■ Jason Sery Resigns
Local Baby Missing
Officer cleared in James ’
I shooting to join ministry
I
15-month-old Julian Renteria
missing after visiting mother April
Letitia Renteria, also missing
See Law and Justice, page A2 inside
See El Observador, page A2 inside
rtlanh
‘City of Roses’
Established in 1970
www.portlandobserver.com
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Volume XXXIV • Number 34
Suit Filed
5411 54bout
Against OLCC
Wednesday • September I. 2004
‘Relationships
Violation o f contract,
civil rights claimed
by J aymee R. Cun
T he P ortland O bserver
A clash w ith the Oregon L iq u o r C ontrol Com m ission has led a local
A frican-A m erican com m unity leader to tile a law suit against the state
agency, cla im in g a vio la tio n o f his contract and c iv il rights.
Robert Larry, president o f the Portland N A A C P and operator o f
K ing Boulevard L iq u o r Store, asserts that the O L C C forced him out
o f business as part o f an ongoing campaign to discrim inate against
small business owners. Larry is among 67 out o f about 250 liq u o r store
operators in the state
w ho ow n their busi­
ness.
He says the O L C C
has breached its con­
tract w ith small opera­
tors by a llo w in g the
sale o f d is tille d liq u o r
products, also know n
as "m alternatives,” in
grocery stores. These
are beverages sold
w ith d is tille d -s p irits
alcohol.
L a rry has been in a
lo n g -te rm b a ttle to
< 4 ^
save his ,k1uor store.
R o b e rt Larry
He was threatened -
w ith term ination in June fo r failure to make d a ily deposits and an
piioto by M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver
M a h o g a n y B la c k a n d B rian D ance p a rtic ip a te in a c o m m u n ity fo ru m on b la ck re la tio n s h ip s .
alleged m isappropriation o f funds. In a letter, the O L C C n otified Larry
that his contract w ould be terminated i f he failed to produce $ 4 0 ,114.
a balance owed after m aking a payment o f $ 108,( XX) on June 3 toward
an o riginal debt o f $148,114.
L a rry w ill fig h t the outstanding charge in an adm inistrative hearing
scheduled fo r Sept. 15.
In his defense, Larry says he purposely held o f f on m aking deposits
and tilin g reports until he could resolve a com puter problem between
him and the com m ission. He said he kept the records and funds in a
trust account.
Larry closed K ing L iq u o r on June 10 when the agency refused to
make liq u o r deliveries.
"Is there discrim ination going on in the O LC C ? I th in k it's pretty
obvious," Larry said Friday.
The local businessman says he hasn’ t been the o n ly A fric a n -
Am erican liq u o r store operator u n fa irly targeted by the O LC C .
“ There is a component that makes this a c iv il rights issue," said
Larry "T h e y ’ reclearly discrim inating against a liq u o r agent by the way
co n tin u e d
on page A 6
Discussions heat
up 2nd Fridays
Each second Friday o f the
month sizzles as black men and
women o f all ages, m arital sta­
tus, p e rso n a lity types, eco­
nom ic and educational levels,
meet to discuss one o f the most
debated topics since the exist­
The atmosphere is relaxed and in vitin g ,
complete w ith cool drinks and tasty food. It is
a laid-back environm ent, one that fosters a
safe place where people from a comm on and
presents a seemingly innocent question. "D o
black women have attitudes?"
not so comm on history can share openly and
A peaceful environment explodes after the
recent graduate from Portland State U n ive r­
sity. who sim ply goes by the name Byrd,
Brothers and Sisters Invited
L o c a l A frica n A m ericans are invited to the firs t in a tlire e -p a rt series on
E verything Yon Love and Hate about Black Men ” on Friday, Sept. 10 at
question is asked. As hands
shoot up around the room, one
man attempts to answer: “ I
don’ t think black women have
attitudes, it ’ s strength." Some
participants agree w hile oth­
Reflections Coffee House, on 446 N.E. K illin g sw o rth .
ers don’ t. For those w ho dis­
The open fo ru m on black relationships w ill discuss why more sisters are
ence o f m ankind; relationships.
agree they have no problem
The gatherings have grow n
h o lding on w hile others are discovering love in the arm s o f others.
v o c a liz in g th e ir o p in io n s .
immensely. A t the most recent
A heated discussion is scheduled to kick o ff the evening at 7:30 p.m., so
W hile listening to the discus­
discussion title d "E ve ryth in g
be there on time, ready to let loose y o u r own in n e r thoughts on the matter.
sion tw o things are apparent: i f
Y ou Lo ve and Hate A b o u t
you are thin-skinned or have
B lack W o m e n ." eager p a rticip a n ts were
perhaps too b lu n tly their thoughts on rela­
v irg in ears you may no, want to attend.
crammed inside a crim son room like a can o f
tionships.
