Chinese Garden Celebrates The Chinese New Year and the Year o f the Dog brings a month o f special events years of •/community service See Focus inside 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 « ■ 5/J 5 o O s ’ I Ä b a? > 2 0 x : —1 -* W) Os 2 5 » 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