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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (March 24, 2004)
Free Tax Help Tax Aide volunteers assist local residents See Metro Section, inside City of Roses Established In 1970 Committed to Cultural Diversity Volume XXXIII • N um ber II TlWeek¡n TheReview www.portlandobserver.com Wednesday • March 24. 2004 Urgency on Vanport Project Grows U.S. Divided on War A year after the start o f the Iraq war, the American public is di vided over how much the United States government should spend in Iraq and on what will happen if U.S. troops leave, polls found. Tenn. Proposes Law Against Homosexuality The county that was the site of the Scopes "Monkey Trial” over the teaching o f evolution is asking lawmakers to amend state law so the county can charge homosexu als with crimes against nature. Thousands Protest War in Portland One year after anti-war protester shut down bridges, freeways am intersections, resulting in 135 ar rests in Portland, roughly 2,(XX demonstrators marched calml; through the streets of Portland Many carried flowers - and in i reference to Vietnam-era protests handed out daisies and flowe petals. Several veterans carried < casket through the streets, drapec in an American flag. Jackson’s 1st Accuser May Testify T he p ro se c u to r in M ich ael Jackson's child molestation case is considering asking a boy who reached a m ultim illion-dollar settlement with the entertainer to testify before a grand jury, ac cording to a published report. Hamas Founder Assassination Prompts Retaliation Threats Israel killed H am as founder Ahmed Yassin in a helicopter mis sile strike outside a Gaza City m osque M onday, prom pting threats of unprecedented revenge by Palestinian militants against Israel and the United States. photo by Minority developers pressured to make a deal soon by L ee P erlman T he P ortland O bserver Pressure is mounting for a minority-led group of developers wanting to transform the western edge of Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, north of Alberta Street, into a major retail center covering several blocks in the heart of Portland’s African- American community. CZ) 1— 1 . «M ♦- > en < ’S ‘S í □ ! principal visionaries behind the new Adidas store on theeastside of King, Jeana Woolley and Gerding-Edlen Corp., creators of the Pearl District’s mammoth Brewery Blocks project. The proposal has $8.4 million in urban renewal monies earmarked for it, including a loan and funds for associated traffic im provements. Portland Development Commission Di rector Don Mazziotti has lent his backing to the venture despite several delays, but recently w arned that if “sig n ifican t progress” wasn’t met by June, the agency would have to "seriously re-evaluate” its financial backing. Some parts of the original scheme have already been abandoned. Acquisition of the northernmost block, owned by Multnomah County, has been relegated to a “second phase.” Housing development has been scaled back and un derground parking has been abandoned. Last month, the Oregon Convention Cen ter Urban Renewal Advisory Committee, questioned whether there was community support for “the current, scaled-down ver sion.” on page A2 continued Police increase presence at northeast elementary by J aymef . R. C m T he P ortland O bserver Patients on some popular antide pressants should be closely moni tored for warning signs o f suicide, the government warned Monday in asking the makers o f 10 drugs to add the caution to their labels. One of the world’s leading makers of video games. Electronic Arts, is donating $8 million to University of Southern California’s School of Cinema-Television to expand the university's interactive media program. The Vanport Project, a major retail eco nomic venture planned for Portland's larg est ethnic and minority neighborhoods, continues to enjoy popular support, but it faces a June deadline to make significant progress in its strategy . As originally conceived, the project would have included 300,000 square feet of development on five square blocks, in cluding underground parking, various types of housing, a cinema multiplex, fit ness center and a 60,000 square foot gro cery. Backers include African Americans Ray Leary, a local entrepreneur and one of the Girl Escapes King School Kidnapping Suicide Caution for Antidepressants Video Game Maker Donates $8M to USC M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver Ray Leary keeps alive a dream to re-develop a row o f warehouses, vacant lots and other properties on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, north of Alberta Street into a large-sale retail destination benefiting local residents in the heart o f Portland's African-American community. A composite sketch of the man who kidnapped a girl from King School. Portland Police Officer Ron Cash and Lew Frederick of Portland Public Schools, oversee a boost in security at King Elementary School in northeast Portland following the abduction of a third grader from a school hallway. The girl escaped by yelling and kicking the kidnapper after being put in his vehicle. photo by M ark W ashington / T hf . P ortland O bserver Police released a composite sketch Mon day in the hunt fora man who walked into King Elementary School and kidnapped a nine- year-old girl. Uniformed officers have also kept watch outside the northeast Portland elementary after the incident Thursday. The third-grader was taken from a stairwell while walking to class after meeting with a counselor. She escaped unharmed by yelling and kicking the attacker after being dragged to his car and driven away from the school. She ran home and returned to school with her mother and another adult to report the attack and call the police. The school, at4906N.E. Sixth Ave., was on lockdown Thursday and resource officers guarded the school on Friday. Safety proce dures are being reviewed, according to Lew Frederick, a spokesman for Portland Public School. The perpetrator entered the school through the front door, the only unlocked daytime entrance to the school. School officials were investigating why a bell that alerts the office when the door is opened was not working. Normally, visitors enter through the front door and are instructed to check in at the front office. “The fellow never made it (farenough) into the hallways where an adult, a teacher or another student might have seen him ,” Frederick said. "This was pretty brave; about as brave as you can get.” Thursday’s attack was the first Portland school abduction since 1992. In that attack, a man kidnapped a 12-year-old girl from a hal I- continued on page A2
