50/
lb
‘City of Roses
Saving Spring Sports
Silky Smooth
Stoudamire donates $250,000 to
prevent school cuts
Kirk Green debuts CD
‘Heart 2 Heart ’
See story, Page A6
See story, Page B5
3Jortkxnu
www.portlandobserver.com
www.Dortlandobser
Fçtahikh^d In
in 1970
1970
Established
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Volume XXXII • Number SO
Light it Up
J/Veekm
TheReview
Wednesday • December 18, 2002
for th e
Holidays
Pigs and piranhas?
The deadly piranha fish, which
strips its prey to the bone in
seconds, has appeared in record
numbers in Chinese pet markets
and even in an amusement park,
flustering officials. It is unclear
how the fish, which kills 1,200
head o f cattle every year in Bra
zil, was introduced to China and
achieved its popularity. In Ja
pan, the latest boom to hit the pet
scene is mini-pigs, who were
originally bred for lab animals
and about one-tenth the size o f
the normal livestock variety.
Jingle balls
Denise Blair is armed with informa
tion and understanding in the fight
against HIV. She is the executive
director of the local Women's
Intercommunity AIDS Resource.
"A star reindeer in a South Afri
can shopping m all’s Christmas
display has lost a little o f its
seasonal pride andjoy after com
plaints from shoppers. Manag
ers at one o f Cape Tow n’s up
market malls have “castrated”
the plastic animal after receiving
complaints about shiny golden
Christmas tree baubles hanging
between its hind legs.
photo by D avid P lechl /
T he P ortland O bserver
Armed
Against
AIDS
Spray gives robber away
Christmas glitter spray has given
away a would-be robber to Ger
man police. The suspect tried to
hold up a lottery ticket shop,
threatening the owner w ith an air
pistol. When the ow ner’s terri
fied wife reached for the first
form o f defense she could find, a
spray can used for decorating
the shop for the holidays, she
aimed it at the assailant and
pressed the button. The stunned
robber fled the store, leaving his
wallet on the counter. Still cov
ered in glitter spray the culprit
reported the “theft” o f his wallet
to police and was immediately
arrested.
African American,
Hispanic women’s
group fights AIDS
with prevention,
patience
by D avid P lechl
T he P ortland O bserver
A Santa robs drugstore
Police are looking for a man in
Chester, Va., with a familiar de
scription who robbed a drug
store at gunpoint: long white hair
and beard, a white-fur-trimmed
red suit and hat, black boots,
prominent belly.
Thief gets his Xmas wish
♦A man in Kenosha, Wis., who
claimed he took money from a
bank because he wanted to go
back to prison may get his wish
- a possible fine o f $ 10,000 and
25 years in prison. A jury con
victed Dale L. Smith, 35,oftheft
on Dec. 12. Defense witnesses
said before the trial that Smith
complained he was having trouble
coping with life out o f prison.
Good gratuity
W a itre ss S arah N ilse n , o f
Q uincy, Mass., got an early
Christmas present in the mai 1 this
week: A $ 10,000 tip from one o f
her reg u lar custo m ers. The
check, made out to NiIsen’s 11-
month-old son, came from an
older widower who patronizes
the Newcomb Farms restaurant,
where Nilsen, 22, waits tables
twice a week. The man, whom
Nilsen would not identify, sits at
the same table and orders the
same meal every Wednesday.
She will put the money in a trust
fund for her son’s college.
continued
y^
photo by
M ark W ashincton /T he P ortland O bserver
Children play around the giant holiday tree at Pioneer Courthouse Square. For more on Christmas, Kwanzaa and
other holiday activities, see our Metro section, inside.
Leader Under Fire for Racism
Apology leaves many African Americans skeptical
(AP) - Many African Americans who
watched Senate Republican leader Trent
Lott apologize on Black Entertainment Tele
vision about remarks perceived as racially
insensitive said they found his remorse
unconvincing.
