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 . > .£
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.¿ • • ■ S .È g
£ “J C .
C -C
£
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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