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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (July 13, 2005)
Local Student Discovers Africa 50£ years Trip confronts misconceptions of •'community service •. See Page A6 r . . . ‘City of Roses’ . ___ — . . . ____ i l __ .^. www.portlandobserver.com Established in 1970 Committed to Cultural Diversity Volume XXXV, Number 29 Wednesday • |uly 13, 2005 itWcekin TheReview Child, Gunman Killed in L.A. Police Shootout A toddler was shot and killed w hen her father used her as a shield in a gunbattle w ith police follow ing an hours-long stand off, officials said. T he m an also died and an officer w as w ounded. T he man killed Sunday night after an hours-long standoff w as iden tified as Jose Raul Lem os, and the girl, about 17 m onths old, w as his d aughter. T he c h ild ’s m other, L orena Lopez, said she pleaded w ith officers to hold their fire. Countdown Begins for Discovery Launch For the first tim e since the C olum bia tragedy, N A S A ’s countdow n clocks w ere ticking dow n the hours, m inutes and seconds to launch, heightening the anticipa tion for a W ednesday liftoff o f D iscovery, he countdow n for the first space shuttle flight in 2 1/2 years w ent well this w eek, with no technical problem s. T he co u n t dow n began Sunday evening as H urricane D ennis battered the Florida P anhandleoff to the north w est. Tightened Transit Security Worker suspended for racial slurs by N icole H ooper T he P ortland O bserver W hen a loved one passes aw ay, friends and fam ily usually hope for the utm ost care, respect and honor w hen dealing with the deceased - in funeral services, in burial and in remembrance. But in April, a form er cem etery em ployee o f Rose City C em etery in N E Portland filed a com plaint claim ing that m anager M ike O rcutt had abused corpses and m ade racial slurs when discussing deceased clients. A ccording to fo rm ertrain ee F loyd D ecker, m anaging director M ike O rcutt m ade racist rem arks tow ard deceased A frican-A m ericans that were going to be buried at Rose City Cemetery. E arlier this year, D ecker alleges one inci dent where an A frican-A m erican w om an w ho had died o f breast cancer w as referred to as a "nigger lady that needed to be dead.” A ppar ently the “n-w ord” w as com m only used to describe blacks at the m ortuary. In addition. D ecker claim s that in other instances, d e ceased clients w ere referred to in a sexual or size-phobic m anner. Rose City C em etery isn ’t aw are o f any com plaints against em ployees since its o pen ing in 1905. C urrently, 35 percent o f the d e ceased that reside at Rose City C em etery are A frican-A m erican. T here are policies in place that dem and the highest respect to the d e ceased and their family. State Sen. A vel G ordly has com m ended the state ’ s M ortuary and C em etery B oard for pun- ishing O rcutt for the offensive behavior and com m ents m ade in the w orkplace. continued photo B i Portland Police Officer Simmons patrols the Rose Quarter Max Station, as part o f the heightened security measures being taken after recent terrorist attacks in London. photo by M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver A former employee o f Rose City Cemetery in NE Portland was recently accused of abusing corpses and using racial slurs in relation to his clients. on page A7 «MMM ■HM M London Explosions Kill 52, Wound 700 F our blasts rocked the London subw ay and tore open a packed double-decker bus last w eek, send- ing bloodied victim s fleeing in the w orst attack on L ondon since W orld W ar 11. At least 52 people were ki I led and more than 7 0 0 were w ounded in the terror attacks. An organization calling itself “T he Secret O rganization o f al-Q aida in E urope” claim ed responsibility. See full story on A2. Gulf Coast Cleans Up From Hurricane Dennis W ith a sigh o f relief, G u lf C oast r e s id e n ts b e g a n h u r r ic a n e cleanup. H urricane D ennis hit the storm -w eary Florida Panhandle and A labam a coast on Sunday w ith less force than forecasters feared, sparing the region the w ide spread destruction caused by Ivan last Septem ber. T here w as scat tered flooding in Florida and G eor gia, and m ore than 680,(XX) cu s tom ers in four states w ere w ithout pow er, with som e likely to be out for three w eeks o r more. PHOTO BY KATHERINE Bl.A C K M O R E / T h E PORTLAND OBSERVER Bars like the Wooden Chicken in northeast Portland take extra precautions checking identification to prevent underage drinking. PHOTO BY NICOLE H oo PE r /T HE PORTLAND O llSERY ER James Miller, founder o f Assured Compliance, is using his past experience with the Oregon Liquor Control Commission to help local bars, clubs and taverns meet their regulatory obligations. c c o on <L> E i o •A» oo 6E oCl o co i o o a ¡3 o >k .