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November 14, 2007
Kanye West’s Mother Dies after Surgery
Singer and
mom were close
Kanye West and his mother Donda at the 2006 Grammy
Awards. Donda West, 58, may have died o f complications
related to a surgical procedure, a coroner's official said Monday. -
(A P) -- T he plastic surgeon
w h o re p o rte d ly o p e ra te d on
Kanye W est's m other before she
died faced tw o m alpractice suits
that ended in payouts and was
arrested tw ice for driving under
the influence, according to state
records obtained Tuesday.
The M edical Board o f Califor­
nia is investigating w hether the
license o f Dr. Jan A dam s should
be revoked or suspended after he
was arrested twice in the past
four years for alcohol-related of­
fenses, records show .
Another plastic surgeon. Dr.
Donda W est. 58, died Satur­ Andre Aboolian of Beverly Hills,
day at C entinela Freem an Re­ said Donda West approached him
gional M edical C enter in M arina about a procedure, but told her tw o
del Rey after she stopped breath­ weeks ago that she first needed
ing at her home. The coroner's medicalelearanceforapre-existing
office said an i nitial investigation condition that may cause a heart
show s W est may have died from attack during surgery.
surgical com plications. An au­
He never heard back from her,
topsy was scheduled to be done said A bm lian's publicist. Jo-A nn
by W ednesday.
Geffen.
A dam s told the celebrity W eb
Donda W est was the form er
site T M Z that he perform ed a chairw om an o f C hicago State
tum m y tuck and breast reduction University's English department.
on but denied any w rongdoing. She served as chief executive of
He said she might have died from W est Brands LLC, the parent
a heart attack, pulm onary em bo­ com pany o f her son's business
enterprises.
lism or massive vomiting.
She also was chairw om an o f
the Kanye W est Foundation, an
educational nonprofit that works
to decrease dropout rates and
im prove literacy.
W est left C hicago State U ni­
versity in 2004 and m oved to Los
A ngeles to m anage her son's ca­
reer. People w ho knew m other
and son said they were close.
"They seemed very earing; they
laughed a lot with each other," said
Brenda Eatman Aghahowa. the
chairwomanoftheEnglishandCom-
munications department at Chicago
State University. "It wascleiirthere
was a very warm relationship be­
tween them."
SUPER
The Aqua Dots toy is pulled from store shelves because of a link
to the ‘date-rape' drug gamma hydroxybutyrate.
photo by
Toys Linked to a
Date-Rape Drug
Aqua Dots, sold by Australia-
(AP) - A mother said she knew
something was terribly wrong when based Moose Enterprises, are beads
her 20-month-old son began to that can be arranged into designs
stumble and started vomiting. He and fused when sprayed with wa­
had just ingested a popular toy that ter. The toy was pulled from shelves
contains a chemical that turns into after scientists found they contain
a powerful "date rape" drug when a chemical that converts into the
so-called date rape drug when
eaten.
It was the latest Chinese-made eaten.
Scientists say a chemical coat­
toy pulled from shelves in North
ing on the beads can metabolize
America.
Shelby Esses, 30, said her son into the drug gamma hydroxybu­
Jacob fell and went limp after get­ tyrate. When eaten, the compound
ting into his older sister’s Aqua — made from common and easily
Dots set, which was recalled last available ingredients— can induce
se iz u re s,
week by the Consumer Product u n c o n sc io u sn e ss,
drowsiness, coma and death.
Safety Commission.
College Night at Mt. Hood
Mt. Hood Com m unity College and prizes, plus four $5(X) scholar­
is hosting "C ollege Night in O r­ ships will be given away.
Seminars offered will include:
egon" to help high-school stu­
dents choose the right college "Choosing the Right College,"
and apply for financial aid and "Understanding the Financial Aid
Process,” "Scholarship Searches
scholarships.
and
Scams" and "Completing and
The event will take place Mon­
day, Nov. 19. from 6 to 9:15 p.m. in Filing the FAFSA."
For more inform ation, visit
the MHCC Town and Gown Room
collegenightinor.org.
at the Gresham campus. Free pizza
M ark W ashington /T hi P ortiam » O bserver
Off the Court Goodwill
NBA Rookie of the Year Brandon Roy (far right) and Trail Blazer teammate Steve Blake pitch in Monday to
welcome the disadvantaged to a free Harvest Dinner at the Rose Garden. The annual event was a community
service o f the Blazers and co-sponsored by Project Homeless Connect, a city and county program focused on
bringing critical services to the homeless. See additional photo on front page.
LYING
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