Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 1, 2004)
Taking Flight Feeling Good Dance company inspired by the black experience See Metro, back page Destiny's Child defies odds by regrouping See Focus, page A5 1 lauft 'City of Roses’ Established in 1970 Volume XXXIV Number 47 w w w .portland observer.co m Committed to Cultural Diversity T,Week¡n TheReview Wednesday • December I. 2004 Fire Bureau Behind on Minority Hires NAACP President Steps Down NAACPPresi- d ent K w eisi M fume is step- pi ng down as the head of the nation’s o ld est and largest c iv il rig h ts Kweisi M fum e g ro u p , a spokesman said Tuesday. The organization’s legal counsel, Dennis Hayes, will serve as in terim president while a national search is conducted Environment haunted by past racism Canadians Protest War, Bush P re s id e n t B ush s o u g h t to p a t c h u p r e l a t i o n s w ith C a n ad a a fte r y ea rs o f b ic k e r ing, fly in g th ere fo r tough h em isp h e ric and global talks am id b o istero u s d e m o n stra tio n s from o p p o n en ts o f the U .S. le d -w a r in Iraq. Shriver Supports Presidential Run M aria S hriver believes there should be an am endm ent to th e U .S . C o n s titu tio n th a t w o u ld a llo w her hu sb an d , G ov. A rn o ld S chw arzenegger, to run for president - but she has her doubts that it will be enacted. U S Death Toll in Iraq at Record photo by Fueled by fierce fighting in I Fallujah and insurgents’ co u n terattacks elsew here in Iraq, the U.S. m ilitary death toll for N ovem ber equaled the high est for any m onth o f the war, according to casualty reports. Teen Sentenced to Life Goes Home Lionel Tate, the Florida youth | once sentenced to life in prison for the death o fa playm ate, can return to his m other’s hom e w hile he serves probation, a ju d g e ruled. T ate, 17, was the J y oungest person in m odern i U. S. history to be sentenced to life in prison. Most Want Roe V. Wade Upheld A m ajority o f A m ericans say I P resident B ush’s next choice for an opening on the Suprem e Court should be w illing to up hold the landm ark court deci sion protecting abortion rights, I an A s s o c ia te d P re ss p o ll found. Marsalis to Perform Jazz Narrative T rum peter W ynton M arsalis | will star in the prem iere o f a90- m inute jazz concert narrative | he com posed - “Suite for H u m an N a tu r e " - at I W ashington’s Lincoln Theatre | on Dec. 10. s M ark W ashington /T hf , P ortland O bserver Downtown Holiday Tradition Portland's downtown living room, Pioneer Courthouse Square, turns festive with a giant evergreen decorated for Christmas and the holiday season. The tree was lighted during a ceremony Friday to help kick-off the shopping season for area retailers. photo by M ark W ashington /T hf P ortland O bserv e Lt. Teddy M a yes o f Fire Engine C om pany 1 3 is a rare firefighter o f color in th e city o f Portland. by J aymee R. C i ti T he P ortland O bserver bureau also struggles with retention o f people o f cola About 89 percent of white men stay on the job, compare With a past smattered with civil rights violations and to 76 percent o f minority men. accusations of a “good ole boys" culture, the Portland City Commissioner Erik Sten, who oversees the Fir Fire Bureau has failed to attract minorities to its ranks. Bureau, says he's confident that the few new minorit The number o f firefighters of hires view the bureau asa welcom color has actually dropped from ing environment. Still, he says 13.4 percent to 12.9 percent since more can be done in recruiting. 2002. “T here's been a real push ove Officials blame the reduction the last six or seven years to diver on minorities retiring from the sify the bureau and w e're makinj bureau, though the numbers also progress but we still have quite : show poor progress in recruiting ways to go," Sten said. a new, diverse force. Firefighting officials say the; - City Commissioner Erik Sten O f potential firefighters re spend time recruiting at collegt cently taking the bureau’s qualifying exam, only a campuses, job fairs and cultural events to reach mort handful were minorities. The bureau will draw its force minorities and will continue aggressively recruiting peoplt over the next two years from this pool o f applicants. of color to the profession. Few minorities hold high-ranking positions in the continued on page A4 bureau, with none ranked higher than captain. The I There \ been a real push over the last six or seven years to diversify the bureau... Call Center to Occupy Neglected Site Big plans fo r Vanport Square scaled back by L ee P erlman T he P ortland O bserver How the mighty Vanport has been swept away. In place of what was once a half-million square Exit mixed-use mega-development for the heart of inner-northeast Portland, the Portland Development Commission is now proposing to renovate just a fraction o f the once touted Vanport Square. Current plans call for remodeling the old Frank Chevrolet dealership on Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Sumner Street into an electronic calling center, em ploying about 300 people, in addition to adding about 7,000 square feet of retail space. For this purpose, PDC would use $7 mil lion o f tax increment funds from the Oregon Convention Center Urban Renewal District, plus $3 million from the new federal New Market Tax Credits program. Original plans, conceived in 1999, called for revitalization of the entire western edge o f the boulevard betw een A lberta and photo by M ark W ashington /T hf . P ortland O bservei The form er Frank C hevrolet d ea lersh ip on N o rth ea st Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, o n e block so u th o f Killingsworth S tre et, is s e t to b e c o m e an electronic calling c e n te r jo b s ite with h elp from th e Portland D ev elo p m en t C o m m issio n . Killingsworth streets, containing a major grocery store, housing, public plazas and underground parking. Local African-American entrepreneurs Ray Leary and Jeana W oolley, as well as one ot the city s largest developers, the Gerding- E dleni orp.. creators o f the massive Brewery Blocks in the Pearl District, were behind the plans, but somehow, the pieces never came together. The developers were able to make sales agreements with only four of six homes on Northeast Garfield Avenue that would have to go to make way for the project's anchor tenet. Multnomah County, which ow ns the Multicultural Senior Center, a former J.C. Penny store, was willing to consider a sale but not at terms the developers could meet The planned underground parking provei prohibitively expensive. Most importantly, planners were unabli to obtain an anchor tenant, negotiation continued on page A 4
