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