50)¿
Gateway to College
Jefferson Dancers home for Spring
Concert after winning scholarships
years of
•^community service
See story, Metro section inside
‘City of Roses
Established in 1970
Volume XXXVI. Number 16
.Week ¡n
The Review
Porter Talks Blazer Buyout
Form er Blaz
e rs
g u a rd
T erry P orter
arrived in Port
land Tuesday
to meet with
p o te n tia l in
vestors interested in buying the
team and the Rose G arden arena.
He will m eet with the m ayor
W ednesday . See story, page A3.
Quake’s 100th Anniversary
S irens w ailed through San F ran
cisco at 5:12 a.m . T uesd ay as
resid e n ts m arked the m om ent
100 years ea rlier w hen the G reat
Q uake struck, shattering the city
a n d to u c h in g o f f fire s th a t
burned fo r days. T he 1906 d i
saster w as one o f the w orst in
U .S. h isto ry .
Lacrosse Players Charged
T w o D uke U niversity lacrosse
p lay ers w ere arrested on rape
ch a rg es T uesd ay in a scandal
th a t h a s r o c k e d o n e o f
A m eric a’s elite cam puses and
raised ex p lo siv e q u estio n s o f
race, class and the p riv ileg ed
status o f co lleg e ath letes. S ee
sto ry , p age A2.
Gas Prices Push Inflation
A big ju m p in g asoline prices
pushed inflatio n at the w h o le
sale level up in M arch at the
fastest pace in three m onths, as
oil prices above $ 70 a barrel
sent co n su m ers a h igh-octane
w a rn in g o f e x p e n s iv e c o s ts
ah ead .
www.portlandobserver.com
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Wednesday • April 19. 2006
Wide Open
State Rep.
Election
‘Fit g i g
F abulous ’
May Primary sees
competitive race
Ebony fashions hot
styles for charities
by S arah B lount
T he : P ortland O bserver
Three north Portland residents are
bri ng i ng thei r ideas for healthcare .jobs
and education to voters in a com peti
tive race for State Representative in an
election that has no incumbent run
ning.
Tina Kotek. Mark Kirchmeier and
Jim Robison are vying for voters in the
May 16 Democratic Primary in the
heavily Democratic House District 44,
encom passing most o f north Portland
from 1-5 to St. John’s. The w inner will
advance to the General Election in
November.
The 48lh Annual Ebony Fash
ion Fair Show “Fit to Be Fabu-
lous” stops in Portland on
Friday. April 21 celebrat
ing new, varied and exciting
designs in an event to raise schol
arships for local African American
women.
Fit to Be Fabulous is the w orld’s largest
traveling fashion show, featuring extrava
gant styles from high-profile designers around
the globe.
The Portland C hapter o f The Links, Inc. will
sponsor the fair at the Oregon Convention Center,
111 N.E. M artin Luther King Jr. Blvd. at 8 p.m.
Twelve Ebony models, including two men, will
showcase the glam orous and elegant designs of
Givenchy and O scar de la Renta, and black designers,
including B. M ichael and Tracy Reese. Fashion authority
Eunice W. Johnson produces and directs the show.
Since the fashion fair’s inception in 1958, Ebony has
donated more than $52 m illion to charitable donations.
A Persian inspired
print gown o f silk
chiffon is banded in
gold beading and
word with a contrast
ing god-bordered
stole is one o f the
many fashions to be
featured at Friday's
Ebony Fashion Fair
benefiting local
scholarships.
continued
Pointer Sister Remembered
T he y oungest
m em ber o f the
Pointer Sisters
isbeingrem em -
bered after her
death last w eek
o f cancer. June
Pointer sang on the hits ‘I’m So
E xcited,' “Jum p (For My L ove)’
and ‘F ire.’ She was 52. See story,
page A6.
Students Raise Voices
Minority Scores Omitted
S ta te s a r e h e lp in g p u b lic
s c h o o ls e s c a p e p e n a ltie s by
sk irting the No C hild Left B e
hind law that stu d en ts o f all
races m ust show annual a c a
d em ic pro g ress. S chools d e lib
era tely a r e n 't co u n tin g the test
scores o f nearly 2 m illion stu
d ents w hen they report progress
by racial groups, an A sso c i
ated P ress co m p u ter analysis
fo u n d .
Immigrant Bill Vetoed
Gov. Janet N apolitano vetoed a
bill that would have crim inalized
the presence o f illegal immigrants
i n Arizona, citi ng opposition from
police agencies that want im m i
gration arrests to remain the re
sponsibility o f the federal gov
ernment.
Tina Kotek
Occupation -
Policy director
r
fo r C h ild re n
F irs , fo r O r
egon.
K otek lives
in the Kenton
k •’/?*** $
n e ig h b o rh o o d
with her part
ner, Aimee.
She ran in a
close race for
House District "
43 in 2004, the T'n a K otek
$
1
FA 4 1
adjacent state representative district
where she used to reside in the nearby
W oodlawn neighborhood.
Although she’s never held public
office, K otek's passion is in state
policy; her professional careerincludes
significant bipartisan work in Salem,
including the state’s M edicaid A dvi
sory Com m ittee and Human Services
Coalition o f Oregon.
Kotek describes District 44 as one
with twogroups: veterans w ho’ve lived
in the area for 40 or 50 years, and the
newcomers.
“T hat k i nd o f ne w and old creates an
energy in the com m unity,” she said.
“The state needs to look at affordable
housing and how we can keep people
in their hom es.”
Kotek said the solutions com e down
to jo b s and money to m aintain a livable
community.
“It's a challenge to keep the w ork
ing-class tradition alive,” she said. “We
need lots o f different things to live and
work in north Portland.”
Her advantage over K irchm eier and
Robison: "W hen you work for non
profits y o u ’re not a D em ocrat o r a
Republican. My experience has been
w orking in a bipartisan way. I d o n 't
think my opponents have com e close.”
For more inform ation on K otek’s
candidacy, visit w w w .votetina.com .
Mark Kirchmeier
photo by I saiah
B ouie / T he P or t i . and O bserver
Faridhy Torrecilla raises her voice to support irrigation rights at a downtown rally. She was one o f hundreds o f local stu
dents who walked out o f classes in an organized protest Friday.
School walkout for
immigration rights
Hundreds o f local students walked
out o f Portland area classroom s, jo in
ing students from Southridge to Sandy,
to gather at the Southwest Park Blocks
downtown in support o f im migration
rights.
The blocks by the Portland Art Museum
were packed by nixrn Friday, mostly with
students from high school but alsoelemen-
tary school, alongside police. Students from
Madison High School in northeast Port
land were given permission to join the
protest as a civics lesson.
The sea of protesters waved signs
and listened to speakers who spoke so
excitedly their English interpreters had a
hard time keeping up.
O ccu p atio n
- hom ebuilder
and legislative
a s s is ta n t
to
State Rep. Gary
Hansen; former
sta ff assistant
for Rep. Ron
W yden.
K irch m eier
lives w ith his
Mark Kirchmeier
w ife and tw o
children in University Park neighbor
hood. Schools, jo b s and healthcare are
his top priorities.
“O ur best strategy to keep north
and northeast Portland racially and
ethnically diverse is to provide afford
able housing,” he said. “T he best way
is tw ofold - increase the supply o f
ow ner occupied hom es and m ake sure
agencies like the Portland D evelop
ment Com m ission provides rent assis
tance and other assistance to keep
housing prices low .”
continued
on page A 6