50fí
36
y dears
L iv in g
S m a rt
‘City of Roses'
Jefferson
Dancers
Alumni included
in celebration
See story, paye A 7
^ n ru a ith
TLWeek in
The Review
School Closures Approved
The Portland School Board has
voted to close Gregory Heights
Middle Schixil and RoseCity Park
Elementary School in northeast
Portland, and Kellogg Middle
School in southeast Portland,
with more closures possible by
Thursday. The axe fell because of
budget cuts and declining enroll­
ment. See sto ry, page A3.
Ex-School Janitors Win
The Oregon Supreme Court re­
fused to reconsider an October
ruling, stating that the Portland
School District violated state la­
bor laws when it fired janitors in
2002 for lower paid contractors.
Now the ex-employees may be
awarded back wages. See story,
page A3.
Top Court Backs Smith
The Supreme
C ourt ruled
Monday that
o n e -tim e
stripper and
Playboy Play­
m ate A nna
Nicole Smith
could pursue part of her late
husband's oil fortune. The estate
of J. Howard Marshall II has been
estimated at as much as $ 1.6 bil­
lion.
New Evacuation Plans
M ayor Ray
N agin u n ­
veiled a new
e v a c u a tio n
strategy for
New Orleans
on Tuesday
th at relies
m ore
on
buses and
tra in s and
Superdome and Convention Cen­
ter as shelters. “There will be no
shelter of last resort,” Nagin de­
clared.
See story, page AH
Established in 1970
Volume XXXVI. Number 18
www.portlandobserver.com
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden tied up
the Senate for more than 4 1/2
hours Thursday as he tried to
force a vote on a plan to make
energy companies pay royalties
on hundreds of leases of federal
land. See story, page A2.
Clippers Finally Win
The Los An­
g e le s C lip ­
pers were a
happy bunch
Monday after
p u ttin g an
end to a 30-
year drought
by b eatin g
the D en v er
Nuggets. The
Clippers hadn’t won a playoff
series since 1976, when the team
was playing in Buffalo with Coach
Jack Ramsey . See story in Sports,
Wednesday • May 03, 2006
Rallying Immigrant Support
Comparisons to
civil rights
struggle made
by
universal relevance:
Nelly Contreras watched the
rally, dressed in full regalia rep­
resen tin g her d an ce group,
M ex ica T e a h u i, as Ja so n
Scheckler with the Carpenters
Union spoke about the down fall
of millions of M exican farmers
since the North American Free
Trade Agreem ent (N A FTA ).
Later, chants in Philippine pro­
claimed, “ United together, w e’ II
never be defeated!”
A young white woman spoke
about sm all farm ers in the
shadow of large agriculture, and
was sometimes taken aback at
the eruptions o f applause.
I t ’s not c le a r how o u r
economy was affected by an­
ticipated labor strikes, but many
workers who were not striking
came to the rally to offer their
support.
Alex Mendez, A Latino born
of immigrant parents but raised
in Oregon, smiled as he marched
by, clutching an American (lag.
“This is my first rally," he
said.
5¡¡® -J»
S arah B lount
P ortland ( ) bserver
T hl
An estim ated 1 (),(XX) Latinos
and equal rights supporters
formed a traffic-crippling march
through downtown Portland dur­
ing a "Day Without Immigrants”
rally and parade on May Day.
From the fam iliar chants of
“Si Se Puede” (Yes. We Can)
to “ Hell No, We W on't G o,”
M onday's fight for immigration
rights dem onstrated the spread
from a Latino focus to a struggle
for all citizens.
The presense o f one of the
rally’s first speakers, Gary Clay,
who was invited to speak by the
Immigration Rights Coalition,
represented a shared purpose.
"A s an African American, I
can identify,” he said to a swell­
ing crowd on the South Park
Blocks.
"W hat they’re going through
is p a rtia lly w h at we w ent
through with the Civil Rights
days,”he later said.
