50jt Smashing the Ceiling J l^iirtíanh ©bseruer Songwriter intersects race, gender and the arts y cars of •'community service (Lite ‘City of Roses’ S ee story Volume XXXV. Number 36 r,Wcekin TheReview Hurricane Drives Up Oil Prices Hurricane Katrina drove energy prices to new highs Tuesday, with crude futures topping $70 a barrel and w holesale gasoline costs surging to levels that could lead to $3 a gallon at the pump in some markets. Hurricane Katrina is ex pected to have caused enough damage to pipelines, storage tanks and refineries that it could take weeks, and in some cases months, before operations return to nor mal Disaster Brings Looting With much of the New Orleans flooded by Hurricane Katrina, loot ers floated garbage cans filled with clothing and jewelry down the street in a dash to grab what they could. In some cases, looting on Tuesday took place in full view of police and National Guard troops. Rapper Shot, Survives was shot in the leg early Sunday during a party hosted by Grammy winning hip hop artist Kanye West, police said. Knight, 40, was hospitalized in good condition. He was shot during a celebrity- studded party at the Shore Club, one of the many celebrations in Miami Beach ahead of the MTV Video Music Awards. See story, page B6 Poverty Rate Rises Again The nation’s poverty rate rose to 12.7 percent o f the population last year, the fourth consecutive an nual increase, the Census Bureau said Tuesday. The percentage of people without health insurance did not change. Overall, there were 37 million people living in poverty, up 1.1 million people from 2003. Iraq Sees More Dead Heavy fighting broke out in w est ern Iraq between pro and anti- government tribes Tuesday, leav ing at least 35 people dead from both sides, hospital officials said. The outcome could affect the ease with which foreign extremists move in and out of the border area. in F ocus , page B2 Established In 1970 w ww.portlandobserver.com Committed to Cultural Diversity Wednesday • August 31. 2005 Gulf Coast Misery New Orleans devastated (AP) — Rescuers along the hurricane- ravaged G ulf Coast pushed aside the dead to reach the living Tuesday in a race against time and rising floodwaters, while New O r leans sank deeper intocrisis, with Louisiana’s governor ordering storm refugees out of this drowning city. Two levees broke and sent water cours ing into the streets of the Big Easy a full day after New Orleans appeared to have es caped widespread destruction from Hurri cane Katrina. An estimated 80 percent of the below-sea-level city was under water, up to 20 feet deep in places, with miles and miles of homes swamped. “The situation is u n tenable,” G ov. Kathleen Blanco said. “It’s just heartbreak ing.” The number of dead was still unclear, a day after Katrina slammed the G ulf Coast with 145-mph winds. But one Mississippi county alone was believed to have lost as many as 80 people _ 30 of them from a beachfront apartment house that collapsed under a 25-foot wall of water. And Louisiana said many were feared dead there, too, mak ing Katrina one of the most punishing storms to hit the United States in decades. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin said hun dreds, if not thousands, of people may still be stuck on roofs and in attics, and so rescue boats were bypassing the dead. “W e're not even dealing with dead bod ies,” Nagin said. “T hey're just pushing them on the side.” The flooding in New Orleans grew worse by the minute, prompting the evacuation of hotels and hospitals and an audacious plan to drop huge sandbags from helicopters to continued A young man wades away from a grocery store in New Orleans Tuesday. Flooding is up to 20 feet deep in some areas o f the city. (AP photo) Diane Linn on page A Floodwaters from Hurricane Katrina cover parts o f downtown New Orleans. pushes back do it to talk to people about to live and work, we lose the heart what w e're here to do and and soul o f our city if it' s not a place how w e’re doing it.” where middle class families can This is an important part flourish,” Linn said. "T here's a pre of the job, to say the least, as vailing attitude that business is bad. Linn is in charge of more than We need to be more proactive in Portland O bserver. 