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 .
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