Slight Decrease
Jazzy Vibes
Oregon gas prices have dropped ever so
slightly. The price fo r regular hit a record
high on July 3 at $4.29, before falling
Tuesday to a statewide average o f $4.28.
Blues artist Catherine
Russell to bring her
saucy smile and jazz
chops to the Oregon Zoo
Summer Concert Series.
see inside, page A 7
‘City of Roses'
Established In 1970
www.portlandobserver.com
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Volume XXXVIII. Number 27
Wednesday • July 9. 2008
.Week in
The Review
Obama Picks Stadium
for Nomination Speech
Barack O bam a will accept the
Dem ocratic presi
d en tial n o m in a
tio n d u rin g a
speech Aug. 28 at
Invesco Field at
M ile H ig h , a
7 6 ,0 0 0 -se at s ta
dium and home to the Denver Bron
cos. The venue was preferred over
D enver’s Pepsi C enter, the site o f
the D em ocratic Party Convention.
See story, page A2.
Rosa Parks’ Belongings
will go to Auction
A probate court
ju d g e in D etroit
h a s a s k e d an
auction house to
find a b u y er -
preferably a m u
seum , university
o r other institution - for thou
sands o f personal items from the
estate o f civil rights icon Rosa
Parks. See sto ry , page A3.
Iraq Wants Pullout Timeline
Iraqi officials stepped up pressure
on the U nited States on Tuesday
to agree to a specific tim eline to
w ithdraw A m erican forces, a sign
o f the governm ent's growing co n
fidence as violence falls.
Dubious Home
Lending Targeted
The Federal Reserve wi11 issue new
rules next week aim ed at protect
ing future hom ebuyers from dubi
ous lending practices, its m ost
sw eeping response to a housing
crisis that has propelled foreclo
sures to record highs.
Venus Retains Title
V enus W illiam s beat her younger
sister Serena in straight sets Sat
urday to retain her W im bledon
tennis title and win her seventh
Grand Slam championship. Venus,
2 8 , d e f e a te d
Serena 7 -5 ,6 -4
to becom e the
first w om an to
repeat as cham
pion at the All
England Clubin
southw est London since her sis
ter in 2003. It's her fifth Wimbledon
crown.
Vick Files for Bankruptcy
F o rm er A m eri
can football star
M ic h a e l V ick
filed for ban k
ruptcy at a U.S.
B a n k ru p tc y
C o u rt M onday, seeking C h a p te r
11 p ro tectio n and citin g debts
betw een $10 m illion and $50
million.
Neglected Woman Dies
on Hospital Floor
A N ew York City Hospital has
agreed to im plem ent reform s at a
psychiatric ward w here surveil
lance footage show ed her fall from
a chair, withering on the floor and
dying as w orkers failed to help her
for more than an hour. See story,
page A9.
Hurricane Bertha Weakens
Forecasters say H urricane Bertha
has w eakened to a C ategory 1
storm. Tuesday, the center o f the
storm was about 620 miles east-
northeast of the northern Leeward
Islands and about 900 miles south
east o f Bermuda.
ycaï s
of
•^community service
photo by M ark
Field „f
Dreams
The Little League Urban Initiative, the
Portland Park and Recreation Department,
the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, and the
Portland Beavers, have collaborated on a
field revitalization project for the Penin
sula Little League, serving inner north
and northeast Portland.
“Peninsula is a deserving recipient,”
said Stephen D. Keener, president and
chief executive officer o f Little League
Baseball and Softball. “ It has done an
outstanding jo b at providing a quality
Little League program for the children
W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver
Peninsula Little League players, coaches and supporters gather for the dedication o f a state-
of-the-art baseball field at Lillis Albina Park a t North Flint Avenue and Russell Street.
Inner city youth draw support
and adults o f this com m unity.”
A dedication cerem ony was recently
held at Lillis A lbina Park to unveil the
im provem ents m ade by Portland Parks
that include a new grass infield and mesh
fence on the backstop, irrigation system,
outfield fencing, renovation o f the dug-
out area, and installation o f bleacher seat
ing, a concession trailer, batting cage and
pitching machine.
"T o us as coaches and volunteers, the
renovation is more than a grass infield, a
fence and a hatting cage,” Mary Dunn,
president o f Peninsula Little League, said.
“We believe that the activity level o f our
Little League is a barom eter that reflects
the health and spirit o f the com m unity.
