Black H istory M onth
BldCk Press• First black American newspapers.
See page A3
(Observer
‘City of Roses
Established In 1970
Volume XXXIII • Number 6
Committed to Cultural Diversity
T,Weekin
ThcReview
Better days ahead
promised to minority firms
re D avid P i . echl
T he P ortland O bserver
Astronauts Remembered
Four o f the Columbia's crew members pose for a photo on Jan. 27
ju st five days before the space shuttle broke apart in flames over
Accidental action hero
Texas. NASA indicates that Saturday's crash may be related to
A teenager in Kansas City, Mo., I shuttle tiles damaged in liftoff, but hasn't determined a cause. See
was catapulted at least 25 feet in | related story and photo on page B4, inside.
the air during an auto accident
but grabbed onto overhead util­
ity wires like an action hero and
dangled for about 20 minutes
before a rescue crew brought
him downby ladder. Joe R. Th­
ompson 111, 18, was treated for
bruises and scratches at a hospi­
tal and was released.
Dumb as a donkey .
On Sunday a man and woman in I
Fairport Harbor. Ohio, who van­
dalized a baby Jesus statue in a
ch u rc h ’s outdoor nativity
marthed through town with a
donkey borrowed from a petting
zoo and a sign that said, “Sorry
for the jackass offense.” Jessica
Lange and Brian Patrick, both 19, |
were ordered by a judge to make
Sunday’s march through town I
after they admitted defacing a
statue at St. Anthony Roman
Catholic Church on Christmas |
Eve.
Bush budgets for aliens
Wednesday • Februay OS, 2003
City Contracts Wanted
Breast milk meals
A new craze has hit restaurant
tables in China - meals cooked
w ith human breast milk.
The dishes are being offered at a
restaurant in Changsha, capital
of southern Hunan province, with
plans to expand to the boomtown
o f Shenzhen across the border
from Hong Kong. The Beijing
Times says the milk came from six
peasant women who were still
breast-feeding their children
www.portlandobserver.com
The Portland City Council is scheduled to ap­
prove a plan this week to increase the use of
women and minority contractors.
The action, scheduled for a vote on Wednes­
day, is the city’s response to studies showing that
access to the city’s professional and technical
contracts has proved difficult for women and
minority-owned businesses.
F irms considered disadvantaged held contracts
for just 6 percent of the S84.8 million the city
spends for contract services over a two-year
period. African Americans took home just I per­
cent.
Professional service contractors were saying
it was difficult to do business with the city,” said
Sue Klobertanz, the city’s director ofthe Bureau of
Purchases.
Klobertanz said one problem was that city ad­
ministrators who can hire their ow n contractors
had dismal records ofmaking contacts with minor­
ity linns - something they are required to do.
Additionally, she said bureaus were hiring the
same contractors repeatedly without contacting
other firms. Sole-source contracts represented 60
percent of all city contracts.
"We don’t know who's been bidding and who’s
been shut out." Klobertanz said.
The proposal calls for more centralized over­
sight, better data collection and increased out-
continued
yf
tin page A S
MURAL
MOTIVATES
HEALTHY
LIVING
Art encourages
African Americans
to take charge of
health issues
Proof that life exists outside the
boundaries o f Earth continues
to elude scientists, but President
Bush’s budget suggests that
"space aliens" may be out there.
And it could just be a matter of |
time before they arc discovered.
by D avid P i . echi
In a brief passage titled “Where
T he P ortland O bserver
Are the Real Space Aliens?" |
The African American Health
Bush's budget document re­
Coalition unveiled a huge, build­
leased Monday says several im­
ing-size mural Saturday as a life­
portant scientific discoveries in
saving message to the north and
the past decade indicate that
northeast Portland community.
"habitable worlds” in outer space
Located on Northeast 15,h and
may be much more prevalent than
Alberta on the outside wall of
once thought.
Alberta Cooperative Grocery, the
mural honors Black History Month
Wargames In parliament
and
encourages
A frican
A Norwegian member o f parlia­
American's
to
take
charge
o f the
ment apologized on Thursday for
health issues affecting their lives.
playing a war game on his pocket
The mural shows Portlanders
computer while legislators around
living
healthy lives at locations
him debated the possibility of a
around the city and encourages
real warin Iraq. Trend Helleland,
those who read it to - eat right,
a member of the ruling Conserva­
exercise
and get tested for high
tive Party, was caught on a na­
photos by
D amd Pi echl /T he P ortland O bserver
Sharon Gerachi waits for the ceremony to begin as a mural she designed for the African American Health Coalition is
unveiled at the Alberta Cooperative Grocery. Gerachi s own family history with heart disease and diabetes inspired her to
paint the outdoor mural which reminds African Americans to live healthy lives.
blood pressure.
