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Established in 1970
www,
www.portlandobserver.com
port landobserve
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Volume XXXVIII, N um ber 25
Wednesday • luly 2, 2008
.Week ¡n
The Review
Forecasts say Expect
Higher Power Bills
Already faced with higher food
and gas prices, economic fore­
casters now say consumers
can expect to pay more for
electricity as regional utilities
buy expensive wholesale elec­
tricity to meet rising customer
demand while investing in re­
newable energy.
Obama’s Asian-American
Sister Hits Campaign
Presidential candidate Barack
Obama’s Asian-American half
sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng rep­
resents an­
other aspect
of Obama's
identity that
makes him
unique as a
presidential
candidate, al­
though it has
been underplayed amid the ex­
citement surrounding his shot
at becoming the first black
president. See story, page A2.
Abortion Protest Too
Much for MLK Builder
A construction company set to
help build a Planned Parent­
hood clinic on northeast Martin
Luther King Jr. Boulevard has
dropped the project, citing pres­
sure from anti-abortion activ­
ists. But the developer has as­
sembled a new team of build­
ers. See story, page A2.
Mother Killed for Baby
Kennewick, Wash, police re­
port that a pregnant woman
was fatally stabbed multiple
times in the chest and her nearly
full-term baby was cut from
her womb. Police have arrested
a 23-year-old woman.
Hezbollah Trained in Iraq
Hezbollah instructors trained
Shiite militiamen at remote
camps in southern Iraq until
three months ago when they
slipped across the border to
Iran — presumably to continue
instruction on Iranian soil, ac­
cording to two Shiite lawmak­
ers and a top army officer.
GM Holds off Toyota
General Motors Corp, soundly
beat Toyota Motor Corp, in
June to retain its traditional U.S.
sales lead, but GM sales still
dropped 18.2 percent during a
dism al month for large
automakers.
Trends Show Hispanic
Voters Gaining Strength
Voting by Hispanics surged in
the last congressional elections,
showing strength that could
swing this year's presidential
vote in closely contested states
Luis Vera of the League of
United Latin American Citizens,
said the debate over illegal im­
migration has energized His­
panic voters, a trend he ex­
pects to continue this year.
Seattle-based Starbucks
to Close 600 Stores
Starbucks Corp, has announced
it's closing 6(X) underperfor­
ming stores in the United States.
The Seattle-based premium
coffee company says it will try
to place workers from closed
stores in remaining Starbucks
The downtown waterfront fills with spectators and the Willamette River gets crowded with boats for the annual Safeway Waterfront Blues Festival supporting
the Oregon Food Bank.
Blues Benefits
Food B ank
Stage set for July 4th weekend
Blues artists from throughout
the world, including Isaac Hayes.
Charlie Musselwhite, Phoebe
Snow, Canned Heat, The Man­
nish Boys, Joe Bonamassa. James
Hunter, Elvin Bishop and more
will support the fight against
hunger at the 21st Safeway
Waterfront Blues Festival, July
3-6.
The renowned festival, which
benefits the Oregon Food Bank,
takes place on the grassy banks
of the beautiful W11 lamclte River
at Tom McCall Waterfront Park,
downtown.
Now in its 21 st year, the event
is the largest blues festival west
of the Mississippi and the sec­
ond-largest blues festival in the
nation. It annually attracts more
than 120.000 blues fans from
throughout the world.
Touted as one of the best-run
festivals anywhere, it remains a
grassroots festival, operated by the
Legendary trombonist Fred Wesley & Groovesect will star in a ‘Battle o f the ‘Bones' during
Thursday’s lineup at the Waterfront Blues Festival, a four-day 4th o f July extravaganza.
Phoebe Snow
nonprofit, charitable Oregon Food
Bank with the help of more than a
thousand volunteers.
The festival raises food and
Local Intern Goes to Washington
Northeast Portland resident Marneet Lewis
works as an intern for Sen. Ted Kennedy in
Washington, D.C.
“I appreciate every morning seeing all these young
interns, all of them dressed to the nines and excited
about working in D.C.," she said. "We have a great
sense of community. And the work is challenging,
continued
on pane A3
plus two cans of food per per-
son. per day.
continlled s y r „„ page A
Transit Riders Hit Hard
T riM et o ffic ia ls say the
agency’s fuel prices have in­
creased 67 percent over budget
during the current fiscal yearend-
ing June 30, up from a budgeted
$2.31 per gallon to topping $4 per
Record-high diesel prices have gallon.
The transit agency expects to
prompted a 25-cent increase for
fares forTriMct commuters begin­ buy seven million gallons of die­
ning Sept. I .
The T riM et
Board of Direc­
tors approved the
increase last week
after holding off
any major fare in­
creases by dip­
ping into its re­
serves, making its
fleet more fuel ef­
ficient and cut­
ting staff posi­
tions.
When the new
rate goes into ef­
fect, an adult cash
fare for a 2-zonc
ticket will cost $2,
up from the cur­
rent $1.75, while Get ready to pay more when boarding TriMet.
an all-zone ticket
will soon set you back $2.30com ­ sel in the next fiscal year, which
pared to today’s $2.05. A youth or includes additional bus and LIFT
student ticket will increase 10- service and the start of TriMet
cents to $ 1.50 while an honored or Westside Express Service Com-
senior citizen ticket will go to 95-
conlinued
on pane A3
cents, also a 10 cent increase.
25-cent fare
increase offsets
high fuel costs
PCC grad serves in
Ted Kennedy's office
Students have graduated from Portland Commu­
nity College and gone on to momentous things, but
rarely has it happened as quickly as it has lor Marneet
Lewis, a northeast Portland resident.
The 2008 graduate from the Cascade Campus on
North Killingworth Street is serving as an intern in
Sen. Ted Kennedy's office for the Senate Committee
on Health. Education, Labor, and Pensions in Wash­
ington, D.C.
Lewis' selection as a community college student
is rare - she is one of only eight students selected for
the summer congressional internship program and
only community college student in a very compéti­
tive field of candidates.
“ It is phenomenal," she said of her D.C. experi­
ence. “I’m having the time of my life."
Lewis and her fellow interns are housed at George
Washington University, just a short distance from
the National Mall. She gets around on foot and on the
Metro, a subway system for the region that she calls
“fantastic.”
Her days are spent doing the business of the
senate committee, which involves everything from
reading and answering constituents' mail, speaking
with them on the phone, attending committee hear­
ings, obtaining signatures (often from high-ranking
senators, she said), running errands and keeping
abreast of political news by watching a bank of
televisions constantly tuned to C-SPAN, CNN and
the House and Senate floors.
The culture of Washington, she said, is as exciting
as it is demanding.
funds to help people who are hun-
gry throughout Oregon and south-
west Washington. Admission is a
suggested donation of only $10