One World, Indivisible 50jzf Sept. 11 anniversary brings message of hope. See Metro Section, inside. (Lite <Ú Jortkutit (©bserüer f ’i t v n f ‘C itv of Roses F c ta k llc b ^ H in 1 0 7 0 Established in 1970 P / y c o c ’ n n rtln n d n h c p r www.portlandobserver.com w / w \ a / Committed to Cultural Diversity Volume XXXII • Number 37 W ednesday • September 18. 2002 Patton Home Change Brings Uncertainty REVIEW Life on Alberta 2002 Historic building stops services to disabled and some elderly BY W Y N D E D Y E R A nnual street fair em braces a Portland multicultural neighbor­ hood. B ridget Sm ith, a 5,h grade teacher at B oise E liot E lem en­ tary, show s o ff som e glass w ork at the A lberta S treet Fair. This a n d o th er im ages can be fo u n d on p a g e A3, inside. Calif. Family Leave Bill Awaits Governor’s Decision LOS A N G E L E S — California is one step from establishing the n a tio n ’s m ost sw eeping p ro­ gram to give w orkers paid tim e o ff to care for fam ily m em bers. U nder the bill, C alifornia w ould create the first state insurance program to replace part o f em ­ p lo y ees’ w ages w hen they stay hom e to nurture a b aby or help a serio u sly ill ch ild , p arent, spouse or dom estic partner. U.N.: Iraq Accepts Weapons Inspectors U N IT E D N A T IO N S — Iraq agreed to allow the u n condi­ tional return o f U.N . w eapons inspectors, a reversal com ing d a y s a f t e r P r e s id e n t B u sh w arned Baghdad to com ply with U .N . resolutions o r face mi litary action. T he W hite H ouse dis­ m issed the o ffer as a tactical move. Yemeni Identified as Daniel Pearl Killer K A R A C H I, Pakistan — A n al- Q aeda m iIitant arrested w ith al­ leged Sept. 11 o rg an izer Ram zi Bin al-Shibh has been identified as one o f the killers o f Wall S treet Jo u rn a l corresp o n d en t D aniel P e a rl,a se n io r police o f­ ficial said. T he P ortland O bserver On Sept. 5, residents at the historic Patton H om e w ere asked to pay their ren t. On Sept. 6, they w ere to ld to find a new place to live. T he 63-unit residence on N orth M ichi­ gan A venue w ill soon m ake the co n tro v er­ sial sw itch from a residential care facility to an alcohol and drug-free single room occu­ pancy unit for low -incom e single adults. T he decision o f Patton H om e officials to abruptly discontinue services as a residen­ tial care facility has left 57 low -incom e eld ­ erly residents, Patton sta ff and m em bers o f the H um boldt neighborhood in a state o f uncertainty. “I t’s so stressful fo r u s,” said lead m ed i­ cal aid O nny D escloux. “ W e really d o n ’t know how to handle it.” T he notice o f the closure o f services was a surprise for everyone, she said. W ith the exception o f the cook, all staff m em bers will have to find new jobs. D escloux drives 4 0 m iles to w ork each day to distribute m edicine and help with general nursing care at Patton H om e. She w ould never have accepted the jo b had she know n it w ould only last four m onths. But she said her m ain concern is for the dis­ placed residents. “T h is is the first stable p lace som e o f these people have been in years,” D escloux said. “W ithout the supervision o f o ur staff, som e o f them w ould be o u t in the streets or in ja il. O thers w ouldn ’ t eat for days on end.” In o rd er to provide stability and supervi­ sion as a residential care facility, Patton H om e m ust turn a profit. In alm ost tw o years o f operation, Patton has seen losses o f betw een $10,000 and $15,000 a m onth. P atto n ’s current annual operation budget is roughly $900,000, and as a single room oc­ cupancy unit, that n u m b er w ould drop to betw een $250,000 and $300,000. A ccordi ng to V assar Byrd, m arketing and Patton Home resident Herman Stevenson offers a piece o f bread to Ally, the medical companion o f a fellow resident. Since the home is switching from residential care to single room occupancy units for alcohol and drug free adults, Stevenson will have to find a new home. “I'm leaving as fast as I can," he said. photo by W ynde D yer /T he P ortland O bserver program services directo r at Patton, the ser- v ic e s ju s th a d to b e d r o p i ’ She said ho u s­ ing people w ho require ni i ig c a re w a s ju st too costly. "It is sim ply not susiainable to operate w ith those losses,” B yrd said. Patton H om e has seen a lot o f changes since its inception in 189L is a “H o m efo rth e A ged and Friendless.” D uring the 50s, 60s and 70s, Patton pro­ vided traditional single-room occupancy for low -incom e single adults. By the tim e the historical building wAs purchased in thv early 90s by Ecum enical M inistries o f O r­ egon, the building w as disintegrating. Tim e had taken its toll. A ftera$6.1 m illion facelift and luxurious interior redesign, Patton Home reopened in late 2000 to serve the needs o f low -incom e disabled and elderly people. B yrd explained that a residential care facility is one step before assisted living. All residents receive m edical attention from nurses, m edical aids and personal service assistants. But Patton H om e w as overly am bitions about the costs o f the services it provided. Revenue projections assum ed that 100 percent o f Patton’s residents w ould need M ed icaid-paid services. In reality only tw othirds did. “So w e had to drop the services,” Byrd said. c o n tin u e d on p a g e A 6 College Band Puts Spotlight on Vanport World’s Oldest Person Greets Her 115th Birthday North Carolina A&T's marching band, the Blue and Gold Marching Machine, performs at Pioneer Courthouse Square Friday as part of the Second Annual Vanport Invitational, a celebra­ tion of the rich history and diversity of the Portland community and a tribute to the unique past o f Portland State University. Vanport, a largely African American city, and Vanport College were washed away in a devastating flood in 1948. However, the college lives on today in PSU and the people of the city are reflected in the culture and diversity of Portland. T O K Y O — K am ato Hongo, the w o rld 's oldest person according to the G uinness Book ofR ecords, turned 115. Hongo slept through the m orning o f her birthday but planned to celebrate with her fam- ily in the afternoon, Japanese m edia reported. Jury Decides Death for Westerfield SA N D IE G O — A ju ry decided that D avid W esterfield should die for killing 7-year-old neigh­ bor D anielle van D am , the little girl w ho vanished from her bed­ room in the first o f a string o f high-profile child abductions across the country this year. M ark W ashington / T he P ortland O bserver photo by Florida Anthrax May Have Spread Via Photocopier BO CA R A T O N , Fla. — FBI in­ vestigators believe photocopy m achines w ere the reason an­ th ra x s p o r e s w e re s p r e a d throughout an office building w hereatainted letter w as mai led in last y e a r’s attacks, according to a published report. oting Debacle Smacks Florida Once Again ^ACP calls primary election for governor a travesty of justice; plans a second lawsuit U ry .4 Rational a tio n a l Association for the Advance- C'okircd People blasted Florida’s Colored Florida's poor ;ofits gubernatorial primary and pointed ' s m ’ofitsgubematorialprimaryandpointed less as the source for the remedy, a sheer travesty o f justice that many - J i Florida were disenfranchised for the time in as many years," said Kweisi .N A A CP president ami chiefexecutive "Congress bears much o f the blame for not passing a federal bill that would institute minimum election standards for .