special edition Remembering Ray Charles Hundreds of tips for job-seekers 7 was born with music inside m e.’ See pages A 6 - A 10 i i k See story, Page A 3 R e iBnrilanu (Itmser ‘City Roses itv of Roses’ Al „ Established In 1970 Committed to Cultural Diversity Volume XXXIV • Number 24 www.portlandobserver.com Wednesday • June 16, 2004 ,,Week in TheReview & r-.K Gasoline Prices Inch Down Gasoline prices, which soared to over $2 a gallon before coming down a few cents in recent days “may be turning a comer" and should continue declining this sum m er, though m o torists shouldn’t expect dramatic de creases at the pump, the Energy Department said Tuesday. r ' French Fries Named Vegetable Batter-coated French fries are a fresh vegetable, according to the Agriculture Department, which has a federal judge's ruling to back it up. But the department said the classification applies only to rules of commerce, not nutrition, and it doesn’t consider an order of fries the same as an apple in school lunches, «MU • '*- f 1 Powell: Terrorism Report a ‘Big Mistake’ i« ' A State Depart ment report that in c o rre c tly showed a de cline lastyearin Colin Powell terrorism world wide was a “big mistake,” Secre tary of State Colin Powell said. "Very embarrassing. I am not a happy camperoverthis. We were wrong,” the secretary told NBC’s “Meet the Press.” s w°'’ fcf H leh Sch°°' We Believe, You do Achieve Sisters encourage school pride Morning-After Pill Supported The American Medical Associa tion voiced its support for over- the-counter sales of morning-af ter birth control, saying the Food and Drug Administration was wrong to reject such sales and urging doctors to write advance prescriptions. Voters Say War Unmerited A majority of American regis tered voters now say conditions in Iraq did not merit war, but most are reluctant to abandon efforts there, according to a new Los Angeles Times poll. Muslims Urged to Back Iraqi Government U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan called on the world’s Is lamic nations to support the new Iraqi government, while Turkey said Muslim leaders must accept that political reform in the Middle East is inevitable. Contractors Sued Over Prisoner Abuse An unusual racketeering lawsuit filed by human rights lawyers accuses U.S. civilian contractors at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq of conspiring to execute, rape and torture prisoners to boost corporate profits from military payments. gg As the last bell rang to mark the end of a long, hard school year, members o f Sisters in Action for pow;er greeted snacks and gift bags with m es Jefferson High School students with sages telling students they have congratulations and encouragement. com m unity support for their aca Sisters in A ction leaders, many dem ic achievem ents. o f whom are form er and current With increased pressure and nega J e ffe rs o n s tu d e n ts , p a sse d out tive images o f neighborhood schools. many students expressed feeling a lack o f support for their success. Sisters in Action helped to combat this message with a large banner re a d in g , “ W e B eliev e, You do Achieve!” Minority Business Hangs in the Balance Local leader struggles to keep business and good name LIQUO STORI > The King \ Boulevard f* Liquor Store is clo sed as operator Robert Larry and the OLCC resolve d isp u tes about record keeping and m oney owed. J aymee R. C u n T he P ortland O bserver by A local A frican-A m erican leader faces the loss o f his busi ness and reputation as a state agency accuses him of misap propriation of funds. Robert Larry, president o f the N A ACP and operator o f the King Boulevard Liquor Store, faces possible termination o f his liquor license by the Oregon Liquor Control Commission, for failure to make daily deposits. The OLCC notified Larry in a letter that his contract would be terminated on June 22 if he can not pay $40,114, the balance of an original debt o f $148,114. According to Teresa Kaiser, 8 - executive director of the OLCC, this action was taken because Larry tailed to make daily depos its o f cash receipts between April 28 and June 2 and did not submit timely sales reports as required by his contract. Larry reportedly held off on making the deposit and filing re ports on time until he could re solve a computer problem be tween his system and the OLCC. He said he kept the records and funds in a trust account. This is not Larry’s first run in with the OLCC. Six months after he purchased the business in 1997, he faced an administrative hearing for shortages, with a rul ing in his favor. He says the shortage was caused by inad equately trained em ployees’ fail ure to change sticker prices of alcohol. Larry says he received letters o f apology in the past from the OLCC for “falsified sting reports" and other inappro priate action. According to Larry, several African-American liquor store op erators have been unfairly scru tinized by the OLCC. “ I was targeted because , ’m a very outspoken black m an,” Larry said. He also speculated that his in volvement in a dispute over re newal o f a liquor license for the Ainsworth Safeway store spurred this action against him. Larry closed his business on Thursday, June 10 until the mat ter is resolved. He plans to fight this latest charge in an adminis trative hearing, though he be lieves the OLCC needs to change its practices for good. “The governor should seri ously look at getting rid o f the O LCC in its current operating capacity. O ur state governm ent is the biggest drug dealer in the State o f O regon and should stop bullying people and acting like the m afia.” Stage Set /^Good in the Neighborhood Multicultural celebration is annual event by L ee P erlman T he P ortland O bserver ? O © O . > .£ ° 2 g • .¿ • • ■ S .È g £ “J C . C -C £ ao o ' 5 c -Z r | r=? The Good in the Neighborhood multi cultural festival enters its 12 year next week with a kick-off party, parade and two days of entertainment and special events at King School Park in northeast Portland. The k ickoff party is scheduled at McMenamin’s Kennedy School on North east 33rd Avenue from 6 to 10 p.m. on Thurs- day, June 24. The event will feature The Light, Snapdance and Performance Com pany and the Blacknotes. Once again, the main even, celebrating north and northeast Portland neighbor hoods will begin with a parade at 11 a.m. on Saturday, June 26 starting at Legacy Emanuel Hospital, proceeding east on Russell Street and north on Martin Luther King Junior Boulevard to King School. African-American business leader Paul Knauls Jr. is taking over from his father as organizer of the parade. The park on Northeast Seventh Avenue, south of Alberta Street will accommodate a full scheduled of music and entertainment both Saturday and Sunday. The headline acts include Norman Sylvester, Patrick Uunb, Linda Hombuckle, Chatta Addy, Brothers of the Baladi and gospel music from The Light. Once again the celebration will include a beer and wine garden, an Ethnic Marketplace, information booths, food booths and children's activi ties. Detailed information about the festival is av ailable on a new w ebsite, goodintheneighborhood.org. Also new this year, beefed-up security and parking man agement, courtesy of Humboldt Neighbor hood Association volunteer Herb Jenkins. There is no admission to attend the park celebration. Last year, the festival moved from Holy Redeemer Area School and dropped charging admission to the even,. Organizer Cheryl Roberts said King School Park made it easier for people tocome and go as they please. Others thought the site made the festival more of a neighbor hood event, like a backyard barbecue. continued on page AS