500 36 years CAREERS & EDUCATION Portland Unwired of Special E dition Mentors ease the transition to college See Metro inside •/community service ií a# e K ZlAl ' (f)h se rn e r ‘City of Roses' Established in 1970 T1Week ¡n The Review Boxing Great Remembered w eig h t who won the title at ¡1 age 21 and I never stopped | taking on the < giants o f his I tim e, is being rem em bered. Patterson died Thursday at his home in New Paltz, N.Y., at the age o f 71. See story, page B6 Virus at Vancouver School A norovirus outbreak is believed to be the reason for a wave of illness at a Vancouver-area grade school. About 120 students and 15 staff members at Ellsworth El­ ementary School stayed home Monday because of illness. ‘Survivor’ Gets 4 Years R ic h a rd H atch, who won $1 mil­ lion in the de­ but season of “ S u rv iv o r,” has been sen­ ten ced to m ore than four years in prison for failing to pay taxes on his reality TV prize and other income. The judge said he believed Hatch had repeat­ edly committed perjury on the witness stand. Third Duke Player Charged A Duke University lacrosse team captain became the third player indicted in the rape scandal Mon­ day and the first to speak out, blasting the charges against him as “fantastic lies.” HUD Secretary Apologies Housing and Urban Devel­ opment Secre­ tary Alphonso Jack so n has apologized for telling a Dal­ las, Texas busi­ ness group that he had rejected a HUD contract because the con­ tractor had criticized President Bush. Jackson, seeking to avoid a political firestorm, said he made up the story. Driving Rains Ease Up Driving rains that caused the worst flooding in New England since the 1930s finally eased up Tuesday, but washed-out roads and the danger of dam breaks prevented many people from re­ turning to their homes. Fighter Jet Sale Possible www.portlandobserver.com Committed to Cultural Diversity Volume XXXVI. N um ber 20 Floyd Pater- |l son, the under- , sized heavy- * See Story, page A3 Wednesday • May 17. 2006 .......’•’•nvix.nvrnn Discrimination Law k fsSchmkVs nmination lawsuit Juanita Wynne (center) of Berkley, Calif, is one of the plaintiffs in a class action lawsuit against the Portland-based restaurant chain McCormick & Schmick s. Also pictured, her attorneys Diana Tate, head of the African- American Agenda at the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights and Bill Lann Lee, a partner at Lieff Cabraser and a former Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights in the Clinton Justice Department. Restaurant Empire Defends Hiring Accused of corporate policy favoring whites by M ichael L eighton T he P ortland O bserver Portland’s upscale restaurant chain of McCormick & Schmick's has been named in a lawsuit alleg­ ing the national corporation pre­ fers white employees in hiring and relegates workers of color to lower paid out-of-view jobs. The operator of about 60 up­ scale seafood restaurants nation­ wide, including Jake’s Famous Crawfish and Harborside Restau­ rant and Pilsner Room in Portland, was accused of discrimination in a federal court suit in San Francisco Thursday. A black waitress employed at the company and a black bartender, both from Berkley, Ca., accuse the company of passing over blacks for promotions or employment. A central allegation lawsuit is that McCormick & Schmick’s has a nationwide corporate policy and practice of preferring white employ­ ees over African American employ­ ees for “front-of-the-house” posi­ tions. These are the prominent, better-paying jobs, including serv­ ers, hostesses, hosts, and bartend­ ers. The suit said black workers were given lo w er-paying jo b s and shorter or less-desirable shifts than white counterparts. T he law suit c h a rg e s that McCormick & Schmick managers throw away applications from Afri­ can American job seekers without seriously considering them. In addition, the complaint alleges that managers have been instructed by corporate headquarters to “clean up the restaurant," meaning to hire fewer African Americans, to keep the African American employees away from front-of-the-house po- photo by M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver McCormick and Schmick's manager Geoff Helzer takes inventory o f the sidewalk area outside the upscale seafood restaurant at 235 S. W. First Ave. A lawsuit accuses the national chain of racial discrimination. The Portland restaurant is not named in the legal action. sitions, and to subject African American employees to harsher discipline. A spokesman for the restaurant chain said the company does not discriminate. “We believe these allegations to be completely unfounded," spokes­ man John Flanagan said. The founder of McCormick and Schmidt's is a powerful force for Republican Party politics. William P. McCormick was co-finance chair for President Bush's 2004 cam­ paign, served as finance chair for the election of U.S. Sen. Gordon continued on page A3 Annual Alberta Art Hop to Fill Street Venezuela is considering selling its fleet of U.S.-made F -16 fighter jets to another country, perhaps Iran, in response to a U.S. ban on arms sales to President Hugo Chavez’s government, a military official said Tuesday. Weekend of ‘surprises’ coming photo by S arah B loijnt /T he P ortland O bserver Northeast Alberta Street businesses are expecting large crowds this Saturday and Sunday for the annual Alberta Street Art Hop. Four stages will provide entertainment and two street parades are scheduled for Saturday ! Entering its seventh year, the Alberta Street Art Hop celebrates the soul of the Alberta Arts District with street vendors, musicians, and dancers, and patrons hungry for art and international fixxl from local businesses stretching more than a mile from Martin Luther King Bou­ levard to Northeast 3 1'1 Avenue. More than 10.000 people filed along Alberta during the Art Hop last year, and the 2(X)6 version is spread over Saturday and Sunday, May 20 and 21. with a new, souped up schedule showing that the street is all grown up with serious artistic credibility. The non-profit organization Art on Alberta has hired their first fes­ tival coordinator, packing in the traditional impromptu street per­ formance, fire dancers, tall bikes and vendors with a first-time part­ nership with the city of Portland and sister festival, the ( fregon Coun­ try Fair. This year's theme is “The Art of Surprise and The Surprise of Art," with a competition displayed at "Art Hop Central" and judged by Ju n to lijitna and Deb Stoner, artists and educators, and Arthur DeBow, di­ rector of the Hoffman Gallery at Oregon College of Art & Craft Four stages this year give art hoppers the choice between di verse and arty acts on the main stage at Northeast 20“' and Alberta, “glo­ bal-loco” international and local flavor at the Backyard Voodoo Lounge, kid stuff at Northeast 14"’ and Albcrtaand singer-songwriters on the Song Art stage a, Northeast 21M and Alberta. A street parade led by March Fourth begins a, 3 p.m. Saturday, followed by other marching groups and whoever else jumps in. A new nighttime parade will be led by the Dream Time Marching Band, be­ ginning at 7:30p.m. at the Backyard Voodoo Lounge stage betw eel continued » on page A3