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Volume XXXVII, Number 13
TLWeek ¡n
The Review
Withdrawal Vote Passes
D efying a veto threat, the D em o-
cratic-controlled Senate signaled
support T uesday for the w ith ­
draw al o f U.S. com bat troops from
Iraq by next M arch. Republican
attem pts to scuttle the non-bind­
ing tim eline failed on a vote o f .SO-
48. The rol I cal I marked the Senate ’ s
most forceful challenge to date of
the adm inistration’s handling of
the war.
Established In 1970
www, port landobserver.com
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Wednesday • March 28, 2007
Public Schools Divided by Race
Charter
schools add
to equation
by R aymond R endleman
T he P ortland O bserver
Jefferson High School's m ajor­
ity-black dem ographics are not the
Iraq Bombs Kill 58
result o f majority-black populations
T w o truck bom bs in Iraq struck
in its north and northeast Portland
m arkets in Tai A far and a suicide territory. Even as gentrification
car bom ber exploded his payload w hitens its surrounding neighbor­
near Ramadi on Tuesday — the
hoods, Jefferson’s percentage of
latest attacks in a surge o f violence
hlack students increased 14 per­
outside the Iraqi capital. T he three cent in the past 14 years. At 68
bom bings killed at least 58 people, percent black, Jefferson now has
including 48 in Tai Afar.
more than tw o African American
students for every student o f other
noop Dogg Snubbed
ethnicities.
Rappers Snoop
Just h a lf a m ile aw ay from
D ogg and Sean
Jefferson on North Interstate A v­
“D iddy” Com bs
enue, the 66 percent w hite Trillium
s c ra p p e d fiv e
C harter School has alm ost exactly
planned British
the opposite dem ographics.
co n certs T u es­
As Portland Public School board
day after Snoop
member Dilafruz W illiams says, "If
D ogg was refused a visa to enter
there’s a greater percentage o f white
the country. Last A pril, Snoop
kids in the Jefferson neighborhood,
Dogg was arrested on suspicion of
then they m ust be not going to their
v io le n t d is o r d e r at L o n d o n
n e ig h b o rh o o d h ig h s c h o o l."
Heathrow A irport and was banned
Je fferso n ’s main feeder m iddle
from the United Kingdom for life. ?
school, O ckley G reen, has more
balanced dem ographics at 46 per­
Pet Food Cases Double
The num ber o f Oregon pets sick­ cent black.
Som e students o f Jefferso n ’s
ened after eating tainted pet food
alm ost doubled on M onday to 47 neighborhixtd have always attended
cases, including 13 deaths. The private high schools or public mag­
latest figures include 31 cats and net programs like diverse Benson
High School (34 percent white, 26
15 dogs being treated for kidney
percent black, 26 percent A sian), but
failure: the fatalities include seven
the flood o f public charter schools
cats and six dogs.
has com plicated matters.
Cancer Returns
S tu d e n t f lig h t h as c a u s e d
W h ite H o u s e
Jefferson to capture ju st 26 percent
P ress S ecretary
o f its neighborhood student popu­
an d fo rm er Fox
lation as opposed to 47 percent a
telev isio n c o m ­
decade ago.
m e n tato r T ony
Since the passage o f N o Child
S n ow , 51, has
Left Behind in 2002, the district has
been diag n o sed
w ith recurrence
o f ca n ce r and the d isease has
sp read to his liver, his d ep u ty
said T uesday. He w as treated for
co lon ca n ce r in 2005.
V
High school students make theii way to classes at Trillium, a public charter school that attracts a far higher percentage of non­
minority students than its close by neighbor Jefferson. Trillium also allows students a greater control over curriculum and projects
that include the hallway mural.
been forced to allocate funds to
specialized charter schools that can
draw students from all over the city,
e s p e c ia lly from n eig h b o rh o o d ,
schools that failed Adequate Y early'
P rogress ratings like Jefferson,
w hose students had the right to
tr a n s f e r
under
th e
B u sh
A dm inistration's law.
