Mrs. East Multnomah County
Army Major competes
in state pageant
See
M e tro
section,
inside
(©írgerüer
‘City of Roses’
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Volume XXXV, Number 44
TUWeek in
The Review
Levies Had Design Flaws
T he engineers w ho designed the
floodw alls that collapsed during
H urricane K atrina did not consider
how porous the Louisiana soil is or
m ake other calculations that w ould
have pointed to the need for stron­
ger levees w ith deeper pilings and
w ider bases, researchers say.
www.portlandobserver.com
Established in 1970
Wednesday • November 2, 2005
Re ality for New
Columbia School
Construction begins with celebration
Official Charged in CIA Leak
T he Vice P resident’s ch ief o f staff,
I. Lew is “S cooter” Libby Jr. w as
indicted Friday on charges o f ob­
struction o f justice, perjury and
m aking false statem ents in the CIA
leak investigation, a case that casts
a harsh light on President B ush’s
push to war. Libby, 55, resigned
and left the W hite House. See sto ry ,
p ag eA 2 .
Bird Flu Action Plan
President Bush outlined a $7.1 bil­
lion strategy T uesday to prepare
for the danger o f a pandem ic influ­
enza outbreak, saying he w anted to
stockpile enough vaccine to pro­
tect 20 m illion A m ericans against
the current strain o f bird flu as a first
w ave o f protection.
Deadly Month for U.S.
Troops
Seven U.S. troops w ere killed by
bom bs near B aghdad, the m ilitary
said M onday, m aking O ctober the
bloodiest m onth for A m ericans in
Iraq since January. A w eek after the
U.S. death toll passed the 2,000
mark, itrose to at least 2,026 with the
attacks. See sto ry , p ag e A2.
An artist's rendering shows the look o f the new Ball Elementary School slated
to open next September in the New Columbia community o f north Portland.
A state-of-the-art school to serve fam i­
lies in north P ortland’s Portsm outh neigh­
borhood and strengthen the com m unity
form ing around N ew C olum bia had its
official beginnings w ith a celebration.
A groundbreaking cerem ony for a re­
placem ent to the outdated and aged Ball
E lem entary School w as held on the future
N ew C olum bia C om m unity C am pus at the
intersection o f Trenton Street and D ana
A venue. T he location is ju st southw est o f
the U niversity Park C om m unity C enter at
9009 N. Foss St.
Superintendent Vicki Phillips, M ayor
T om Potter and representatives from the
H ousing A uthority o f Portland and the
Boys & G irls C lub of Portland jo in ed Ball
E lem entary students in M onday’s cel­
ebration.
U nlike e a rlie r sch o o l co n stru c tio n
projects, the replacem ent o f Ball is being
financed by a com bination o f tax credit
proceeds, donated dollars and loans. In
addition to m eeting the enrollm ent needs
o f new and returning students, the project
represents a new , creative w ay o f funding
m ajor capital projects by the school d is­
trict and the first tim e ever use o f federal
N ew M arket T ax C redits for the construc­
tion o f a public school.
continued
on page A6
photo by
M ark W ashington /T hf . P ortland O bserver
Students from north Portland's Ball Elementary join city, school and housing officials
Monday in a groundbreaking ceremony to begin construction o f a brand new Ball
School for New Columbia, the new neighborhood in the Portsmouth community.
Syrians Support Government
Several hundred flag-w aving S yr­
ians protested near the U .S. E m ­
bassy on T uesday, pledging sup­
port for their president and insist­
ing their governm ent was innocent
o f the assassination o f L ebanon’s
form er prim e minister.
Relief Helicopter Attacked
A ssailants fired an apparent rocket-
propelled grenade at a U.S. m ilitary
helicopter ferrying relief supplies
to quake victim s in P akistan’s por­
tion o f divided K ashm ir on T u es­
day, the U.S. m ilitary said, but it
vow ed to continue relief flights to
the devastated region.
Charles, Camilla in N.Y.
Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla,
began a w eeklong tour o f the U. S. on
T uesday. T he royal couple w as
headed straight for a visit to the
W orld Trade Center site, then to a
dedication o f a memorial garden to
British victims o f the Sept. 11 attacks.
They also will visit Washington, New
O rleans and San Francisco.
TriMet Fares to Increase for Third Time in a Year
Fuel Prices
Pinch Riders
Once Again
Portland transit riders are b e­
ing asked to dig deeper into their
pockets for the third tim e in a
y ear b ecau se o f rec o rd fu el
prices.
T riM et has approved a 15-
cent fair increase for adult fares
beginning Jan. 1 to co v er the
fuel costs for a fleet o f diesel
buses. T he increase is on top o f
the 10-cent boost last S eptem ­
ber and a 5-cent increase last High diesel prices have triggered another fare increase to ride the bus.
