luly 23. 2008
Page A2
Heating Costs to Soar
Sharp increase
in natural gas
expected
If you use natural gas, brace
yourself for an expected sharp
rise in prices. That was the
collective opinion shared last
week in a briefing before the
Oregon Public Utility Com-
inission by natural gas provid­
e s in Oregon.
The Commission was told
that natural gas prices this
coming heating season will
likely be significantly higher
than a year ago due to grow­
ing demand, tight supplies and
international pressures as
Oregon’s natural gas compa­
nies secure supplies for their
customers for the next year
and beyond.
NW Natural expects prices
to be 35 to 40% higher.
"This is sobering news given
the other economic pressures
consumers are already facing
on other fronts," Commission
Chairman Lee Beyer said. “I
can’t urge strongly enough that
customers should to start think­
ing now about how they can
use less natural gas this com­
ing winter.
Residential and commercial
custom ers are encouraged
torequest a free energy audit
from the Energy Trust of Or­
egon. The trust also offers
incentives for high-efficiency
equipment.
Other energy efficient tips
include fixing leaky ducts; set­
ting your water heater to J 20
degrees unless you have a
dishwasher without a booster
heater; turning down the ther­
m ostat 10 deg rees when
sleeping and while away from
home; and weather stripping
around windows and doors.
NEED HELP
GROWING OR STARTING
YOUR BUSINESS?
Business Outreach Program
Is offering a series of workshops to assist you in:
• Developing your Business Plan
• Budgeting and Financing
• Accounting
• Marketing
These workshops are FREE to qualified entrepreneurs
and start soon. Dates are to be determined.
For information and registration
Please call 503-725-9820
or email: bop@sba.pdx.edu
•'
The Rev. Bernice
King (from left),
Dexter King, Martin
Luther King III and
Yolanda King gather
in Atlanta on Feb. 4,
2006 for ceremo­
nies marking the
death o f their
mother, Coretta
Scott King.
King Children Rift in Court
Lawsuit challenges estate affairs
(AP) — For years, they were the
picture o f solidarity: the four ch il­
dren o f M artin Luther King Jr. car­
rying on the legacy o f the civil
rights icon.
But a lawsuit over how their
father's estate is being run has left
a rift in one o f the w o rld 's most
famous families. And it may now be
up to a ju d g e to get the King chil­
dren in the same room.
The lawsuit filed July 10 claim s
that Dexter King, adm inistrator o f
his fath er's estate, has failed to
provide his surviving siblings with
essential docum ents, including Fi­
nancial records and contracts.
It claim s that he and the estate
"converted substantial funds from
the estate's financial a c c o u n t... for
their own use" on June 20 without
notifying his sister and brother.
Bernice and M artin Luther King
III both declined to be interviewed
for this story, but issued a state­
ment Saturday through attorney
Jock Smith.
“W e love our brother, yet we
cannot ignore our responsibility to
ensure that the corporation we are
all shareholders and directors of, is
properly m anaged," the statem ent
said.
“O ur right to obtain corporate
docum ents that we have personally
requested in the past few years, and
more recently in the lawsuit that we
have filed, have been continuously
ignored,” it added. “Duty obligates
us to preserve and protect the corpo­
ration and the legacy from arbitrary,
singular, and seemingly self-serving
decision-making.”
Dexter King did not respond to
an interview request placed through
The King Center.
A dispute involving that center
in 2005 show ed som e chinks in the
King children’s armor. Bernice and
Martin Luther King HI took sides
against the others when they op­
posed the sale o f the center.
They argued the deal would com ­
promise the center’s independent
voice. Their mother, C oretta Scott
King, founded the center shortly
after her husb an d 's death in 1968,
and it needed more than $ 11 million
in repairs.
Before the issue could he re­
solved, C oretta Scott King died in
January 2006o f com plications from
a stroke and ovarian cancer at age
78.
In the year after their m other's
death, the eldest, Yolanda, held the
family together. Then she died in
May 2007 from a heart attack at age
52 in M alibu. Calif., where she and
D exter lived and were pursuing en ­
tertainm ent careers.
D exter has since drifted further
from his older siblings. He was co n ­
spicuously absent from the King
holiday celebration in January and
the 40th anniversary o f his father’s
assassination in April.
T he split is difficult for all three
grieving siblings, said the Rev. Jo ­
seph Lowery, a King lieutenant and
family friend. He said they had their
differences even w hen their mother
was alive.
“They talk; they ju st d o n ’t co m ­
m unicate,” Low ery said. Y olanda
King often served as a bridge be­
tween the other three, he said. "That
bridge is no longer there.”
Marion Jones Requests Presidential Pardon
( AP) -- Olympic track star Marion
Jones has asked President Bush to
com m ute her six-month prison sen­
tence for lying to federal agents
about her use o f perform ance-en­
hancing drugs and a check-fraud
scam.
