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Established in 1970
Graduate Killed in Attack
A University o f Oregon student
died from injuries suffered in an
attack that happened a day be
fore he was to take part in com
mencement ceremonies. Three
men confronted Phillip Gillins in
an alley about a block from a
campus-area bar he had just left.
One of the men punched Gillins in
the face. He fell to the ground and
hit his head on concrete, never
regaining consciousness. Police
are looking for his attackers.
Portland Police Cleared in
Sex Prank Lawsuit
A federal jury determined that the
sexually charged antics of the
Portland Police Bureau’s elite tac
tical team did not create a hostile
work environment for its first fe
male member. Officer Liani Reyna,
36, who joined the team in 1999,
accused the police bureau of al
lowing the team 's rituals to go
unchecked for years, then retali
ating against her when she com
plained. The jury heard about the
team’s nude hot-tubbing, pornog
raphy-viewing, strip club outings
and explicit skits in which team
members simulated having sex
and masturbating.
Boy, 4, Dies After Epcot Ride
A four-year-old boy died after
passing out aboard Walt Disney
World’s “Mission: Space,” a ride
so intense that it has motion sick
ness bags and several riders have
been treated for chest pain. Daudi
Bamuwamye passed out Monday
afternoon on the attraction, which
simulates a rocket launch and trip
to Mars. Paramedics and a theme
park worker tried to revive him. but
he died at a local hospital.
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Wednesday • lune 15, 2005
Free on All Counts
Jackson website hails
verdict as ‘historic’
Memo Tied to Kofi Annan
Investigators
oftheU.N.oil-
for-food pro
gram said Tu
esday they are
“urgently re
viewing” new
in fo rm a tio n
that suggests U.N. Secretary-
General Kofi Annan may have
known more than he revealed
about a contract that was awarded
to the company that employed
his son.
www.portlandobserver.com
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Volume XXXV, Number 24
A man wearing a belt packed with
explosives blew himself up out
side a bank in northern Iraq on
Tuesday, killing 23 people and
wounding nearly 100, including
child street vendors and pension
ers waiting for their checks. ,n
Baghdad, the bodies o f 24 men
killed in ambushes were brought
to a hospital. A suicide car bomber
also rammed his vehicle into an
Iraqi army checkpoint in Kan’an,
killing five soldiers and wound
ing two others.
See Focus section, inside
See Metro section, inside
‘City of Roses’
Suicide Bombings Kill Many
Award-winning j
'Street Fight ’
to air on PBS
Black Pioneers welcome
author, historian
(¿lie
in
T1Week...
The Review
Political Heat
Michael Jackson waves as he leaves court Monday
in Santa Maria, Calif. Jackson was found not guilty
on all counts against him. (AP photo)
( AP) — Michael Jackson’s Web site trumpeted his court
room vindication Tuesday, linking it with such historic events
as the birth of Martin Luther King Jr., while his lawyer vowed
his client wouldn’t be sharing his bed with boys anymore.
“H e’s not going to do that anymore,” attorney Thomas
Mesereau Jr. said. “He’s not going to make himself vulnerable
to this anymore.”
Jackson was acquitted Monday of child molestation,
conspiracy and other counts by jurors who said the accusa
tions of a young boy and his family were not credible - a legal
victory that triggered jubilation among the pop star’s fans
and embarrassment for the district attorney’s office.
The Jackson Web site mjjsource.com featured graphics
declaring “ Innocent” and showing a hand giving a victory
sign as a fanfare plays. A scrolling calendar highlights
historic events such as “Martin Luther King is bom ,” “The
Berlin Wall falls,” “Nelson Mandela is freed,” and finally,
“June 13,2005, R em em berthisdateforitisapart of HIStory."
The reference was to Jackson’s 1995 album "HIStory: Past,
Present, and Future Book I.”
Mesereau said Jackson didn’t eat during the trial, didn’t
sleep and lost weight. “It was a terrible ordeal for him,”
Mesereau said.
“H e’s going to take it one day at a time. It’s been a terrible,
terrible process for him ,” Mesereau said Tuesday.
A raucous welcome greeted Jackson as he returned to his
Neverland Ranch on Monday afternoon. As a convoy of
black SUVs carrying him and his entourage pulled through
the gates, his sister LaToya rolled down a window, smiled
widely and waved. The crowd responded with a euphoric
cheer.
The acquittals marked a stinging defeat for Santa Barbara
County District Attorney Tom Sneddon, who displayed
open hostility for Jackson and had pursued him for more than
a decade, trying to prove the rumors that swirled around
Jackson about his fondness for children.
Sneddon sat with his head in his hands after the verdicts
were read.
Some jurors noted they were troubled by Jackson’s ad
mission that he allowed boys into his bed for what he
characterized as innocent sleepovers.
“We would hope first o f all that he doesn’t sleep with
children anymore and that he learns that they have to stay
with their families or stay in the guest rooms or the houses
or whatever they’re called down there,” jury foreman Paul
Rodriguez said. “And he just has to be careful how he
conducts him self around children.”
Som e ju ro rs acknow ledged they flatly disliked the
accuser’s mother, portrayed by the defense as a w elfare
continued
on page A5
Popular African-American Nightclub Forced Closed
Helena’s calls
treatment unjust
by M ichael L eighton
T he P ortland O bserver
Helena’s Place, a northeast Port
land restaurant and lounge popu
lar with local African Americans,
shut its doors last week in the wake
of severe law enforcement action
against it.
