50/
Zoo lights Attract
Mentoring Kids
Fire star Stacy Thomas on
what it takes to succeed
Celebration o f lights and
animals expands
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See story, Page B6
See story, page A3
llfu rtla n h © bserlier
AJ
M oses’
ene’
‘Citv of R
Volume X X X II
•
.
.portlandobserver.com
www.PQrtlgndobser
Established
1970
Established In
in 1970
Committed to Cultural Diversity
N u m b er 4 8
W ednesday •
Decem ber 04, 2002
TlWeekin
TheReview
Hate Crime Backlash
A rabs and M uslim s have in
creasingly becom e targets o f in
tim idation or vandalism . Hate
crim es in O regon increased 50
percent last year, according to
new statistics released by the
FBI. S e e s to r y on .42 inside.
Dairy poetry?
A n y a r tis t can p a in t co w s.
N athan Banks paints ON cow s.
Banks, a 22-year-old student at
P urchase C ollege in N ew York,
painted single w ords (from “a”
to “existential”) on the flanks o f
about 60 cow s near his upstate
N ew Y ork hom e, then let them
w ander around to see if they
could com pose poetry.
once a place of high crime rates and empty store fronts, has in recent years become a cultural mecca for arts, business and entertainment.
photo by D avid
P lechl /T he P ortland O bserver
Golfer bites back
A journeym an pro golfer w hose
finger w as bitten by a dog has
filed a $ 1.5 million lawsuit in Lon
don, contending the injury seven
years ago ruined w hat w ould
have been a w orld-class career.
A ndrew R aitt told a High C ourt
ju d g e M onday the little finger o f
his left hand w as tw o-tenths o f
an inch shorter and lacked sen
sation after the bite by an A lsa
tian at St. G eorge’s Hill G olfC lub
in W eybridge.
Burgler caught napping
A uthorities in southeast O hio
d id n ’t have to search very long
for a burglary suspect. T h at’s
because he w as found fast asleep
in the house h e ’s accused o f
breaking into. A m an called po
lice after confronting a burglar in
his hom e. T he resid e n t told
s h e rif f s officials that the sus
pect had gone into one o f the
bedroom s. W hen deputies ar
rived, they found the 19-year-
old suspect asleep in the room.
Strippers want equality
U nder N orw ay’s strict gender
equality laws, m en and w om en
can dem and equal treatm ent for
doing the sam e jo b , even if it
in v o lv es d isro b in g on stage.
N o rw ay ’s G ender Equality O m
budsm an Kristin M ile on Friday
said she was investigating a com
plaint that tax authorities define
fem ale strippers as entertainers
w hile m ale strippers pay a low er
tax rate because they are consid
ered artists.
A ction for Power, a local group that encour
ages young w om en o f color to becom e lead
ers in th eir com m unities.
“A lot o fp eo p le say revitalization is good
for the com m unity, but a lot o f people are
being displaced by revitalization,” Kent said.
“People from higher incom es are benefiting.
People from low er incom es aren ’t.”
A nother 'sister,' C hirece Jones, contends
that black businesses are disappearing.
“ People w ho have lived here a long tim e
have a lot to say about businesses they used
to go to, but are n 't there anym ore,” she said.
Jones points to the construction o f the
Frem ont Bridge, Emanuel Hospital and M e
m orial Coliseum as developm ent that dis
placed blacks from established neighbor
A neighborhood
reinvents itself and
African Americans
question the course
o f’progress'
by D avid P lechl
T he P ortland O bserver
A lberta Street is changing. T hat m uch is
clear. T here are m ore businesses, com m u
nity centers, galleries and restaurants than
ever before. T here is less crim e. There are
m ore opportunities. But for w hom ?
A s those w ith higher incom es m ove in,
will those w ith low er incom es be forced to
m ove out? O r will everyone be included in
the change, and benefit from the evolution
o f the inner city?
C raig Fondren o f the Sabin C om m unity
D evelopm ent Corp, has been involved with
the A lberta com m unity for the last 10 years.