Some said the embattled senator’s latest
apologies Monday did not sound heartfelt,
and that he should not become Senate ma
jority leader in the next Congress.
“He said what he felt like he was supposed
to say. He’s on the ropes,” said Beverly
Greene, 42, who gathered with friends to
watch Lott on BET.“Itdidn’t feel like to me he
was going to make a wholesale change to his
life and begin to embrace all people.”
In the 30-minute BET interview, Lott said
he had made a “terrible mistake, used hor
rible words.”
But, he said, "it is about actions more
than words. As majority leader I can move an
agenda that would hopefully be helpful to
African-Americans and minorities ofall kinds
U.S. Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss.
and all Americans.”
Greene and other blacks said they were
skeptical.
“I’m not sure from his record that any
thing at this point would have been good
enough,” said Tsan Abrahamson, 39, a law
yer who watched the interview with Greene.
“I certainly accept his apology, but I don’t
believe h e’s changed.”
A furor erupted over Lott’s Dec. 5 com-
mentduringatoast for Sen. Strom Thurmond
in which he said the nation might have been
b e tte r o f f if then p ro -se g re g a tio n ist
Thurmond had been elected president when
he ran in 1948.
Civil rights leaders including the Rev.
Jesse Jackson and National Association for
the Advancement o f Colored People Presi
dent Kweisi Mfume have both demanded
that Lott step down.
Justin Glenn, a 24-year-old University o f
San Francisco law student, said the firestorm
that has erupted over L ott's remarks should
“make the Republican party take a serious
look at the individuals they choose to repre
sent them.”
on
c
•r,
O
c i
r-
O'
ÛÉ
O
X»
c
-
□J
edestrian Struck and Dragged
ctim was not in a
)sswalk when hit by taxi
lita Marie Nichols o f northeast Portland was
k by a taxi, hit by another car and dragged 30
s before being hit by another car on Sunday,
e are still looking for information about the
id car that may have hit or dragged her body to
er location.
Radio Cab driver Thomas Sleeth, 52, called 911 ten
minutes past 9 p.m. to report that he had struck a
pedestrian in the middle ofNortheast Killingsworth at
72nd Avenue. Sleeth said after the woman was thrown
up and onto the windshield he pulled over to see ifshe
was okay and could not find her.
Three minutes later a second driver, Megan Lutz,
32, called 911 and reported that she had driven over a
w om an's body at Northeast 42nd and Lombard Street.
continued
y^
on page AS
The HIV/AIDS epidemic has increased
dramatically among women o f color.
Just one-quarter o f the U.S. popula
tion, African American and Hispanic
women now account for 78 percent o f new
cases o f the disease.
A local group working to reach women
and save lives said those numbers show
the need fora women-specific HIV/AIDS
strategy.
The W omen’s Intercommunity AIDS
Resource has developed both a preven
tion plan and a save haven for women
living with AIDS. The aim is to help women
out o f their isolation to talk openly about
their lives, without fear o f discrimination.
All o f the services are free, anonymous
and confidential.
The group is careful not judge the
choices clients make.
Rebecca Tinnis has been a peer educa
tor with the resource network for four
years. She goes into the streets weekly
and tracks down women at-risk. She car
ries a bag o f condoms and a slew o f
information.
“Basically what we do is empower
women to take care o f themselves and
protect themselves,” Tinnis said. “We tell
people - ‘this is what you need to do to
keep yourself safe.’”
Tinnis said some women are fairly well
educated about the disease and some are
still totally in the dark. She considers it her
mission to dispel common myths and
answer any questions women may have.
The group matches women with the
resources they need to feel good about
themselves.
Susan Denight, W IAR’s prevention
coordinator, said women sometimes just
need the company o f others who share
the same experience.
“People need to be treated with re
spect,” she said. “People have a right to
be informed so that they are capable o f
making the right choices, people aren’t
getting this message in schools or on
television."
Located at 1608 S.E. Ankeny, W1AR
offers a house-type setting where women
continued
y^
on page AS