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Supporting Local Kids
years
of
Peninsula Little League is off and
running with needed donation
•'com m unity service
‘City of Roses’
See story, page AS
'¡Jorthuib
Established in 1970
Volume XXXVII. Number 15
TkWeek in
Thc Review
School Gunfire Hurts 15
A 15-year-old boy fired a shot into
a window at Springw ater Trail
High School in G resham T uesday
afternoon. A uthorities said no
students were injured by the shot,
but 10 students suffered m inor
cuts from shattered glass.
Obama Rejects VP Spot
D o n ’t call him
V ice P resident
Barack Obama.
O n th e L a te
Show with David
Letterman M on­
day, Presidential
hopeful O bam a
dism issed the possibility o f run­
ning for VP with Hilary Clinton on
top o f the ticket. O bam a says he
d o esn 't run for second place be­
cause he do esn ’t believe in it.
Lionel Hollins Honored
Former Portland Trai IB lazer Lionel
H ollins’ num ber 14jersey will be
retired during a special 30 year
anniversary tribute to the team ’s
l977N BA C'ham pionship. Hollins
played forthe Blazers for five years
and was an integral part o f the
cham pionship season. See sto ry
on page B3.
■',*/ Roots on TV-One
,
f
T o ce le b ra te the 30th anniver-
sary o f Alex H aley's pi votal mini-
series “ R oots,” TV O ne d ebuted
p art one o f the sag a on E aster,
g lich n ig h t th ro u g h S u n d ay .
A pril 15, the statio n w ill feature
a new segm ent o f “ R o o ts.” On
M ay 22, the 4 -d isc D V D w ill be
released .
Search for Vu
The fam ily o f a
d e a f and d is­
abled man in
C lark C ounty
a re g ro w in g
concerned a f­
te r he w e n t
m issing Satur­
day. The FBI has joined in the
search for Khoi Vu. 25, w ho has
the mental capacity o f a 10-year-
old and com m unicates with sign
language. Call 9-1-1 if you have
any inform ation.
Boyfriend is the Daddy
DNA tests prove
it: Larry Birkhead
is the fath er o f
A nna
N ic o le
S m ith's m illion-
dollarbaby."Itold
you so!" the late
Playboy Playm ate's form er boy­
friend said T uesday upon em erg­
ing from a closed court hearing.
Repeat Deployment
As many as 13,(XX) National Guard
, soldiers from A rkansas, Indiana,
O hio and O klahom a got an official
h e a d s -u p M o n d a y th a t th e y
should expect possible deploy­
ment to Iraq. For most soldiers this
will be their second tour o f duty.
h
Tangled
over
Abortion
by
S arah B lount
said Bill Diss, who has organized a movement against the
clinic but lives in Beaverton.
Planned Parenthood o f the C olum bia/W illariette has been
interested in relocating to a bigger facility in northeast Port­
land for tw o years, said the non-profit's local president David
Greenberg.
T hey’ve hadclinics in northeast Portland since 1966, most
recently at Northeast 15th and Fremont, where they serve an
average o f 100 patients each day, G reenberg said.
The organization plans to relocate theirregional headquar­
ters from southeast Powell Boulevard to a 45,(XX) square feet
location at Northeast MLK Boulevard and Beech Street,
pending a vote from the city’s urban renewal agency, the
Portland Development Commission.
Sara King, manager o f the renewal area along M LK Blvd..
said the PDC purchased the property in 1997 as a catalyst to
create jobs along that corridor. After fai led attem pts to secure
a bakery, cal I center and a health clinic at the site. Beech Street
Partners proposed the idea o f Planned Parenthood. If built, it
will include retail space that the PDC says would deliver 140
jobs, with more than half offering quality wage.
As a suburban resident. Diss admits this is his first time to
take political action in anything involving African Americans
or northeast Portland.
“I feel for all those people (clinic patients) but I think they
photo by S araii
are especially picking on this neighborhood because o f the
African American population.”
But Greenberg said abortions account for less than five
percent o f the clinic’s services and that they "d on't expect
that to change by relocating our headquarters."
T h e re 's an attempt to say w e’re targeting one group or
another, he added, "but we don’t adversti.se. W omen find us
mostly by word o f mouth."
Diss has presented the PDC with nearly 5(X) signatures of
those opposed to the clinic. King said only 16 percent of the
signatures were from residents and business owners from
inner northeast neighborhoods.
But since the development falls within an urban renewal
area, it is a priority of the PDC to bring financial gain to the
neighborhood.
“When we did our outreach, we reached out to northeast
community leaders," King said. “W e’re hearing some oppo­
3 2
sition but not much, most folks are staying neutral."
For African American leader Harold W illiamsSr., Planned
Parenthood is about much needed economic development for
th e A fric an A m eric an c o m m u n ity . He said the
overrepresentation of abortions in minority communities
should always be reviewed, but he also suspects that it is not
the core issue for the opposition, w ho live in other com m u­
nities.
For African American leader Harold Williams Sr., the
clinic s relocation is about much needed economic develop­
ment within the African American community. W i 11 iams said
the overrepresentation o f minorities who have abortions
should always be in question, but if individuals are to regard
racial disparities, they should look at the spectrum o f issues
faced by disenfranchised communities.
continued
on page A6
Comments called ‘racist, sexist despicable’
Players not sure they can
accept Don Imus’ apology
(A P) - The Rutgers w om en's
basketbal I team wi 11 meet with em ­
battled C B S/Infinity Radio host
Don Imus, and their coach on
T uesday called his com m ents
"racist and sexist remarks that are
deplorable, despicable and un­
conscionable.”
