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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 10, 2004)
5(V ÎÏÏIje w Back in Style Player of the Year Ja Rule releases com eback album Benson's Amanda Boggan piles up a list o f achievements See Focus section, inside if See See story in in Sports, page B3 B3 story Sports, page £ jJorlktnh (DhseruTr ‘City of Roses’ Established in I970 Committed to Cultural Diversity Volume XXXIV • Number 44 T, Week in TheReview ABA TEAM Battle for Fallujah There could be several more days o f intense fighting in the U.S.- led battle to retake Iraq’s rebel- controlled city o f Fallujah, the com m ander o f land forces said on Tuesday, the second day of the assault. Yasser Arafat Critical www.portlandobserver.com Wednesday • November IO. 2004 Ready fo r Tip-off Portland is ‘Reigning’ basketballs BY J a YMEE R . C u T l T he P ortland O bserver Y asser A ra fa t’s condition d e teriorated dram atically as his com a deepened, but the P ales tin ian foreign m in ister said T uesday he is “still alive" and his brain, heart and lungs are working. Sudan, Rebels to Sign Peace Pact The Sudanese government and rebel representatives signed ac cords Tuesday aimed at ending hostilities in the troubled w est ern region o f Darfur and guaran teeing aid groups access to 1.6 million civilians uprooted by the conflict. Who Owns Moral Values? Fam ily values, traditional v a l ues and now “m oral values. M ost A m erican adults w ould say they have them , and yet that tw o-w ord phrase is the focus o f an ideological tug-of- w ar heightened by President B ush’s re-election, w ith co n servatives declaring principal ow nership and liberals scram bling to challenge them. Portland’s newest basketball team is ready to assert its reign on the city. W hen the Portland Reign, the American Basketball Association team, dribbles into the Oregon Convention Center next week, expect to see talent from the Pacific North west at a venue which has never hosted a sporting event and plans to draw in an audi ence that didn’t previously have exposure to sports at this level. The team ’s founding partner, Portland sports agent and paralegal Mary Liss, is the first woman to own a basketball team. She doesn’t expect to steal viewers from the Portland Trail Blazers' audience. Liss has something unique to offer: an intimate sta dium, dubbed the Pepsi Palace and afford able entertainm ent to fans o f high-caliber basketball. “Our dem ographic is families, which of course is inclusive of elementary, middle, high school and college kids, who can ’t nec essarily afford going to one, much less tw'o Blazers gam es in a season,” said Liss. “With , z, photo by M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver our arena, there's not a bad seat in the house.” C onvention C en ter s e r v e s a s h o m e court for M ary L iss a n d h e r A m erican B a ske tb a ll A sso c ia tio n fra n ch ise th e R eign' S h e l s l ° 'n e d b y s o m e o f th e te a m 's top talent, including R obert Day (from left), Eric Dunn, Clift W hite Reign ticket prices will range from $9.50 to Chris B u ert a n d Terry Smith-Harris. $41. The stadium is expected to hold a crowd o f between 3,200 and 3,800. break down only three times during the scouts or come from smaller schools. McKinney, former Benson High star Robert The arena is being constructed in an exhi season. The team is coached by former Blazer Day, Sean Myrick formerly from the Univer- bition hall of the Convention Center. It will The team boasts a I i neup o f former Blazers Antonio Harvey and the roster includes contain a semi-permanent court which will and players who were overlooked by NBA continued on page B.3 W ilson H igh S chool p la y er C h arles I t /n yf Report: Minnesota Healthiest State New Mayor in Wings M in n e so ta is th e n a tio n ’s healthiest state, while Louisiana is the least healthy, a ranking it has held for 14 of the last 15 years o f a national survey, officials said. Tax fo r schools, services retained by M ichael L eighton T he P ortland O bserver Former Portland Police Chief and Mayor-elect Tom Potter wants to restore programs in community policing soon after he takes office January I He also has announced his intention to take over m anage ment o f all the city’s bureaus for several months during the budgeting process. Potter, 64, beat conventional wisdom last week when he won the election for mayor on a campaign that refused donations larger than $ I (X) in the general election and $50 in the primary. He beat City Com missioner Jim Francesconi in a grass-roots cam Howard Dean is Back Former presi dential candi date Howard Dean is con sidering a bid to b e c o m e chairm an o f the national D e m o c r a tic Party. Powell Tackles Immigrant Amnesty S e c r e ta r y o f S ta te C o lin , P o w e ll sa id T u e s d a y th a t P re sid en t B ush w ill p la ce a high p rio rity in his second term on g ra n tin g legal statu s to m illio n s o f m ig ra n ts w ho live ille g a lly in the U nited | S ta te s. photo by M ark W ashington /T hf . P ortland O bserver Grant High S ch o o l s winning o ffe n siv e line is co m p rise d o f (front row, from left) D akota Jo h n so n , H ea d C oach Gary Thorson, J o sh B ern stein , Hugh Gray; (b a ck row from left) M ichael Dyer, Enrique Lopez, A ndrew Lindley a n d N d a m u ko n g S uh. Grant Leads PIL into Playoffs c o so 6 o o j- r I o t»-. r O O £ < 5 73 V- > o u. —' C .s & C C 3 □ ~ ui An extra large offensive team, with an aver age w eightof264 pounds, is fast and arguably one o f the best team s in Oregon. Afterbeatingthe formerly unbeatable Madi son team last Friday 28-0, Grant secured the num ber one seed in the PIL and a co-champi - onship with Lincoln High School. Grant faces the Thurston Colts at Lincoln High School on Friday, Nov. 12 at 5:30p.m. in the first round o f OSA A football playoffs and a run at the 4A state title. The other state title contenders from Port land are M adison which plays South Medford High in M edford on Friday, Nov. 12, and Lincoln which playsTualatin High at Lincoln on Friday, Nov. 12 at 8 p.m. paign that surpri sed many residents. The m ayor’s office is officially non partisan, but Potter is considered progressive and was endorsed by the M u ltn o m ah C o u n ty Democratic Party. Sam Adams, the former chief-of-staff to retiring M ayor Vera Katz and a Democrat in a non-parti san race was also elected to th e C ity C o u n c il against Nick Fish. T h e e le c tio n saw Portland M ayor-elect Tom P otter M ultnomah County vot ers defeat a proposed repeal of a temporary income tax to support local schools, health care and other social services. Portland voters over whelming voted for Sen. John K eny for President. However, civil rights advocates were disappointed in the statewide passage of Ballot Measure 36. the gay-marriage ban that opponents charged put discrimination into the Constitution. Statewide, voters took a conservative line on other ballot measures while returning a slate o f Democrats to statewide and federal offices, including Sen. Ron Wyden. U.S. House race. Democratic Rep. David Wu weathered allegations o f long-ago sexual misconduct as he vanquished Republican chal lenger Goli Ameri Three Democratic statewide officials — Secretary of State Bill Bradbury, Attorney General Hardy Myers and State Treasurer Randall Edwards — brushed aside Republican challengers. Democrats also made m ajor gains in legislative races, winning back control of the state Senate and picked up three more seats in the House. continued y^ on page A2