A lthough the atmosphere is relaxed, the
sardines, w h ile others were lined anxiously
The evening begins as organizer and fa c ili­
co n tin u e d
on page A 6
outside anticipating entry.
tator, a p o litica l science honor student and
W ellness W ithin R each
A frica n A m e ric a n H e a lth
C o a litio n S p e c ia l P ro je c ts
C o o rd in a to r B ill B e a m e r (le ft)
a n d W e lln e ss W ithin REACH
W alk G rand M a rs h a ll C harles
Jordan m e e t a t D aw son Park
in n o rth P o rtla n d , th e lo c a tio n
o f S a tu rd a y 's W e lln e ss Walk.
PHOTO BY
M ark W ashington /
T he P orti ani , O bserver
T,Weekin
Thc Review
Bush Says
‘We Will Win’ Terror War
President Bush said Tuesday "w e
w ill w in " the w ar on terror, seeking
to quell controversy and D em o­
cratic criticism over his earlier re­
mark that victo ry may not be pos­
sible.
SAT Scores Unchanged
From Last Year
The average S A T scores fo r the
class o f 2004 were unchanged from
the year before, though some m i­
n o rity groups made modest im ­
provements.
Judge Revokes
Partial-Birth Abortion Ban
Walk for
community
health Saturday
W ith in R EA C H W alk, w hich takes
place at Dawson Park located at
North Vancouver and Stanton.
B u ild in g on the mom entum o f
last ye a r’ s in a u gu ra l W ellness
W ith in R E A C H W alk, the A frica n
“ The A A H C ’ s Wellness W ith in
R EA C H program no, o n ly brings
people together fo r health, but also
American Health C oalition isdrum -
m ing up participation fo r its second
annual event on Saturday, Sept. 4.
to create co m m u n ity," Jordan said.
The w alk w inds through scenic
north and northeast Portland neigh-
ing V ice President D ic k Cheney
on Tuesday as par, o f a day o f
A federal ju d g e de­
clared the P artial-
B irth A b o rtio n Ban
A c t u n c o n s titu ­
tio n a l because it
does not contain an
e xce p tio n to p ro ­
te c t a w o m a n 's
health, som ething
the Supreme C o u rt
said is required in
la w s p r o h ib it in g
types o f a b o rtio n .
20 Arrested in
GOP Protest
c i v i l d is o b e d ie n c e
aim ed at d e fla tin g Re­
p u b lica n s in to w n to
celebrate th e ir p a rty ’ s
p re sid e n tia l ticke t.
DNA Helps Free
Wrongly
Convicted Man
A man who spent 17
years in prison fo r the
1986 rape, kidnapping
US D is tric t Judge
R ich C. C asey
P ro te ste rs in p ig
snouts grunted and ro lle d in bo-
gus $100 b ills fe a tu rin g a sneer-
«
and robbery o f a hospi­
tal w o rke r was freed
T uesday after D N A e v i­
dence c le a re d h im .
Clarence Harrison. 44.
was sentenced to life in prison in
1987 on charges o f sexually as-
I
Former head o f Parks and Recre­
ation, Charles Jordan, is the grand
marshal o f the 2nd Annual Wellness
borhoods, starting at 9 a.m. Partici­
pants may walk a I 5 -m ile o r4 -m ile
course. Early registration isencour-
aged. Those interested may regis­
ter at w w w .aahc-portland.org or
call 5 0 3 -4 13 - 1850. Event-day reg­
istration begins at 8 a.m.
Upon return to the park, p a rtici­
pants can learn more about getting
healthy w ith inform ational displays
co n tin u e d
on page A 6
saulting the woman
as she waited fo r a
bus.
Crisis Talks May
Help
Spare French
Journalists
France in te n s ifie d
e ffo rts Tuesday to
save tw o jo u rn a lis ts
held hostage in Iraq,
c o n v e n in g c r is is
ta lk s in Paris and
1 2 re ce n tly e xe cu te d N e p a le se c o n s tru c tio n
w orkers.
a ro u n d th e A ra b
w o rld as a 24-hour execution dead­
lin e set by m ilita n ts neared.
12 Nepalese
Executions on Web
A vid e o p u rp o rtin g to show thc
m ethodical, g ris ly k illin g s o f 12
Nepalese co n stru ctio n w o rke rs
kidnapped in Iraq was posted
Tuesday on a W eb site lin ke d to
a m ilita n t group operating in Iraq
1