50fí
Best of Smooth Jazz
years
of
S community service
___
Stage set fo r summer
concert at PGE Park
See story, page A3
(Tlte - —
‘City of Roses’
Established in 1970
www.portlandobserver.com
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Volume XXXVI. Number 28
Wednesday • July 19. 2006
.W eek in
The Review
Hurricane Doctor Charged
A doctor and two nurses who
worked through the chaos that
followed Hurricane Katrina last
August were arrested on suspi
cion of murder and accused Tues
day of giving deadly drug injec
tions to four desperately ill pa
tients trapped in a flooded-out
hospital.
Athletic Director
Karl Easttorp
builds up
Panther Pride at
Portland
Community
College Cas
cade Campus in
north Portland.
Easttorp will
depart PCC this
summer.
Seattle Sonlcs Sold
A group from Oklahoma City has
ag reed to buy the S e a ttle
SuperSonics and the Seattle
Storm, an official with the Sonics
said Tuesday. In February, Sonics
majority owner Howard Schultz
threatened to possibly move or
sell the Sonics after losses of about
$60 million in the past five years
Invite Finally Accepted
President Bush
plans to speak to
the
NAACP
Thursday for the
first time since he
was a candidate,
with the White House, announc
ing the appearance days after the
chairman of the civil rights group
publicly urged him to attend. The
president had declined invitations
to the NAACP’s annual meeting
for five years in a row. See story
page A 2.
Rocket Fire Exchanged
Israeli warplanes struck an army
base outside Beirut in new bomb
ings that killed 16 people, and
Hezbollah fired more rockets at
northern Israel, killing an Israeli,
casting a shadow over diplomatic
efforts to stem escalating violence.
Tsunami Kills 341
The death toll rose to at least 341
Tuesday after a magnitude 7.7
undersea quake on Monday trig
gered walls of water more than 6
feet high that crashed into a 110-
mile stretch of beach on Java is
land, an area spared by the devas
tating 2004 Asian tsunami.
photo by M ark
W ashington /
T he P ortland
O bserver
Starting an Athletic Tradition
PCC carves niche in
the community
by S arah B ognt
T he P ortland O bserver
In Oregon’s athletic world, Beavers, Blaz
ers and Ducks reign supreme. But as two-
year schools play an increasingly larger role
in undergraduate education, the Portland
Community College Panthers stand achance
of capturing some of the spirit that invokes
athletic pride in the student body. W hat’s
equally important and coveted is the inter
est sports can generate from the surround
ing community.
Despite an 80,000 student population.
PCC has only recently begun to fashion an
athletic tradition. The school currently has
men’s and w om en's bask’etbull teams, since
cutting volleyball and m en's soccer in the
late 1990s. The two teams are composed of
about 24 students from the entire district,
and are based at the north Portland Cascade
campus.
PC C to o k so m e in itia l ste p s to
strengthen the athletics departm ent two
Community Colleges Recruit Athletes
by S arah B lount
T he P ortland O bserver
What makes a student athlete choose
community college over the prospect of
Pac-10 glory?
Aside from affordable tuition, it’s all
about the recruiting. PCC works to attract
students throughout Oregon and neigh
boring states with the promise to play
basketball whileeaming a preliminary edu
cation.
PCC is a member of the Southern Region
of the Northwest Athletic Association of
Community Colleges based in Vancouver,
Wash. The conference formed in 1979 and
now governs 35 schools, including one
continued y f on page A 6
years ago when they hired athletic direc
tor Karl Easttorp. As a native Oregonian
and lifelong basketball fan with a Masters
in Business Administration in sports mar
keting, he knows the business side o f the
game.
But Easttorp recently accepted a posi
tion at Southwestern Oregon Community
College in Coos Bay where he’ll manage
their new student recreation center. Still, he
leaves PCC in a good position to build up
their athletics.
Easttorp worked to create an image of
sportsmanship that largely didn't exist at
PCC.
continued y ^ on page A6
Air Show Jet Crashes
A 1951 Hawker Hunter fighter jet,
flown by an experienced pilot,
crashed into a Hillsboro neigh
borhood as it left the Oregon In
ternational AirShow Sunday. The
pi lot died. A house was destroyed
and three others were damaged.
Quake Shakes St. Helens
Scientists say a magnitude 3.6
earthquakeof about 9:56a.m. Tues
day at Mount St. Helens was one
of the largest since a minor erup
tion in the crater began nearly two
years ago.
Meth Abuse Boosts Crime
Meth abuse continues to fuel an
increase in crimes like robbery
and a ssa u lt, stra in in g the
workload of local police forces
despite a drop in the number of
meth lab seizures, according to a
national survey Tuesday.
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Canda Moves to Mayor’s Office
Advocate will direct gang prevention efforts
by L ee P erlman
them to decide what
T he P ortland
they are o r w hat
O bserver
th e y ’d like to be
Longtim e Portland
co m e and a llo w
youth advocate John
neighborhood asso
Canda is stepping up
ciations and citizens
to a larger stage.
to participate in that
M ayor Tom Potter
d iscu ssio n .”
has brought the N orth
Canda notes with
east Coalition o f Neigh
pride that the coali
borhoods executive di-
tion started such so
rector into his office to
cial service programs
w ork on youth v io
as the Youth Gangs
lence prevention.
program, the Tri-Met
In the newly created
R id er A d v o c a te s,
p o s itio n , C a n d a , a
the G raffiti A bate
form er director o f the
ment Program and
coalition’s Youth Gang
the
N o rth e a st
Outreach Program, will
W orkforce Center.
co o rd in ate program s
Canda has deep
within both the justice
roots in the north
system and the social
east com m unity. He
service field.
a tte n d e d
G ra c e
"The city will ben
C ollins preschool,
efit from John’s experi John Canda moves into the mayor's office.
Humboldt Elem en
ence and expertise to
tary, R obert G ray
create strategies for prevention, outreach and Middle School, Jefferson High School, and North
intervention in youth violence." Potter said. “This west C ollege o f Business before enlisting in the
is not ju st about pulling kids out of gangs, but of Air Force and studying at the College of the Air
preventing them from joining gangs in the first Force.
place."
“ My parents still live in the same house on
Potter’s aide, M ario Rubio, adds, “ We hope to G antenbein across from Humboldt School, where
put youth violence on the radar on a permanent I grew up,” he said.
basis, not ju st when things escalate to the point
In 1991, Canda joined Portland’s Youth Gang
o f crisis. We want to involve all of the com m unity program , then directed by M aceo Pettis, and
and address the root causes o f the problem .”
worked with the Neighborhood Crime Prevention
The change represents a chance for the N orth Program, the Portland Police B ureau's Neighbor-
east Coalition to re-examine itself, Canda told the
continued y f on page A6
Portland O bserver. “This is a real opportunity for
Increased parking fines went into effect on Monday.
photo by I saiah B ouie /T he P oritand O bserver
Parking Fines Increase
Increased fines for most parking violations in Portland went into
effect on Monday.
The overtime penalty increases from $16 to $24, still below the
average of $34 for comparable cities, according to the Multnomah
County Circuit Court.
Some safety violations will go beyond what other cities charge,
increasing from $40 to $50, $60 or $70 depending on the infraction.
Local authorities believe that the fine schedule must reflect this
concern for safety, mobility, commercial access and neighborhood
livability.
For example, when a vehicle is parked in a no parking zone, it may
hinder visibility for pedestrians, bicyclists, anil motorists; limit safe
clearance for turning vehicles; impede traffic flow; increase conges
tion; hinder freight operations; and slow emergency response ve
hicles, officials said.