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*»/340 N. I niirmmi A vinui . P orjland , O R IO R To contact irin |Jn rtlan b IICRTI INFORMATION C O N IA C I $15.00 PER PERSIA M idia S ponsor (Observer (503) 4/3 6649 ■ Siti' |JiirtIauh (Oltsrrurr Call 503-288-0033 ads@portlandobserver.com 1