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of
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m m u n itv service
nervi r e
community
Candidates Square
Off On Inequities
Homeless,
Not Helpless
Debate raises black
community issues
Stories from
Dignity Village
See story, page A 4
See story, Metro section
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‘City of Roses’
Established in 1970
Volume XXXVII, Number 25
www.portlandobserver.com
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Week ¡n
e Review
Wednesday
Roy Make a Run for Mayor?
Business leader
says it’s all
talk for now
by S arah B lount
T he P ortland O bserver
Greg Oden Welcome
Basketball superstar G reg Oden
a c k n o w le d g e s th e fa n s w ho
p a c k e d P io n e e r C o u r th o u s e
Square for his arrival in the City o f
Roses one day after being drafted
by thePortlandT rail Blazers as the
num ber one draft pick in the NBA.
See story in Sports, page B6.
Doctors Charged
in Terrorism
A n investigation into failed car
bom bings in G lasgow and L on­
don has sw ept up at least five
physicians and a m edical student,
including a doctor seized at an
A ustralian airport with a one-w ay
ticket. M any o f the men had ties to
Iraq, Jordan and India — and
w orked together at hospitals in
Scotland or Engl and, official s said.
Pardon May Come Next
P resident Bush on T uesday re­
fused to rule out an eventual par­
don for form er W hite House aide
I. L ew is “ Scotter” L ibby, one day
after com m uting his 2 1/2-year
prison term in the CIA leak case.
Bush said M onday that the jury's
conviction o f Libby should stand
but that the 30-m onth prison term
w as too severe.
B usinessm an and civic leader Roy Jay
faces a question that will pop up increas­
ingly as we approach 2008: will he run for
m ayor?
Jay, a tireless leader w ho has helped
shaped Portland business w hile signifi­
cantly raising the profile o f m inority busi­
nesses, has been asked to run for City
Council tw ice before but declined. He says
he is flattered to be considered in the 2008
m ayoral race, especially since it w asn’t
even his idea.
“I'm not saying yes or no,” Jay, 59, says
o f a possible run. “It’s w ay too early, and
I’ve got to w eigh my options.”
O ne thing is for certain: Jay said he
w o n ’t even co n sid era run ifh is good friend
and M ayor Tom Potter decides to cam ­
paign for a second term. Potter has said
h e’ll decide w hether h e’ll run closer to his
birthday in Septem ber.
But is Jay giving the prospect a little
m ore thought this tim e around?
“N o,” he says. “I run a business, I’m not
going around running cam paigns.”
In all fairness, Ja y ’s popularity and busi­
ness clout has others doing the early “cam ­
paigning” for him. A nd it’s not ju st city
insiders elbow ing Jay and peppering him
w ith questions.
Upon checking into G ood Sam aritan
H ospital last m onth for an em ergency pro­
cedure, Jay recalls a nurse asking him if he
w as running for m ayor, and w here she
could to sign up to help.
“I d idn’t even know this w om an," he
said. “ I told her if I die I c a n ’t help any­
photo by S ean O ’C onnor /T he P ortland O bserver
b o d y .”
L ocal b u s in e s s m a n R o y J a y s a y s it's all j u s t ta lk th a t h e 's run n in g for M ayor in
Even folks who run a blog called the NW
2 0 0 8 , b u t h e w o n 't rule o u t a ca m p a ig n to win th e to p s e a t in P o rtla n d 's City Hall.
I A L L -A M E R IC A N
j BASKETBALL C A M P f
1
/
A G E S S -1S
Republican praised Jay last M ay in a post
discussing his credentials and possible
campaign. Bloggers described him as "high
energy and all about Portland.”
The G O P endorsem ent cam e as a sur­
prise to Jay, who w o n 't reveal his political
affiliation (though everyone asks, he says)
but adm its he donates money to both D emo­
crats and Republicans.
“ I d o n ’t play the "D and R " gam e be­
cause you wind up losing," he explained.
"Y o u 'v e got to have friends all over the
place.”