Many countries around the
world recognize the first dtty
May as International W orker’s
Day and Portland’s May Day
crow d was one o f the city's
most diverse gatherings to date.
The mix o f such a boisterous
crowd seemed to illustrate the
issue’s growing importance and
Gary Clay calls for justice,
saying he can identify with
people struggling for
equality at the ‘Day With­
out Immigrants' rally in
downtown Portland Mon­
day.
photo by
T ill
for C in c o D e M a y o
Weekend festival
begins Thursday
New and familiar music, foods and
activities will make the downtown
Waterfront sizzle with the 22nd An­
nual Cinco De Mayo Fiesta, opening
Thursday and continuing through
Sunday at Tom McCall Waterfront
Park.
S p o nsored by the P ortland
Guadalajara SisterCity Association,
the family fun activities, cultural ex­
changes, and educational opportu­
nities are expected to draw 3(X),(XX)
people to the event.
As always, the fiesta will feature
The Latin grooves o f Las 3 Divas will delight crowds during Portland's Cinco De Mayo Fiesta. the popular family carnival through-
out theevent and will host its famous
Fireworks Spectacular on Friday,
May 5 at 10 p.m.
The fiesta takes on a special sig­
nificance this year, as the Mayor of
Guadalajara will visit Portland to re­
new the 23-year old Portland-
Guadalajara Sister City Agreement
with Portland Mayor Tom Potter.
Also, the festival will welcome the
installment its new “Guadalajara Pa­
vilion," dedicated solely to show­
case the unique handcrafted works
of 38 artisans and jewelers visiting
from Portland's Mexican SisterCity.
“This year marks a very special
Cinco de Mayo Fiesta,” said Maria
by S arah B lount
T he P o rti . and O bserver
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continued
on page A 8
Police Shuffle May Stifle Minority Voice
With top brass Foxworth and
Elmore out, progress could stall
c
o
31)
u
S arah B lount /
P( IR I LAND ( ) hs KRV LR
Waterfront Sizzle
Wyden Shuts Down Senate
page B6.
,
Houses for narrow lots
of
•/community service
(Lite
a ,
W hen Police C hief Derrick
Foxworth was placed on paid leave
last month, the mayor gave interim
chief Rosie Sizer full control of the
reigns. As Tom Potter said, she
must have complete authority in
order to run the 950-member force.
It’s a sound idea, but the results
of Sizer's shockingly swift reorga­
nization have been alarming. As­
sistant Chief Dorothy Elmore said
Sizer asked her to step aside the day
after Sizer's appointment, prompt­
ing Elmore to announce her retire­
ment date. June 30. Foxworth ap­
pointed Elmore last October as the
first African American woman as­
sistant chief. Elmore told the O r­
egonian last week that Sizer in­
formed her of her decision the day
after she was appointed to acting
chief.
No replacement has been named
tor Elmore, who leads the support
services branch in charge of the
personnel, records and internal af­
fairs.
A sexual misconduct complaint
against Foxworth is currently un­
der independent review. and Potter
announced plans to open the
c h ie f's jo b to com petition if
Foxworth doesn't return, gets de­
moted or retires three years early.
1
Derrick Foxworth
Dorothy Elmore
Judging from the new activity and
new blixxl, the recent changes may
be permanent.
This happens to the dismay of
many African Americans, who've
expressed concerns about minor-
ity and police relations - a compli­
cated issue Foxworth was success­
ful in addressing, after former Chief
Mark Kroeker left the bureau with a
legacy of brutality and senseless
police shtx'tings.
Foxworth was a local hero to
many Portlanders, given his rela­
tionship in his hom etow n, and
his ability to bridge the gap be­
tween the police and black com ­
munity. S izer's hasty entrance
leaves some w ondering if Port­
land is headed backw ards in the
struggle to have equal represen­
tation.
Sizer has pledged to pick up
where Foxworth left off reaching
out to all minorities, and said offic­
ers must not rely solely on arrests,
but must build relationships in the
neighborhixxls they serve.