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Established in 1970
Wednesday • August 3, 2005
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Volume XXXV, Number 32
Victory,
Defeat in
Salem
AA/eekin Celebrating1
TheReview
Fire Threatens 140 Homes
A wildfire is threatening about
140 homes near Lake Wenatchee
in central Washington, fire offi
cials said. Seventy-five homes
already had been evacuated and
residents of 70 other homes scat
tered in the area had been warned
they also might have to leave.
O’Neal Signs for $100 Million
S h a q u ille
O ’Neal and the
M iam i H eat
agreed T ues
day on a $100
million, five-
year contract,
one that pre
sum ably will
keep the 12-time All-Star center
playing past his 38th birthday.
“W e wanted to make sure that
Shaquille was being compensated
well into his career,” said Perry
Rogers, O 'N eal’s agent.
Unprecedented Shuttle Task
Discovery ’ s astronauts took a call
from President Bush on Tuesday
as they prepared for a task that's
never before been attem pted:
Sending a spacewalker beneath
the shuttle to remove filler stick
ing out between the tiles on the
ship's belly. NASA says the pro
truding material could cause dan
gerous overheating during re-en
try and lead to another Columbia
type disaster.
Embattled Bolton Sent to U.N.
President Bush installed em
battled nominee John Bolton as
ambassador to the United Nations
on Monday, bypassing the Sen
ate after a testy five-month stand
off with Democrats who argued
that the tough-talking conserva
tive was unfit for the job. Bolton
went directly from the W hite
House to the State Department
where he was sworn in. Within
five hours of his appointment.
Community
Baltazar
Ortize Center
anniversary
Local youth engaged in posi
tive self-expression by identify
ing and promoting elements of
their culture in painting a mural to
celebrate the fifth year anniver
sary of the Baltazar Ortiz Commu
nity C e n te r at 6 7 3 6 N .E.
Killingsworth St.
The team of around 25 young
people joined adult mentors in
doing something positive for their
neighborhoods.
The students in the Multnomah
County Department of School and
Community Partnerships Touch
stone program designed and pro
duced a 50-foot by 10-foot mural
on the west side of the nearby
Hacienda Community Develop
m ent C o rp ., at 6 8 5 6 N .E.
Killingsworth St.
L ocal
a r tis t
H a m p to n
Rodríguez led the artistic design
o f the m ural, com pleted on Sat
urday. The effort added to other
com m unity revitalization efforts
photo by M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver
already underw ay, including the Latino youth celebrate the fifth anniversary o f th e Baltazar Ortize C om m unity C enter at
addition of several new apart 6 8 5 6 N.E. Killingsworth by painting a mural on th e o u tsid e wall o f th e nearby H acienda
ment com plexes.
C om m unity D evelopm ent Corp, office serving local neighborhoods.
This project was in partnership
with Northwest Family Services counter negative media coverage dents showcased artistic talent, a
continued
on page A l2
and Hacienda. Youth in the com of teens and Latino youth in gen- strong work ethic and the power
munity identified the project to eral. Through this work, the stu- of working together.
Tobacco Linked to Belly Fat
Exposure to cigarette smoke in
teens can cause excess belly fat
that increases the chances ot heart
disease, stroke and diabetes, ac
cording to a new study. Research
ers found that 6 percent of 12- to
19-year-olds had the fatty condi
tion called metabolic syndrome,
and that the prevalence increased
with exposure to tobacco smoke.
DNA Test Frees Man
During his nearly two decades in
prison on a rape conviction, Tho
mas A. Doswell was denied parole
four times because he refused to
accept responsibility forthe crime.
But DNA evidence has finally
proved what he’s been saying all
along: He didn’ t do it. Doswel1,46,
was convicted in the 1986 rape of
a 48-year-old woman at a hospital
in Pittsburgh.
P hoto by M ichael L eighton /T he P ortland O bserver
,
u
Sw im m in g pool patrons are under the watchful ey e o f lifeguard Cam eron Kreuz a t th e Pier Park Pool in th e S t. Johns
co m m u n ity o f north Portland.
Kids, Families Face Loss of Pool
M ichael L eighton
T he P ortland O bserver
by
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Members of the north Portland St. Johns
community were surprised to learn that
Portland is giving up on the popular Pier
Park pool.
