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‘City of Roses
Established in 1970
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Volume XXXVIII, Number 8
itV Of Roses
.Week ¡n
The Review
Largest Beef Recall
The U.S. Department of Agricul­
ture on Sunday ordered its largest
beef recall, surpassing a 1999 ban
of 35 million pounds, by condemn­
ing 143 million pounds of frozen
beef from a California slaughter­
house that is the subject of an
animal-abuse investigation and
had sent meat to school lunch
programs.
MLK Lieutenant Dies
The Rev. James E. Orange, a lieu­
tenant of the Southern Christian
L ea d e rsh ip C o n feren ce w ho
worked alongside the Rev. Martin
Luther King Jr. during the civil
rights movement, died Saturday.
He was 65.
College Shooting Tragedy
Dozens waited in near-zero tem­
peratures, some clutching flowers
and cards, to pay their respects
Tuesday to one of five students
killed by a gunman last week at
Northern Illinois University. In­
vestigators still haven’t deter­
m ined w hat set o ff Steven
Kazmierczak, 27, who opened fire
during a science lecture before
committing suicide.
Pakistani Upheaval
www.portlandobserver.com
Wednesday • February 20. 2008
F O a h lis h p r l in 1 9 7 0
iaziaziaz
Emerging from Crisis Mode
Schools’
chief sees
opportunity
by R aymond R endleman
T he P ortland O bserver
Just passing her 100th day as superinten­
dent, Carole Smith has guided Portland Pub­
lic Schools into a position of calm not seen
since the ‘80s.
Smith, whodirected Open Meadow alter­
native schools in north Portland for more
than 20 years, is focused on the input of
principals, teachers and parents to achieve
quality education at each and every school,
hopefully for generations to come.
A homegrown leader, she follows a series
o f more controversial, out-of-state types
like predecessor Vicki Phillips, and other
superintendents and interim superinten­
dents who frantically had to deal with left­
over problems.
Twocontroversial leftovers for Smith have
fizzled to near non-issues. The unions rep­
resenting PPS custodians, bus drivers and
food-service workers reached tentative
agreements with administrators over salary
and benefits. Secondly, proposals to recon­
stitute school buildings that incensed some
community members have turned into av­
enues for discussing priorities with regard
to school maintenance and restoration.
“I’m a really different leader than what
people are used to as superintendent," she
told the Portland Observer. “I'm not here
just for a few splashy accomplishments. I’m
piioto by
M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver
Carole Smith, superintendent for Portland Public Schools, recently obtained a top role in order to empower communities.
looking to lead the schools for the long term,
for at least 10 years out."
A district emerging from crisis mode, after
more than a decade of budget cuts man­
dated by a state property-tax limit adopted
in the early 1990s, is giving Smith the oppor­
tunity to address ongoing issues.
Considering the budget limitations, en­
rollment uncertainties and changing demo­
graphics, Smith acknowledges several bal­
ancing acts that will completely satisfy no
one in the short term. But, in a lasting way.
Pakistan’s ruling party conceded
defeat to the opposition Tuesday
in parliamentary elections that
could threaten the rule of Presi­
dent Pervez Musharraf, a key
American ally in the war on terror.
she has great hope for an inner-city school
district that embraces the requirements of al I
families within its boundaries, including
gentrifying communities of color.
continued
on page A2
Fidel Castro
Steps Down
CMI Unions Fall Short
A civil-unions law has failed to
ensure that same-sex couples in
New Jersey enjoy the same rights
as married heterosexuals, an offi­
cial report said on Tuesday. On
the first anniversary of implemen­
tation, some employers have re­
fused to provide benefits to the
civil partner of employees.
American policy
unaffected by move
(AP)— The Bush administration is ruling
out any changes in its Cuba policy— includ­
ing lifting a five-decade trade embargo—
after Fidel Castro’s resignation, while derid­
ing his brother and heir apparent. Raul, as
"dictator lite.”
Led by President Bush, a chorus of offi­
cials expressed hope that Castro's depar­
ture would spark fundamental changes.
