New school superintendent defends school closures Goal is Better Schools Williams Reality Show ABC announces new TV series featuring Venus and Serena on and off the court See story, page az A2 See storVt Focus section C inside z jjortkm ii (©bseruB i n ', p fa * ‘City of Roses’ Established in 1970 __ ________ . I www.portlandobserver.com a Committed to Cultural Diversity Volume XXXV, Number 13 ,,Week¡n TheReview • Wednesday • April 6. 2005 Money Runs Out for ¥ O World Reflects on Pope An outpouring of grief and admi ration that was repeated around the world following Saturday’s death of Pope John Paul II. World leaders and people from many faiths found something in the life of the pope to praise - his inspi ration for the resistance to com munism in his Polish homeland, support for better relations with Muslims and Jews, or champion ing the cause of the poor. See story on A2. Terri Schiavo Dies after Tube Removed Terri Schiavo, the woman in a persistent vegetative state who spent 15 years connected to a feeding tube, died Thursday, 13 days after the tube was removed. Her husband and her parents fought over her in what was eas ily the longest, most bitter - and most heavily litigated - right-to- die dispute in U.S. history. Jackson Accuser Testifies A man who now mentors teens in an anti-truancy program says that he was fondled by Michael Jackson in three separate tick ling incidents while they watched cartoons. With his voice break ing frequently, the 24-year-old witness testified that over a span o f several years, Jackson twice touched his clothes in the groin area at the singer’s Los Angeles- area condom inium and once reached under his clothes at Jackson’s Neverland ranch. Willamette Week Wins Pulitzer Prize Portland publication Willamette Week won the Pulitzer Prize M onday, after reporter Nigel Jaquiss followed up leads docu menting a three-year-long sexual relationship in the 1970s between Neil Goldschmidt, then mayor of Portland, and a 14-year-old girl who baby sat for his children. A fte r se rv in g as m ay o r, Goldschmidt went on to become g o v ern o r, and S ecretary o f Transportation in the Cabinet of President Jimmy Carter. Governor Touts Meth Fight Citing a reduction in meth lab seizures. Gov. Ted Kulongoski urged the Oregon Board o f Phar macy to approve permanent rules to keep certain cold medicines away from methamphetamine cooks. c o V) 30 © -J Ô n rA o © •n- • — r~- o> 'ZÎ i— O c¿ > O C u D < c O' u 30 c 'c □ ■_j i2 r i LLÌ photo by N icole H ooper /T hf . P ortland O bserver John Gardner, a project manager for the Youth Opportunity Center on Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Youth Employment Center Closes Doors by N icole H ooper T he P ortland O bserver Foryears, the Youth Opportunity Center on North east Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard has given young people exactly that - an opportunity. From employment assistance, G.E.D classes and guidance from adult case managers, young people could trust the YO Center to put their best interests first. But this summer, the program that occupies the time of many youth in a positive manner will be gone. The YO Center shuts down for good on June 30. The U.S Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration ¡sending its final months as a “youth demonstration" program, according to John Gardner, YO Center project manager. YO Centers are closing nationally. Many o f the services provided at the M LK site are being transitioned at alternative agencies, Gardner said. For Portland, the ability to maintain the YO Center has been rocky. In 2003, President Bush visited the local center with U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore., to put a spot light on federal employment help for inner city kids. The visit later proved an embarrassment to the Bush administration because the center was slated to be axed in Bush’s budget to Congress. It survived as a “restart,” Gardner said, and a period of time where awareness was raised about its programs. The local community discussed concerns in a forum in order to restructure YO and collaborate with eight other agencies. But in the current budget process, the administra tion is going in a different direction. Girl Scouts Go Beyond YO Centers are closing nationally. Many of the services provided at the MLK site are being transitioned at alternative . -John Gardner, agencies. Yoprojectmanager In the wake, local Yo Center supporters can proudly point to the program ’s graduation rates, which are higher than many high schools. D elyla Ross, 20, found regular high school to be too m uch o f a distraction. She w ants to be a continued on page A3 ars To Help Inmate Mothers Program connects daughters with their mothers by K atherine K ovacich T he P ortland O bserver Mothers are for brushing tangled hair, pouring a bowl o f cereal and getting you to school on time. They’re for tucking you in at night and for telling you what it’s like to be a woman as you grow into one. Unfortunately, for many young chil dren, their moms can’t be there like they want to if they’re doing time in prison. Girl Scouts Beyond Bars is helping to rebuild the much-needed connec tion betw een a daughter and her mother. The program is designed for girls whose mothers reside at the C of fee Creek Correctional Facility in Wi Isonville. where twice a month, they are able to meet with their mothers in a setting far more relaxed than regular visitation time — to talk, play games and give each other much needed hugs. “For some of these girls, it’s being able to see their mother in a stable environment and not being influenced by alcohol and drugs.” said Anita Noble, a local African American resi dent who is the Beyond Bars coordi nator. “It’s the only time these girls can interact without these other fac tors at work.” Noble said mothers in prison appre- photos by K atherine K ovach h /T he P ortland O bserver An incarcerated mother at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility shows her daughter and young sister a card magic trick during prison visit time made possible the Girl Scouts. d a te the opportunity to have a dialogue with their daughters about how they w ant their life to Hugging her niece, an incarcerated aunt is grateful for the time she is able to spend with her young relative through the Girl Scouts. go- “No matter what, as a parent you're proud," Noble said. “The anticipation in the girls is as great as the m other's.” The program started in 1997 with seven girls and five mothers at the Columbia River Correc tional Institute in northeast Port land Later expansion eventually allowed the participation of 110 girls (ages 5 to 18) and 75 mothers in minimum and medium security. According to Shannon Evers. Girl Scouts fund development and marketing, over half of the impris oned moms don', have any visi tation until they sign up for Be yond Bars. “This has increased visitation by 76 percent,” Evers said. “The girls feel totally safe when they come to the prison as a Girl Scout continued I on page AS