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Festival to Bloom
American IdolT
Rose Festival begins Thursday,
'Good in the 'Hood ’ on deck
Entertainment winner
coming to Portland
See Metro section, inside
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____ I i -
‘City of Roses’
Volume X X X III •
See Focus, Page B3
in - r n
__________ . i -
Established In 1970
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Number 22
AVeek in
Th'Review
Canada Eases Possession
Canada proposed a new m a ri­
_i _ i
vvww.portlandobserver.com
Wednesday • M ay 2 8 . 2 0 0 3
United for Justice
juana la w Tuesday that w o u ld
elim in ate a crim in a l record fo r
Marchers
demand police
accountability
possession o f sm all amounts
w h ile sp e n d in g m illio n s to
spread an anti-pot message. U.S.
o ffic ia ls have warned the m ove
could lead to tigh ter border se­
cu rity to prevent more Canadian-
grow n m arijuana from entering
the country. U nder the measure
introduced in Parliam ent, get­
BY W Y N D E D Y E R
T he P ortland O bserver
Overcast skies d id not cool the s p irit o f
marchers w ho gathered Saturday to call out
fo r ju stice in the name o fK e n d ra James, a 21 -
ting caught w ith 15 grams - about
h a lf an ounce - o r less o f m ari­
juana w o u ld bring a citation akin
to a tra ffic ticket, not a crim in a l
year-old m other shot by police, and to de­
m and changes in O regon’ s law on the use o f
record.
deadly force.
The most c u ltu ra lly diverse march and
ra lly in years, started at A lb erta Park at noon
Family Leave Expanded
The Supreme C ourt upheld the
rights o f state workers under a
w ith signs reading “ Police Justice N o w " and
federal law guaranteeing tim e o f f
“ Stop the K illin g " and speeches b y various
re ligiou s and co m m u n ity leaders.
to care fo r children o r a ilin g rela­
tiv e s , a d e pa rtu re fro m the
Sen. MargaretCarterandSen. A velG o rdly,
co u rt's line o f cases that expand
both A fric a n A m ericans from north and
state rights at the expense o f
northeast Portland, vow ed to w o rk w ith in
federal power o r laws passed by
Congress. State employees can
the Legislature to b rin g the state’ s outdated
deadly force law up to par w ith other states.
sue in federal court to enforce
Ig n o rin g the verbal taunts from m ostly
their rights under the F am ily and
M edical Leave A ct. The ru lin g
peaceful protestors - in clu d in g one from a
man wearing a pig snout, m otor police guided
the m arch dow n K illin g s w o rth Street where
upholds the reach o f the 1993
supporters cheered from the ir yards and
porches and held posters reading “ G od Bless
Kendra James.”
law, w h ich grants 12 weeks o f
unpaid leave fo r fa m ily emer­
gencies o r the b irth o r adoption
o fc h ild re n .
Drivers Admit Road Risks
A m a jo rity o fd riv e rs adm it they
ro u tin e ly speed, eat o r even read
w h ile d riv in g in a new p o ll de­
signed to measure drive rs’ a tti­
tudes about safety. N inety-one
percent o f drivers o f all ages
acknow ledged at least one risky
a c tiv ity in the p re v io u s six
P hoto by M ichael L eighton /T he P ortland O bserver
Rev. Benny Moore prays for justice on North Skidmore Street at the conclusion o f a march for justice Saturday In memory of
Kendra James, the 21-year-old mother shot and killed May 5 during a traffic stop on the Skidmore overpass. A crowd
estimated at between 1,500 and 2,000 attended the rally.
28 percent w ho wore no seatbelt.
Fourteen percent adm itted to
reading w h ile d rivin g .
B y : J aymee R .C vti
T he P ortland O bserver
cent w ho used a cell phone and
continued
on page A
African Americans Point to Flawed System
Deadly force policy
called vague
and outdated
m onths, in clu d in g 59 percent
w ho ate w h ile d riv in g ; 37 per­
Led by a tru ck fu ll o f gospel singers and
church dignitaries, marchers jo in e d in the
Le ad ersofP o rtland’s A frica n -A m e rica n
Iraq Firefight Fatalities
Gunm en opened fire on A m e ri­
can troops at a checkpoint early
Tuesday, k illin g tw o U.S. sol­
com m u nity are attacking a p o lice bureau
p o lic y on deadly force that leading c rim i­
nologists have called vague and outdated.