The Little League Urban Initiative is a
great program that helps to lift the spirit
and morale o f volunteers w orking with
innercity youths. From talking with other
leagues that are part o f the Urban Initia
tive, it is apparent to me that Little League
is having a m ajor impact on urban life.”
The costs o f renovations and improve
ments to the Peninsula Little League field
totaled $150,000. A portion of the Little
League Urban Initiative'scontribution was
made possible by the donation provided
through the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation.
The Little League Urban Initiative pro
vides assistance packages for eligible
leagues that aid the local volunteer group
with equipm ent acquisition, capital im
provem ent cash grants, field im prove
ment and renovation, access to Little
League Baseball and Softball education
and training program s, advocacy, and
networking.
Apparel Designer Achieves Trend Status
Tony Haynes
keeps it ‘bubbly’
by R aymond R endi . eman
T he P ortland O bserver
T ony H a y n e s’ sh irt co m p an y has com e
a long w ay since its in cep tio n eight years
ago, but the local e n tre p re n e u r's co n cep t
has rem ained the sam e.
H aynes started out m aking T -sh irts
w ith p ress-on m aterials out o f his n o rth
east P ortland house, and now his b u si
ness, B ubbly B ubbly W how ear, has an
o ffice and prin t shop at the R oseland
T heatre dow ntow n.
All the w ay th ro u g h , his m ission has
involved in sertin g the w ord “ b u b b le” into
various catch phrases. "G et y o u r rest and
be B ubbly fre sh ” is an ex am p le o f one T-
shirt slogan he has created.
H aynes has a social ratio n ale for c re a t
ing hu n d red s o f slo g an s using the “ bub-
continued
on page A3
Shirt company designer Tony Haynes brings his positive message and line o f apparel to the Good in the Neighborhood celebration.
Mosquito Season Warning
West Nile Virus
still a concern
. Heard the buzz? M osquito sea
son is here and public health o ffi
cials want to rem ind residents that
m osquitoes can transm it a num ber
o f diseases, including W est Nile
Virus.
W est N ile has had a presen ce
in O regon since 2004, and last
year
C la c k a m a s
C o u n ty ,
M ultnom ah C o u n ty , W a sh in g
ton C o u n ty , and C lark C ounty all
had co n firm ed cases w here birds
w ere infected.
T he sp read o f the virus is u n
p r e d ic ta b le ; h o w e v e r, tre n d s
th r o u g h o u t th e c o u n try h av e
show n a sig n ifican t increase of
ca se s in su b seq u en t years o f the
v iru s.
W es, N ile V irus is carried by
in fected m osquitoes. It can cause
serio u s illn ess in som e people
and horses. M o squitoes becom e
in fected w hen they feed on in
fected birds o f the C o rv id fam ily,
such as ravens, cro w s, ja y s and
m agpies. T he m o sq u ito can then
transm it the infection to hum ans
and anim als by biting them . You
cannot get the virus from ano th er
person o r anim al.
M ost people w ho b ecom e in
fected w ith the W est N ile V irus
do not becom e ill. O nly about 20
percent dev elo p W est N ile fever,
w hich features fever, headache,
body aches, and o ccasio n ally a
rash on the trunk o f the body and
sw ollen lymph glands. Sym ptom s
b egin 3-14 d ay s after the bite o f
an infected m osquito and in c ase s
o f m ild d isease last a few days.
P e o p le w ith q u e s tio n s a b o u t
W N V sym ptom s should call their
h ealth care provider.
O nly about one o u, o f 150 o f
th o se w ho becom e infected d e
v elo p s a severe infection know n
as W est N ile en cep h alitis or m en
in g itis. S ym ptom s o f a severe in
fec tio n can in c lu d e h ea d ach e,
high fever, neck stiffn ess, stu
por, d iso rie n tatio n , com a, tre m
o rs, co n v u lsio n s, m uscle w eak
ness and p araly sis. S ym p to m s o f
severe d isease m ay last several
w eeks, alth o u g h som e brain and
nerve d am ag e m ay be perm anent.
T here is no effec tiv e treatm ent
for W N V in fectio n o th e r than
su p p o rtiv e m edical care.
There are no vaccinations for
humans, but vaccinations are avail
able for horses. H orse ow ners
should contact their veterinarians
for more information.
There are two basic prevention
strategies: reducing the mosquito
population and avoiding mosquito
bites. T he best way to reduce the
continued
on page A2
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