Players stopped short o f say­
ing w hether they thought Imus
should be fired. Effective M on­
day, Imus has been suspended
for tw o w eeks for calling the
Rutgers female basketball players
“nappy-headed hos.”
“ W e all agreed the m eeting with
M r. Im us w ill h e lp ,” E ssen ce
Local residents sound off
See page A2, inside
Carson, a m em ber o f the team that
lost the NCAA w om en’s cham pi­
on sh ip gam e to T ennessee last
week. said. “ We do hope to get
Don Imus
som ething accom plished during very fortunate to have them at
this m eeting."
R utgers U n iv ersity . T hey are
Team m ate Matee Ajavon said: young ladies o f class, distinction
“I could say that we honestly d o n 't They are articulate, they are gifted.
know what toexpect from Don Imus They are G o d 's representatives in
and what we will plan on asking him every sense o f the w ord."
is his reasons and how you could
She said it's not about the play­
ju st say things that you have not ers "as black or nappy-headed.
put any thought to? Right now I It's about us as a people. When
c a n 't really say if we have com e to there is not equality for all, or
a conclusion o f w hether we will when there has been denied equal­
accept the apology. W hat I can say ity for one. there has been denied
I think this meeting will be crucial equality fo ra ll."
for us. the state o f New Jersey and
She further said: "W hile they
everybody representing us."
worked hard in the classroom and
Head coach C. Vivian Stringer accom plished so much and used
said her players “are the best this
on page A2
nation has to offer, and we are so continued
Advocates say Legal Help Fails Blacks
A
R onai . H ooper
s is so com pletely engulfed in fear
‘ and racism that black defendants
fail to receive effective represen-
' tation before the state courts.
T he O regon A ssem bly for
Black A ffairs is calling for legis-
' lation to help correct the prob­
ô
B i . oi nt /T hl P ortland O bserver
Longtime African American leader Harold Williams Sr. stands at the proposed site of Planned Parenthood at
Northeast Martin Luther King Boulevard and Beech Street. Williams says he supports the clinic's relocation
from southeast Portland, but only if it financially benefits the African American community.
A dvocates for African Arneri-
I cans say O reg o n 's legal system
I
j
T he P ortland O bserver
It is no surprise that controversy surrounds a potential
Planned Parenthood on Northeast Martin Luther King Jr.
Boulevard. But what makes the controversy o f this particular
development unique are the allegations that the non-profit
w om en’s health and family planning clinic unfairly targets
minority communities.
Several individuals who are strongly opposed to abortion
havetaken up advocacy forthe minority com m unitiesofnorth
and northeast Portland, even though most live out o f town or
out o f state.
“ You don’t see them asking to put one In the West Hills,”
by Nit ole
a
" T » X " /.?,
w
X '
I T he P ortland O bserver
pr
Wednesday • April II, 2007
?
Planned Parenthood on
MLK draws fire, support
More diversity
training wanted
g
www.portlandobserver.com
Committed to Cultural Diversity
lems m inorities encounter by re­ Calvin O.L. Henry
quiring all Oregon lawyer to have legal representation.
more diversity training.
The Oregon State Bar has not
O A BA President Calvin O.L. taken a position on the bill.
Henry says House Bill 28K6 is a
Katcri Walsh, the lawyer group's
necessity for black Oregonians, com m unity relations adm inistrator,
which w ould give them effective said discrim ination and bias are
problems "we recognize and we are
pretty engaged in."
She said the bar would likely
include diversity training in its an ­
nual legislative sem inar if the bill is
passed. But the length, title and
direct focus o f thc classes are an
unknown.
Walsh said that the bar already
has continuing education classes.
I'here is an Elim ination o f Bias re­
quirement where lawyers have to
lake three hours o f instruction ev ­
ery reporting period. The reporting
periixl is three years; so essen ­
tially, a lawyer could do thc class in
a one hour increm ent each year.
Jesse W illiam Barton, a Salem
criminal defense attorney, says d i­
versity is an interesting concept
that isn't on his radar but that he
would like to see the training tai­
lored to defense attorneys ¡fatal I.
"F or me the biggest problem I
see in term s o f racial disparity in
this state are found in the prison
system ." said Barton. "If you
have a lawyer in a small town
doing wills and estates and ev ­
eryone in that town is white, the
lawyer could take the extra diver­
sity training but it's not going to
change the racial disparity in pris­
o n s.”
However. Barton said the O J
Sim pson case was a gixxl ex ­
am ple o f what can be accom ­
plished with effective represen­
tation.
“ He was willing to spend all
the money he had on a DNA
expert to rebut stales attorney
continued
on page A6
Leon Dudley
Principal
Replaced
Jefferson H ighS chool Principal
I r o n Dudley has been placed on
leave lor the rest o f the year, the
Portland Schix,I District announced
I uesday. Jefferson cluster director
Cynthia Harris has been nam ed in­
terim principal.
There is no w ord yet w hy Dudley
continued
on page A2