A M ultn om a h C o un ty G rand Jury de­
cided last week that Portland Police O ffic e r
diers and w ounding nine others
in the troubled tow n o f F allujah
Scott M c C o llis te r acted w ith in the law , and
- a hotbed o f support fo r Saddam
Hussein's fallen Baath Party, the
U.S. m ilita ry said. U.S. troops
w o u ld not face crim in a l charges fo r the M a y
5 shooting death o f Kendra James, a 21-
year-old A frica n -A m e rica n mother.
The James fa m ily has file d an intent to sue
returned fire, k illin g tw o attack­
ers and capturing six Iraqis fo r
questioning.
to c ity fo r w ro n g fu l death. T hey have up to
one year to file the c iv il suit.
Ken W alker, the James fa m ily attorney,
said the fa m ily has not decided on a d o lla r
figu re on damages, but they have an interest
$330B In Tax Cuts Passes
Congress gave its fin a l approval
Friday to $330 b illio n in new tax
cuts fo r fam ilies, investors and
in w ith w o rk in g w ith the po lice c h ie f to
businesses, handing President
Bush a v ic to ry despite sharply
c u rta ilin g his plan fo r liftin g the
econom y from its knees. The
change the bureau’s deadly force po licy.
Police C h ie fM a rk Kroeker told W alker he
w o u ld meet w ith the fa m ily after the depart­
R e p u b lic a n -le d Senate ap ­
m ent concludes its internal investigation.
In addition, prom inent A frica n Am erican
proved the measure by 51-50,
w ith V ice President D ick Cheney
com m u nity groups, in clu d in g the N A A C P ,
the Urban League, the A fric a n A m erican
P hoto by M ichael L eighton /T he P ortland O bserver
casting the decisive vote.
continued
Bambi Thompson holds up a sign asking for justice in the police shooting death ofKendra James. 'Just because you do
drugs doesn ’f mean you have to die for it - at least not at the hands o f the police,' Thompson said.
on page A3
Yesterday’s Blues Showcase
4
Blues legend
keeps on
strumming
Blues fans have a chance to pay
homage to the legends that helped
Rcda on bass and Jim i B ott on drums.
recognized names in Blues, Lo ckw o od
has been honored w ith the National
“ H a w k e y e ” H erm an w ill open the
A c o u s tic
g u it a r is t
M ic h a e l
eve ning’ s festivities.
Herm an earned a place in blues h is­
to ry b y pioneering the national Blues in
H armonica ace Johnny D yer w i 11 also
perform at the showcase. O rig in a lly
from the S tova ll P lantation on the M is ­
the Schools program , fo r w h ich he was
aw arded the M em phis-based Blues
award in 1998.
L o ckw o o d Jr. o f T urkey Scratch. A rk.,
sissippi D elta, D ye r developed a pas­
sion fo r the harm onica, earning him a
one o f the firs t rural musicians to use an
electric guitar.
prom inent place am ong the harm onica
elite.
p.m. at the Portland A rt M useum 's M usic
T h is y e a r’s head lin er is R obert
<
guitar, D avid Vest on keyboards, A lb e rt
sides pe rfo rm in g w ith m any o f the most
Heritage Fellow ship, the highest award
case on F riday, M ay 30, at the Portland
A r t M useum.
»
R o u n din go ut this all-star lineup w ill
be P ortland’ s ow n Peter Dam m an on
given by A m erican people fo r w o rk in
the arts
shape the sound o f today’ s blues at the
fou rth annual W illam ette Delta S how ­
Legendary blues artist Robert Lockwood Jr. will
perform at the fourth annual Willamette Delta
Showcase Friday at the Portland Art Museum
Even at 88-years-old, L o ckw o od is
one o f the fe w blues players to w o rk
e xclu sive ly w ith a 12-string guitar. Be­
I
Foundation's Keeping the Blues A liv e
The m usical showcase begins at 8
Stage at 1119S.W . Park A ve.
I