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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (April 4, 2007)
Portland Police Chief: ‘We can do better’ a speech Friday at the City C lub o f Portland. O ne o f the first topics was the new curfew program launched d u r ing spring break as a pilot in north and northeast and dow ntow n P ort land. She defended the bureau 's decision to target dow ntow n and m inority areas, saying (hat is where m ost violent juvenile problem s o c curred last year. "T here w as criticism last year about not dealing with ju v en ile Sizer reflects one year in by S arah B lount T he P ortland O bserver A lm ost a year into her tenure as head o f the Portland Police Bureau. C hief Rosie S izer’s most com m on reply to a host o f police issues and com m unity com plaints is "W e can do better.” Fol lowing a swift and unexpected appointm enttothe top jo b last April. Sizer inherited problem s like racial profiling and a spike in gang vio lence. She has juggled these prob lems with new ones cropping up, nam ely the recent and question able use o f police force. Sizer discussed these topics with the Portland O bserver in an exclu sive interview last week. She also reflected on the same issues during Police Chief Rosie Sizer a a 1 070 Established in 1970 Committed to Cultural Diversity Wednesday • April 4, 2007 Majority Flips on MLK Corridor RAYMOND RENDLEMAN T he P ortland O bserver Becom ing a geek can get you a free com puter. T he non-profit o r ganization Free G eek has been helping the com munity learn about com puters bu, also giving fam i lies access to technology for free. See story, Metro section. Secret War with Iran A Pakistani tribal m ilitant group responsible for a series o f deadly guerrilla raids inside Iran has been secretly encouraged and advised by A m erican officials since 2005, U.S. and Pakistani intelligence sources tell ABC News. Florida Repeat The University o f Florida wins a back-to-back N C A A D iv i sion 1 basket ball cham pion ship and becom es the first ever team to win the trophy with the same starting five. See S p o rts, p age B6. Church Vandalized An ex-gang out re a c h w o rk e r and his associ ated w ere a r rested T uesday after foul la n guage. gang sig n s an d the police code for m u rd e r w as spray pai nted on V ictory Outreach C h urch on N ortheast A lb erta Street. See sto ry , page A2. Mundy In New Orleans Urban League o f P o rtla n d P resident and chief executive officer M arcus M undy is am ong a large g ro u p o f O r e g o n ia n s in N ew O rleans this w eek to o ffe r aid and support to residents o f the city still recovering from the d ev astation left by Hurricane Katrina. on page A8 m u n i i r \ n r f IQ n Blacks no longer largest population Free Computers continued tp r v /p r www.portlandobserver.com C rln U I Volume XXXVII. Number 14 .W eek ¡n The Review lice officers adm itted there was a lack o f control, including N orth east Precinct Lt. Steve Sm ith, who said that to "observe, disperse, shut dow n and escort out" youth from gathering spots w as a "band-aid ap p ro ach .” Sizer said she has talked with other chiefs across the country and they report young individuals are fueling arise inerirne within their cities. © b u rlier CAC ‘City of ! Q Roses * C* i t v problem s." Sizer said. “O ur intent is to get ahead o f the curve.” M any residents o f north and northeast Portland voiced their frus tratio n s ab o u t large g ro u p s o f young people gathered am ong resi dential streets last sum m er, flout ing parental and police authority and so m etim es g ettin g violent. When the com m unity recognized the problem o f "flash m obs," they exposed a greater need for youth advocates because even a few po Portland experienced much this decade: w ar protests, recession, police brutality and a rash o f high- p r o f ile c o r r u p tio n cases. G entrification may not seem great in com parison, but nobody cel ebrates the econom ically forced dispersal o f north and northeast P ortland’s black com m unity. In Portland had an area stretching for several m iles along N ortheast M artin Luther King Bou levard with more black residents than any other ethnicity. The esti m ated population o f 14,189 resi dents broke dow n as 6,760 black and 4.782 white residents. By 2005, acco rd in g to the latest C ensus Bureau estim ates, the same area had 5.874 blacks and 5.906 whites living am ong 13,421 residents. Five contiguous census tracts south o f C olum bia B oulevard have several thousand residents, with only one small tract that can claim to be m ajority A frican American. T hat C ensus tract is bordered by North Russell and Frem ont Streets in the Emanuel Hospital area where photo