March 19. 2003
C
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Prostrate Cancer
Prevention
Lawsuit Filed
Against Kroeker in
Mejia Shooting
The Providence Integrative M ed i
cine Program is offering a ne w class
for reducing the risk o f prostate
cancer on Thursday, M arch 27 from
7 p.m. to8:30p.m. at4805 N.E. Glisan
in the Providence Social Rixim. The
class, called 'C an Diet, Supplements
and H erbs Reduce the Rick o f P ros
tate C an cer?’ w ill be lead by Dr.
M iles H assell, directo r o f the Inte
g rativ e M edicin e P ro g ram and
Providence. For m ore inform ation,
call 503-216-4687.
Family claims
officers used
unreasonable and
excessive force
Community Wellness Fair
H olladay Plaza Park, located across
from the Lloyd C enter, will host a
com m unity w ellness fair on Friday,
M arch 28 from 10 a.m . to 2 p.m.
T here will be several guest sp eak
ers and w orkshops line up thro u g h
out the day to discuss with atten d
ees such topics as healthy co o k
ing, blood pressure and diagnostic
screening, fitness and glucose test
ing as well as alternative and o rien
tal m edicine. T here w ill be refresh
m ents, door prizes, raffles and give
aw ays througho u t the day. F or
more information.call503-280-2221.
(A P )— T he fam ily o f a M exican
national w ho w as killed by Portland
police last year has filed a $ 10 m il
lion civil rights law suit against Port
land Police C hief M ark Kroeker and
tw o officers.
T he law suit w as filed T hursday
in U.S. D istrict C ourt in Portland.
The fam ily claim s the officers
used unreasonable and excessive
force against Jose M ejia Poot, who
w as shot to death at a Portland
psychiatric hospital. T hey also al
lege that K roeker failed to ad
equately train the officers to deal
w ith people suffering from mental
illness and allow ed policies that
am ount to indifference to the use o f
excessive force.
The federal com plaint m arks the
second tim e the fam ily has filed a
civil law suit seeking dam ages for
M ejia’s death.
Learn to Sing at MHCC
The M ount H ood C om m unity C o l
lege is alw ays looking to add voices
to its com m unity-based choir. No
audition is required. T hose in ter
ested can share their jo y for m usic
w hile learning to sight-read, im
prove vocal technique, explore cho
ral literature and perf orm . The class
begins M arch 31 and m eets M on
days from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m . at
the G resham cam pus. F or m ore in
form ation or to register, call 503-
491-7571.
Help Needed for Women’s
continued
Reed Boat Departs on Pacific Adventure
I The Viracocha Sun God, the reed boat of American adventurer Phil Buck, sails o ff Las Salinas
I beach in Vina del Mar, Chile, Monday. Buck plans to be the first person to sail across the
on page B7
1 Pacific Ocean from Chile to Australia in a reed boat. (AP photo)
MHMIMNMMMNMMMMMMNMMN
Credit Union Caters to Latinos
Hacienda serves
state’s fastest
growing minority
union in Oregon.
Hispanics are the state’s
Willing to look past aclient’s fastest-growing minority, and
immigration status, and fo a huge potential market for
cused on the financial needs companies that tailor their
of the Hispanic community, businesses to them.
(AP) — The first tim e H acienda
refin an ced
Since opening, Hacienda has
Carlos Quezada bought a used Quezada’s loan and offered 366 members and has pro-
car, he borrowed $8,000 and
paid 30 percent interest on it
over two years. The interest
rate on his second used car
wasn’t much better — 29 per
cent.
Portland area lending agen
cies told the Mexico City na
tive that the high interest was - Samuel Davila, executive dlrectorof the Oregon Commission on
V
necessary because he couldn’t HispanlcAffalrs
prove legal residence here and
he didn’t have a credit history. him 10 percent interest — cessed 51 loans w orth
“Lenders are afraid that dropping his $2(X) monthly pay $313,000.
someone without legal papers ment to $130.
It serv es c lie n ts in
will leave the country, but I
“W ithin a year I think Multnomah, Washington and
have my whole family here," Hacienda’s business will grow C lackam as c o u n tie s, but
said the 23-year-old Quezada. faster than any” of the lenders people from other parts of the
And then along came the in the state, Quezada said.
state can become members if
Hacienda Community Credit
A year might be a conser they have a relative who is a
Union, the first Hispanic credit vative estimate.
member and lives in one of the
We will see more and more
businesses embracing the
Hispanic consumer.
Portland-area counties.
H a c ie n d a ’s three sta ff
members, along with its two
volunteers, are bilingual and
of Hispanic origin. W hen
evaluating a loan application,
they look at who might be a
flight risk and who has obvi
ously settled in the state, re
gardless of legal residence.
Quezada, for example, has
lived in Portland eight years
and works at a pizza restau
rant. He is married and has
two children who were born in
Portland.
When making a loan deci
sion, Hacienda also takes into
account letters from employ
ers and testim onies from
friends and relatives.
