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