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Deadly Month in Iraq
April was the deadliest month for
American forces this year in Iraq
with over 100 soldiers killed. ll.S.
troops have been increasingly de
ployed on the streets of Baghdad
and housed with Iraqi troops in joint
security operations away from their
heavily fortified bases, raising their
vulnerability to attacks.
Terrorism Rising
Terrorist attacks w orldwide shot
up 25 percent last year, particularly
in Iraq where extremists usedcherni-
cal w eapons and suicide bom bers
to target crowds. O verall, the State
D epartm ent says about 14,000 at
tacks took place in 2006, claim ing
more than 20,000 lives.
Cam’Ron Doesn't Snitch
Rap star C am ' Ron
toldC N N 's Ander
son C ooper that he
follow s a code o f
ethics by refusing
to w ork with po
lice. The Harlem born rapper said
even if he lived next door to a serial
killer, he would m ove instead o f
inform the police.
Freeway Collapse
A section o f San Francisco bay area
freeway burned and crumbled after
a tanker carrying gasoline exploded
on Sunday near Oakland. The free
way funnels traffic onto the San
Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. The
truck's driver walked away from the
scene and called a taxi, which took
him to a nearby hospital with sec
ond-degree bums.
Recall aftermath
sparks interest in
origins of food
See Metro section, inside
i- . i
Established In 1970
www.portlandobserver.com
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Volume XXXVII. Number 17
,,Week ¡n
lhe Review
Pet Food
Caution
Wednesday • May 2, 2007
De La Salle on Solid Ground
Move to
historic Kenton
site begins
by N icole R onal H ooper
T he P ortland O bserver
W hen K enton G rade School
closed in 2005, the neighbors w on
dered w hat would take its place.
M any feared that it would turn into
another M cM enam ins or even a
W al-M art. But instead, it will be the
new site for De La Salle Catholic
High School.
C u rre n tly , th e sch o o l holds
classes in cram ped quarters at the
Q ueen o f Peace C hurch Parish hall
and school just a few blocks away.
Tim H ennessey, De La S alle’s vice
principal o f developm ent, said the
current site is sim ply too small.
“W e have to kick the principal
out o f his office to have m eetings,”
said H ennessey.
But the lim ited space is about to
change with even more room com
ing for future growth.
De La Salle has invited students,
parents, faculty, com m unity lead
ers and corporate partners to a
g r o u n d b r e a k in g
c e re m o n y
W ednesday at the form er Kenton
School site, a relatively large cam
p u s b o rd e re d b e tw e e n N o rth
Lom bard Street and Interstate Av-
photo by N icole
R onai . H ooper /T he P ortland O bserver
On the steps o f the new site for De La Salle North Catholic High School, Tim Hennessy, the school's vice president of development
with Freshman Darnell Peterson and Sophomore Michelle Perea.
enue.
Plans call for$ 10 million in reno
vations and the construction o f a
stand alone gym nasium to be com
pleted by this sum m er and the
school opening fo rclasses this fall.
De La S alle’s student body re
sem bles the diversity o f other inner
city schools like Jefferson and
continued
on page A5
Child’s Color Brings Suit
A ju dge has ruled that a couple can
proceed with a lawsuit against a
fertility clinic after the wife gave
birth to a daughter w hose skin was
thought to be too dark to be their
c h ild . T h o m a s a n d N an c y
A ndrew s, o f Com m ack, N.Y., say
that they have been forced to raise
a child who is not the same race,
nationality or color that they are.
Driving While Black
A new federal study finds that
black, H ispanic and w hite drivers
are equal ly likely to be pul led over
by police but blacks and Hispanics
are much more likely to be searched
and arrested. S ee sto ry , p a g e A 2
Citizenship Rallies
T h ousands o f people protested
across the country T uesday to
dem and a path tocitizenship for an
estim ated 12 million illegal im m i
grants. O rganizers say im m igrants
feel a sense o f urgency to keep
im m igration reform from getting
pushed to the back burner by the
2(X)8 presidential elections.
Castro No Show
C uban acting president and D e
fense M inister Raul C astro at
tended C u b a’s May Day parade
T uesday in place o f the convalesc
ing Fidel Castro, an event the
island's 'm axim um leader' had at
tended for decades without fail.
photo by
M ark W asiiington /T iie P ortland O bserv er
Preparing for Washington, D.C. Honor
The King Elementary Choir under the direction of Kathryn McVey performs outside their northeast Portland school in preparation for their performance in
Washington, D.C. this June as representatives o f the National Anthem Project. Friday's community event was part of a series of fundraisers to pay for the
group’s travel expenses. Donations are welcome by contacting McVey at King School, 503-916 6155.
Heading Off Trouble at New Columbia
Housing authority
responds with
positive changes
by S arah B lount
T he P ortland O bserver
Is N ew C olum bia haunted by its past?
W hen the Housing Authority o f Portland
replaced the old Colum bia Villa housing
project in north Portland's Portsmouth neigh-
borhixid. the m ulti-m illiondollarm ixed-use
com m unity project becam e a source o f pride
I
and lessened crim e for hom eowners and
renters. But violent activity began to crop up
last sum m er within the neighborhood's cen
terpiece o f M cCoy Park - spurring mobs of
youth to gather at night and sometim es
create racially charged violence.
Leslie Fsinga. the neighborhood's co m
munity liaison, said the problem s within
New C olum bia are the same in other neigh
borhoods.
“T h ere's not enough activity for people
to engage in," she said, adding that the
housing authority has planned several ac
tivities for the summ er, including a summer
concert series and even an “old school fam
ily reunion.”
Also, the neighborhood Boys and G irls
Club will open in June.
If you visit M cCoy Park during the day
you might think you stepped into the ideal
com m unity - kids o f all ages clim bing play
grounds. shooting basketball and zipping
around on bikes and scooters. A com m unity
garden grow s in the m iddle and a pavilion
designates the southern end o f the park.
But the change in the p ark 's tone is as
sim ple as night and day.
Esinga says that around 5 p.m., as parents
are returning home from work, the younger
kids go hom e and older teens begin to show
up. Then the activity shifts to a basketball
court at the northern end.
W ith their arrival, especially since the
w anner months have arri ved, has come some
violence, which North Precinct Sgt. Tom
M cGranahan says is partly due to residents
who used to live in the old C olum bia Villa,
but m ainly because o f the young people
converging at New C olum bia from outside
the com m unity.
T h e cro w d s ran g e from p re-teen to
tw entysom ethings, M cG ranahan said, and
are part o f the sam e g roups that co n cen -
enntinned
yf
on page A 5