4,500em ployees,a$l billion attracting family wage jobs.” Explaining her stance on Linn has helped make rightful budget and the well being of both gay marriage and those em ploym ent more accessible to the county’s residents. who oppose it, Linn said, She said quitting now women and m inorities through a “Everybody should be hon would do a great disservice Diversity Initiative that charts the ored in the community re to those she wants to stand county on a course o f cultural gardless of who they are.” up for, w h e th e r som e com petence via m ultilingual pro She drew a parallel be grams. naysayers like it or not. tween gay rights and the A Portland native, Linn knows “I’m worried about my c o n tro v e rs y th a t s u r h o m e to w n ,” L inn said. community involvement is key. She rounded interracial m ar “W e’re disinvesting in our started the Office of School and riage in the 1950s, citing the education. W e’re making it Community Partnerships to focus popular 1967 movie, “Guess harder to buy homes and on brid g in g the gap betw een W ho’ sComing to Dinner?” making it harder forthe middle schools and the programs that sur “The compelling part of class.” round them, supporting the phi the experiences was hav PHO TO BY K a THKRINI- B i .AI K M O R F /T i I I P (> R n .A M > O R S I-.R V fR She said she would be losophy that education is the back ing my kids be so support Diane Linn, Chair o f the Multnomah County very upset when it’s time to bone of society. ive,” Linn said. Board o f Commissioners, remains stead be a grandmother, if her four "The schools are the focal point That kind o f support and fast in her political position, with plans to children-tw o of her own and of a neighborhood. I’m on the com the positive results of her run for reelection this spring. tw o o f her partner, John munity school front," she said. “Ev work for the county are what Rakowitz o f the Portland ery public school should provide a k eep her g o in g . D e sp ite the “I'm really excited about it even Business Alliance, could not af great education.” squabbles, Linn said she’ll be run though w e’ve had a tough couple ford to live in Portland. continued on page A 6 ning for reelection next spring. “If our kids can’t come back here o f years,” Linn said. “All I want to Multnomah County Chair overcomes opposition by K atherine B lackmore T he P ortland O bserver Diane Linn has had a lot on her mind lately. As the Chair of the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners, she’s been in a hot seat o f praise and criticism and her stance on issues like gay marriage equality, a temporary tax to help schools and social services or her relationship with other county officials. It would seem as though the public either loves her or hates her, depending on which side of the political fence one falls on. But she doesn’t let the negativity get her down. Instead, she fights back. “ I’d rather ge, in big trouble than to sit around and not do anything. I know that if I’ve made a really controversial decision, I’ve made progress,” Linn said in a recent conversation with The Grads Earn High Math Scores The high school class of 2005 earned the highest-ever marks on the math portion o f the SAT, a modest change that continues the steady 25-year trend of improve ment on the country's most popu lar standardized college entrance exam. Scores i mproved for all eth nic groups, though significant gaps remain Consolidation Closes Killingsworth Chapel Era ends for local landmark by E rika -L eigh G oodwin T he P ortland O bserver There has been a recent buzz in Portland's African American com munity with the reported closing of a landmark funeral home serving north and northeast Portland. The Killingsworth Little Chapel of the Chimes has provided funeral services for its community since 19.33, becoming an iconic structure known for putting loved ones at rest and helping their families cope in times of grief. The Killingsworth chapel was closed on Aug. 15. However, David Hinton, general manager made itclear that the local funeral home was not closing its doors to the community, it is opening new doors and offering more services at a new location. “I want to make this very clear, we are not c lo sin g , w e have merged," Hinton said. I I photo by M ark W a . shington /T he P ortland O bserver The Killingsworth Little Chapel o f the Chimes at 430 N. Killingsworth St. has closed and the building will be sold with its employees and services being transferred to the larger Ross Holly wood Chapel at 4733 N.E. Thompson St. I Hinton said families will be able to receive the same quality of ser vice from the same employees at R o s s Holly wixxlChapel. 4733 N.E. Thompson St., and the Lombard Little Chapel of The Chimes, which is now called Killingsworth St. Johns Lombard Little Chapel of the Chimes at 3018 N. Lombard. The Hollywood chapel is less th an fo u r m iles from the Killingsworth site. “People drive farther than that to go to church,” Hinton said. "I am not, I repeat, I am not abandoning my community,” Hinton said. “I have listened to my families and th ey have said the c h ap el (Killingsworth t was too small, too dark or too out of date.” The Ross chapel seats double the capacity of the Killingsworth building and it has a room for recep tions as well as additional staff and directors. “ I’d like to invite people to com e by and see the new facil- continued "yf on page A 6