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nrtlanh ©bseruer
‘City of Roses’
Volume XXXVI. Number 3
Established in 1970
www.portlandobserver.com
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Wednesday • lanuary 25. 2006
—
, Week in
The Review
Alito Nomination Advances
T he Ju d ic ia ry C o m m ittee ad
vanced Samuel A lito’s Supreme
Court nom ination to the full Sen
ate Tuesday, ensuring prospects
theconservati vejurist will join the
high court bench. All 10 Republi
cans voted for Alito, while all eight
D em ocrats voted against him.
Albertson's Sold
A lbertson's, the food chain stores
announced M onday that it has
entered into a definitive agreement
to sell the entire com pany to
Supervalu stores and a consor
tium o f investors for approx i mately
$17.4 billion in cash, stock and
assum ed debt.
Belafonte Blasts Bush Again
E ntertainer Harry
Belafonte, one o f
the Bush adm ini
stration’s harshest
critics, com pared
the H om eland Se
curity D epartm ent
to the Nazi G estapo on Saturday
and attacked the president as a liar.
See story, page A2.
Rough Road for Ford
Ford M otor Co. announced Mon
day it w ould cut 25,(XM) to 30,000
jobs and close 14 facilities in North
America. The autom aker has been
hurt by falling sales o f its profit
able sport utility vehicles, grow
ing health care for its em ployees,
m aterials costs, and labor con
tracts. See story, page A2
Fat-Blocking Pill
A pharm aceutical com pany hopes
to begin selling this year a fat
blocking pill directly to m illionsof
overw eight Am ericans who now
only have access to a prescription
version o f the drug. The Food and
Drug A dm inistration could ap
prove over-the-counter sales o f
orlistat in the next few months.
4 Killed in Plane Crash
Federal officials say four people
were killed in California when a
tw in-engine plane skidded off an
airport runw ay Tuesday and burst
in to fla m e s. T he je t-e n g in e d
C e s s n a 5 6 0 w as la n d in g at
M cClellan-Palom ar A irport on a
flight from Hailey. Idaho when it
skidded o ff the end o f a runway.
hi Loving Memory
.laue Washington, laic publisher
i >lthc Portland ( Ibseiver
Born: hin. 23. 1937
Died: March 15.1996
Seattle’s defensive line celebrate a NFL Championship Sunday that clinched them a Feb. 5 date
with Pittsburgh in the Super Bowl. I t ’s the first time Seattle has advanced to the Super Bowl in
Seahawks franchise history. See story in Sports, page A6. (AP photo)
Seattle
Super B o w l B ou n d
Shaun Alexander holds up the NFC Championship
trophy after Seattle beat the Carolina Panthers 34-
14 Sunday to earn their spot in the Super Bowl,
the first ever for the Seahawks. See story in
Sports, page A6. (AP photo)
Outrage Deepens in Kendra James Case
Ruling called a
‘great injustice’
by S arah B lount
T iie P ortland O bserver
Com m unity outrage deepened last week
after another ruling in favor o f the officer
w ho shot and killed K endra James.
Dr. LeRoy Haynes o f the A lbina M iniste
rial Alliance’sCoalition forJustice said over
turning O fficer Scott M cC ollister's suspen
sion was a great injustice.
“T oru leo n a technicality is a detrim ent to
the total com m unity," said Haynes. “ It is
clear there is no accountability, and that has
to change."
M cCollister was aw arded back pay for
his five and a half month suspension after
the 2(X)3 death. Form er police ch ief Mark
Kroeker called the shooting tactically un
sound, reasoning not shared by Portland
police training officers or state arbitrator
John C. Truesdale.
Truesdale said the Portland
Police Bureau failed to co n d .ct
a full internal affairs investiga
tion. There was not enough in
form ation refuting testim ony
that the officer acted appropri
ately, he wrote.
Portland Police C hief D er
rick Foxworth, who was assis
tant chief at the time o f the shoot-
in g ,
h ad
reco m m en d ed
M cC ollister's term ination for
unsatisfactory perform ance.
