African Accapella
Portland Auto Show
Convention Center to feature
hundreds o f latest vehicles
See special coverage, page B6
Liberian singers who survived
war and poverty spread
message through music
See Metro section, inside
}.lnrtlanb Obserüer
Established in 1970
w w w .p o rtla n d o b s e rv e r.c o m
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Wednesday • lanuary 26, 2005
‘City of Roses’
Volume XXXV, Num ber 3
AVeekin
TheReview
Black Performers Earn
Oscar Nominations
It was the best year ever for black
performers, who had five of 20
Oscar nominations announced
Tuesday. Jamie Foxx scored two
nominations - as best actor for
the title role in “Ray” and sup­
porting actor as a taxi driver
whose cab is hijacked by a hit
man in “Collateral.” Foxx’s dead-
on emulation of Ray Charles has
made him the front-runner in the
lead-actor category. See story,
page A2.
Bush Supports
Anti-abortion Protestors
President Bush told abortion
foes on Monday he shared their
support for “a culture of life” and
claimed progress in passing leg­
islation to protect the vulner­
able. Activists on both sides of
the abortion issue marched in
demonstrations across the coun­
try Saturday, the actual anniver­
sary of the Jan. 23 Roe v. Wade,
1973 Supreme Court decision.
Comedy Legend Dies at 79
From the White House to Hol­
lywood, the loss of Johnny
Carson hit home. The 30-year
host of the “Tonight Show”
died Sunday at 79. Carson
chose to let “Tonight” stand
as his career zenith and his
finale in May 1992, w ithdraw ­
ing into a private retirement
that suited his nature and re­
fusing involvement in other
show business projects. NBC
says C arson’s death was the
result of complications from
emphysema.
'Tangoing
with
Tornadoes’
at IFCC
Play dares to tell story
of domestic violence
A w ard-w inning writer, poet, play­
w right, actor and director S. Renee
Mitchell, a featured columnist with “the
O reg o n ian ,” jo in s tw o other distin ­
guished women o f color, in a com m u­
nity p erfo rm ance about the c o n se ­
quences o f verbal abuse at the Instate
Firehouse Cultural Center.
“Tangoing with Tornadoes,” dares to
tell the stories o f women everywhere.
The two-act play uses poetry, mono­
logues and music to teach women how
to heal from em otional abuse, which is
often more elusive than physical abuse
because it leaves no marks.
The perform ance, co-produced by
Sabin Community Development Corpo­
ration, shows at IFCC, 5340 N. Inter­
state Ave., beginning Friday, Jan. 28
through Saturday, Feb. 5 at 8 p.m.
Fridays and Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sun­
days. It features original music by David
Whatley.
A portion of the proceeds support
local programs that empower domestic
violence survivors.
Tickets are $15 general and $10 for
students and seniors. For tickets, call
5 0 3 -8 9 0 -7 0 3 2
or
e -m a il
craig@ sabincdc.org. For more infor­
m a tio n ,
v is it th e
w e b site
at
w w w .n ap p y rootspress.com .
photo by
M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver
Miss LaVerne Green is an instructor and mentor to kids discovering the arts in the culturally diverse Interstate Firehouse
Cultural Center.
Cultural Center Fights for Vitality
IFCC looks toward
future, not closure
by J aymee R. Cirri
T he P orti . and O bserver
A cornerstone multicultural arts center in
north Portland is fighting economically.
The Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center
is pressing for $100,000 in continued eco­
nomic support from the city of Portland.
Some claim that without that funding, Port­
land may lose the IFCC forever.
The center, just south of Killingsworth on
Interstate Avenue, brings multicultural art
and theater to those typically outside of the
downtown arts scene.
Most IFCC events are affordable and all
of them are culturally diverse. Many of the
actors, playwrights and artists are virtually
unknown in arts circles, but contribute tre­
mendously in their communities.
The center’s financial instability began
after its champion and founder, Charles Jor­
dan, resigned from city government.
The center has survived with city support
and grants from several foundations.
Jordan, a former city commissioner, advo-
continued
on page A6
Top al-Qaida Lieutenant
in Iraq Arrested
A top lieutenant of al-Zarqawi’s
terror group, Sami Mohammed
Ali Said al-Jaaf. also known as
Abu Omar ai- Kurdi, was arrested
during a raid in Baghdad on Jan.
15, a government statement said
Monday. Al-Jaaf was respon­
sible for 32 car bombings that
killed hundredsoflraqisand was
linked to the August 2003 bomb­
ing o f U.N. headquarters in
Baghdad that killed the top U.N.
envoy in Iraq and 21 others.
Holocaust Survivor
Questions United Nations
The U.N. General Assembly
commemorated the 60th anni­
versary o f the liberation of the
Nazi death camps with a spe­
cial session Monday, and sur­
vivor Elie Wiesel and world
leaders confronted a question
th at has long h au n ted the
United Nations: whether the
world body has the will to stop
future genocide.
photos by
M ark W ashington /T he P orti . and O bserver
Inauguration Statement
Activists rally on Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, the first o f three protest marches on Thursday, to show opposition to President
Bush's inauguration to a second term and criticize the war in Iraq. See story and additional photos on page A6.
Woman Killed on Her Porch, Brother Suspected Target
M arking P o rtla n d 's first h o m icide
o f th e y ear, 2 5 -y e a r-o ld T a m e k a R.
H a rtle y w as fa ta lly s h o t F rid a y
e v e n in g w h ile sta n d in g on h e r fro n t
p o rch . T h e m o th e r o f an 8 -y e a r-o ld
b o y , she w as shot m u ltip le tim e s in
th e ch e st and ab d o m en .
T h e s h o o tin g b e g a n a ro u n d 7 :1 5
p .m . w ith a b o u t 6 o r 7 sh o ts , a c ­
c o rd in g to n e ig h b o rs n e a r th e s in g le ­
fa m ily h o m e at N o rth e a s t N in th and
S im p s o n S tre e ts . T h re e b u lle ts w ent
th ro u g h th e fro n t g la s s w in d o w o f
th e h o m e .
P o r tla n d p o lic e s a id H a r tle y ’s
b r o th e r w a s a g a n g m e m b e r and
w as lik e ly th e in te n d e d ta rg e t.
A little b e fo re m id n ig h t, a s e c o n d
ro u n d o f g u n fire e r u p te d fro m an
a u to m o b ile in th e sa m e a re a , le a d ­
in g to th e a rr e s ts o f fiv e m en . A d h a
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o f a tte m p te d m u rd e r. V ic to r W h ite ,
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w a s ta k e n in to c u s to d y .
A n y o n e w ith in f o r m a tio n on th e
h o m ic id e is a sk e d to c a ll D e te c tiv e
S te v e O b e r at 5 0 3 -8 2 3 -4 0 3 3 o r D e ­
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