Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current, May 03, 2006, Page 7, Image 7

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    |Jortlaub (©bseruer
MayO3.20C5
L aw & J ustice
Equality Stalled for Many in Oregon
Career Criminal
Gets 15 Years
Progress Board
report card
For Alberta Park shootings
Rahsann Latif Sloan was sen­
tenced to prison for 15 years Fri­
day by U.S. District Court Judge
Anna J. Brown following his ear-
lierpleuof guilty to being an Armed
CareerCriininal.
In drive-by shootings on July
17 and 18, Sloan fired shots to­
ward a group of individuals in
Alberta Park. Although no one
was injured in the shootings, dur­
ing the first episode, one stray
bullet hit a passing mini-van oc­
cupied by three people. During
the second incident, a stray bullet
went through the window of a
nearby residence. A total of 16
shell casings were found at the
scene by the officers.
A mandatory minimum of 15
years was im posed under the
Armed CareerCriininal Act based
upon Sloan’s previous robbery
conviction and two separate con­
victions for Delivery of a Con­
trolled Substance.
“ Prosecuting arm ed career
crim inals is a top priority for this
o ffice," stated U.S. A ttorney
Karin J. Immergut. "Gang-related
violent offenders who threaten
our safety must be removed from
our com m unities. Oregon resi­
dents should not be afraid to
leave their homes and should be
able to walk freely in the streets
without w orrying about becom ­
ing a victim of gun violence.”
Even though most racially and
ethnically diverse groups in Or­
egon are more educated and arrest-
free than in 1990, progress has
slowed or reversed since 2000 for
eighth grade reading, prenatal care,
poverty, arrests and home owner­
ship.
The findings are from a new re­
port called Oregon Benchmarks: A
Report on the Progress of Oregon's
Racially and Ethnically Diverse
Populations.
“This important study from the
O regon Progress Board again
dem onstrates the need for more
ta rg e te d a tte n tio n by p u b lic
policy m akers," said Sen. Avel
P lea D e a l on D r u g C h a rg e
Limbaugh
submits to
random testing
A ttorney’s O ffice may revoke
or modify the deal if Limbaugh
violates the terms, according to
the agreement.
Prosecutors accused him of
illegally deceiving multiple doc­
tors to receive overlapping pre­
scriptions, a practice known as
doctor shopping. A fter seizing
his medical records, authorities
learned Limbaugh received up
to 2,000 painkillers, prescribed
by four doctors in six months.
However, the single charge
only alleges that Limbaugh ille­
Rush Limbaugh
gally obtained about 40 pills, said
Prosecutors launched their in­ M ike E dm ondson, a state
v e stig a tio n a fte r L im b a u g h ’s attorney's spokesman. He would
housekeeper alleged he abused not elaborate or explain why pros­
O xyContin and other painkillers. ecutors sealed back the case.
He entered a five-w eek rehabili­
Kendall Coffey, a former U.S.
tation program that year and attorney and Miami defense law­
blamed his addiction on severe yer, said the agreement is a stan­
back pain.
dard deal for first-time, nonvio­
The Palm Beach County State lent drug offenders.
( AP) - Conservative talk show
host Rush Limbaugh must submit
to random drug tests under an
agreement filed Monday that will
dism iss a p rescrip tio n fraud
charge against him after 18 months
if he complies with the terms.
He also must continue treat­
ment for his acknowledged addic­
tion to painkillers and he cannot
own a gun.
The agreement did not call for
Limbaugh to admit guilt to the
charge that he sought a pre­
scription from a physician in
21)03 without revealing that he
had received m edications from
another practitioner within 30
days.
it's our hom e base.
At PGE, w e're excited to once again be an independent, publicly
traded company headquartered in Oregon — our home base —
and w e w ant you to celebrate w ith us at PGE Park I
Sen. Avel Gordly
Gordly, a local African American
leader who represents northeast
and southeast Portland in the
State Legislature.
“ Let us all rem em ber that
Oregon's racial and ethnic commu­
nities include taxpayers who have
not benefited equitably from public
policy making in education, health
care, housing and employment prac­
tices,” Gordly said.
The report com pares bench­
mark trends on education, health
and safety, and financial status
for O regon's racial and ethnic
p o p u latio n s: W hites, A frican
A m ericans, Am erican Indians,
Asians/Pacific Islanders and H is­
panics.
Oregon Benchmarks are 90qual-
ity-of-life indicators tracked and
reported on biennially by the Or­
egon Progress Board.
The state’s largest and fast­
est-grow ing diverse population,
Hispanics, fared worse than non-
H ispanics in all of the Oregon
Benchmarks exam ined. Hispan­
ics were in poverty at a greater
rate 2004 than in 20(X). Hispanics
and A merican Indians in particu­
lar have lower high school and
college com pletion rates and are
in poverty at a higher rate in O r­
egon than their counterparts na­
tionwide.