The outdoor facility, a resource for gen
erations of Portland families, is scheduled
to close for good at the end of its current
summer season on Sept. 5. City budget
cuts are blamed.
Neighbors are outraged that no public
meetings or notifications were held on the
issue. The pool serves some of Portland's
most diverse and economically-challenged
neighborhoods.
Monday, the office of City Commisioner
Dan Saltzman said it will try to find replace
ment monies to put the pool back in the
budget for next summer, but said it's no easy
task because there are so many other de
serving programs in the city.
Saltzman spokesman Matt Grumm said
the closure stands right now. The axe fell
from general budget talks and the need to
cut $7 million in total city expenditures. The
parks bureau listed Pier Park Pool as one of
the lowest used in attendance and lacking
the facilities upgrades of other city pools
It estimates it could save $70.000 by clos
ing the pool
Grumm said Saltzman was not the com
missioner of parks until jus, three weeks
ago
“He hopes to find money to keep all
pools open,” Grumm said.
Mayor Tom Potter was ou, of town and
could not be reached for comment
His office said the pool could be saved
with additional monies approved by the
City Council, bu, meetings with the neigh
borhood were needed to sc, priorities.
Mental health
equity passes, lethal
force bill stumbles
by M ichael L eighton
T he P ortland O bserver
Portland’s senior African-American law
maker in the Oregon Senate is poised for
both a huge victory and disappointment as
the Oregon Legislature in Salem moves
toward adjournment.
S en .
A vel
G o rd ly ,
w ho
serves northeast
and so u th e a st
Portland, saw the
realization of one
of her top priori
ties for more than
a decade when a
bill was passed by
both houses last
w eek to giv e
S e n . A ve I Gordly
equality to m en
tal health care patients by requiring insur
ers to cover m ental health care and drug
an d a lc o h o l tr e a tm e n ts . G o v . T e d
K ulongoski says he will sign the Mental
H ealth Care Parity law.
The disappointment comes over a long
sought bill to bring police accountability
and transparency in the use of deadly force.
B acked by the A fric a n -A m e ric a n
A lbina M inisterial A lliance, O regon A t
torney G eneral H ardy M yers and John
M innis, a form er Portland police officer
and O regon’s director o f Public Safety
and Training, the deadly force law would
also pay for better police training.
The legislation passed the Senate last
w eek but was torpedoed Saturday in the
House by another form er police officer.
Rep. Jeff Barker, D -A loha, a retired
police officer and longtim e Portland po
lice union executive, introduced an am end
ment that strips the professions that al
low grand jury procedures to becom e
p u b lic re c o rd s in o f f ic e r - in v o lv e d
sh o o tin g s.
B arker did not return a call to the Port
land O bserver asking for com m ent.
His legislation retains the added police
training provisions but takes away both
the options o f transparency in grand jury
panels and another option o f a public
inquest.
G ordly said the changes m ake the bill
totally unacceptable and breaks faith with
the com m unity.
“ W e're going to try to salvage the
intent o f the bill,” G ordly said.
The Dem ocrat said she has spent 14
years thinking and praying about bring
ing accountability and better training to
police statew ide.
She said passage on the Senate bill on
a bipartisan basis would not have hap
pened if not for the support o f A ttorney
G eneral M yers and the pow er and influ
ence of his office.
She said the A lbina M inisterial A lli
ance and M innis, a form er R epublican
law m aker also played a huge role in bring
ing the issue forw ard.
The law, as first proposed in 1995 and
in proposals she. M innis and Sen. M arga
ret C arter, another A frican A m erican
Dem ocrat from Portland made last ses
sion, would “m ove us tow ard a justice
system tha, is fair and ju st,” G ordly said.
"The adm inistration of ju stice must a l
w ays be accessible to all ot its citizens.
She said the proposal em erged as the
result of enorm ous pain suffered by vic
tim s, by fam ilies o f victim s and by law
enforcem ent officers and their fam ilies
and the com m unity itself.
G ordly said its possible the H ouse and
Senate can work through conflicts in a
conference com m ittee, bu, “W e may have
to com e back next L egislative session.”