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