“We were treated unfairly,” said
Helena’sownerandmanagerCindy
Davison-Harmsen.
The establishment at 535 N.E.
Columbia BI vd. was known to pack
in crowds on weekends for danc-
ing. But it has been in a fight for
survival because of some violent
history in and. outside, the club, hi -
eluding fighting, a shooting and a
stabbing death.
Davison-Harmsen claims that a
good club has been maligned by
local law enforcement that twisted
facts to make false accusations
against the bar. She feels there was
racism behind the actions.
The Oregon Liquor Control Com-
mission cancelled Helena’s license
to serve alcohol, under the premise
that there was no demonstration to
control the premises and patrons in
its vicinity, particularly with the stab
bing death of patron Aaron Crews.
photo by
M ark W ashington /T hf . P ortland O bserver
Helena's Place, a popular club with African Americans at
535 N.E. Columbia Blvd. has closed in the wake o f OLCC
enforcement against its liquor license.
A stay was granted Wednesday
under the petition that the order
could cause irreparable financial
harm to the business, that there was
a colorable claim o f error in the or
der, and that granting the stay would
not result in substantial public harm.
But Davison-Harmsen said so
many restrictions were imposed on
the business that she couldn’t af
ford to open its doors.
She has filed a tort claim against
the city for falsifications and is con
sidering a lawsuit against the OLCC.
In early 2003, H elena’s had
agreed to implement a 21 -point com-
continued y ^ on page A5
Keeping an Eye Out for Predators Portland
Celebrates
Qwest gives
Juneteenth
the way people com
municate, how they
research topics, even
how they shop. It’s
an integral part o f
modern life, but it’s
also made it easier to
find out about harm
ful subjects.
S o m eth in g
as
simple as opening an
atta c h m e n t o r u n
know n e-m ail can
bring about an expen
sive computer virus or
accidental viewing of
p o rn o g ra p h ic and
racist websites.
R ecen t stu d ie s
show that 62 percent
of teenagers believe
th at m ost o f th eir
peers do things onl i ne
they' d rather not have
their parents see and
63 percent of parents
tools for safe
web searching
by K atherine B lackmorf .
T he P ortland O bserver
Giving your child a computer is a great
tool for learning, but it can also be a haven
for trouble if you're not paying attention.
Exposure to inappropriate content and
people can have harmful effects on youth,
including abduction or victimization.
T ogether with the N ational Center
for M issing and Exploited Children,
Q w est is worki ng on a cam paign to give
parents and guardians the resources
they need for safer online use in and
outside their homes.
An interactive quiz and tips are safety
tool w ith at a new w ebsite called
www.incredibleintemet.com. The site al
lows instant feedback on how to protect
children from internet predators.
“A lot o f times, parents themselves
don’t know about the risks,” said Bob
Gravely, public relations manager for
Qwest in Oregon.
.
Gravely noted that with adults growing
up in a different time than their children,
technology has far surpassed what they
had to deal with as youth.
But having a basic understanding of
how to be safe on the internet is essential
for children and their parents, said Judy
Peppier, Qwest president for Oregon.
“If you're going to have a computer in
your home, take time toeducate yourself,"
Peppier said.
The information highway has changed
photo by K atherine B lackmore V
T he P ortland O bserver
agree.
“When I started talking to my
kids, my rule was if I come up
and you close down the screens,
you're obviously doing some
thing you’re not supposed to
do,” Peppier said.
Sure, teens want their pri
vacy, but at what cost?
Beyond sexual predators, web
surfers also need to look out for
fraud and identity theft. All the
right information in the wrong
hands could lead to damaged
credit or a lack of money next ti me
Internet chat rooms are a haven for sexual preda
tors looking for vulnerable victims.
/ started talking
to my kids, my rule was if
I come up and you close
down the screens, you 're
obviously doing something
you 're not supposed to do.
- Judy Peppier, Qwest president for Oregon
k
«
continued
yf
on page AS
Festivities at Yam Yam’s
Considered to be the African American
Independence Day, this year's Juneteenth
marks the 140th anniversary of freedom for
many when on June 19, 1865, word of the
Emancipation Proclamation reached the en
slaved in Galvaston, Texas. This is the
oldest nationally celebrated commemora
tion o f the ending of slavery in the United
States.
“It reminds Americans o f the human
spirit and the cruelty o f slavery,” said Kandie
Berry, event coordinator. “It’s not just for
African Americans - it's for everybody. It
represents the joy and freedom and a chance
for a new beginning. I really hope that the
community supports the cause.”
Local celebrations will span the week
end in the parking lot of Yam Yam' s at 7339
N.E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., primarily
hosted by Women of Successful Choices
and other volunteers.
Festivities will begin at 6 p.m. on Friday,
June 17, with a brief introduction and his
tory of Juneteenth by Reflections and Talk
ing Drum Bookstores, as well as the
Multnomah County Library. An ice cream
social and live music will follow the opening
ceremony.
A parade, beginning a, 1 p.m . will be held
on Saturday, June 18, with entertainment and
a Yam Yam feast. Several bands and musi
cians are scheduled to perform. Suggested
donation is $3 adults. $2 children.
Finally, on Sunday. June 19, gospel
m usic w ith a variety o f choirs w ill begin
continued
y^
on page A3