500
years
<>i
Classic Savion
Oregon’s Best
Dance extraordinaire
returning to Portland
Terrell Brandon
named to the Oregon
Sports Hall of Fame
See Metro section, inside
community service
See Sports, page B6
(l)hseruer
‘City of Roses'
Established In 1970
Volume XXXVI, N um ber 37
Week ¡n
The Review
U.S. Embassy Attacked
Islamic militants tried to storm
the U.S. Embassy in Damascus
on Tuesday using automatic
rifles, hand grenades and at least
one van rigged with explosives,
the governm ent said. Four |
people were killed in the brazen
attack, including three of the
assailants, but no Americans
were hurt.
Iraq War Defended on 9-11
P re s id e n t
Bush, in a
prim e-tim e
address from
the Oval Of­
fice on the
five-year an­
niversary of |
the Sept. 11
attacks, staunchly defended the
war in Iraq even though he ac­
knowledged that Saddam Hussein
was not responsible for the terror­
ism that killed nearly 3.000 people.
See story, page A2.
Gulf War
Syndrome Debunked
A Veterans A dm inistration-
sp o n so red rep o rt re le ased
Tuesday says there is no such
thing as Gulf War syndrome.
But the study found U.S. and
foreign veterans of the Gulf War j
do suffer from an array of very
real problems.
www.portlandobserver.com
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Wednesday • September 13. 2006
On
Leadership’s
Path
Local lawyer in
race forjudge
by S akaii B lount
T he P ortland O bserver
Portland lawyer and aspiring
judge Ulanda Watkins strives to
follow the path of three African
American judges who helped shape
her professional life, and a grand­
mother for whom she is thankful,
for pushing her in almost a military
fashion.
At the age of 36, Watkins is a
partner at the downtown law firm
Walker, Warren and Watkins. She
primarily practices criminal defense
but has a civil practice of personal
injury, real estate and creditor col­
lections.
Now she faces the opportunity
to fill an unexpected vacancy on
the Multnomah County Circuit
Court, following last month’s death
of Judge Clifford Freeman, a re­
spected community leader from
northeast Portland.
Watkins distinguishes herself as
the only ethnic minority running
for the judicial post, a gap intensi­
fied in recent years by the deaths of
twoother African Americanjudges,
Multnomah Circuit Court Judges
Mercedes Diaz and Roosevelt
Robinson.
She recalls her connections with
the three judges, who promoted
minorities in law on the bench and
reached out to aspiring lawyers in
the classroom.
Her first exposure to law dates
back to Wilson High School, where
the stirrings of a legal career con­
nected her with Diaz, Oregon's first
female, black judge.
“I was impressed that she went
through college as a mom, and that
photo by S arah Bi ot nt / T he P ortland O bserver
Ulanda Watkins follows a path laid down by other African American leaders and mentors in her
November General Election campaign to fill a vacancy on the Multnomah County Circuit Court.
she stood not just for minority
women, but for all women." Watkins
said.
After high school, Watkins at­
tended Oregon State University, structed students in an approach­
where she received her bachelor’s able and memorable manner.
in political science in 1993. It was
continued
on page A6
there she met Robinson, who in­
Rosa Parks Elementary Opens to Eager Audience
Rosa Parks Elementary wel­
comed its first class last week
from the New Columbia neigh­
Has Barbara
Walters lost it? | borhood, a mixed-use develop­
Some of her co­
ment in north Portland built to
hosts on “The
replace Columbia Villa.
V iew ”
may
Rosa Parks, 8960 N. Woolsey
think so after her |
Ave., is the first new Portland
claim Tuesday
Public School built since 1998,
about
her
and
replaces the old John Ball
Havanese dog Cha-Cha. Walters
Elementary.
The new school
says when she told Cha-Cha she
offers a host of new amenities,
loved her, Cha-Cha said “I love
you” back. Walters says she’s J including a new gym and event
going to bring the woman who
room at the community center,
was with her at the time on the
open to the entire neighborhood.
show to back up her story.
Solar panels and natural light
brighten
each room, and sus­
Dropouts See Big Pay Gap
tainable
building
materials dis­
Dropping out of high school
tinguish
the
school
as Portland's
has its costs around the globe,
but nowhere steeper than in the
first to earn certification for
United States. Adults who don’t
Leadership in Environmental
finish high school in the U.S.
and Energy Design.
earn 65 percent of what people
Although John Ball Elemen­
who have high school degrees
tary, built in the 1940s, was a
make, according to a new report
deteriorating structure without
comparing industrialized na­
even
agym, achievement within
tions.
IV Anchor Says Dog Talks
Mom Rewards Son with Pot
A woman facing drug charges
adm itted in court that she
smoked marijuana with her 13-
year-old son, often to reward
him for doing his homework.
Amanda Lynn Li velsberger, 30,
pleaded guilty to several misde­
meanor drug charges Monday
in Adams County, Pennsyl­
vania.
continued
on page A5
photo by
Major Life Changes through Small Miracles
Club celebrates 12
years of services
by S arah B lount
T he P ortland O bserver
3
«
Q>
c
o
Ó L'
« ¿5 OS
£
i
M ark W ashington /T he P orti . and O bserver
Rosa Parks Elementary students get some pointers from Instruction Specialist LaShawn Lee during the first week o f school at the
brand new school in the New Columbia neighborhood o f north Portland.
Miracles Club opened a dozen years ago to
provide an environment free of drugs and alcohol
for recovering addicts. Now Miracles serves as a
national model, offering a critical social outlet for
the African American community.
A 12th anniversary celebration open to the
public takes place Saturday, Sept. 16 from 7 p.m.
to 11 p.m. at the club. 4069 N.E. Martin Luther
King Jr. Blvd.
Miracles founders, twin brothers Johnny A.
and Johnny W. Gage and friend Sam Brown, met
while seeking treatment for addiction, bu, as they
faced the road to recovery they realized social
interaction was as important as the 12 steps of
Narcotics Anonymous (NA).
At the time, there were no clubs operated by
recovering people for recovering people in north
and northeast Portland's African American com-
*
PHOTO by S arah B i ount /T he P ortland O bserver
Junior Gibson has been clean from drugs and alcohol for 12
years. He regularly attends the Miracles Club on Northeast
Martin Luther King Boulevard and Mason Street for Narcotics
Anonymous meetings.
munity. One had to travel to the Pass Club in
southeast Portland or the Personality Club in
Vancouver to find strength through likeminded
peers.
In 1994. Brown and the Gage brothers pooled
$3,000 apiece for start-up costs to open a recov­
ery club on North Killingsworth, near Portland
Community College. Four years later they moved
to MLK and Bryant before finally settling at their
current address live years ago.
The building sits between the busy boulevard
and Mason Street, and is open from 8 a.m. to 10
p.m. daily for a variety of NA meetings, games and
fellowship, or just a safe place for everyone,
children included. The location also serves as an
entertainment venue for gospel and Motown per­
formances, dances, karaoke and fashion shows.
“There's a black recovery community that's
grown up around here.” said Harry Watson, co-
chair of the non-profit's board, friend of the
founders and a person in recovery like all of its
board members. "When we were young we didn’t
continued
on page A 6
>