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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 11, 2002)
50/ Black Actor in Bicentennial Role Only African American in OMSI documentary shares his views. See story, Metro Section, inside. ‘City of Roses' ISnrtlanh (Observer Established in 1970 Volume XXXII • Number 36 w w w .portlandobserver.QQm C om m itted to C ultural D ive rsity Wednesday • September II. 2002 From Gangs to Grace Area Kids Enjoy Pacific Youth Camp Bystanders say ambulance delayed by police action, not crowd A group o f kids from the Port land area enjoyed a vacation on the Oregon Coast, thanks to the northeast Portland youth pro gram “Reaching in Serving Kids” or RISK. See related story on F elica L. S lider P ortland O bserver by page A3, inside. * Cocaine on Florida Governor Bush’s Daughter ORLANDO— Gov. Jeb Bush’s daughter was found with co caine at a rehabilitation center where she is undergoing drug treatment, police said. Police were called to the Center for Drug Free Living in Orlando, where workers gave them a sub stance they said they found on Noelle Bush, 25. Janet Reno, Others Face Tough Primary MIAMI — Janet Reno made a last-minute pitch to voters as she tried to stop political novice Bill McBride from pulling offa major upset in the race for the Democratic nomination forgov- em or o f Florida. In all, 12 states wi 11 select candidates for gover nor, House and Senate. Europe Wants U.N. on Iraq Foreign leaders pushed for a non-m ilitary solution as the Bush administration finalized a proposal to offer the United Nations later this week for deal ing with Saddam Hussein. U.S. allies warned that any go-it- alone action by W ashington could create a dangerous prece dent and further enflame Arab- Israeli tensions. Arafat Calls for Elections in January RAMALLAH, West Bank — Yasser Arafat told the Palestin ian parliament that he condemns “every act o f terror against Is raeli civilians” and called for new elections in January. He also said he is willing to give up executive power, but it was not clear whether or he was serious. ■j-.i Nicole “Nicky" Taylor, author o f “Ask Nicky: A Young Person's Workbook for Building Dreams." Woman gives back after destructive gang life D avid P lechl T he P ortland O bserver by N icole “N icky” Taylor wants people to know the truth about life in inner city gangs. The 30-year-old, single mother o f one, grew up in northeast Portland. She was “just a kid” when her father left a home where drinking and drug use had become the norm. At 13, Nicky felt alone, abandoned, and set out on making a name for hersel f. But how she chose to pursue her dreams was violent, hurtful, and downright dangerous. In 1987, Nicky said she wantedasweet 16 party that she "would never forget.” And she never would forget it, but not in the happy way she had imagined. Nicky invited 40 o f her best friends to the party, but news o f the celebration traveled fast. continued on page .48 continued on page A 8 Game honors Local African Americans WASHINGTON— The number o f people who were victims ofall violent crimes except murder fell by 9 percent in 2001, sending the crime rate to its lowest level since it was first tracked in 1973, the government reported. Mutual Funds Dying Off at Record Rate Sept. 11 Anniversary Brings Action Pledge ee Craig-Arnold of northeast Portland takes a pledge from Oregon Red Cross Kecutive Sue Hildick in a Portland Fire and Rescue ceremony Monday that icouraged people to observe the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks / preparing for emergencies at home and taking action to build a safer, ore secure future. Craig-Arnold's son, Maurice “Meaux" Craig, a former irtland resident, narrowly survived the attacks on the twin towers o f the odd Trade Center in New York. photo by « At 10 p.m. on the night o f the party, she counted about 125 people, most o f them were older teens and friends o f friends. Among those in attendance were mem bers ofboth the Bloods and the Crips. Nicky had friends in both gangs. She didn't think it was a problem. To her knowledge, no one had been shot and killed and “most o f the conflict was just talk.” Witnesses are disputing police ac counts o f a deadly shooting in the early morning hours o f Sunday, Sept. 8. Anthony Duane Brown, 25, died o f gunshot wounds in the vicinity ofN orth- east Russell Street, near Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. His death was de clared shortly after 3 a.m. No one has been named as a suspect in the murder. B y s ta n d e r s tell the Portland O b se rv e r th a t attempts to bring medical help to B row n, as he w as sp ra w le d across a side- Anthony walk and drive- Duane Brown w ay, was hin dered by police action. Police reported that a crowd o f people, estimated as many as 300, blocked access to the body. However, several people who talked to the Portland Observer on the morning o f the incident say the crowd was closer to 75 and was cooperative. Some o f the witnesses had spilled out into the street from an after-hours party at Doris’ Lounge on Russell. “There was no confrontation whatso ever between police and bystanders, ac tually, just the opposite, people were trying to help,” said one o f the witnesses. “The only people blocking the inter section were the police and patrol cars themselves,” said Alicia Byrd. Another witness said he asked the Vanport Classic Saturday Violent Crime Rate In USA on the Decline A record number o f mutual funds are headed in a new direction: oblivion. Since the bear market began in March 2000,414 stock mutual funds have been liqui dated, says M omingstar, the mutual fund tracker. That’s half the liquidations in its database. Witnesses Dispute Shooting Accounts 4 M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bse r \ er J Portland State University will host North Carolina A&T for the second Vanport Invi tational at PGE Park Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. The football game pays tribute to the people o f Vanport, a town washed away by Columbia Riverfloodwaters in 1948. Ithoused thousands o f African Americans and was the site of Vanport College, now PSU. The Vanport Invitational celebrates the diversity o f the Portland community while paying tribute to the college’s unique past and its present as O regon’s most diverse and largest university. , “The Vanport Invitational provides a unique opportunity for PSU to celebrate the early days o f the university as well as the contributions o f African Americans to the city o f Portland and the state o f Oregon," said PSU President Daniel O. Bemstine. Portland State will go into the game at 1 - 0 after a season-opening win over Stephen F. Austin, 31 -23 iri PGE Park. North Carolina A&T is a member o f the Mid-Eastern Ath letic Conference and is coming o ff an 8-3 season. Once again, an outstanding marching band. N CA T’s “Blue and Gold Marching Machine” will perform at halftime. Last year's Vanport Invitational was truly a classic as 15th-ranked Grambling State and 16th-ranked Portland State played a game decided on the final play. Grambling State won 30-29 oq a two-yard quarterback boot leg on the final play. A season-high crowd o f 16,171 attended the game and was thrilled not only by the play but by the Tigers Marching Band halftime show. Sportswear giant Nike has gotten behind the Vanport Invitational this year, sponsor ing the game with the intention o f m aintain ing it as a long-term Portland event. Nike has purchased 750 game tickets that it is contrib uting to the Portland Trailblazers Boys and Girls Club, Self Enhancement Inc., and the African American ChamberofCommerce. Established in 1942, Vanport City, lo cated just north o f Portland, was O regon’s second largest city and the largest federal housing project in the United States. V anport City, built on the flood plains o f the Colum bia River slough, provided more than jo b s to thousands o f w artim e laborers w orking in the local shipyards. Vanport offered m any people the oppor tunity to leave the poverty and inequities o f the South to pursue a better life in the N orthw est. In addition, Vanport was also a huge social experiment with its own fire depart ments, libraries, police and schools, includ ing VanportCollege. More than 25,000 o f the city’s residents were African-Americans. Vanport College was founded in 1946 with the intent o f serv ing many o f Vanport’s residents. continued on page A 8 A
