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Volume XXXVIII, Number II
Wednesday • March 12, 2008
.Week in
The Review
Obama Coasts to Victory
B arack O bam a
coasted to victory
in M ississip p i’s
D em ocratic p ri­
mary Tuesday, lat­
est in a string of
racially polarized presidential con­
tests across the Deep South and a
final tune-up before next month's
high-stakes race with Hillary
RodhamClinton in Pennsylvania.
B
New High for Gas Prices
The cost of filling up the family car
went to a record high Tuesday,
adding to challenges consumers
already face with falling home val­
ues and rising ftxxl prices. Prices at
the pump rose overnight to a record
national average of $3.22 a gallon.
Prices were higher in Oregon.
Drugs in Tap Water
Trace amounts of four pharma­
ceuticals were found in drinking
water supplies across the nation,
including Portland, according to
an investigation conducted by the
Associated Press. The source of
a c e ta m in o p h en ,
c a ffe in e ,
ibuprofen and sulfamethoxazol in
Portland’s water was tied to wells
along the Columbia River.
Governor in Waiting?
I Less than two years
I after he reluctantly
ran for lieutenant
governor, David
Paterson is sud­
denly in line to be I
' only the third black
Jefferson
High School's
governor since Reconstruction,
i
season
during a school
and the first in New York. Atten-
j
tion turned to Paterson im m edi­
ing Portland Mayor Tom
ately after word surfaced M on­
day that Gov. Eliot Spitzer had
been I inked to a high-priced pros- ;
titution ring. See story, page A2
H
photo bv M ark
W ashington /T hk P ortland O bserver
Lady Demos Win Championship!
star athletes and their coaching staff celebrate a 5A State Basketball Championship and perfect 27-0
assembly Tuesday. The celebration included a gymnasium full of students, parents and fans, includ­
Potter. See game recap, page A6.
Bush Blasted over Veto
The ACLU described President
Bush's weekend veto of a CIA
waterboarding ban as “a brazen
move signaling a callous disre-
gard for human rights." Anthony
R om ero,
the
c iv il-rig h ts
organization ’ s executive director,
said that "it is fundamentally un-
American when our president ve-
toes laws against torture."
i
|
|
I
Iraqi Violence Surges
In the deadliest day for American
forces in Iraq since Sept. 10. when
10 troops died, eight U.S. troops
were killed on Monday. Addition- j
ally, a roadside bomb hit a bus
traveling in southern Iraq on Tues-
day, killing at least 16 civilians, i
while gunmen opened fire on an­
other bus in the capital.
Portland Doctor Arrested
A Portland doctor accused of
manslaughter in the deaths of
three patients at an Australian
hospital was arrested without in- >
cident Tuesday. Jayant Patel, 57,
was bom in India but is a U.S.
citizen who had worked for years
in Oregon before losing his license
after a series of botched surgeries.
Eg
9 § O
! i z
photo bv
M ark W ashington /T iie P ortland O u st rv lr
Mel Gurtov, Portland State University political science professor, surveys the thousands of flags on campus for the Iraq Body Count Exhibit, representing Iraqi and
U.S. deaths since the U.S. invasion in March 2003. Thousands of Portlanders are expected to mark the anniversary during protests downtown this Saturday.
Reflecting on Five Years of War
Saturday protest to
mark anniversary
BY R AYMOND R l SUI T MAN
T he P ortland O bserver
A resurgence of local energy reflects the
frustration at five years of war in Iraq.
One person compelled to find a voice in
the maelstrom isTercll Wilson, a freshman at
Madison High School who will speak this
Saturday in front of the thousands expected
I
to attend a war protest in the South Park
Blocks to mark the 5th anniversary of the
U.S. invasion of Iraq.
A resident of northeast Portland near the
airport. Wilson, 15, looks back at much of his
conscious life as dictated by the fear asso­
ciated with color-coded terror warnings.
“When the codes went up. I'd get really
worried and I w ouldn't want to take the
bus," he says.
Although he thanks his parents for shield­
ing him from w ar-related stress for several of
his young years. Wilson considered it im­
possible to stay under the radar after engag­
ing in a Madison global-studies class. The
forum for him brought to light how war takes
funds away from education, healthcare and
other human necessities.
Wilson couldn't find antiwar groups
based out of his school, so he joined the
citywide movement tobuild unity for an end
to violence.
“I would like to see a lot more people
getting involved, of course." he says. "The
peace march is really a great way to bring
attention, and I'm so glad to be involved
with it."
In the cafeteria of Portland Community
C ollege's Cascade Campus. Wilson pre­
pared papier-mache figures lor the rally
with an array o f other activists. His super
visor from the Bureau of Planning ex­
plained how momentum has been build­
ing in the year since the city council passed
continued
on page A 6