F o x w o rth re s p o n d e d to
T hursday’s ruling by the arbi
trator in a statem ent:
Kendra James
“ T h is in c id e n t c a u s e d tre m e n d o u s
em o tio n w ithin the co m m u n ity , and I u n
d erstan d the fru stratio n and hurt people
felt in regard to this sh o o tin g ,” he said.
“ As ch ief, I respect the due process sy s
tem and will abide w ith the a rb itra to r's
d e c isio n ."
Jam es, 21, was shot on the morning o f
May 5 , 2(X)3 as she tried to drive away from
a traffic stop on North Skidm ore Street.
Dr. LeRoy Haynes
She was no, armed, but when the officer
was checking for outstanding warrants, she
attem pted to flee the scene. M cCollister
testified to having one foot in the car and one
on the ground when she put the car into
drive. The officer then drew his w eapon and
shot her.
The shooting set o ff a wave o f contro
versy, placing the police bureau, and its
questionable tactics, under heavy fire. Many
c o m m u n ity
g ro u p s
c a lle d
fo r
M cC ollister's prosecution and the bu
reau disciplined him for exercising prior
ju d g m en t. H ow ever, M cC ollister was
cleared by a grand jury, and in 2005 a
federal ju ry rejected a wrongful death suit
brought by Jam es’ relatives.
Foxworth urges the community to move
forward from the incident in a positive and
constructive manner.
“ 1 w ant to e n su re the co m m u n ity and
B ureau m em bers that since this in c i
dent. the police bureau has im plem ented
nu m ero u s ch an g es in regard to its d i
rectiv es, train in g and use o f fo rc e.”
Foxworth credits the AMA and the
com m unity for progress within the bureau,
but Haynes said more must be done. The
AM A continues to m onitor the bureau, and
they expect a report soon from Foxworth
tracking its progress.
“ We are cautiously optim istic about bu
reau changes," Haynes said. “I think some
fundam ental changes have taken place, but
there also have to be changes in the state
law and grand jury system .”
Potter
Confronts
Housing
Issues
Mayor Tom
Potter attends a
YWCA Meals on
Wheels site
helping Barbara
Mahoney, the
substitute center
manager and
kitchen manager
Angie Boyd
prepare lunch.
by S arah B lount
T he P ortland O bserver
«
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The Federal Fair Housing Act o f 1968 was
one o f Martin Luther King J r.'s las, anti-
discrim ination initiatives, passed days after
his assassination.
Today, fair and affordable housing op
portunities remain a struggle for many Port
land residents, an issue M ayor Tom Potter
is making a priority.
Potter discussed strategies to advance
equality in Portland's housing market with
the Portland Observer.
He is pushing new efforts by the com m u
nity. City Council and Portland D evelop
ment Com m ission to increase the stock o f
low i ncomc and mi nority hornet > w ners a long
with affordable rental housing.
A H om eow nership Advisory Com m ittee
presentation to the City Council in August
2(X)4 recognized a troubling racial housing
continued
y^
on page .45
photo by I saiah
B oule /T he P ort
land O bserver
Children Come First for Mayor
Leads effort to
support schools
BY K hava D arko
T he P orti . and O bserver
M ayor Tom Potter is putting children firs,
as he begins a second year in office.
Potter is leading a local effort ,0 either
extend a tem porary local income tax to sup
port Portland Public Schools or find some
other revenue to keep schools whole. He is
w orking to make housing fairand affordable
,0 low incom e and m inority families and
supports policies that reduce the num ber of
children who lack g<Mxl nutrition and m edi
cal care.
I
Every child deserves decent health. fo<
and good schools, he told the Portlai
O bserver in an exclusive interview.
A form er police ch ief and career publ
servant. Potter finds him self battling wli
he sees as an am azing am ount of local eh
dren that go to bed hungry, are homele
continued
"y^
on page 45