“ I think the displacem ent w e ’re looking at
is a sense o f new ness,” Fondren said. “ I
d o n ’t think you need to be pushed out to feel
a little displaced.”
“T he last three years have been am az
ing,” he said. “W ith the new streetscape
you will probably see the m erchant base
double.”
T he city is revam ping A lb erta’s look, by
Nathan First-Rider and local children help paint the exterior walls of Joe’s Place,
an African American owned tavern and longstanding icon on Alberta Street.
PHOTO BY W Y N D E
adding street lam ps and im proving intersec
tions and bus stops.
Fondren says neighbors have been w ork
ing di I igently to create a safe, livable com m u
nity.
“As the com m unity develops, the m er
chants d evelop,” he said.
Fondren asserts that the rental assis
tance, jo b developm ent projects and hom e
D y ER/T HE PORTLAND O BSERVER
ow nership program s provided by Sabin CDC
have helped locals establish ow nership in
the com m unity and participate in growth.
“W e w ant people to em ploy them selves,”
Fondren said o f the em erging business dis
trict. “T his is an exciting tim e.”
But som e groups and individuals say the
com m unity is setting itself up for disaster.
C am ille K ent is a m em ber o f Sisters In
hoods.
She thinks the current situation along
A lberta is a sym ptom o f the sam e pattern.
D o ra’s Barber Shop at 2330 N.E. A lberta
is struggling to avoid the ranks o f retired
A frican A m erican businesses.
Dora M ontgomery has occupied her small
shop on A lberta for o ver seven years. S he
says the rising cost o f rent on the street is
m aking it hard for her to stay in business.
“ I c a n ’t afford six to seven hundred a
m onth for a place along A lberta,’ she said.
To offset expenses, M ontgom ery is m o v
ing her barbershop to a space along side her
house at 5312 N.E. 27th Ave. She is positive
her custom ers will follow but she isn ’t look
ing forw ard to leaving A lberta.
continued y ^ on page .45
Affirmative Action Case
Justices to decide if race counts in college
Pelican hikes south
A w hite pel ican rescued from the
cold N orth this w eek had a bro
ken w ing, but its sense o f direc
tion appeared to be fine. Phil
T hiem e found the bird trudging
south, first along his drivew ay
and then dow n the road near
s o u th e a s te r n
W i s c o n s i n ’s
H oricon Marsh. Fearing for the
p elican ’s life, he and his neigh
bors corralled it M ondav « « "•» °
net and a blanket.
(A P )— The Suprem e Court re-entered the debate over affirm ative action
M onday, agreeing to decide if m inorities can be given a boost to get into
public universities.
The court will rule by next June if race can be used in college adm issions,
an issue that the ju stices have dealt with only once before, in a cloudy 1978
ruling that led to m ore confusion.
The ju stices w ill consider w hether w hite applicants to the U niversity o f
M ichigan and its law school w ere unconstitutionally turned dow n becau se
o f their race.
The cases give the court an opportunity to ban affirm ative action in
higher education or say how m uch w eight universities m ay assign to an
ap p lican t's race. The stakes are high because m any colleges have race-
continued y ^ on t
conscious adm issions policies.
A ffirm ative action supporters argue that w ithout policies that enco u rag e
diverse student bodies, the top public colleges in the country w o u ld not be
o
’o l i d a y S o u n d s a n d F u ry
<n plays his trumpet for downtown shoppers. Thousands o f enthusiastic spenders hit the
its over the weekend eager to get the best deals on post-Thanksgiving sales.
photo by
I
D avid P le ( h i / T he P ortland O bserver
I
representative.
O pponents contend that those policies discrim inate ag ain st w hite
s tu d e n ts ,
g iv in g
s lo ts
to
le s s
q u a lif ie d
m in o r it ie s .
A divided appeals court upheld the law sch o o l’s practices in M ay, saying
the C onstitution allow s colleges and graduate schools to seek “a m ean in g
ful num ber” o f m inority students, so long as the school avoids a fixed q u o ta
system .
The 6th U S. C ircuit C ourt o f A ppeals in Cincinnati has not ruled in a
continued y ^ on page A3