by R aymond R endleman /T he P ortland O bserver ju st 330 residents live, 172 o f them Abrianna Williams hangs out with a friend on the porch other house in the last majority-black black. A brianna W illiam s has lived in census tract left in Multnomah County, a small tract bordered by North Russell and Fremont one o f the area’s few houses for Streets with an estimated 330 residents, 172 o f them black. nine years. “ It’s kind o f shocking, but it was D uringthe 1920s a n d ’ 30s, W il Broadway Bridge. But after W orld construction o f Interstates 5 and inevitable,” she says. “ I d o n ’t feel liam s' census tract formed the north W ar II, the com m unity was forced 4< )5. Memorial Coliseum and Legacy isolated; it's ju st different, not bet ern part o f a large, densely popu north by gentrification and urban- Emanuel Hospital. Now the core black com m unity ter or som ething to be feared.” lated black com m unity east o f the renewal projects that included the lives in small pockets o f the city like the one around W illiam s' house. The only other largely black area lies near K illingsw orth Street on the other end o f N ortheast MLK Blvd. Som e see the developm ents as a type o f conspiracy to drive the prices to levels that most African A m ericans cannot afford. "In the next seven years it will be w orse," said O rlando W oolridge on the corner o f K illingsw orth and MLK Blvd. “All these vacancies up and down MLK Blvd. will be filled up with non-m inority businesses, and th a t's sad." But many that serve the black com m unity h av e n 't noticed any significant changes. "The Census Bureau may say one thing," says Blazers' Boys and G irls Club m an ager Jackie Dunbar, “but the reality o f w hat we deal with every day is still m ajority-black." A tJefferson High S chool.atw o- th ird s-b lack student population rem ains w hile a greater proportion o f w hite fam ilies support other neighborhoods and programs. "B lack students are also moving out to districts w here they w eren't previously there, but the services are n 't necessarily there for them ." Urban League education director Howard Moriah says. "M ostly what we have in term s o f w h at's left of the black com m unity is a virtual com m unity.” The lack o f services for black stu d e n ts o u tsid e o f north and n o rth ea st P o rtlan d has cau sed many com m unity-program adm in istrators to stalw artly serve the re m aining core as well as black t'ami- continued on page A8 With War Abroad, Are We Prepared at Home? Deployments deplete resources by S arah B lount T he P ortland O bserver As A m erica w ages w ar in Iraq and A fghanistan, residents here at hom e are left in a vulnerable posi tion because o f depicted resources belonging to the Oregon National Guard. Much o f the equipm ent stored in arm ories across the state is cu r rently overseas - equipm ent that must eventually be replaced. That means if a natural disaster happened soon, the guard would be first responders but em ergency equipm ent may be in more remote areas o f Oregon. “W e have about 40 percent o f equipm ent that we norm ally w ould have in the state," said Oregon National G uard spokesperson Cap- See story, Metro section. BY S arah B i ot nt /T iie P ortland O bserver Staff Sgt. Bernard Herron is stationed at the Oregon National Guard Kliever Armory on Northeast 33rd Drive. The Armory is not short on trucks since many o f the vehicles can't be used in Iraq or Afghanistan, but is short on troops because they are fighting overseas. tain Mike Braibish. That includes radios, night vision goggles and w eapons. Braibish said the equipm ent has been required for the ongoing fight in the W ar on Terror. "W e make every effort to bring equipm ent hom e." he added, "but m ilitary necessity can override that." Currently just 830 soldiers out of a statew ide total o f 6,400 are fight ing overseas, in A fghanistan, but the w ar has nonetheless impacted training for possible m issions at home. Braibish said guard m em bers norm ally train with M4 service ritles. better suited for urban en v i ronm ents. hut are currently train ing with w hat's available in Oregon - in this case M 16 ritles. A shortage o f trucks is not as dire as other equipm ent. Braibish said. O regon is about 300 trucks short o f an adequate supply, partly because many o f the vehicles c a n ', be used in Iraq or A fghanistan. He said eventually the O regon National Guard w ill receive funding allocations to replace lost eq u ip ment. but “we have to fight for the funding and make sure our voices are heard." According to the N ational G uard Bureau in A rlington, Va.. the guard will receive $21 billion to replace equipm ent over the next five years. continued on pane A2