T, Week ¡n
TheReview
LAYOFF LEAVES 88 BLAZERS EMPLOYEES JOBLESS
Push For Head Start Reform
President Bush called M onday
for im provem ents in the H ead
Start program , declarin g it vital
to the c o u n try ’s future that 1
m illion 3- and 4-year-olds from
low -incom e fam ilies have the
learn in g sk ills n ecessary for
school. S upporting pro p o sals
that are draw ing som e con tro ­
versy, Bush and H ouse R epub­
licans w ant to give a handful o f
states the option o f taking over
H ead Start program s now d i­
rected by the federal Departm ent
o f H ealth and H um an Services.
C ritics fear a declin in g federal
role will result in a low ering o f
standards. A lm ost 7 0 p e rc e n to f
children enrolled in H ead Start
are m inorities, including about a
third w ho are black.
Bush African Tour Skips
Suffering Countries
President Bush departed on an
A frican tour w ith planned visits
to n a tio n s th a t h a v e m a d e
progress in dem ocratic and eco­
nom ic developm ent. F our o f the
five countries the p resident in­
tends to visit - S enegal, South
A frica, B otsw ana and N igeria -
are led by elected governm ents.
U ganda has m ade progress in
reducing the A ID S infection rate.
B u sh 's trip com es at a tim e o f
severe hum anitarian crises in
L iberia and C ongo. But he w o n ’t
be stopping in those nations.
Kobe May Face Charges
Prosecutors m et w ith sh eriff's
o ffic ia ls M onday to d iscu ss
w hether to file charges against
K obe B ryant, w ho is accused o f
sexual ly assaulting a w om an at a
hotel near Vail. The 24-year-old
L os A ngeles L akers’ star su r­
rendered to authorities and was
released after posting a $25,000
bond, the Eagle C ounty s h e riffs
office said. B ryant’s law yer says
her client is innocent.
photo by
M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver
Trail Blazers President Steve Patterson and Executive Vice President Erin Hubert discuss the 30 percent reduction Of Blazers and Oregon Arena staff.
bv J avmee R. C uti /T he P ortland
O bserver
Portland T rail B lazers President Steve
Patterson said laying o f f 30 percent o f the
B lazers’ frontoffice and O regon A renaCorp.
w ork force w as “not unlike w h a t’s going on
all o v er corporate A m erica."
Patterson and Executive V ice President
Erin H ubert announced layoffs o f 88 em -
ployees. A t a press co n ference Tuesday,
Patterson said, “T h ere co u ld have been
m ore," and confirm ed that a change in player
personnel w as not out o f the question.
“W e 're not going to have a $ 105 m illion
roster,” Patterson said, referring to the Blaz­
e rs’ payroll.
H ubert said all em ployees w ere offered
jo b placem ent support and “g enerous” sev-
erance and benefits packages. She said em ­
ployees w ere w arned m onths ago that jo b
and w age freezes had not done enough to
correct a business she described as “o v er­
staffed.”
Sources say em ployees w ere inform ed o f
the m eetings announcing layoff via a co m ­
pany-w ide e-m ail and several em ployees
w ere told to clean out their desks by lunch­
time.
“No departm ent w as im m une," said M ike
H anson, spokesm an for the Blazers.
He sited “efficiency" and “stream lining”
as reasons for the corporate slaughter.
“ B ased on our entire business m odel,
w e ’re looking strategically to do business
better in the future,” he said.
Military Experts in Liberia
WMMM
A team o f U.S. military experts
a rriv ed in L ib eria to a ssess
w hether to deploy troops as part
o f a peacekeeping force that would
restore order to a nation tom by
civil war. Helicopters brought the
experts, wearing arm or and some
carrying assault w eapons, to the
U.S. Embassy compound in Liberia
- a w est African nation founded in
the 19th century by freed A m eri­
can slaves. Liberian President
C harles Taylor, beset by rebels
and indicted by a U .N.-backed
w ar crim es court in Sierra Leone,
said he w ould step dow n and take
exile in Nigeria, but urged the
United States to send peacekeep­
ers to ensure an orderly transi­
tion. Nearly one th irdo fL ib eria’s
3 million people have been forced
from their homes by fighting since
rebels took up arm s against T ay­
lorin 1999.
Health Care for All
nr
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•
P
Damon Stoudamire
Stoudamire
Busted
Blazer’s President
comes down hard on
Stoudamire with fines,
suspension, rehab and
rumors of a trade
Caption: Health Care for All organized a rally supporting universal health care last Thursday. Participants marched from
Pioneer Courthouse Square to hear speakers at Terry Shrunk Park and finally to Sen. Gordon Smith s office, delivering a
petition supporting their cause.
No Suspect for North Portland Shooting
by Jaym ee R. C uti/The Portland O bserver
T w o A frican-A m erican m en w ere found
w ith gunshot w ounds on N orth L om bard
Street, n ear N orth Stanford A venue at 2 a.m.
Saturday.
I
M m
I
T w enty-five-year-old Jam esC urtis West,
Jr. and A aron D eon D onald, 27, did not
appear to have shot each other, according to
police arriving at the scene.
The P olice D epartm ent has n o suspects.
but say the shooting w as possibly gang-
related. W est and D onald w ere taken to
Legacy Em anuel H ospital. W est, w hose in­
juries are m ore dire than D o n ald ’s, rem ains
in critical condition.
(A P) — D am on S toudam ire w as a r­
rested on m arijuana charges at a T ucson
airport last w eek after allegedly trying to
pass through an airport m etal d etecto r
w ith alm o st 1 1/2 ounces o f the d n ig
w rapped in alum inum foil.
T h e te a m im m e d ia te ly s u s p e n d e d
Stoudam ire and fined him $250,000, He
w as charged w ith possession o f m ari­
ju an a and possession o f drug p arap h er­
nalia, both m isdem eanors.
S toudam ire w as released on his ow n
recognizance and is to appear in court July
25. He could face a sentence o f up to $2,500
in fines and unsupervised probation on
each charge.
continued
on page A 9