The ailing Castro, 81. announced Tues­
day he would not accept another term in
office when parliament meets to elect a new
president this weekend.
Castro outlasted nine U.S. presidents
who, with some minor policy adjustments,
have steadily ramped up pressure on Cuba.
The top three U.S. presidential candi­
OHP Expanding Rolls
More than 66,000 people have
signed up for a reservation list to
receive Oregon Health Plan appli­
cations. At least 3,000 people se­
lected at random will be sent appli­
cations for standard benefits.
Adults without health insurance
may put their names on the reser­
vation list through Feb. 29 at
O regon.gov/dhs.
Soups Turn Healthier
The Campbell Soup Co.’s kid-ori­
ented soups, which feature char­
acters such as Dora the Explorer
and Batman on the cans, are get­
ting their second sodium reduc­
tion in three years.The 480 milli­
grams per serving will legally al­
low the company to label them as
healthy foods.
n n r tls in r ln h c A r v A
photo by
M ark W ashington /T he P or i land O bserver
Cornetta Smith is gathering materials and organizing to record the history of African Americans in Vancouver with a
kick-off event scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 23 at 4:30 p.m. at the Vancouver Community AME Zion Church, 3601 E.
13th St.
First Black Families Chronicled
Vancouver NAACP
gathers local histories
Vancouver's deeply rooted African-
American community is a story that has
gone largely unrecoginized. It's a story of
strong and productive people who came
from across the country to live in
Vancouver and Clark County and work in
the Kaiser shipyards of World War II and
stayed to make their homes here.
The Vancouver Branch 1139 of the
NAACP is launching a history project,
"First Families of Vancouver’s African-
American Community" to record these
histories in a book-length manuscript that
can be shared with current and future
generations.
Longtime African-American residents
and their descencents are encouraged to
get behind the project during a public
reception at Community AME Zion Church,
3605 E. 13th St„on Saturday, Feb. 23 at 4:30
p.m.
Project staff and volunteers will presenta
an overview of the project, followed by a
question-and-answer period.
With a target date of 2010 for publication,
the manuscript will be based on extensive
interviewsconducted by writer Jane Elder
Wulff.
"The emphasis is on family and commu­
nity," Wulff said.
Wulff and project directorC’ometta Smith,
whose sister-in-law, Ellen Thompson, was
one of the original settlers, developed the
“First Families" idea after working together
on several feature articles for the Senior
Messenger, a monthly newspaper published
by the City of Vancouver.
“These families deliberately chose to
settle throughout the community, not all in
one place," W ulff said.
1
The Vancouver Housing Authority
and the NAACP, which both began dur­
ing the war. also helped make the history
project possible.
“The upshot was that while we had no
ghetto, our black community also had no
visibility," Wulff said. “To this day, many
people here don't even know Vancouver
has a black community, let alone such a
strong, productive one. with such deep
roots."
The goal of the First Families project is
to bring that community to light, Wulff
said.
For more information, contact Cornetta
Smith at 360-695-7179 or via e-mail at
Mstex50s@aol.com; Jane Elder W ulff at
3 6 0 -6 87-9872 o r via e-m a il at
jw ulffl23@ m sn.com ; or Earl Ford,
Vancouver NAACP branch president, at
360 -8 8 5 -0 6 4 4 o r via e -m a il at
Earl wford @ aol .com.
Fidel Castro
dates all said Washington should l«xsk for
ways to encourage democratic reforms in
Cuba, steps that could lead to normalizing
U.S. relations with Cuba later on.
Barack Obama, who is waging a hard-
fought campaign with Hillary Clinton forthe
Democratic nomination, said the U.S. must
be prepared to take steps to normalize rela­
tions w 11h Cuba and to ease the embargo if
Cuba's new leader "begins opening Cuba to
meaningful democratic change."
Raul Castro has repeatedly offered to
improve relations with Washington, even if
the Bush administration shows no sign of
taking him upon it. He has hinted he favors
greater, if still limited economic freedom.
And he's already allowed more, if limited
public criticism of the government.
I