Committed to Cultural Diversity www.portlandobserver.com M etro Îlîl ^lortlanb OOhscruer /C o m m u n ity C a le n d a r PCC Art Beat Festival The an beat goes on at the 19lh A nnual Art Beat festival at all Portland Community Col lege cam ­ puses, May 8-12. The festival offers students com m unity ac­ cess to local, regional and na­ tional artists, plus visual art, dance, music, theater and literary events. T his event is free and open to the public. Black Affairs Convention The Oregon Black Political C on­ vention will be held Friday, April 28 through Sunday, April 30 at the Holiday Inn, Convention C en­ ter, 1441 N.E. Second Ave. Port­ land M ayor Tom Potter presents w elcom ing rem arks on Saturday at 8:45 a.m. Lents Resource Fair Southeast Portland residents are invited to learn about hom e o w n ­ ership opportunities, park im ­ provem ents, street repairs and the future 1-205 Max light rail line at the Lents Resource Fair, Satur­ day, April 29 from 9a.m . to I p.m. at Lent Elem entary School, 5105 S.E. 97,h Ave. T here also will be special activities for kids, includ­ ing free bike helmets. Neighborhoods Celebrate The C oncordia and Fox Chase neighborhoods o f northeast Port­ land present a street fair, Satur­ day, Apri 129 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on N ortheast 3()lh A venue be­ tw een K illingsw orth and Jarrett s tr e e ts . T h e ‘N e ig h b o rh o o d Spring T hing’ will include music, art activities, free bicycle helm ets for kids, story telling, puppet shows and other perform ances. Women in NAACP W om en in N A A C P meets from 10:30a.m. to 1 p.m. the first Satur­ day o f each m onth at the A m eri­ can R edC ross Building, 3131 N. V ancouver. For questions, call 503-249-6263. A p ril 26. 20 0 6 Hip Hop comes to town with ‘Cinco de Mayo Bomb’ Old school rappers and chart-topping newcom ers blast the Rose Garden see story, page B2 Full Court Press Jim Hill challenges governor by S arah Bi.ot nt T he P ortland O bserver Jim Hill doesn't like being labeled the anti- Kulongoski candidate. He follow s his criti­ cism against the current governor with solu­ tions to the setbacks O regon has struggled with during the incum bent's term. " I'm not just saying I’m not K ulongoski,” he said. “I’m saying I’m Jim Hill." Hill, 58, represents the many people frus­ trated with snail-paced im provem ents in O regon’s econom y, crow ded classroom s and a failing health care system. He is one of two Dem ocrats challenging K ulongoski in the May 16 Primary. An O regonian since 1974, Hill retains a southern accent from his childhood in A t­ lanta. He relocated to Oregon with his wife and infant daughter from Indiana, where he obtained a B achelor’s degree from M ichi­ gan State University and a M aster’s in B usi­ ness A dm inistration and Law D egree from Indiana University. Hill was elected State Treasurer in 1992, making history as the first African American in Oregon to hold a statewide office. He form erly held office as both a State R epre­ sentative and Senator from the Salem area. He currently is single and lives in Salem. This is H ill’s second run for governor, follow ing a loss to Kulongoski in the 2002 D em ocratic Primary. He said for him the scales were tipped to running again when form er Gov. John K itzhaber backed out of another run for the office. On facing an incum bent. Hill said, “ If y ou’re not doing your jo b , then som eone continued y ^ on pane US photo by I saiah B ouie /T he P ortland O bserver Gubernatorial candidate Jim Hill visits with voters Saturday at Sellwood Park s Earth Day celebration in southeast Portland. Sounding Off on the Issues Immigration: H ill: “We have to deal with this in a way that reflects O regon’s v alu es...as long as people pay taxes and have nocrim inal record we have to accom m odate them .” Sorenson: “ I’m committed to non-discrim i­ nation on the basis o f national o rig in ...w e shouldn't check for legality if em ergency m edical services have to be provided." Jobs: Hill: “ W e need to help businesses that are already here with low -interest loans and access to capital to grow .” S oren son : “ B u sin esses fail becau se o f lack o f capital and m anagem