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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (July 26, 2006)
íl?e ortlanh COhserucr Page A6 luly 26. 2006 Shining a Light on HIV con tin u ed fro m Front Not a safe community A nother factor for the disparity o f A f rican A m ericans being at risk of HI V is the often cited refusal o f many people to d is close their sexual orientation . CD C reports show a significant num ber o f African A merican men who have sex with men identify them selves as heterosexual in stead o f gay or bisexual. "They d on’t identify with gay culture, w hich they see as w hite and effem inate," said Phil W ilson, executive director o f the Black AIDS Institute in Los Angeles, in an article for the San Francisco Chronicle. "A nd when they do venture into gay com m unities like San Francisco’s, which are predom inantly white, they feel unw el com e, according to several studies o f gay men o f color,” he said. The CD C is exam ining hom ophobia in the black com m unity and the phenom enon o f being on the "down low," m ean ing men having unmentioned sex with men, then spreading the disease to black women. The Center says most black w om en are infected through heterosexual contact, but many d on’t know how their partners were infected. The down low phenomenon is com plex, M och said, be cause it could erro n eo u sly place blam e on gay black men for spreading the disease. “ I think the down low dis cussion is one the black com munity needs to have," he said. “W e get bits o f sensational ism, but we haven’t had hard core d iscu ssio n s o f u nder standing these factors.” S e p a ra tin g ste re o ty p e s , both racial and sexual, from H IV/AIDS is what Brother to Brother is about. Moch says the o rg an iz atio n cre ate s a space for the black com m unity to be with itself. Vaccine Research Funded Daryl! M och is e x e c u tiv e director o f B ro th er to B rother, an organi za tio n fighting HIV a n d AID S in th e African A m erica n c o m m u n ity. Responding in Portland P o rtlan d ’s statistics a re n ’t nearly as alarm in g as larger cities like C h icag o and San F ra n c isc o , w h ere A fric an A m erican s are ex p erien cin g ep id em ics that could d ev astate the com m unity. M och said even though there are sig n ific an t gaps in serv ices for people o f co lo r in Portland, o u r sm all size co u ld be co n d u civ e to d issem in atin g p rev e n tion inform ation. "The numbers are small right now ," he said. "W ith a concerted effort we could begin to elim inate the problem .” But reaching out to Portlanders with H IV/AIDS who fall through the cracks is som etim es a challenge. “ It’s an arduous task, given our re- New support by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will ac celerate the pace of HIV vaccine development at Portland’s Vac cine and Gene Therapy Institute and the Oregon National Primate Research Center at Oregon Health & Science University. The foundation announced 16 grants last week totaling $287 mil lion to fund an international team of scientists studying HIV. Eleven of the grants will pay for highly collaborative vaccine re search, including research in Port land. The other five grants will fund five central facilities to evalu ate the immune responses of the vaccines developed through the research group. While the exact total is not known, new' funding for the Port land projects will likely exceed $ 10 million. sources and funds,” Moch said. Leaders in the fight against HIV are asking for a com m itm ent from every part of the com m unity, including parentsand faith leaders. Brother to Brother has already formed partnerships with M ultnom ahC ounty.and was the first black, gay organization to be aw arded a contract with the county, which they received in March. The group has partnerships with the Cascade Aids Pro ject and Partnership Project, Parents, Fam ilies & Friends o f Lesbians & G ays ( PFLA G), the A frican A m erican A lliance, and many others. T hey also w ork with the faith co m m u nity. “T he black church has a trem endous responsibility because o f their clout in com m unity,” M och said. “As it becomes m ore apparent that we have to do som e thing, more m inisters are im pacted." He praised Rev. Renee W ard and Rev. John Garlington III, two local church lead ers, for