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April 26. 2006
New Orleans Votes Along Racial Lines
Mayor Nagin to face
challenger in runoff
(A P) — In a com plete rever­
sal o f support from four years
ago. New Orleans Mayor Ray
Nagin scored heavily w ith black
voters and was practically aban­
doned by whites as he and Lt.
Gov. Mitch Landrieu won spots
in a mayoral runoff election.
The black incumbent, who
received most o f his support
from while voters in the 2(X)2
election, garnered less than It)
percent o f the vote Saturday in
predom inantly white precincts,
according to a consulting firm
analyzing demographic data for
the New Orleans Redevelop­
ment Authority.
But Nagin, who offended
some white voters in January
when he suggested God wanted
New O rle a n s to re m a in a
“chocolate city,” saw black vot­
ers rush to his defense. He re­
ceived 65 percent or more of
the vote in predominantly black
neighborhoods, the consultant
found.
Landrieu, who is white, fin­
ished with 29 percent o f the
overall vote to N agin's 38 per­
cent. He finished second in black
neighborhoods tc Nagin and
second in white neighborhoods
Mayor Ray Nagin
Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu
to th ird -p lac e fin ish e r Ron Katrina.
Landrieu said Sunday that the
Forman, bolstering his claims
that he can help bring together num ber o f voters who chose
diverse groups to help New candidates other than Nagin
Orleans emerge from the dev­ dem onstrated that voters want
a s ta tio n left by H u rric a n e change. "This city, this great
city, calls for change," he said.
Nagin, a form er cable televi­
sion executive seeking his sec­
ond term as mayor, said his
overall win is an endorsem ent
o f his perform ance and his plans
for the city 's future.
“ I just feel w e're on the right
track, and people have verified
that to me," he said.
The numbers suggest it will
be a serious challenge for Nagin
to broaden his support in time
for the May 20 runoff.
“His one shot is to get enough
o f the whites who liked him four
years ago to like him again,"
said political an aly st Elliott
Stonecipher.
Those votes are all the more
important because the city is
w hiter than it was before Katrina
hit Aug. 29: Fewer than half the
city ’s 455,000 residents have
returned, most of those displaced
a re b la c k . Only about 20,000
e v a c u e e s p a rtic ip a te d in
Saturday’s election by absen­
tee ballot, fax and satellite sta­
tions, although an unknown num­
ber returned to the city to vote in
person.
Nearly half o f voters in pre­
dom inantly white areas turned
out, com pared with about 30
percent o f registered voters in
black neighborhrxxls. w hich also
tended to be the worst hit by
flooding.
A bout 36 percent o f the city ’s
297,000 eligible voters partici­
pated in S aturday's election,
some traveling hundredsof miles
to help decide who w ill lead one
of the biggest urban reconstruc­
tion projects in U.S. history.
M M N M M M M i
Tavern Robberies Arrest
A 43-year-old man has been
charged with two o f the recent
string o f robberies at Portland
bars and taverns during operat­
ing hours.
Eric Lee Presley is accused
o f the March 20 robbery of
Thatcher’s Lounge in south­
east Portland and northeast
Portland’s W ilshire Tavern on
M arch 23. He a ls o fa ces
charges o f unauthorized use of
a m otor vehicle, theft, kidnap­
ping and assault.
Portland robbery detectives
said they used forensic evi­
dence from the crime scenes
and witness accounts to link
Presley to the crimes. Addi­
tionally, a victim's vehicle taken
d u rin g th e ro b b e ry o f
T hatcher’s Lounge was recov­
ered and returned to its owner.
Vancouver Shocked by McDonalds Attack
Teen dies in
random
violence
Eric Presley
Authorities said there are ad­
ditional suspects in both cases
and anyone with information is
a sk e d to c a ll D e te c tiv e
Christensen at 503-823-0266.
Fort Vancouver High School
s tu d e n ts an d th e g re a te r
Vancouver com m unity are in
shock and disbelief over the
death o f a teenage girl attacked
by a man with a knife last Thurs­
d ay w h ile w o rk in g in a
M cD onald's restaurant.
Anna S vidersky was less than
a w eek aw ay from her 18lh
birthday when she was stabbed
several times in the chest.
A witness followed the attacker
from the restaurant and police
arrested David Sullivan a short
Anna Svidersky
time later. Sullivan is a registered
sex offender and suffers from
paranoid schizophrenia.
Svidersky, a Fort Vancouver
<*”
The m urder appeared to be
random, said Vancouver Police
C hief Brian Martinek. “We have
no reason to believe the two
knew each other.”
Sullivan told police he took
the knife into the V ancouver
M cD onald’s with the “intent to
hurt a fem ale,” according to a
Clark County Sheriff's deputy’s
statem ent.
Officers said Sullivan “com ­
plains o f feeling suicidal" and
made “bizarre statem ents” and
during a court appearance Fri­
day in Clark County Superior
C o u rt, he was sh aking and
David Sullivan
twitching.
High School senior, was clean­
According to court records,
ing a table near the end o f her he also has a crim inal history
work shift when Sullivan at­ that includes kidnapping and
tacked her, police said.
unlawful imprisonment.
* *****
. .**
Distractions Cause Most Accidents
Risks worst
than once
thought
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(AP) — Those sleep-
deprived, multitasking driv­
ers - clutching cell phones,
fiddling with their radios or
applying lipstick - appar­
ently are involved in an
awful lot o f crashes.
Distracted drivers were
involved in nearly eight out
o f 10 collisions or near­
crashes, says a new study
released by the govern­
A man talks on his cell phone as he drives. Distractions
ment.
R esearchers review ed are the leading cause o f automobile accidents. (AP photo)
thousands o f hours of video
Researchers said the report
and data from sensor monitors governm ent’s highway safety
showed the first links between
linked to more than 2 0 0 drivers, agency.
and pinpointed examples of what
A d riv er’s reaching for a crash risks and a driver’s activi­
keeps drivers from paying close moving object increased the risk ties, from eating and talking to
o f a crash or potential collision receiving e-mail.
attention to the road.
“ All o f these activ ities are
“We see people on the road­ by nine times, according to re­
ways talking on the phone, searchers at the National High­ m uch m ore dangerous than we
checking their stocks, checking way Traffic Safety A dm inistra­ th o u g h t b e f o r e ,” s a id Dr.
scores, fussing with their MP3 tion and the Virginia Tech Trans­ C harlie K lauer, a senior re ­
search associate at the in sti­
players, reading e-mails, all whi le portation Institute.
tute.
D ata from police reports
They
found
that
the
risk
o
f
a
driving 40, 5 0 ,6 0 , 70 miles per
had
estim
ated that d riv er in at­
hourand sometimes even faster,” crash increases alm ost three­
said Jacqueline Glassnian. act­ fold when a driver is dialing a tention was a factor in about
25 percent o f crashes.
ing a d m in is tr a to r o f th e cell phone.
variety o f auto coverage options we have to offer.
il,r J ln rtla n b (Observer Established 1970
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