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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 10, 2003)
¿PagpA2 December tO.-2003 __ (The ‘J Jarthmh (©bserüer 4^9 Senator Sets Future Agenda Good Deeds Can Also Mean Good Tax Breaks Soon you’ll be preparing your federal tax return... don’t forget you can And you’re not limited to monetary count your donation toKMHD89.1FM as donations, we’ll take a charitable •Your car contribution! •Your boat •Your house photo hi PCC Gift Certificates. 3,000 Adventures Start January 5. Available tor $10. $25 and $100. Call 503 533.2882 to order Visa/Mastercard Accepted. yX Portland < d > C o m m u n rtv N F Collo«« C o lle g e A dvertise w uh diversity in C a ll 5O 3-2SS (X)33 M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver ■NMMMMM ■M N M M M N N M H M Court Allows Parks Suit Over Song Your donation can add up to a nice tax deduction if you itemize. IMAGINE ASPIRE CREATE DISCOVER Sen. Avel Gordly discusses her plans for the future at The Portland Observer Monday. The Democrat repre senting northeast and southeast Portland is kicking off her re-election campaign. Gordly said advocacy for education, social services and mental health are her priorities in the State Legislature and she encouraged area residents to get involved in the issues. She said vital programs such as the state's medically needy program are in jeopardy of losing funding because of a Feb. 3rd tax referral (AP) — The Supreme Court re fused Monday to intervene in a lawsuit over the the song “Rosa Parks" by the Grannny-winning rap group OutKast. The action, taken without com ment front the justices, means the 9<)-year-old civil rights figure can go ahead with her lawsuit against the band. Rosa Parks The chorus of the song goes, “Ah-ha, hush that fuss. Everybody move to the back o f the bus.” Parks claimed that OutKast vio- lated her publicity and trademark rights and defamed her. She wants all references to her removed from future versions o f the record. O utK ast has argued that the song is protected by the First a m m n m m i New National Medicare Law Enacted Elderly to confront difficult choices (AP)— Elderly patients are about to confront numerous and some times difficult choices as a result of the most far-reaching changes to Medicare in four decades, includ ing a new prescription drug benefit. Beginning in 2006, seniors who want the optional drug benefit will have tochoose whether to enroll in a stand-alone drug plan or move from traditional Medicare to a man aged care plan that offers drug and other benefits not covered by tradi tional Medicare. They’ll be making comparisons among plans that do not necessar ily offer precisely the same cover age and if they don't enroll in the drug program right away, they’ll pay a penalty to enroll later. The government will spend nearly $400billionoverthenext lOyearsto subsidize prescription drug cover age, which begins January 2006. At the same time, the government will encourage insurance companies to offer private plans tomillionsof older Americans who now receive health care benefits under terms fixed by the federal government. Democrats pledged to fight for changes in the law, principally for measures to bring down the price of prescription drugs. Republicans wrote into the new law a provision expressly prohibiting the govern ment from using its vast purchas ing power to control drug prices. The first tangible result of the Medicare law will be prescription drug discount cards that will cost no more than $30 a year. President Bush said the discounts will range from 10 percent to 25 percent off retail prices. Critics say the promise o f savings is wildly inflated. The cards are likely to offer dif ferent discounts for different drugs made by different companies, so seniors will have to choose the drug card that meshes best with their prescription medicines. Some current Medicaid benefi ciaries - among the poorest of se niors - could see the number of different drugs now available to them restricted once they are shifted to the Medicare plan, several health analysts said. The new Medicare plan will pay all drug costs of seniors with in comes below $12,123 and $ 16,363 for a couple - as long as their sav ings do not exceed $6,(XX). There are declining subsidies for people with slightly higher incomes. ffl,,JßorHaui»(Db»i'iUt'i New York Settles Sharpton Lawsuit ads&’pordandob server.«. mu <L)on’t miss ^Portfancfs m J O K IN G for the perfect way to complete your CT° O shopping list AND show some true holiday spirit? ALL NEW MERCHANDISE M ore Amendment. Parks made history in December 1955 when she was arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white man on a Montgomery, Ala., city bus. Her arrest triggered a 381- day boycott o f the bus system by blacks and led to court rulings de segregating public transportation nationwide. than 350,000 items Toys Books Gardening tools House wares Adult and children's clothing Office supplies Gift bags ~ Holiday decor F December 12-14 Friday & Saturday 8am to 8pm Sunday 8am to 6pm Democratic presidential candidate Al Sharpton performs James Brown's 'I Feel Good' with Tracy Morgan during his monologue as guest host of the Dec. 6 broadcast of NBC's Saturday Night Live. . . . th e s e a s o n . Diam ond earrings in 14K yellow or white gold, I /5 f t t w $129 Diam ond pendant in 14K w hite gold, 1/5 ct $179 This holiday season, present her with a diamond earrings and pendant set from Ben Bridge Jeweler All proceeds benefit the Portland Rescue Mission PORTLAND EXPO CENTER • HALL A FREE ADMISSION • FREE PARKING Downtown Portland SW 5th Ave & Yamhill (503) 295-2800, Lloyd Center (503) 249-8373 Washington Square (503) 620-8452, Clackamas Town Center (503) 653-7797 bertbddoe.com AP)— New York City hasagreed to pay $2(X),(XX) in damages to Rev. Al Sharpton after he was stabbed nearly 13 years ago at a protest where he said police failed to pro tect him. The settlement, which also cov ers the Democratic presidential, candidate’s $7.447 hospital bill, came as jury selection was to begin Monday in his decade-old ci vil c a se' against the New York Police De partment. Sharpton claimed police were “careless, negligent and reckless” during the 1991 incident. Sharpton, a civil rights activist, was protest ing what he considered lenient sen tencing of white defendants in the 1989 killing o f a black teenager. The city’s law department de fended the NYPD’s actions, but said it agreed to the settlement be cause the city could not predict how a jury might rule. Sharpton said he still fears large crowds as a result of the stabbing, and has a one-inch scar on his chest. His attacker, Michael Riccardi, was convicted of first-degree as sault and sentenced to the maxi mum o f five to 15 years in prison. Job Losses Hurt African Americans African Americans have suffered another month of double-digit un employment. According to a gov ernment report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 10.2 percent of African Americans were unemployed in November com pared with 11.5 percent the month before. The national unemployment rate in November was 5.9 percent. “For those Americans without jobs, the term “jobless recovery” is a cruel joke. Congressional Black Caucus Chair Elijah E. Cummings, D-Md. said. The new data also showed that job loss continued during the month of November in the manu facturing sector. The economy lost an additional 17,(XX) manufacturing jobs. The country has lost manu facturing jobs every month for the last three years, for a total loss of 2.6 million manufacturing jobs since President Bush took office.