Ja y ’s friends include a broad sampling
o f Portland politicians and business lead­
ers, including form er m ayor V era Katz, a
Democrat. And during an interview in front
ot Portland’sC ity Hall last week. Jay greeted
or was approached by nearly every indi­
vidual passing by.
But though he adm its individuals inter­
ested in a Roy Jay cam paign have called
m eetings with him, he considers him self an
unlikely candidate because he lacks politi­
cal experience.
"But if Potter and (former Portland mayor
Bud) Clark can do i t..." he says, consider­
ing the possibilities.
Som e might say Ja y 's business exper­
tise overshadow s his lack o f elected expe­
rience, possibly in the same way Potter
gained credibility as police chief, and busi­
nessm an and restaurateur Clark won over
the city with a Reuben sandw ich at his
northw est P ortland tavern, the G oose
Hollow Inn.
Jay launched his entrepreneurial career
as a teenager in the 1960s in Colum bia Villa,
the Portsm outh neighborhood now called
New Colum bia. He says his first jo b was
sorting bottles at a grocery store, and
when he saved up enough money to buy
a m otorcycle he charged other kids 10
cents for rides. His first car, a 1959 Ford,
was used to ferry classm ates to Roosevelt
High School.
continued
on page A 6
y fe d
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KT
Movie on Black Soldiers
Spike Lee announced plans T ues­
day to m ake a m ovie about the
struggle against Nazi occupiers in
Italy during W orld W ar II that he
hopes will highlight the contribu­
tion o f black A m erican soldiers
w ho fought and died to liberate
Europe, despite suffering discrim i­
nation back home.
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f b r s'rÇ
MB
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Priest, Woman Found Dead
T he search for a m issing Jesuit
pries, and a w om an friend from
C alifornia ended Sunday when
searchers found their car and their
bodies in a d itc h o ff H ighw ay 26 in
northw est O regon. It appeared
that David Schwartz, 52, and Cheryl
G ibbs, 61, had been traveling east
tow ard Portland w hen they veered
o ff the road.
photo by
M ark W ashinc . ton /T hf . P ortland O bserver
K ids o f all a g e s a re draw n to Irving Park in n o r th e a s t P ortland for First S te p s All-Am erican Youth B a sk e tb a ll C a m p a n d o th e r s u m m e r a ctivities.
Basketball Camp
and Much More
Program includes health fair
by S arah B lount
T he P ortland O bserver
All-American Youth Basketball
Campcoach E.J. Penn scans hischild-
hood hangout of Irving Park at North­
east Seventh Avenue and Fremont
Street. As he sits underneath a tent
with First Step cam p program direc­
tor Melissa Knight and their partner
Geri Washington of Oregon Action,
Penn is happy to see a couple dozen
kids have shown up to shoo, hoops
and eat some lunch despite the rain,
which means an automatic cancella­
tion for the day.
As the rain falls harder and the
wind kicks up, Penn directs the kids
under the pavilion. They practice
techniques, shoot free throws and
joke around. Many o f the kids say
that if not for the camp, they'd he at
home playing video games.
The kids are taking par, in a sum ­
mer-long basketball program spon­
sored by First Step Sports Academy
and held at Irving Park for youth of
all ages to sharpen their athletic.
mental and social skills.
Penn also feels lucky the camp
has made it to its third summer. Earlier
this year when some grant money fell
through. M ayor Tom Potter gave
the cam p a much needed two thou­
sand dollars.
“We w ouldn't be here if not for
him.” Penn said.
The cam p appeals to boys and
girls as young as five as well as
alternative high school students
who can serve as youth leaders
Their summ ers are spent on courts
that were home to future NBA stars
Damon Stoudamire and Fred Jones.
It's also a park where many ordinary
folks, now grown, recall their child­
hood as they watch their own chil­
dren play.
But as gentrification displaces
some o f these neighborhood resi­
dents w hooften travel in from neigh­
borhoods farther north or east. Penn
w ouldn't have it any other way. He
says Portland Parks and Recreation
suggested the cam p take place some­
where closer to many of the partici-
continued
on page A 6