T he Justice D epartm ent co n ­
firmed Monday that Jones is among
hundreds o f convicted felons who
have applied for presidential par­
dons or sentence com m utations,
hut would provide no further d e­
tails. A pardon rem oves a convic­
tion from som eone's record, while a
com m utation only reduces or elim i­
nates the person's sentence.
Such applications are reviewed
by the Justice Departm ent, which
SPACE IS LIMITED
Marion Jones is looking for forgiveness for lying about drug use.
m akes a recom m endation to the
president.
Jones, who won three gold and
two bronze m edals at the 2000
Sydney O lym pics, entered prison
M arch 7 in Fort W orth, Texas.
A fter freq u en tly d en y in g that
she e v e r used p erfo rm an ce -e n ­
han cin g drugs, she adm itted last
O cto b e r she had lied to federal
in v estig ato rs in N o v em b er 2003.
Jones also ad m itted lying about
h er k n ow ledge o f the in v o lv e­
m ent o f T im M o ntgom ery, the
fath e r o f her o ld e r son and a
fo rm er 100-m eter w o rld -reco rd
h o ld er, in a schem e to cash m il­
lions o f d o llars w orth o f stolen o r
fo rg ed checks.
Heroin Overdoses Bicycle Resources
OMSl sponsors Saturday event
Raise Alarms
O verdose deaths in the last
few weeks, along with a steady
rise in heroin-related deaths over
the past year, have raised co n ­
cents am ong M ultnomah County
health officials.
S tate heroin o v erd o se s are
up 32 p erc en t from last year,
in creasin g from 89 d eath s to
118 deaths. Sixty-six o f the 118
d e a th s w ere in M u ltn o m a h
C o u n ty .
O v erd o ses pose a th reat to
the lives and health o f o piate
u se rs an d are p r e v e n ta b le .
T h ere are several facto rs that
can increase a p e rso n ’s risk o f
an o v e rd o se , in c lu d in g drug
stren g th - heroin can vary in
p u rity .
At this tim e it app ears the
h e r o in s o ld in M u ltn o m a h
C o u n ty is q u ite pure, and th e re­
fore p o ten tially stro n g er, health
o ffic ia ls said.
C o m b in in g d ru g s (h e ro in
w ith fen tan y l, m eth ad o n e, m o r­
p h in e, or b en zo d iazep in es, etc. )
and using after a perio d o f a b ­
stin en ce (in clu d in g after tim e
spent in ja il, drug treatm en t, or
v o lu n tary ab stin e n ce, even a f­
ter a short p eriod o f tim e) also
in creases risks.
Advertise with diversity in
(Observer
Thu. AUG. 28 ★ 7:30 PM
OPENING NIGHT
TICKETS S10Í*
■E2M E3H
AUG. 29
AUG. 30
7:30 PM
3:30 PM
7:30 PM
Call 503-288-003?
ads@portlandob servei.com
Sun.
AUG. 31
1:00 PM
•(Excludes Circus Celebrity***. Front Row and VIP seats. No double discounts )
For the fastest and easiest ways to order tickets,
go tn w w w .R in g lin g .c o m
C om cast jJ j. c o m , The Rose Quarter Box Office
ilu |J n rtla n b (iDbscruer E s t a b lis h e d
USPS 959-680 _________________________________
4747 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., Portland. OR 97211
EniroK-iN-CMift. l ’i hi isnm: Charles H. Washington
or call 1-877-789-ROSE
TICKET PRICES: $16 & $22
D is iH
Limited number of Circus Celebrity, Front Row and VIP seats available Call for details
e
1970
P0 Box3 1 3 7 . Portland. 0 R 9 7 2 0 8
CALI. 503-288-0033
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AnvtnisiHi;: K a th y L in d e r
Come one hour early to meet our animals and performers
at the All Access Pre-show - FREE with your ticket!
Orner M smaoih : Sharon S p a rry
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Take life by the handlebars and celebrate Portland's favorite
form of transportation at Bicycle Day, a new event hosted by the
Oregon Museum of Science and Industry and the Community
Cycling Center.
Participants will learn about safety, maintenance, and cycling's
health benefits during the Saturday, July 26 event at OMSl.
"We are excited to collaborate with OMSl to provide experien­
tial bicycle education in a fun, interactive environment," said
Breesa Culver, development and marketing specialist at the
Community Cycling Center.
,
Bicycle Day will present several topics to help broaden knowl­
edge and demystify cycling.
Featured areas will include bicycle experts answering ques­
tions about racing, commuting, and mountain biking; learning the
6-step safety cheek of hand signals and the necessary gear to
carry.
There will also be discussion on how to fuel your body and the
importance of stretching your muscles; and how to identify how
a bike in good condition should feel and adjustments you can make.
The event is free with paid museum admission and visitors who
ride their bikes to OMSl and show their helmet will receive a $3
discount on museum admission.
The Community Cycling Center, founded in 1994, broadens
access to bicycling and its benefits through our hands-on pro­
grams. volunteer projects, and neighborhood bike shop.
»
FAX 5O3-288-OOI5
ads @ portlandobsenencam