‘Big Pipe’ Construction The Portland City Council has authorized the largest construction project in city history with approval o f a $293 million contract to build the W est Side C om bined Sewer Overflow Project, oth erw ise known as the “big P ip e ” The Council approved a c o n tra c t w ith Im p re g ilo / Healy Joint Venture, the firm the city hired last D ecem ber to com plete the p ro je c t’s design. T he plans call for b u ild ing a4-m ile, 120-foot deep, 14-foot diam eter tunnel that w ill start at S outhw est C lay boring m achines that will build the Big Pipe will be lowered into the ground at the Nicolai shaft next spring. W hen Portland started the C SO A batem ent Program 11 years ago, the city ’s com bined sew er system d is charged an estim ated six bil lion gallons o f sewage mixed w ith storm w ater into the C o lu m b ia S lo u g h an d W illam ette River each year. W hen the program is fin ished in 2011, annual CSO volum e will be cut to 250- m illion gallons and C SO events will be reduced to four o r five each year. S treet, run below W aterfront P ark, and cro ss under the W illam ette R iver to connect w ith a new sew age pum p station on Sw an Island. The new pum p station w ill be a circu lar, fiv e-sto ry building, 124 feet in diam eter and 150 feet deep, w ith a pum ping cap acity o f 220 m illion g a l lons a day. W hile m ost o f the big pipe construction will take place un derground, the project also in cludes building five large shafts along the tunnel alignment. C onstruction on the Swan Island and N icolai shafts will begin this fall. The tw o tunnel Wilhelmi Takes Helm at Marshall High John W ilhelmi.currentlyacur- riculum vice principal at Marshall High School, has accepted the position of interim principal at the southeast Portland school. He re places Greg Wolleck, who has accepted the principal position at Metropolitan Learning Center. S u p e rin te n d e n t Jim Scherzingercalled Wilhelmi an ex perienced and successful adm in istra to r, having served both M arshall and Franklin High Schools as a vice principal. Prior to those positions, he worked as a dean of students and social stud ies teacher at Jefferson High School. call : Amber Crime Alert Coming to Portland (AP) — The Portland Police Bureau says it will soon imple ment an “Amber Alert" system. The system uses freeway signs and instant messages on televi sion and radio to provide details about a possible crime. The sys tem helped find two kidnapped teenage girls in southern Califor nia earlierthis week. According to Brian Schmautz, spokesman for the Portland Po lice Bureau, a critical window of time follows every abduction. During that time it is vital to spread information asquickly as possible, thereby increasing the chance the person is found safe. In the case of the missing Or egon City girls, neither information about Ashley Pond nor Miranda Gaddis reached the public right away. Gaddis' mother says she thinks the Amber Alert might have helped find her daughter. To implement the Amber sys tem police say they will need the ciMiperation of local broadcast ers, which they hope to get this fall. Sovaye CREDIT SPECIALIST "work with me one on one ” METHO AUTO WHOLESALE “THE FINANCING SPECIALIST Metro Auto Wholesale 7238 SE Foster Rd. Portland, OR 97206 (503) 777-2277
