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Kerry Rallies Portland
Presidential candidate stops
at SEI, holds downtown rally
See story and photos, page A3
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‘City of Roses’
Established In 1970
www.portlandobserver.com
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Volume XXXIV • Number 20
Wednesday • May 19. 2004
T. Week ¡n
TheReview
Head of Iraqi Council Killed
A suicide bombing killed the
head o f the U.S.-appointed
Iraqi Governing Council as his
car waited at a checkpoint near
coalition headquarters M on
day, a major setback to Am eri
can efforts to stabilize Iraq just
six weeks before the handover
of sovereignty.
Butterfly Discovery
About 500 rare butterflies were
recently found thriving in the
hills nearCorvallis, thrilling con
servationists who hope the col
orful Tay lor’s checkerspot will
fight back from near extinc
tion.
Following Orders
One of the Army privates fac
ing a court-martial for being
photographed with naked Iraqi
prisoners says she was follow
ing orders to create psycho
logical pressure on them.
Massachusetts
Marries Gay Couples
More than 1,000 gay couples
sought applications for mar
riage licenses on the first day
M assachusetts becam e the
first state to allow same-sex
couples to legally wed, a sur
vey of the largest cities and
towns in the state showed.
Possible WMD Found
U. S. soldiers found a roadside
bomb containing sarin nerve
agent in Baghdad, the military
said M onday. The device,
which partially detonated, was
apparently a decade-old left
over from Saddam Hussein’s
arsenals.
Moore’s ‘Fahrenheit’
Targets Vote
Michael Moore lit a powder
keg at the Cannes Film Festi
val with his incendiary “Fahr
enheit 9/11,” a relentless cri
tique of the Bush administra
tion. If Moore can get the movie
into U.S. theaters this sum
mer, the film could become a
rallying cry for voters hoping
to see President Bush d e
feated.
Mystifying the Trxxjps
Local magic troupe takes act to U.S, military overseas
Bv J aymee R. C uti
T he P ortland O bserver
A troupe o f magicians and performers
from the Northwest will entertain U.S. mili
tary troops and their families in Okinawa,
Guam, Kwajalein and the Hawaiian Islands
during a 22-day trip starting this week.
Magician Charles Adam Parsons, a.k.a.
“Adam the Great” is disappearing from Billy
R eed's Restaurant in northeast Portland to
join Roger Ullenberg, better known as Cosmo
the Balloon Wizard, Ringmaster Elisa Hays
and essential hand Rebecca Sullivan of the
"L et’s Pretend Circus.”
Parsons o f Vancouver has been per
forming dinner shows and weekly stage
shows at Billy Reed’s for three years. H e’s
looking forward to adding “international
entertainer” to his resume.
“I’ve performed in a lot o f venues in
H ig h
Portland. To be involved in this venue is a
great opportunity,” Parsons said. “I’ve got
a lot o f respect for these cats; the men and
women in the m ilitary.”
Next, h e’s also looking for a slot on the
T onight Show and he thinks that en ter
taining the troops, arranged by Arm ed
Forces E ntertainm ent, m ight take him
there.
For Ullenberg, this will be his third tour
K id s
overseas to entertain the American military.
He says these shows are incredibly re
warding because he brightens the day of
children living on far off military bases.
“Balloons have been very good to me,”
said Ullenberg, known for sculpting and
contorting balloons into whimsical animals
in no time flat. “They’ve taken me around the
continued
on page A6
Project Safe
Takes Aim
at Guns
Offers resources and
safety information
War Budget to
Exceed $50 Billion
The Bush administration ’ s next
request for financing wars in
Iraq and Afghanistan will push
next year’s total beyond $50
billion, a top Pentagon official
told Congress.
Whitaker Middle School students Grace Tshimanga (clockwise from left), James Noeun,
Jason Warner, Leandrea Riggins and Adilene Amaro participated in the Intel high-tech science
fair at the Oregon Convention Center.
P hoto by M ark W abhington ZT he P ortland O bserver
Intel is helping to turn sharp and curious kids into a force
of technological leaders in the future.
The Intel International Science and Engineering Fair last
week at the Oregon Convention Center included middle
schoolers from around the world, including kids from north
and northeast Portland enrolled in Saturday Academy.
The effort was part of an initiative between educators
and government leaders aimed at helping students prepare
for the high-tech career demands of tomorrow.
Locally, Saturday Academy engages young people in
hands on, in-depth learning and problem solving focusing
on science, engineering and technology.
“It takes a lot of support for students to participate in
science fairs. This project levels the playing field by provid
ing materials and mentoring to students who need it,” said
Joyce Cressell, the program's executive director. “These
are our future scientists, doctors and engineers. Through
projects like this, we seed the future.”
A group o f Saturday Academy students from Whitaker
Middle School engaged in science projects that included
fizzing bubbles, changing temperatures, water density and
smashing rocks.
An effort has been launched to reduce gun crim es in
local neighborhoods with the distribution o f information
about how residents can help com bat the deadly violence
in their neighborhoods.
Project Safe N eigh
borhoods Oregon is a
national gun vio
lence re
d u ctio n
initiative that
en c o u rag es fe d
eral, state and local
law e n fo rc e m e n t
and com m unity lead
ers to work together to
reduce gun crime.
T h e g ro u p h as e s ta b lis h e d a w e b s ite at
www.PSNOregon.org to reach Kith the public and law
enforcement officials with vital information, including when
and where to report illegal gun possession, how com m unity
members can actively keep guns out o f their neighborhood,
training opportunities for members o f law enforcem ent
agencies and information about domestic violence.
’The new W eb site is another valuable tool that will help
the public get involved in the effort to reduce gun crim e in
our neighborhoods,” said U.S. Attorney for the district of
Oregon Karin Immergut.
In Oregon, the program specifically targets gang-related
gun violence, crimes of domestic violence in which a firearm
is involved and armed career criminals.
Nationally. Project Safe Neighborhtxxf set a record in 2002
for increasing the number of defendants federally charged
with gun-related crimes by 20 percent. In 2003, the program
set a new Justice Department record with nearly 23 percent
more defendants charged with federal firearm-related crimes.