5Qrf International Cast Peace Festival Cirque du Soleil brings spectacle to Portland Youth push for social change and free expression See story in Focus, Page B3 See story, Page A8 City of Roses JSnrtlanff O bserver Established in 1970 www.portlandobsen vvww.pQrtlandobserver.com Committed to Cultural Diversity Volume XXXIII • Number 40 ^.Weekin TheReview Wednesday • October 01, 2003 | / want to bring City Hall back to the people... we have to make sure public servants work fo r us. — Mayoral Candidate James Posey CIA Leak Leads to Probe The Justice D epa rtm e nt has launched a c rim in a l investiga nvisioning a tier Portland tion in to w h o m ay have leaked the classified id en tity o f a C IA operative. The operative is the w ife o f Joseph W ilson, a form er U.S. diplom at w ho had cast doubt on intelligence that President Bush cited as a reason Iraq posed a threat to the U nited States. W ilso n says the leak came from the W h ite House. Iraq Deadline Doubts Iraqis are u n lik e ly to adopt a new photo by c o n stitu tio n w ith in six months, as proposed by Secretary o f State fc o lin P ow ell, a spokesman fo r M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver Business owner James Posey says he ’s running for mayor to bring political power to the people. the president o f the Iraqi G o v erning C o u n cil said Tuesday. •» * Huffington May Back Davis Independent candidate A ria nn a H u ffin g to n is considering d ro p p in g out o f the C a lifo rn ia recall ’ e le ctio n and endorsing G ov. G ray D avis, a newspaper re ported Tuesday. M eanw hile, the sp ira lin g cost o f w o rkers’ co m pensation has emerged as a hot- button issue in the debate over the econom y and keeping b u si nesses fro m leaving the state. Pope Increasingly Frail A ilin g Pope John Paul II is “ in a bad w a y,” one o f his closest advisers said in a published in terview , c a llin g on the fa ith fu l to pray fo r him . James Posey outlines agenda in run for mayor He explains his reasons fo r running as sim p ly p ro v id in g voters w ith an op tion he hasn't fou nd him self. “ Y o u vote fo r people you thought w o uld B y J aymee R. C uti T he P ortland O bserver the needs o f his com m unity. A northeast Portland resident fo r 22 years, he curre ntly owns tw o sm all businesses. W orkhorse C onstruction M etro Inc. and im plem ent programs that w o u ld change the E liot E-mat C aft. Formerly, Posey has worked dynam ics o f the com m unity and you come to as a probation o ffic e r, drug treatment and the conclusion that no one w ill do it and you mental health counselor, and com m u nity center and health center executive director. leadership are diffe re nt— radically different and good fo r the com m unity. have to push forth the agenda,” he said. Posey’sdifference is something fe w p o liti- cians brag about: his inexperience in office. “ Professional p o liticia n s hold allegiance A cco rd in g to Posey, w ho w ill announce his in te ntio n to become P ortland’ s next to special interests, have the ir eye on the next o ffic e and the next election,” said Posey m ayor at press conference at C ity H a ll on F riday, c ity residents are fed up w ith busi o f his com petition. A lth o u g h his o ffic e h a l .iever beeh in Portland. He is a m em ber o fth e C o a litio n o f B la ck M en and the N ational B lack Chamber ofCommerce. O f the m any changes he has in store fo r ness as usual. C ity H a ll, Posey is not inexperienced w ith the city, Posey plans to return the balance o f James Posey says his ideas about c ity Ranks of Uninsured Rise He has been in vo lve d w ith the National A s s o c ia tio n o f M in o r it y C o n tra c to rs , N A A C P , Urban League, and the C ity C lub o f pow er to the people. “ I w ant to b rin g C ity H a ll back to the people,” he said. “ W e have to make sure p u blic servants w o rk fo r us.” Posey said that w h ile c ity governm ent o ffic ia ls ta lk the d ive rsity talk, th e ir w o rk force remains a hom ogenously pale. He ex tends his d e fin itio n o f d ive rsity to include gender and sexual orientation. A cco rd in g to Posey, his approach to d i versity is no-nonsense. I f managers can’t fin d ways to em ploy people o f diverse back grounds, the y’ re not succeeding in their jobs, and they w ill be replaced. continued y f on page ,48 «■ The ranks o f the m edically un in sured swelled by 2.4 m illio n last year as insurance costs kept ris ing and m ore Americans lost their jo bs and health care coverage. Record Industry Settles The recording industry says it has settled 52 ofthe 2 6 1 suits filed against Internet users accused o f . ille g a lly perm itting downloads from their computers. Women Smokers Left Out T w o years after the surgeon general issued a report c a llin g sm o k in g a le ad ing k ille r o f wom en, state governments are fa ilin g to adequately address the problem , according to a study by an advocacy group. Laura Bush Boasts Books Laura Bush lamented the hours each day that the average A m e ri can c h ild watches te le visio n du rin g a v is it to a book festival Laying Down Arms Gun turn-in event promotes safer homes eos, restaurant m eals o r tic k e ts to a T r a il B lazers game. Since