Asians/Pacific Islanders sur­
passed whites in education while
Oregon's otherdiverse populations
remained behind.
Oregon’s racially and ethnically
diverse population grew from seven
percent in 1990 to 13 percent in
2004. Hispanics made up most of
Oregon's diverse population that
year, having grown to 10 percent of
the population, up from 4 percent in
1990.
Alabama May Pardon Rosa Parks
And hundreds
of others from
segregation era
(AP)— Alabama Gov. Bob Riley
has signed legislation that sets up
a process to pardon civil rights icon
Rosa Parks and hundreds of others
arrested for violating segregation-
era laws.
Riley signed the bill April 21,
without making an official an­
nouncement. Jeff Emerson, the
governor’s communications direc­
tor, said Thursday.
Those arrested or family mem­
bers of those deceased would have
to request the pardons under the
bill, which passed April 17.
Rosa Parks
The bill names the new law "The
Rosa Parks Act." It could lead to
pardons for Parks, civil rights leader
Dr. Martin Luther King and hun­
dreds of others convicted of violat­
ing laws aimed at keeping the races
separate.
“This bill is a step in the right
direction in reconciling the plight
ot so many Alabamians whose
rights and freedoms were compro­
mised over the last century," said
Democratic Rep. Thad McClammy,
sponsor of the legislation in the
House.
The bill was amended to allow
museums, such as The Rosa Parks
Library and Museum in Montgom­
ery, to continue to display records
of the arrests.
Parks was arrested 50 years ago
for refusing to give up her seat to a
white man on a Montgomery city
bus, an event that sparked the his­
toric Montgomery bus boycott.
Newsroom Minority Hiring Falls Short
No parity for journalists of color
Journalists of color represent
only about 13.8 percent of the staff
in America’s daily newsrooms, ac­
cording to the latest census from
American Society of Newspaper
Editors.
The percentage represented a
nearly invisible increase from last
year’scensus, which identified 13.4
percent of daily journalists as be­
longing to racial and ethnic minor­
ity groups.
About one-quarter of U.S. daily
newspapers do not employ a single
minority journalist, meaning that
377 newspapers reported no minor­
ity newsroom employees.
The results show daily news-
papers are lagging badly in the
goal adopted by the e d ito r’s
group o f achieving a parity by
2025 between the percentage of
minority journalists working in
daily newsrooms, and the per­
centage of people o f color in the
U.S. general population. About
one-third o f the U.S. population
is comprised of people from racial
or ethnic minority groups.
Showtime 2006
16th Annual Benefit Concert
NO! KIDDING! CHOIR
in Concert
with special guest
NORMAN SYLVESTER
Saiu/ufacp, M ay 13, 2006
Live music • Giveaways and prizes • Larry the Lightbulb
Activities for kids in the Radio Disney Fun Zone
PGE's Wash, Dry and Win Sweepstakes • Fireworks after the game
QoteA opeM, a t 5:30 jz.m. * Qaate ita/cti a t 7:05 ii.rn.
P Q £ Gounm aaitif, G elelviatiaa.
2 - f o r -I t ic k e t s
S a t u r d a y , hl a y 1 3 »
Coupon good for 18 to $13
tickets Maximum of 6 tickets per
coupon Subject to availability
and ticketmaster service charge
For more information, visit
PortlandGeneral com'Homebase.
gates open - g oo p . m .
•
game start * - 7:os p . m .
Cheer on
the Portland Beavers
as they battle the
Texas team
Round Rock Express
P r e s e n t t h i s c o u p o n t o g e t 2 - f o r -1 t i c k e t s - m -
P a r k b o x o f f ic e a n o T ic k e t m a s t e r o u t l e t s
at the PG E
12. OR USE T H E PA SSW O R D P G E AT
T IC K E T M A S T E R . C O M / P G E O R 5 0 3 - 2 2 4 - 4 4 0 0 .
BY F R I„ M A Y
X
ri>GE
7
I t ' s
Abo featured
Spank Hopkins, drums
Anne Weiss, acoustic guitar
Renato Caranto, saxophonists
Art Alexander, congas
Tom McLaren, bass
Jackie Harry, soprano
Rosie Lovings, alto
Karen Stenzel, alto
Joi Stone, soprano
Friday, April 28
7:00 PM
Augustana Lutheran Church
2710 NE 14th
Portland
Tickets
in advance or at the door
$15
o u r w a y o f s a y in g t h a n k s !
Contact:
Janice Hopkins
showtime/« nokiddingchoir.com
503-280.9034
Special Coupon • Cut and Save
I
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