Grading Neighborhoods Coalition looks at heath issues, local eyesores See front Metro section, inside serlu'r wvvvv.portlandobserver.com ‘City of Roses' Committed to Cultural Diversity Volume XXXIII • Number 47 O re g o n Schwarzenegger to Repeal Illegal Immigrants’ Licenses C a lif o r n ia ’s n ew g o v e rn o r . 1 s'JrJ:M'ngry A rnold S c h w arzen eg g er, has called the state legislature back into a special session Tuesday. Schw arzenegger w ants law m ak ers to reform w orkers’ co m p en sation law, deal with the budget deficit and repeal a bill granting d riv e r's lic e n se s to u n d o c u mented im migrants. Food shortages, low donations hurt Court Passes on Affirmative Action Case Fresh o ff a divisive case involv ing affirm ative action in college adm issions, a divided Suprem e Court refused to consider the constitutionality o f a D enver law that gives m inority- and fem ale- o w n e d c o n tr a c to r s a b e tte r chance at w inning som e co n tracts. Protests Planned Over Bush’s U.K. Visit President Bush brought a force ful defense o f the Iraq invasion to skeptical B ritons on Tuesday, arguing that w ar is som etim es necessary when certain values are threatened. B u sh 's three-day visit prom ised contrasting pic tures o f elegant cerem onies at B uckingham Palace and noisy street protests by thousands o f anti-w ar dem onstrators. First Woman Gov. Elected In La. Kathleen Blanco, m oving past Wednesday • November 19. 2003 photo by M ark W ashington /T hk P ortland O bserver Tisha Stigler, a sales manager at the US Bank on Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, donates a bag o f groceries to needy Oregonians. Area residents are being encouraged to donate to the Oregon Food Bank at US Bank offices and Jiffy Lube locations through December. W hile so many local residents are count ing their blessings at the start o f this holiday season, new data indicates that much of O regon is hungry and food donations are at an all-tim e low. U.S. Dept. o f A griculture figures indicate that O regon's hunger and food insecurity rates rem ain high com pared to the nation as a whole. The data indicates that 13.7 percent o f O regon households were "food insecure" at tim es during the past year. M ichael Leachm an, policy analyst forthe O regon C enter for Public Policy, said the data show s that in five percent o f Oregon households, food insecurity was so severe that one or more household m em bers went hungry at som e point during the year. O regon had the second highest hunger rate in the nation, slightly behind Oklahom a. Leachm an called on Gov. Ted Kulongoski and other policy m akers to stay focused on reducing hunger until it is clear substantial progress is made. A rea residents can help reduce hunger by donating to the O regon Food Bank w here collections are at the w orst level in years. V olunteers hope to collect 125,000 pounds o f food through D ecem ber by accepting grocery bags filled with nonper ishable food items at any US Bank branch and Jiffy Lube location in M ultnom ah, Clackamas, W ashington, Yamhill, Marion, Polk and Clark counties. The food bank is also gathering experi enced chefs and advanced home cooks w ho are willing to share their expertise by teaching cooking and nutrition classes to low -incom e individuals. O regon Fixxl Bank offers nutrition edu cation classes to com m unity agencies, focusing on healthy eating habits, cook ing from scratch, nutrition basics, fixxl handling and menu planning on a lim ited budget. To volunteer at the O regon Fixxl Bank or for m ore inform ation about hunger in O regon, visit w w w .oregonfoodbank.org orcall 503-282-0555. th e v ic to r y th a t m a d e h e r L ouisiana's first fem ale gover nor, has begun sketching out her plans for health care, education and econom ic developm ent. Bush Says U.S. In Iraq for Duration A day after the Iraq w ar’s dead liest single incident, President Bush on Sunday m ourned the A m ericans ki I led but said neither escalating violence, a changing political scene nor new threats will hasten the U .S. ex it from Iraq. Blazers Harvest Dinner Builds Community Ties A Trail Blazers harvest dinner brings a Thanksgiving-style dinner, including turkey, ham, stuffing, mashed potatoes and desserts, to nearly 4,000 people. The guests were invited to the table by 50 community agencies, including Central City Concern, Portland Rescue Mission, Loaves and Fishes and Albina Head Start. WTC Memorial Designs Displayed The public will get its first look this week at the design p ropos als for w hat could becom e the m ost-visited m em orial in the world - the victim s’ m onum ent planned for the W orld T rade C enter site. GOP Medicare Plan Rejected by Dems. Choke Hold Kills New Copper Penny Patron Death follows struggle with bar bouncer P resident Bush and c o n g re s sional R epublican leaders are selling their new M edicare p re scription drug plan, but so far, not many D em ocrats are buying. â>g o -7 o o c o on C i a '2 © i- Q¿ > Q •¡s —> C - S s 3 s .£ .2 ? g & c c □ - UJ photo by I I M ark W ashing ton TT he P ortland O bserver (A P) — A man w ho died after a stru g g le w ith a b o u n cer at a popular bar in the Lents neighbor hood o f southeast P ortland w as strangled, according to the state m edical ex am in er’s office. N afatali T afito R u sia’s death has been ruled a hom icide, but no arrests have been m ade, and po lice continue to investigate. A ccording to w itnesses, Rusia w as at N ew C opper Penny club S aturday night w ith fam ily and friends. A fter a man kept approach ing a w om an at his table w ith unw anted advances, w itnesses said R usia and the o th er men at the tab le got into a fig h t w ith the intruder. B ouncers stepped in to break up the fight. W itn esses said they saw one security official pu, a choke hold on R usia. w ho w as about 6 feet 2 and w eighed 248 pounds. “O ne bouncer had him in a l most like a full nelson, and o th er guys w ere holding onto him and trying to cart him o u t." said one clubgoer, w ho w as re lu ctan t to have his nam e published. "H e w as struggling with the bouncers until he dropped. H e 's on the floor. H e ’s out.” W hen police arrived and found Rusia, he w as not breathing and had no pulse. Police ad m in istered c a rd io p u lm o n a ry re s u s c ita tio n , and param edics w ho resp o n d ed tried as well but w ere u n su ccess ful. Rusia w as taken by am b u lan ce to P ortland A d v en tist H o sp ital, w here he w as dead on arrival. At the young m an ’s hom e M o n day afternoon, fam ily m em b ers said they had m any u nansw ered q u estio n s an d said th ey h a d n ’t been told R u sia 's cau se o f death. " I t's very tragic that h is life had to end like th is,” his sister said. " W e 're still co n tactin g fam ily and in the grieving pro cess."