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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (July 5, 2006)
years Campaign Rap A Cause to Celebrate Larry Collins leads group in neighborhood cleanups and celebration 50<f of • / community service Candidate makes name with young rapper's song See story, Metro, back page See story, page A5 <¡* íSnrtínnh ‘City of Roses' F ç t ; i h Established * C i t V n I P n c ß i Committed to Cultural Diversity Volume XXXVI. Number 26 T1 Week ¡n The Review www.portlandobserver.com in 1970 Wednesday • Iuly 5. 2006 Martin Luther King Refocus Military Trials Illegal Guantanam o Bay detainees. The Revitalization gets new 5-year priority Supreme C o u rt ruled T hursday by L ee President Bush overstepped his a u th o rity in ord e rin g m ilita ry w ar c r im e s t r ia ls to r that the proposed tria ls were ille g a l under U.S. law and in te r national Geneva conventions. See story, page A 2. Soldiers Accused of Rape, Murder P ehi man T he P ortland O bserver A new strategy update and action plan has been approved fo r revitalizing N orth east M artin Luther K in g Jr. Boulevard, the m ajor thoroughfare in the Portland's A tri- o f her fa m ily in Iraq, a U.S. can-American com m unity. The Portland Development Commission w ill refocus lim ite d public resources and seek out new partners to jum pstart develop ment on the street after years o f mostly failed attempts. M L K has suffered econom ically because o f so many empty buildings and m ilita ry o ffic ia l said Friday. The vacant properties and a bad image to r a soldiers also a lle g e d ly burned relatively high crim e rate. The PDC unanim ously adopted a six- point plan Thursday to fig h t those past obstacles and stim ulate redevelopm ent F ive U.S. A rm y soldiers are being investigated fo r a lle g e d ly raping a young w om an, then k illin g her and three members the body o f the w om an. Rosa Parks' Will Disputed R e la tiv e s R o sa of along the boulevard: Public involvement P a rk s and the people she appointed to handle her a f f a ir s h a ve fa ile d to reach an agreement in a dispute over her estate. A tria l is lik e ly in the legal challenge to the c iv il rights ic o n ’ s w ill, said F rederick Toca Jr., a la w ye r representing Parks’ 13 nieces and nephews. VA Laptop Recovered The m issing laptop and hard d riv e that contained veterans’ PDC staffers w ill regularly attend neigh borhood association m eetings, the N o rth - N ortheast Business A sso cia tio n , and m i n o rity chambers o f com m erce. A M L.K Business Ambassadors N etw ork w ill form to help lure po tential developers and b usi nesses to the avenue, and w o rk w ith co m m u n ity newspapers to p u b lic iz e th e ir e f photo by M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver Jim Hlousek inspects routine road construction work on Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. A new push for the economic development of properties along the thoroughfare also includes a study on improving the street’s design. fo rts . Business support The com m ission w ill place special em phasis on supporting e x is tin g , and espe c ia lly m in o rity businesses in the ML.K c o rrid o r. T h is w o u ld mean m a in ta in in g e x is tin g e ffo rts such as the S to re fro n t Im provem ent Program , w o rk in g w ith real estate brokers to re cru it businesses that fit id e n tifie d “ n iches" that met local needs and create jo b s, and w o rk in g more closely w ith other agencies suc’K as Portland C o m m u n ity C ollege. Better Innige M arketing strategies on creating a better image fo r the boulevard include refurbish ing the designated "gatew ay" to M L K on Northeast Grand Avenue at Hancock Street; w orking w ith property owners to promote good maintenance; assisting and prom ot ing com m unity celebrations such as Good in the Neighborhood; and demonstrating demographics that show the area to be a continued on page A3 personal in fo rm a tio n has been found. The announcem ent came at the b e g inn in g o f a hearing T h u rs d a y b e fo re the H ouse V e te ra n s’ A ffa irs C o m m itte e ♦ hearing. Blazers Get No. 2 Pick The T r a il P o rtla n d B la z e rs p u lle d o f f a stun ner in the N B A d ra ft, tra d in g fo r the N o. 2 overall p ick, L a M a rcu s A ld rid g e , a 6- fo o t- 1 1 p o w e r fo rw a rd /ce n te r fro m Texas. See story in Sports, page A 9 . Housing Plan Opposed A la w su it alleges that a plan to dem olish fo u r p u b lic housing com plexes in N ew Orleans is d is c rim in a to ry , violates in te r national laws that protect people displaced by natural disasters and w ill d riv e black fa m ilie s outside the city. A flood-damaged house in the Lower Ward of New Orleans gets the needed repairs and cleanup from a team of volunteers. The site will be used for a free health clinic. Kristina Brand of Portland helps organize a volunteer team in New Orleans. Bush Misses Border Deadline The Bush a d m in istra tio n was unable to m uster even h a lf o f the 2,500 N ational Guardsm en it planned to have on the M e x i can border by the end o f June. Taking Leadershipt0 Heart Few er than I.(MX) troops were Local Volunteers Build New Orleans Free Clinic in place as o f last w eek, ac co rd in g to m ilita ry o ffic ia ls in Thanks to the leadership o f a Portland woman and 28 very deter mined people, a free health clin ic is being b u ilt in the poorest and one o f the hardest areas hit by H u rri cane Katrina, the Low er 9th Ward the fo u r border states. o f New Orleans. K ristina Brand, a videographer from Oregon H ealth & Science U niversity Educational C o m m unications, w ith a A Common Ground Collective volunteer touches up house numbers on a Katrina damaged home that will soon serve as a public health clinic. something to help the Hurricane Katrina victim s. Common Ground C ollective, a re lie f agency fo r victim s o f the hur ricane disaster, said they could come to New Orleans and b u ild a raise $30.000 and get the c lin ic b u ilt,” Brand said. A nd they've almost done it. A nurse from the 9th W ard | do n a te d her flo o d -d a m a g e d | house, ffo m e Depot donated V supplies and the LC 3 1 group is close to their 1 This is going to he the only free, operational health care facility in [the 9th] ward. | group o f men and wom en fro m th ro u g h o u t the United States, attended a workshop in A p ril designed to teach leader ship. They call themselves LC3, w hich stands fo r Leaders Creating Change Through C ontribution. The group decided they wanted to go to New Orleans and build free health c lin ic in the L o w e r 9th Ward, where many people do n 't have health insurance. “ She was used to people asking what they could do to help and then never calling back. But we said, ‘ Sure, w e 'll do i,.' We said w e'd $30,(X)0goal. Last month, some 4 30 vo lu n te e rs, in - 1 e lu d in g B ra n d 's | m o th e r, D e b b ie I Brand o f Philomath, Ore., landed in New Orleans and began w ork on gutting, bleaching out the m old, and renovating the house at 5228 St. Claude. It is called the C om m on G round, L o w e r 9th W ard Health C lin ic. on p age A.) con tin u ed A