the b e g in n in g o f the p ro g ra m . C easefire O regon has m elte d d o w n 5,600 handguns and rifle s . M em bers o f the Ceasefire O r “ I t w o u ld be w o n d e rfu l to get egon E du catio n F o un da tion say to 6 ,0 0 0 ,” W h e e le r said. th e y c a n ’ t lo o k past the sta tis T he T u m -in event begins at tic th a t a fire a rm in the hom e is 10 a.m. W ednesday, O ct. 1 at the 23 tim e s m ore lik e ly to in ju re a F irs t U n ite d M e th o d is t C h urch fa m ily m em ber o r frie n d than it F ireside Room at Southwest 18Ih C easefire O regon is sponsor in g fire a rm s fro m 10 a.m. to 2 in g its 10 ,h annual eve n t to d is p.m . on S aturday, O ct. 4. The Lutheran Center for Christian Ministries at Northeast Skidmore and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard will serve as a collection site Saturday for Ceasefire of Oregon ’s annual gun tum-in event. F o r m ore in fo rm a tio n v is it a rm th e c i t y ’ s s tre e ts and hom es, in exchange fo r cou w w w .c e a s e fire o re g o n .o rg o r pons, go od fo r gro cerie s, v id - call 503-220-1669. photo by M ark W ashington / T he P ortland O bserver is to p ro te c t them . A v e n u e and J e ffe rs o n . T h e “ W e b e lie ve hom es are safer L u th e ra n C e nter fo r C h ris tia n w ith o u t fire a rm s ,” said v o lu n M in is trie s , at 42 19 N .E . M a rtin L u th e r K in g Jr. B lv d ., is c o lle c t teer J u lie W heeler. in M osco w , u rg in g U.S. parents to turn o f f the tube and pick up a book w ith the ir kids. Proudly Representing Home Court Looks at Death Row The Supreme Court agreed Tues- day to use the case o f a man w ho m urdered 13 people in a 1982 shooting rampage in Pennsyl Miss Oregon contestant values roots and being a role model vania to determ ine whether doz In fact, she says she doesn't even th in k about the other contestants. that none o f those things are true,” she said. “ I ’ ve done a lo t o f preparation, and I years ago, her m other has sewn her dresses learned in the past that you can’t w o n y and did her makeup u n til she could apply her own. H er m other was no novice to the glam our ens o f o ld death sentences, o r more, should be throw n out. ab ou t w h a t a n yb o d y else does,” said M cK en zie , a northeast Portland native and Benson H ig h school graduate " I t 'd be nice to w in , but i f I don’t, I ’ ll keep trying ‘ til I d o ." M cK e n zie compares com peting in pag teaches eighth grade at W h ita ke r M id d le School. M cK en zie said that in a sense, she alw ays had a penchant fo r broadcast jo u rn a lism . “ M y parents always to ld me I ta lk a lo t, so I figu red I ’d use m y G od -g ive n talent, being o f the stage. Both M c K e n z ie ’s m other and com fortable in fro n t o f audiences," she said. grandm other are fo rm e r beauty queens, and The pageants have opened m any doors fo r M cK enzie, such as connecting her to a 1 Diversity in a racial sum m er internship w ith the Portland Fire Bureau’s tele visio n services. N e tw o rk in g T w e n ty - y e a r - o ld c o lle g e s tu d e n t Sharitha M cK en zie says no m atter how far sional, w ith m ore than 10 com petitions dot sense, but also a diversity o f thoughts and ideas people have. ting her resume, and sashes reading M iss she goes in life , northeast Portland w ill -Sharitha McKenzie A m erican Starlet, Rose Festival Ambassa dor, M iss B lack and G old, and first runner up M cKenzie. She recalls an in cide nt w h ile she was at a her sister and niece com pete as w ell. college m edia conference in D allas, when in last yea r’s M iss O regon U S A pageant. She says she entered the w orld o f voice B ut ju s t as beauty is hereditary, so is a d iscip lin e fo r education. other participants were “ so astonished they met a black g irl from O regon.” Sharitha McKenzie by J aymee R. C uti T he P ortland O bserver always be her home. M cK en zie , a ju n io rjo u m a lis m student at the U n iv e rs ity o f O regon, has the c o n fi dence and enthusiasm to fuel her dreams o f becom ing M iss O regon U SA. She says that w ith the com p etitio n o n ly weeks away, on O ct. 24, she doesn’ t feel nervous. I eants to another o f her passions— running track. “ I f y o u ’ re in lane four, you can’ t w o rry Since M cK en zie began com peting six about w h a t’ s going on in lane eight,” she says. Today, M cK en zie is a pageant profes coaches, makeup artist professionals and designer gowns w ith the same prejudices that m any hold. “ I thought they were air-headed and su pe rficia l. I found out through participating ♦ aside, M cK e n zie says she likes to represent her com m u nity in a broader spectrum. “ I especially lik e sh o w in g black w o m en that anything is possible, because yo u d o n ’ t see a lo t o f m in o ritie s in that fie ld ," said Both o f M c K e n z ie 's parents are educa “ I kno w that people have m isconceptions tors in the Portland P ublic School district, and guided her to challenge herself. Her father, Leon, is a co u n cilo r and coach at and one o f those is there ’ s no people o f c o lo r Benson H ig h School and her mother, Grace, in Oregon. I ju s t laughed because I kne w that continued y f on page A8