“We want our community to
realize that we have the power to
m ake
changes
and
live healthier, happier lives," said
Corliss McKeever, president o f
the African American Health Coa-
lition. "The mural is a symbol o f
the coalition's commitment to
eliminating the health disparity
between African Americans and
other communities in Oregon.”
Cardiovascular Disease is the
number one killerof African Ameri­
cans in Oregon with the minority
population twice as likely as white
Americans to die from a stroke and
almost one and a half times as likely
to die from a heart attack. The major
tional television camera playing
the game during Wednesday’s
debate about whether Norway
would take part in any US-led
military action against Iraq.
risk factors for cardiovascular dis­
ease are obesity, physical inactiv­
A FR IC A N A M E R IC A N S 'A R t D TIN C FROM
ity, smoking, high blood pressure
♦«CH Bl 0 0 D PRESSURE-HEART ATTACK-SIRJEE
and diabetes.
W t PONT HAVE TO I
"When I heard about the mural
1 just had to get involved," said
Sharon Geraci, the African Ameri­
ft T fS T tt
can artist who found inspiration for
the mural in her own family’s health
history.
"My mom and dad suffer from
heart disease and diabetes and I
considered this to be a message all
of this community needs to know,”
she said. "Individualscan take con­
trol oftheir lives and become healthy
regardless of the circumstances that
they are in by making life style Neighbors admire the new mural on the side o f the Alberta
Cooperative Grocery on the corner o f 15th and Alberta.
changes.”
Its easy. There's no magic to it. You treat the customer
with respect, dignity and empathy and they 'll keep
C Oming hack.
— Lou’ loby’ lobin, H & B Loan Co.owner
How to hide an elephant
A German circus director is on the
run with his elephant after break­
ing a local authority ban on mov­
ing the deeply distressed animal.
Officials had ordered the director
not to move the elephant, Kenia,
because she was upset by the
death of Rani, the circus's only
other elephant. Police said the man
and beast have disappeared with­
out trace. "It’s easier to bid«« an
elephant than you migh
police spokesman said.
T h e D e a lm a k e r
II & B Jewelry
founder brings love
o f life to burgeoning
business
by D m i ) P i . echi ,
T hi P ortland O bserver
a
sc
•È O
photos by
D avid P le < h i ./T he P ori i and O bservers
Toby" Tobin stands in front o f H&B Jewerly & boan Co., the
he opened along Southwest 3rd Avenue over 50 years ago.
ened a second store. H&B Too, on Martin Luther King Jr.
astyear.
«
Lou “Toby" Tobin has been
around the block a few times, but
Southwest Third Avenue will al­
ways be his home. He opened 11 &
B Jewelry and Loan Co. there in
1948. It ranks among Portland's
oldest family-owned business.
Over the years, Tobin’s familiar
silver gray hair, unmistakable smile
and propensity for honesty and
fairness have become his trade-
4
mark for good business.
"It's easy. There’s no magic to it.
You treat the customer with respect,
dignity and empathy and they’ll
keep coming back," Tobin said.
The philosophy works. The
company’s success has transferred
to the north and northeast commu­
nity with a new H&B on Marlin
Luther King Jr. Boulevard just south
o f Alberta.
It's not uncommon to see Tobin
sitting at the jewelry counter at his
downtown store with a cup of cof­
fee in his hand, greeting customers
as they check out bargains in the
showcase.
“I still make a sell every now and
then," he said.
1
Tobin's hobby is golf.
After spending his younger
years as a caddie, Tobin started
developing his g o lf game. He
quickly became one of the best
amateur golfers on the scene.
He squared off with some o f the
city s best every Sunday for years
and years at Tualatin Country Club,
the only private course that would
allow Jewish members.
“I was golf crazy," he said.
( )ne afternoon the club pro called
him up and told him he had some­
one there that he wanted Tobin to
play a round with. That somebody
happened to be boxing great Joe
co ntinued
on page .46