April. All o f the increases w ere
d u cin g id lin g tim e, ad ju stin g tra n sm is­
about a $5 m illion budget hole.
because o f higher fuel costs.
sio n s, fro n t-en d a lig n m e n ts and steerin g
The transit agency has already offset some
C urrently, T riM et says diesel prices
co
n tro l arm s, and m ain ta in in g a set tire
costs
by
taking
steps
to
im
prove
fuel
and
are running 45 percent over its budgeted
p
ressu
re. T h e step s h av e allo w ed the
service
efficiencies,
making
TriM
et
the
most
am ount o f $ 1.50 gallon. G iven the futures
ag
en
cy
to d ec rease the am o u n t o f d iesel
fuel-efficient
transit
agency
in
the
country.
m arket for diesel, the agency expects fuel
p
u
rch
ased
an n u a lly , from 7 m illio n g a l­
T
h
e
fu
el
e
ffic
ie
n
t
c
h
a
n
g
e
s
in
c
lu
d
e
re
­
costs to average $2.20 gallon - producing
lons to 6.5 m illion g allo n s.
T riM et has also ev a lu a ted
service and elim in ated lo w -rid ­
ersh ip trips.
“ W e are o p era tin g o u r s y s­
tem m ore effic ie n tly an d c o n ­
sum ing less d ie sel, but a fare
in crease is still n eed ed to o ff­
set the d ram a tic p rice h ik e s for
d ie se l,” said T riM et G en e ra l
M an ag er F red H ansen.
T he Jan. 1 fare in c re a se w ill
b o o st the co st o f a tw o -z o n e
pass from $ 1.50 to $ 1.65 an d an
all-zone pass from $ 1.80 to $ 1.95.
Y o u th fares w ill in c re a se by 10
cen ts to $ 1.30 and H onored C iti­
zen fares w ill g o up 10 c e n ts to
80 cen ts.
T o help offset the im pact o f these fare
increases, T riM et is introducing a new 7-
day rolling pass. It provides the co n v e­
nience and savings o f a m onthly pass, but
allow s a rider to purchase it in sm aller
increm ents.
Rodman Pays; No Lockup
Form er N BA star D ennis Rodm an
has settled a speeding ticket that
briefly led to aC o lo rad o ju d g e issu­
ing an arrest w arrant. Rodm an, w ho
faced a speeding and reckless d riv ­
ing charge, agreed to plead guilty
to speeding, pay $516.50 in fines
and m ake a $200 donation to the
Sum m it C ounty 4-H club.
Memorial Honors Courageous Rosa Parks
Funeral to follow Wednesday in Detroit
(A P ) — Civil rights pioneer Rosa
Parks w as rem em bered M onday as a
courageous w om an w hose defiance in
the face o f segregation helped inspire
the architects o f the civil rights m ove­
m ent and set an exam ple for generations
to follow .
A n ov erflo w crow d o f m ourners
jo in ed officials in W ashington, D.C. to
pay tribute to the woman w hose refusal
to give up her seat to a w hite man on a
M ontgom ery, Ala., city bus helped g al­
vanize the m odem civil rights m ove­
ment.
“W e are here not because Rosa Parks
died but because she lived graciously,
effectively and purposely, touching the
lives o f m illions," said Bishop A dam
Jefferson Richardson o f the M etropoli­
ta n A fric a n M e th o d ist E p is c o p a l
c
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An overflow crowd is seated behind the
casket o f civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks
at the Metropolitan African Methodist
Episcopal Church in Washington.
Church.
Parks, w ho died last M onday at 92,
w as arrested in 1955 for refusing to give
up her bus seat to a w hite m an, an
incident that inspired King and helped
touch o ff the civil rights m ovem ent.
Richardson called Parks a “w om an o f
quiet strength" w ho w as “noble without
pretense, regal in her sim plicity, coura­
geous w ithout being bom bastic.”
D elegate E leanor H olm es N orton, D-
D .C ., said P ark s' refusal to give up her
seat "w as the functional equivalent o f a
nonviolent shot heard round the w orld."
P ark s' life w as celeb rated at the
church, w here several hundred people
w ere listening to tributes by O prah
W i n frey, N A A CP chai rman J u I ian Bond.
Sen. Sam Brow nback, R -K an.. and Rep.
John C onyers, D -M ich., for w hom Parks
w orked in his D etroit congressional of­
fice for more than tw o decades.
In attendance w as H om eland S ecu­
rity Secretary M ichael C hertoff, L abor
Secretary Elaine Chao, Rep. John Lewis,
D-Ga.. Senate M ajority Leader Bill Frist,
R-Tenn., M assachusetts Sen. Edw ard
Kennedy and Democratic National C om ­
m ittee chairm an H ow ard D ean.
A painting o f the elderly Parks rested
above her m ahogany coffin at the cen ­
ter o f the altar, w hich w as lined with
flow er arrangem ents. A large w ooden
crucifix loomed overthechoir. w hich led
the crow d in singing “Lift Every V oice
continued
on page A3
Portland Remembers Rosa Parks
The greater Portland community is invited to celebrate the life
and legacy o f civil and human rights heroine Rosa Parks at a
special program at 6:30 pm on Wednesday, Nov. 2 at Emmanuel
Temple Church located at 1033 N. Sumner St.
People o f all ages will join together to honor this remarkable
woman in an evening o f tributes and celebration.
I