W hile Jefferson struggled with
federal requirem ents. Tri Ilium o ut­
grew its previous loqatiop. hear
Tubm an M iddle School Jn d îfsb jg h
school popdlation has m ore than
doubled to 80 students in the past
three years. The new majority-white
Leadership and Entrepreneurship
Public C harter High School, also
serving north and northeast Port­
land, expects to have 4 0 0 students
by 2009.
Je fferso n has resp o n d ed by
splining up into four academ ies,
three to be located at the Jefferson
Campus.
In addition to single-sex acad­
em ies, there will be two academ ies
o f arts, science and technology,
which bear quite a bit o f resem ­
blance, at least on paper, toTriIlium
High School's sm aller size and "fo­
cus on im portant skills, such as
writing, research methods andcom -
puter literacy."
It remains to be seen whether
Je fferso n 's reco n fig u ratio n can
stem the district’s increasing segre­
gation.
The Young W om en's Academ y,
to be inaugurated this fall at the
Tubm an cam pus, will be adm inis­
trated by Aurora Lora, w ho says,
continued
on page A 8
Tax Help is Out There - Here s Where
Accidental Overdose
P layboy P lay­
m a te
A nna
N ic o le S m ith
died o f an a c c i­
d e n ta l o v e r ­
d o se o f a sle ep ­
ing m edication
and at least eig h t o th e r p re sc rip ­
tion drugs, including m ethadone
for pain and valium , o ffic ia ls d e ­
term in ed M onday, six w eeks a f­
ter her death.
Nonstop Lava
Scientists say M ount St. Helens
may be replacing m agma from a
reservoir beneath the volcano as
fast as it em erges as lava at the
surface. It means that eruptions
may continue for decades.
piloro as S \ k \ ii B i . oi
n i / I ' iii
P o r u and O bserver
AARP volunteer Carol Krikava (right) helps Fary B. Miles with her taxes at the Multicultural Senior Center on Northeast
Killingsworth and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. The assistance is free by appointment only each Friday through April 13.
Taxpayers get two extra days, deadline is April 17
W hen northeast Portland resident Jane
Steele retired, paying out o f pocket for tax
return assistance was not an option.
Fortunately she discovered free tax help
at the M ulticultural Senior C enter in north­
east Portland where volunteers told her she
was eligible for the earned income tax credit.
Their expertise has m ade it easier for her to
live on a fixed income.
“ I'v e told my friends about this,” she
said. "So they d o n 't have to pay additional
taxes."
Each year Steele and other senior citizens
have their tax returns prepared for free by
volunteers at a num ber o f sites around Port­
land. including the senior center at north­
east K illingsw orth and M artin Luther King
Jr.B lvd.
Tax volunteers are often accountants or
bankers w ho undergo training through ad­
vocacy program s like the A m erican Asso­
ciation o f Retired Persons, w ho certifies
volunteers through a training series at Port­
land C om m unity College.
A A RP volunteers like DuW ayne Dockter
help seniors each Friday from 9 a.m. to I p.m.
C lients must make appointm ents for the
eight slots available each week.
D ockter said m issing the earned income
credit is one o f the biggest m istakes people
make when preparing their ow n tax returns.
Fellow volunteer Carol Krikava added
that many people aren 't aw are o f the ded u c­
tions they can make. That is where Tax Wise,
the in-depth tax program they use, com es in
handy.
The Internal Revenue Service provides
the A A RP with com puters and softw are.
Krikava said.
In addition to the senior center, many
volunteers throughout Portland offer free
help with federal tax returns. (R em em ber -
this y ea r's deadline to file your returns has
been extended to April 17 because April 15
falls on a Sunday and the District o f C olum ­
bia celebrates a legal holiday on April 16.
This deadline applies to all 2006 federal and
state individual income tax returns.)
• The A A R P and IRS help low to m oder­
ate-incom e taxpayers and individuals age 60
or older through walk-in visits on W ednes­
day. Saturday and Sunday through April 17
from 10a.m . to 4 p.m. on the west side o f the
Lloyd C enter Mall, third floor near the food
court, in suite 2010. Call Kathy Howell o f the
IRS for more information, at 5(13-326-7256or
I-8004129-1 (Mft
• The A A R P also sponsors a program for
continued
on page A3
i.