i
rTf>
years
of
•'community service
Big River
Adventure
Spotlight on
Careers
Unique cast earns
top reviews
De La Salle North
youth gain experience
in the workforce
«h
See
;>ee story,
siory, Focus
rocus
section inside
See Careers, page B2
S ffiortlanb
‘City of Roses’
server
Established in 1970
www.portlandobserver.com
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Volume XXXV, Number 20
Wednesday • May 18, 2005
Writing
rlWeekin
TheReview
to
Senate Defies Bush,
Approves Highway Bill
T he R epublican-controlled Sen
ate brushed aside a presidential
veto threat T uesday and passed
a $295 billion highw ay bill, argu
ing that m assive spending on
bigger and better roads w as nec
essary to fight congestion and
unsafe roadw ays. T he adm inis
tration said the bill w as too ex
pensive in a tim e o f w ar and debt
and could result in the first veto
o f the Bush presidency.
Survive
Local poet inspires
healing with words
White House: Newsweek
Story Did Great Harm
T he W hite H ouse said T uesday
the U nited S tates’ im age abroad
had suffered irreparable dam age
from a now -retracted N ew sw eek
article alleging that A m erican in
terrogators at G uantanam o Bay
desecrated the Q uran, the M us
lim holy book. N ew sw eek at first
apologized for its story and then
retracted it under heavy pressure
from the adm inistration.
Mfume Admits Relationship
U.S. Senate
c a n d id a te
K w e i s i
M fum e said
having a ro
m antic rela-
t i o n s h i p
w ith a sub-
o rd i n a te
Kweisi Mfume
w hile head
in g th e N A A C P w a s a
“ b o n e h e a d e d th in g to d o .”
M fum e, w ho is divorced, has pre
v io u s ly a d m itte d d a tin g th e
w om an in 1997 and adopting her
son, now 15. B ut he denied that
any o f his personnel decisions
w ere affected by the relationship.
Apology for Abu Ghraib
A rm y Spc. Sabrina H arm an stood
before the ju ry in the sentencing
phase o f her court-m artial T ues
day and tearfully apologized for
m istreating Iraqi prisoners at Abu
G hraib. H arm an, 27, w as con
v icted M onday on six o f the
seven charges she faced for her
role in the m istreatm ent o f Iraqi
prisoners in 2003. She appeared
in several o f the m ost notorious
photos taken at A bu G hraib, in
cluding one o f naked Iraqis piled
up in a pyram id.
Couples Mark Anniversary
A lex an d er W e ste rh o ff and T h o
m as L an g c e le b ra te d th e ir first
w ed d in g a n n iv e rsa ry T u esd ay
by h o ld in g a sign on the S ta te
h o u se ste p s rea d in g : “T h ank
you M a ssac h u setts fo r one y ear
o f e q u a lity .” L a s t M ay 17,
c o u p le s lined up in city and
to w n h alls ac ro ss th e state to
ap p ly fo r m a rria g e lic e n se s.
S in ce th en , so m e 6 ,2 0 0 o f them
h av e been h an d e d o u t to sam e-
sex co u p les.
photo by K atherine
K ovacich /T he P ortland O bserver
by K atherine K ovacich
T he P ortland O bserver
W hen Sam uel Irving lost his younger
brother to a killing only to have his parents
separate, he w rote his w ay through the
trauma.
“I really co uldn’t express how I w as feel
ing to anybody else so I w ould stay up late
at night and write. I w ould feel so m uch better
and so much closer to him having that o ut
let,” Irving said.
Later, dealing w ith the deaths o f friends
from drug use and gang violence, as w ell as
com ing to term s w ith his ow n debilitating
scoliosis, Irv ing turned to the pen and paper
once again.
“It w as an inspiration for m e to w rite and
envision things that I ca n ’t physically do,
like running through a forest. It’s ju st that
freedom that you can do anything,” he said.
N ow a w riting instructor at K ing E lem en
tary School, Irving helps children express
their fears about poverty, abandonm ent and
fam ily issues through a gam ut o f w riting
styles. He has also started up a sum m er
institute called Poetry Lifeline, w hich in
clu d es w orkshops fo r ch ild ren to w ork
through their issues w hen there d o esn ’t
seem to be any other constructive outlet.