For identification, the credit
union accepts the ‘matricula
consular’ or a tax number, is
sued by the IRS to workers
who don’t have a Social Secu
rity number.
In O ctober 2001, the fam ily ac
cepted a$750,000settlem ent agree
m ent w ith B H C -Pacific G atew ay
H ospital and Providence H ealth
System after a filing a negligence
claim.
P ortland police shot and killed
M ejia, 29, w ho the fam ily says suf
fered an epileptic seizure, on A pril
1, 2001, after he escaped from a
seclusion room at BHC-Pacific G ate
w ay psychiatric hospital. H e had
threatened officers w ith a 40-inch
alum inum bar.
P o lice o ffic e rs on the scen e
d e c id e d jo in tly to u se d e a d ly
force, ev en th o u g h M ejia p o se d
no re a listic th re a t, the la w su it
c o n te n d s .
A grand ju ry cleared the officers
o f w rongdoing, and also found sig
nificant safety lapses at the ho sp i
tal. The com plaint also alleges that
K roeker and the officers violated
the A m ericans with Disabilities Act.
Last fall, K roeker w as sharply
criticized by L atino activists after
aw arding m edals to the police o ffic
ers for their actions in the fatal
shooting.
Spanish-Language
Job Listings Added
T he O reg o n E m p lo y m en t D e
U sers can see the new Spanish
partm ent currently provides m any jo b listings by clicking the ‘Espanol ’
se rv ic e s to H isp an ic cu sto m e rs link.
in th e ir ow n lan g u ag e .
In the p ast, o n ly jo b title s w ere
N ow en tire jo b listin g s on the tra n sla te d . N ow the en tire jo b
d e p a rtm e n t’s
w e b s i t e , o rd e r a p p e a rs in S p an ish . M any
www .W orklnglnOregon.org. a re H isp an ic jo b se e k e rs are ab le to
tra n sla te d in to S p an ish . T he s e r sp eak en o u g h E n g lish to g et and
vice utilizes a state o f the art c o m h o ld a jo b . but the a b ility to read
p u te r tra n sla tio n p ro g ram along the jo b listin g in S p an ish g reatly
w ith a cu sto m iz e d d ic tio n a ry o f en h an ces th e ir ab ility to find su it
term s.
a b le w ork.
YOU’VE HEARD ABOUT US,
NO W COME KICK IT WITH US!
24 SEVEN CAR CLUB
PRESENTS...
SPRING FLING 2003,
WHEN: SUNDAY, MARCH 23, 2003
WHERE: BOOKIES SPORTS BAR
736 NORTH LOMBARD STREET
PORTLAND, OR
TIME: 8:00 PM-UNTIL WITH DJ J-SMOOTH
TICKETS: $10 EACH OR $15 AT THE DOOR
Mexicana Airlines Expands Service to Portland
Residents o f O regon and south
west W ashington will soon, and for
the first time ever, have regularly
scheduled nonstop air service to
Mexico.
M exicana A irlines announced
last w eek plans to begin new n o n
stop service as early as M ay b e
tw een Portland International A ir
port and G uadalajara w ith direct
service to M exico City and M orelia.
The flight will operate on T hurs
days, Fridays and Saturdays using
M ex ican a’s new A irbus A 319 air
craft w ith a capacity o f 120 passen
gers, arriving at PD X at noon and
departing at 1:30 p.m.
“This is a fantastic new op p o rtu
nity for travelers from O regon and
Southw est W ashington, and we
ow e a great debt o f gratitude to
M exicana Airlines,” said Bill Wyatt,
Port o f Portland Executi ve Director. ters and calls encouraging us to pro
‘T h is new air service offers a tre vide thi s air service, and we are proud
m endous conven ien ce and tim e to now be part o f your com m unity.”
savings for travelers at P D X .”
“W hile M exicana’s new service
“W e have been im pressed with w ill especially benefit those visit
the strong sense o f com m unity that ing fam ily and friends, it also facili
ex ists in th e g re a te r P o rtla n d / tates travel and trade opportunities
V ancouver region,” said A ntonio for regional com panies looking to
Martinez, M exicana Airlines Execu expand internationally," said G ale
tive Vice President o f Sales & M ar C astillo , H ispanic M etropolitan
keting. “W e have received many let- C ham ber Executive Director.
5 s " Or informative
,robably saw It in...
call to
advertise:
503.288.0033
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
BOB 503-284-6149
LISA 503-335-7967
*HELP SAVE ”P IL SPORTS" WITH YOUR
DONA TION A T THE DOOR.
Portland’s diversity newspaper
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placement and visibility. Our in-house design staff will construct your ad
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TICKET LOCATIONS:
BOOKIES SPORTS BAR, DORIS'S CAFE
GENEVA'S, KAY KAY BARBER SHOP
AFFORDABLE YEARLY SUBSCRIPTIO N S AVAILABLE.
Contact us at 503.288.0033 with your name and address info.