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Committed to Cultural Diversity
Volume XXXVII, Number 8
_____ _
wvvw.portlandobserver.com
Wednesday • February 21. 2007
.W e e k ¡n
The Review
Church Fire a Mystery
T here’s still no cause found for a
Feb. 5 fire that destroyed M orning
Star M issionary Baptist Church in
northeast Portland. Bureau o f A l
cohol T obacco and Firearm s agent
Colene Dom enche said Tuesday
that she was not sure when results
from the Oregon State Pol ice Crime
Lab will be known.
Tobacco Award Lost
The U.S. Suprem e Court Tuesday
threw out a $79.5 m illion punitive
dam ages aw ard to a sm oker’s
w id o w , an A fric a n -A m e ric a n
woman from Portland. T he ruling
was a victory for Philip Morris.
See story, page A2.
Britney Enters Rehab
Britney Spears
e n te re d reh ab
T uesday after a
bizarre weekend
th a t in c lu d e d
s h a v in g
her
head and g et
ting a new tat
to o . S p e a r s ’ m a n a g e r, L arry
Rudolph, told People m agazine’s
W eb site that Spears, 25, had vol
untarily checked herself into an
undisclosed treatm ent facility.
Rescued from Mt. Hood
Thanks to a high-tech electronic
gadget and a big w arm dog named
V elvet, three clim bers rescued
M onday after a harrow ing fall and
a night in the w ind and cold high
on M ount Hood are expected to be
fine.
Hardaway Apologizes
F o rm e r N B A
A ll-S ta r T im
H ard aw a y
a p o lo g iz e d
again S unday
for his anti-gay
r e m a rk s , a c
k n o w le d g in g
he made a major mistake by saying
“ I hate gay people” when asked
how he would react to having a
gay teamm ate. See story, page B6.
West Wins All-Star Game
Kobe Bryant
and the W est
high rollers lit
up the Vegas
Strip with their
ow n v ersio n
o f Showtim e,
rom ping past
LeBron Jam es and the East 153-
132 in the NBA All-Star game Sun
day. See sto ry , page B6.
Chicken Joins Recall List
The drum roll for tainted f<xxl con
tinued M onday with a nationw ide
recall o f O scar M ayer chicken
breast strips for bacterial contam i
nation. The chicken product joins
recal Is in recent days for fresh and
selected jars o f organic baby food,
can talo u p e and peanut butter.
Check the website fda.gov for daily
updates.
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photo
m S ean O ’C onnor /T he P orti ani ) O bserver
Jenny Diaz and her father Luis Sr. hold a banner in a rally to reunite their family during a demonstration at Pioneer Courthouse Square. The Diaz family was split apart
last fall when Luis' wife and their two children were deported back to their native Guatemala.
Family Splitby Deportation
Immigration issue
brings Portland
lawmaker to table
bv S arah B i . ount
T he P ortland O bserver
A fam ily split apart by deportation has
caught the attention o f State Sen. Avel
G ordly, a local African A m erican law m aker
w ho has sponsored tw o resolutions to keep
American children from becom ing separated
from their non-citizen parents.
The im m igration issue has dram atically
affected the life o f 12-year-okl Jenny Diaz
20. w ere escorted back to a country they fled
the youngest chi Id of a family who settled in out o f fear, following death threats Luis Sr.
the Portland area after fleeing G uatem ala in received after he helped form a w orkplace
the early 1990s.
union. W hen Luis arrived in the U. S. without
docum ents in 1991 he im m edi
Born and raised in Beaverton,
Jenny is the only U.S. citizen in
ately applied for political asylum,
her family o f five that has thrived
but it took 15 years for his appli
in their suburban com m unity.
cation to be considered. It was
J e n n y w a s fo rc e d to say
denied ju st over a year ago.
goodbye to her mother, brother
Last May, a Portland imm igra
and sister in O ctober, after a long
tion ju d g e denied another asy
battle for citizenship meant d e
lum claim because too much t i me
portation back to G uatem ala.
h a d p a s s e d an d to o m any
Her m other Irma. 40, brother
changes had occurred in Guate-
Luis Jr„ 2 Land hersister Monica, Sen. Avel Gordly
malasince 1991. Hiscurrentclaim
Market Removes Tobacco Ads
Example set
for other stores
African American health advo
cates found troubling results re
garding tobacco advertising when a
local survey of 100 stores revealed
an average of nearly 17 cigarette
and other tobacco-related ads per
store.
The African American Tobacco
P rev en tio n
and
E ducation
Network’s Youth Coalition observed
more than 1,671 advertisements,
with almost two-thirds placed at
children’s eye level.
Now the coalition is encouraging
retailers to remove such ads.
On Friday, C harles Bedford,
owner of Going Street Market, 4601
N. Williams Ave., lent his efforts to
the campaign. He was joined by
several community activists, includ
ing JoAnn Bowman, associate di
rector of Oregon Action: nurse prac
titioner Mariah Taylor; and Darryl!
LC Moch. executive director of
Brother to Brother; to remove all
tobacco ads in his neighborhtMxl
market.
Coalition leaders also spoke about
tobacco's impact on the African-
A m erican
co m m unity
and
advertising’s powerful effect on
compelling children to start smok
ing.
photo by M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver
Most people who smoke begin Going Street Market Owner Charles Bedford sets an example for the advocacy of
before age 18; and 20 kids in Or African American health by taking down tobacco ads at his neighborhood store at
egon start smoking every single day. 4601 N. Williams Ave.
requests perm anent residence based on the
length o f tim e he had been in this country,
and the hardship his daughter would face if
he were deported.
U.S. Rep. David Wu. D-Ore. lost his ap
peal for a federal law that would have autho
rized the family to remain together w hile Luis
litigated his appeal. Still. Jenny and her
father have not given up hope, and support
ers recently form ed the ad-hoc Jenny Diaz
Reunite My Fam ily Foundation. W ith help
from Sen. G ordly their case stands a better
chance o f raising its profile statewide.
continued
on page A8
Advocates
Tackle Youth
Violence
Lack of funding
doesn't stop effort
by S arah B u m nt
T he P ortland O bserver
Late last sum m er a heated panic filled the
room o f a G ang Violence Task Force meeting,
as north and northeast Portland parents and
com m unity m em bers shared their frustra
tions concerning youth violence in the wake
o f lost anti-gang resources and cuts to youth
advocacy program s.
In the follow ing m onths a group o f indi
viduals, led by youth m entor Roy Pittm an,
gathered to respond to a dem and for greater
com m unity responsibility when it com es to
young people. W ithout much attention and
with no funding they form ed a task force to
address youth - w ayw ard and otherw ise -
through advocacy and proactive attention.
Pittman, a retired w restling coach who has
worked and volunteered at Peninsula Park
for 3 0 years, created a sim ilar program in the
1990s with anti-gang advocate John C'anda.
w ho now w orks for M ayor Tom Potter.
The tw o have seen their share o f co m m u
nity talks that go now here, and realized po
lice participation was necessary to encour
age “com m unity policing." So Pittman in
vited Portland officers Rod Beard Sr. and
Asst. C hief Lynnae Berg to the table.
“ Youth and police have alw ays been at
odds." Pittm an said, "and this is a great way
tor kids to look at police in a positive w ay."
continued
on page A3