ent skills. W e m ust have in v estm en t and m anagem ent Corporate Taxes: Hill: “I will re-direct theCorporate K ickerto education and raise the $ 10 minimum corpo­ rate tax to fund schools.” S orenson: “T he corporate incom e tax should be m odified so that loopholes such as credits, exem ptions and deductions re­ sult in a more equitable level o f contribu­ tion.” Pete Sorenson Wants to Listen, Lead Free College Outreach The first Saturday o f each month, from 12p.m. to 2 p .m ., high school students can get free help from O regon State U niversity on pre­ paring for any college at the Matt D ishm an C om m unity C enter, 77 N.E. Knott St. by S arah B lount T he P ortland O bserver Networking Skills The function o f netw orking for jo b s and business opportunities will be explored during a Oregon A ssociation o f M inority Entre­ preneurs Coffee and Issues fo­ rum at 7 a.m. Friday, April 28 at O A M E Cascade Plaza, 4134 N. V ancouver Ave. The one-hour session is open to the public and no registration is necessary. Japanese Garden Plant Sale The Japanese G arden will help you bring new life and color to your garden at its annual plant sale on Saturday, Apri 129, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. outside the gates of garden in the upper parking lot. A dm ission is free. Welcome Spring at PCC P o rtland C o m m u n ity C ollege hosts the second annual Beltane Festival at C ascade and South­ east cam puses, M onday, May I from 11 a.m. to5 p.m. Enjoy music as well as drum m ing and dancing. c o m p o n e n ts .' photo by S arah B i . oi n i /T hi P ortland O bserver Candidate for governor Pete Sorenson visits with Dawn Pierson on Northeast Rodney Avenue Monday while canvassing door to door, preparing for the May 16 Democratic Primary. Pete Sorenson is a candidate who likes the idea o f accessibility. At age 54, the current Lane County com m issioner looks back on his political career as form er state Senator, Legislative Assistant to U.S. Rep. Jim W eaver and Special Assistant to U.S. Secretary o f A griculture for the C arter A dm inis­ tration. This experience, he says, has given him definitive ideas about what people expect from elected officials. “A ccessibility is at the heart o f making things better," he said. It’s one thing to handle the issues o f 320,000 Lane County residents, and another to deal with 3.5 million O regonians, but Sorenson has worked out a detailed plan to accom plish his plan: “I’d like to go out 10 times during my first year in office and visit O reg o n ’s five congressional d istricts.” H e’d theoretically have conversations with 12 people in six hours and hold town hall m eetings in the evening. S o ren so n said the idea is to have a g eo ­ g rap h ic b alan ce w ith m eetings un filtered by continued y ^ on page R5 Ceramic Showcase The Oregon Potters Association hosts the n ation's largest all-clay show May 5-7 at the Oregon C on­ vention C enter. The show in­ c lu d e s in fo rm a tio n b o o th s , ch ildren’s areas and live demos. The last day o f the show is free. community’ service 1 Senseless 6Cold Case’ Murder Solved night of the murder, but instead shot G ra­ ham. John Cory Brown III, 30, and C harles D eangelos Jenkins, 28, are both charged with G rah am 's m urder and LaQ uandre T ay­ lor, 26, has been charged with conspiracy to com m it his murder. The family o f the victim has been strug­ gling for justice since the senseless killing. His son. now grown up. chocked back tears w hen told the suspects have finally been arrested. “T he co llab o rativ e effo rt b etw een o u r Victim gunned down 9 years ago A 9-year-old m urder has been solved with the arrest o f three people and the efforts o f a “Cold C ase" unit o f the Portland Police B ureau's other law enforcem ent. 24-year-old Thom as G raham died after being shot in the chest at the corner o f North A lbina Street and K illingsworth C ourt on Nov. 2 8 , 1997. At the time, police suspected he was the innocent victim o f gang violence. N ow prosecutors believe that three men went hunting for a rival gang m em ber on the Charles Deangelos Jenkins (from left), John Cory Brown III and LaQuandre Taylor. continued y^ on page H5