-£ > .00 —) ‘5 • > ■ 3 on o O' S “0 ci J r- ' O o d fl o on u 3 Enforcer turns retirement into a business by N icole H ooper T he P ortland O bserver Jam es M iller is helping local bars; clubs and taverns reduce the risk o f liquor license fines, suspen sions and term inations. L ast year, a fte r re tirin g from the O L C C (O reg o n L iq u o r C o n trol C o m m issio n ), he fo u n d ed the co m p an y A ssu red C o m p lia n ce to M ark W ashington / T he P ortland O bserver use w h at he k n o w s ab o u t liq u o r law s to start his ow n b u sin e ss and h elp e sta b lish m e n ts se rv in g alco h o l n av ig ate th e m an y p it- falls o f reg u la tio n s. L ike the retail b u sin ess uses “ m ystery shoppers” to test the skills o f its com pany em ployees, M iller uses decoys to test the skills o f people em ployed in the liquor serv ing business. “M y fam ily has been supportive and w onderful. M any ju st w onder, how com e no one ev er thought o f this before," said Miller. T he b u sin ess has p ro g ressed Decoy Drinkers o ffe re d this serv ice to b ars w here an o ffe n se has o cc u rre d . M iller fin d s that ev en w ith the v erifier, m an y b a rte n d e rs o r b o u n c e rs d o n ’t use the m ach in e. If a b a r te n d e r is cau g h t n ot c h e ck in g ID s, th ey can face a p o ten tial spot faulty ID 's. The ID m achines are a com puter c ita tio n and get a n o tice o f v io la like contraption that stores legal tio n from the O L C C . U su ally th is data from across the country It fin e is no less than $9(X). T he training M iller provides in works sim ilar to a credit and debit cludes tips for checking identifica card. W hen a bar patron is not of tion, how to pass the decoy tests legal age, an alarm goes off, but for and how look for signs o f intoxica- others the verifier states the age o f the patron. continued y ^ on page A6 Both the O L C C and p olice have from at first em ploying decoys to catch bars and stores selling alco hol to minors, to now m onitoring bartenders w ho are not follow ing protocol when establishm ents have installed electronic devices that can I I London attacks spur alerts in Portland Follow ing last w eek ’s terror attacks on L o n d o n ’s m ass tran sit system , the U nited S tates put up its security radar, recogniz ing a high alert for possible copy cat attacks. Until culprits and m ethods o f the attacks are real ized, transit system s in cities around the country, including Portland, are tightening their safety m easures. A cc o rd in g to a sta te m en t m ade last w eek by M ayor T om Potter, “O urcom m unity rem ains safe and secure, w ith hundreds o f dedicated people w orking to insure P o rtlan d is p ro tected . Federal officials have assured us that no new threats have been directed at the Pacific N orth w est.” A lthough no specific threats to O regon have been m ade. Pot ter said, the city is increasing its readiness level to orange for its ground transportation facilities. Statew ide city and tran sp o r tation w orkers have been told to be fully aw are at all tim es o f their surroundings. C itizens are e n couraged to report any suspi cious activity. Extra precautions are being taken on T ri-M et. A m trak and G reyhound, am ong others. Riders should expect to see additional officers at som e stops and in public gathering places like Pioneer Square. PG E Park and the Rose Q uarter. “T he goal o f terrorists is to create fear.” Potter said. “They w in only w hen good and decent people succum b to the clim ate fear they create with these kinds o f barbaric acts. W e cannot let our fears m ake us suspicious of each other, or be afraid to live our liv e s c o m p le te ly . Portlanders can do their part by rem aining calm and living their lives norm ally. W hile each o f us has a responsibility to be v ig i lant, w e also sh o u ld n 't o v erre act.” See full story on recent Lon don attacks on page A2.