bringing the issue to the doors o f the church. Weekend Prostate Screenings Free at Mobile Testing Center A lm o st ev e ry w ee k , a P o rtla n d m an w ill d ie fro m p ro sta te c a n c e r in a sta te w ith th e se co n d lo w est p ro sta te c a n c e r sc re e n in g rate in th e c o u n try . O n ly 4 2 p e rc e n t o f O re g o n ia n s o v e r 5 0 g et te ste d fo r th e d ise ase . B ut th e re is h o p e th ro u g h e a rly d e te c tio n an d e d u c a tio n . T h a t’s w hy th e N a tio n a l P ro sta te C a n c e r C o a li tio n h as te a m e d up w ith th e L an c e A rm stro n g F o u n d a tio n an d F red M y er to b rin g fre e te stin g to P o rtlan d th is w eekend. F re e sc re e n in g s o n b o a rd th e " D riv e A g a in st P ro sta te C a n c e r" R V w ill be h eld S a tu rd a y , J u ly 2 9 fro m 11 a.m . to 5 p .m . at th e F red M e y er G a te w a y sto re , t i l l N .E . 102 A ve. an d S u n S iudk ) A Win for the Environment con tin u ed fro m Front “City Council did n ’t do their hom ework as far as al I the ram ifica tions,” said Steve O ’Toole, execu tive director of Oregon Petroleum Association. "On the biodiesel side, w e’re nowhere close to having pro duction within Oregon. Everybody has the same goal, but what w e’re really upset about is they’re going ahead with this with about three w eek’s notice.” However, the requirem ents win praise from the Oregon Environ mental Com m ission which claims that a shortage o f biodiesel isn’t likely. Kevin Consadine, program di rector for Sustainable Economy, said the three biodiesel producers currently serving the metro area, Salem -based SeQuential Fuels and P o r tla n d - b a s e d p ro d u c e rs StarO ilco and Carson Oil, are large distributors, and Sequential is ex pected to open a Portland plant soon. A lso, aconsoitium o f biofuel and alternative fuel providers is forming to work with the Northwest Environmental Business Council. “Several folks are looking to lo cate now ,” Consadine said. “ H av ing new standards makes it easier for them, knowing they have a vi able, stable m arket." M ichael Arm strong, m anager o f the city ’s O ffice o f Sustainable D evelopm ent, said to expect even diversity d a y , S u n d a y , Ju ly 3 0 fro m 1 1 a.m . to 5 :3 0 p.m . at P o rtla n d M e a d o w s, 1001 N. S c h m e e r Rd. O n b o ard , m en are tre a te d to sp o rts on a la rg e fla t sc re e n T V , fre e sn a c k s an d in v ite d to s u r f th e w eb w h ile th ey w ait. L o ca l d u c t a fu ll ca n ce r. E ach te st an d p a tie n ts m ail in less lic e n s e d p h y sic ia n s c o n s c re e n in g f o r p r o s ta te ta k e s a b o u t 10 m in u te s w ill re c e iv e re su lts in the th a n a w eek . 20 E ntertainment P resents »oiiai more providers in the city by next summer. It’s unclear whether biofuels will be more expensive than petroleum by next sum m er; as o f April, ac cording to the Oregon Biofuels Network, SeQuential sold a blend o f 99 percent biofuel (B99) for roughly $3.10 per gallon. B ut C o m m is s io n e r R an d y Leonard, who spearheaded the new mandate, stated that besides re ducing ou r gas em issio n s, the biofuel initiative would positively affect job growth and investment in biofuel production. “Biodiesel has significant ad vantages, in term s that y o u 're in vesting money into in-state com panies,” C onsadine said. “W e’re hoping to put together an incentive packet and pass legislation at the state level. T o im p le m e n t the r e q u ir e m ents, C ity C ouncil is form ing a task force from the fuel industry, biodiesel industry, en v iro n m en tal groups and O regon grain grow ers. T he com m ittee is set to report to the council in four m onths. E nforcem ent includes a w ritten notice and a fine o f up to $5,000 fo r the first violatio n , and up to $10,000 for the second violation. Bureau o f S u stain ab le D ev elo p m ent d irec to r Susan A nderson will assess the m andate, ad ju st ing the m inim um req u irem en ts if n e c e ssa ry . EVERYBODY WANTS T O BE A “ STARA” 'Print Participate in Democracy Kote CM IMó’.t «MJ • teMUn w/M. © b e e r a e r Mrwjmar Mk*»/<Mri<r4»op 1 -ayrfb»'- A u C j US i IN IIR S IA II II - 25. 2006 llR IIIO IJ S I C lJ lllIR A I C lN IIR '>340 N. I niirmmi A vinui . 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