“T h ese kids from d isa d v a n ta g e d areas
h av e n ev e r k now n o f th e d iffe re n t w ritin g
sty le s,” Irv in g said . “ N o b o d y ac tu a lly
to o k the tim e. W ith P o etry L ifelin e, we
take th e tim e to in still the d iffe re n t w riting
sty les and show th a t th ere is e x p re ssio n
Writer Samuel Irving brings a lesson on how to write a Japanese poem to Rory Thompson's fifth grade class at King
Elementary School in northeast Portland.
continued
on page A3
Tough
Nails
Consumers of nail
salons beware
by N icole H ooper
T he P ortland O bserver
W ith nearly 100 nail salons in
north and northeast Portland alone
it’s obvious that many local w om en
view a “nice set” as a necessity.
But how m any o f these nail sa
lons really m eet health standards?
D epending on w ho is asked, the
answ er can be less than expected.
Forexam ple, if the same utensils are
used on m ore than one custom er,
the salon is violating state health
laws. T he regulations ex ist to pre
vent diseases.
Each set o f nail instrum ents must
be discarded o r sanitized after each
use, according to the state Health
Licensing O ffice, the agency that
governs nail salons.
“T hedisposable nail im plem ents
should be calculated in the cost o f
the service,” said Trish A llbritton,
H LO division manager. “ Refuse
services if you feel your safety has
been jeopardized."
W ith so m any nail shops in P ort
land and across the state, it’s hard
to catch a particular salon violating
regulations. A llbritton said the state
agency has a budget that allow s it
to inspect a nail salon only once or
tw ice a year.
She said it is up to the consum er
to alert the H LO o f any unlaw ful
activity. The health inspection cer
tificates that are required to be vis
ible in all nail salons may carry less
merit.
Because so many o f the salons
are ow ned by people w ho speak
E nglish as their second language,
the state also distributes safety and
regulation pam phlets in V ietnam
ese and Spanish.
U nsanitary practices can cause
bacteria related to skin tuberculo
sis. Electric drills used in nail w ork
can cause abrasions on the cuticle.
T his practice not only m akes hands
look unattractive but also becom es
an inviting spot for infection.
A ccording to A llbritton, there
have been no studies regarding the
transm ission o f HIV through dirty
nail implements. But the risk o f con
tracting hepatitis is why nail salons
are required to disinfect all sharp
edged tools or m etal tools.
T o protect them selves, nail sa
lon w orkers often w ear m asks b e
cause the dust that com es with the
electric filer can cause respiratory
problem s.
Nail salons are required to alert
health officials and keep the nam es
photo by I saiah
B olie /T he P ortland O bserver
Health safety regulations govern the nail salon industry, a popular service with shops along every
major thoroughfare in north and northeast Portland.
and phone numbers o f its custom -
ers in the event o f an outbreak. But
it appears that few nail shop ow n
ers even know their custom ers
names. If client records aren ’t kept,
the salon could face up to $500 in
fines. A custom er also has the o p
tion to sign a w aiver in order to keep
their contact inform ation private
but this also will mean that the
salon will have no liability.
The best and w orst advertising
for a nail salon is the custom er. For
every bad review a business gets it
takes many m ore to m ake up for
th eir reputation. O ften w hen a
w om an isasked about theirnail job,
they either give the salon rave re
view s or warn the other person
about the dangers o f visiting there.
Nai 1 salons may be a di me a dozen
in north and northeast Portland,
but loyal nail custom ers seem to
know w hich ones not to frequent.
“I once got my nai Is done and for
tw odays, my thum bs were swollen.
I had so much puss com ing out o f
my nails, I had to go to the em er
gency room .” said an anonym ous
nail salon client.
W hen frequenting a nail salon it
is im portant to know that a cus
tom er has rights. If the nail shop
w ants to charge you for an ex tra nail
file, leave. Legally, the salon can
charge a custom er to take the dis
posable nail im plem ents hom e but
continued
on page A6