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Career Paths Join at Charming Shop
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Ahmire’s pampers the soul on Northeast Alberta
See Diversity in the Workplace, Page B3
‘City of Roses
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r r* « U I :^ L „ J
Volume XXXIII • Number 33
T,Weekin
TheReview
I 1
Big Name,
Little Experience
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s leap
into the recall campaign against
Gov. Gray Davis gives the Re­
publican Party a candidate with
name recognition that is second
to none - but also one with little
previous political experience.
im n
. ■
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Wednesday • August 13. 2003
Agent Orange Plagues
Vietnam
Waterfront
Plans Sidestep
Disadvantaged
Massive city venture
fails to promote minority
and women workers
' We’re dying
from preventable
diseases.
- Corliss Me Keevor, president
of the African American
Health Coalition
/ /
African American Health
Coalition President Corliss
Me Keever makes plans
for the Sept. 6 Wellness
Walk to promote a healthy
community.
Do-Gooder Returns Cash
Children whose loved ones died
in the attack on the World Trade
Center will help recite names o f J
the nearly 2,800 victims during a
ceremony marking the two year
anniversary o f the Sept. 11 ter­
rorist attacks
■ ■
w w w .portlandobserver.com
Liberian Leader Flees
9/11 Anniversary
Ceremony
*
Established in 1970
C o a litio n S h in e s L ig h t
o n C o m m u n ity H e a lth
Vowing “I will be back,” Charles
Taylor flew into exile Monday,
leaving Liberia in ruins after his
14-year fight for power, and a
. new president to deal with rebels
laying siege to the capital. Three
U.S. warships briefly appeared
in view ofTMonrovia within min­
utes o fT aylor’s ceding power to
his vice president, Moses Blah.
F ledgling rockers generally
don’t make much money, so
when a good Samaritan found
and returned $7,000 belonging
to pop-punk band Eleventeen,
he was smothered with thanks.
■2
*
Stage set for
Northeast Portland
Wellness Walk
Final details are in place for the first
Wellness Within REACH W alk,” ex­
pected to draw more than 500 people to the
streets o f north and northeast Portland.
The Saturday, Sept. 6 event is an effort
by the African American Health Coalition
to encourage area residents to exercise
and improve their overall health.
photo by M ark
W ashington /
T he P ortland O bserver
1
Cardiovasculardisease is the number one
killerof African Americans in Oregon. Health
records show black Americans are twice as
likely to die from a stroke and almost one and
a hal f times as likely to die from a heart attack
than white Americans.
“W e’redying from preventable diseases,”
said Corliss Me Keever, president o f the
African American Health Coalition.
The idea behind the Wellness Walk is to
shine a light on the issue. Area health provid­
ers have pledged their support to the effort.
“When I learned about the African Ameri­
can Health Coalition and what it was doing
in this community to combat death and
disease I was excited to get involved,”
said Baruti Artharee, Providence regional
director ofdiversity initiatives for Oregon.
“Anytime you can increase awareness on
the issues o f health is a positive and the
African American Health Coalition is ac­
tually getting people moving.”
The event will begin and end at Dawson
Park across from Legacy Emanuel Hospi­
tal in north Portland. Registration the day
o f the event is at 8 a.m. The walk includes
continued
on page A3
Decades after the wartime defo­
liant Agent Orange was sprayed
over Vietnam, toxic chemicals
continue to contaminate Viet­
namese people and the food they
eat, according to a new study.
by L ee P erlman
T he P ortland O bserver
The city’s largest development project
should have included minority and women
construction workers and contractors, a
group o f advocates contend.
The $ 1.5 billion South WaterfrontCentral
District project, a joint venture o f Oregon
Health and Sciences University, developer
Homer Williams and the Portland Develop­
ment Commission, will occupy 30 acres o f
formerly industrial land along Southwest
Macadam Avenue and include a satellite
bio-research campus and more than 2,200
housing units.
The Portland Gity Council is expected to
act on the controversial proposal Thursday.
Local neighborhood groups are unhappy
with the prospect ofbuildings up to 325 feet
high cutting o ff views o f the river, an aerial
tram for transportation to OSHU passing
overhead and traffic clogging roads. Critics
also question if PDC’s proposed $109 mil­
lion contribution is money well spent. They
wonder if plans to make the site a national
medical research center are realistic.
A coalition called Metropolitan Alliance
for the Common Good, composed primarily
o f church-related groups, housing advo­
cates and labor unions, wants to be sure that
at least some o f the housing is affordable
and that the project’s 5,000 construction
jobs will offer living wages.
Bui Ider Andre Baugh argues that some o f
those jobs to go to minority and women
workers and contractors.
Baugh spoke on behalf o f the African-
American ChamberofCommerce, the Native
American Chamber o f Commerce, the His­
panic Metropolitan Chamber ofCom m erce
and the African American Federation o f
continued
on page A3
Parks
Host
Summer
Field
Day!
High Cost of Post-War
The U.S. bill for rebuilding Iraq
and maintaining security there
is widely expected to far exceed
the w ar’s price tag, and some
private analysts estimate it could
reach as high as $600 billion.
Students Get Health
Report Card
A school program that sends
home health report cards with
student weight and fitness in­
formation has helped get par­
ents o f overweight children in­
volved in trying to address the
problem, a study found.
Students and mentors from
north and northeast
Portland enjoy some time at
the park as the last weeks
o f summer vacation wind
down. The Portland Parks
and Recreation ‘Rec 'N'
Roll'bus met the field day
participants from both the
University Park and Matt
Dishman Community
Centers.
P hoto by M ark W ashing -
P ortland O bserver
ton /T he
■»
F a ilin g O regon Schools L ist R elea sed
Portland high schools
do not meet standards
More than 360 schools in Oregon, includ­
ing every public high school in Portland and
six north and northeast Portland middle
1
I
schools, have been told they need to im­
prove student performance or face a range of
consequences mandated by the federal gov­
ernment.
Rigler and Sitton Elementary schools in
north and northeast Portland also placed on
the low-achieving schools list. The area's
I
middle schools with failing grades are
Fem w ood. G regory Heights, W hitaker.
George, Ockley Green and Tubman.
The designations were made under the
new federal “N oC hild Left Behind" law.
Schools that fail two years in a row would
have to pay transportation costs for stu­
dents who want transfer to higher-achiev­
ing schools. After six years o f stagnation,
teachers and principals could lose their jobs.
This year, only about 40 percent o f stu­
dents were required to score at or above
continued
on page A3