Advocate for Youth
Summer Film Festival
David Miller can't say
no to helping kids
See story, page A3
OMSl features the best
of the best ¡MAX fdms
fo r summer
See Arts & Entertainment, page A7
w ÎJortlanh OOhsertier
CitV o of f Roses
RoSCS
‘City
Established
in in
1970
Established
1970
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Volume XXXVIV. N um ber 19
.Week in
The Review
Switched at Birth
Tw o w om en sw itched at birth
have met af­
ter 56 years
and a life­
time of mix-
up rum ors.
DNA tests proved «that Kay
Rene Qualls and Dee Ann Shafer
were given to the w rong par­
ents after they were bom in
1953 at Pioneer M em orial H os­
pital in H eppner, Ore.
Soldier Kills 5 Comrades
An A m erican soldier opened
fire at a counseling center on a
m ilitary base in Iraq M onday,
killing five fellow soldiers. Presi­
dent Barack O bam a said he was
"sh o c k e d an d d e e p ly s a d ­
dened" by the report. See sto ry ,
pageA 2.
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Dynamic Artist
Wednesday • May 13. 2009
‘Coming Home’
Art Hop pays
tribute to
Thelma
Johnson Streat
O ne o f P ortland’s m ost dy­
nam ic and historical artists is
com ing home during the annual
Art Hop celebration sponsored
by the non-profit com m unity
organization Art on Alberta.
Saturday’s 10th annual event
will feature works by the inter­
nationally acclaimed artist and
dancer Thelm a Johnson Streat
(1911-1959), the first A frican
American woman to be collected
by the prestigious M useum o f
M odem Art in New York City.
Unemployment Security
President O bam a
wants unem ploy­
ment insurance to
becom e a step­
p in g sto n e fo r
future w ork by
m aking it easier
to enroll in school or jo b train­
ing and keep your benefits. See
Thelma Johnson Streat's ‘Rabbit Man' (above) and
‘Black Kings' (left) are works considered prime
examples o f abstract expressionism.
Up to 50 o f Streat’s original
w o rk s, o n lo a n fro m th e
Thelma Johnson Streat Project
in Salem, will be on display for
this one day celebration. Par­
ticipating Alberta Street galler­
ies showing Streat’s artwork
are Ampersand, Black United
Fund, Grow, Guardino Gallery,
and Talisman. In addition, Ur­
story, page A2.
Health of Social Security,
Medicare Takes Plunge
The financial health o f Social
S ecurity and M edicare has
w orsened because o f the se­
vere recession, and M edicare
is now paying out m ore than it
receives. T rustees o f the pro-1
gram s said T uesday that Social
Security will start paying out
more in benefits than it collects
in taxes in 2016, one year sooner
than projected last year.
You’re Not Fired
M iss C alifornia
USA can retain
her crow n after
questions arose
about sem i-nude
photographs taken o f her as a
teenager and her association
with a conservative advocacy
group for m arriage, pageant
owner Donald Trum p said Tues­
day.
Clemens Denies Drug Use
N ew York Y an­
k e e s b a s e b a ll
p itc h e r R o g e r
C lem en s broke
his silence T ues­
day, again denying that form er
p erso n al
tr a in e r
B ria n
M cNam ee injected him with
perform ance-enhancing drugs.
C lem ens said he chose to speak
out because it was the release
date o f a book about his al leged
drug use.
Thelma Johnson Streat
ban Arts Dance is incorporat­
ing S treat’s dance routines
NE ALBINA
Street
into their Saturday performances.
Art Hop will close 17 blocks
o f N o rth e a st A lb e rta S treet
from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. to accom­
m o d a te o v e r 150 a r tis ts .
craftspeople, music, dance and
theater perform ances, interac­
tive art events along with food
and other vendors. Two stages
are being sponsored by Binks
and Siren Nation.
S tre a t w as in te rn a tio n a lly
k now n in the m id -tw en tieth
century for her visual and per­
fo rm a n ce art. She also p io ­
neered work to prom ote inter-
cultural understanding with a
focus tow ards youth.
She was fascinated with the
pow er o f indigenous cultures
to teach understanding, toler­
ance, and appreciation o f di­
versity. With hum ble begin­
n in g s in Y ak im a
and
Pendleton, she m oved to Port­
la n d an d g r a d u a te d fro m
W ashington H igh School in
continued
on page A10
Rough Patch for Social Services
County chair
goes to the
drawing board
by J ake
T homas
T he P ortland O bserver
M ultnom ah County provides gov­
ernm ent services that are so bread-
and-butter th ey 're often overlooked.
B ut w ith th e c o u n ty ’s b u d g e t e n ­
snared in the sagging econom y it’s
looking at a 15 percent across the board
cut.
M u ltn o m a h C o u n ty C h a ir T ed
W heeler is hoping to tum the crisis
“But in the absence of
in to an o p p o rtu n ity by
them, you notice it,” he
g o ad in g the L eg islatu re
added.
into enacting tax revenue
T h e co u n ty g o v e rn ­
reform.
ment
provides social ser­
He recently outlined the
vices for the city’s most
issue before the Eastside
vulnerable citizens, such
D em ocratic Club, a civic
as the m entally ill, senior
organization that provides
citizen s, and dom estic
a progressive forum to dis­
v io len ce v ictim s, said
c u s s is s u e s an d c a n d i­
Wheeler.
dates. During his 45 minute
It also provides other
talk, W heeler explained the
services like jails, pros­
situation the county is in,
ecutors, health clinics,
and w hat h e’s doing to get Ted Wheeler
and re-entry services for
it out o f a rough patch.
E v en W h e eler ad m its th at m ost inmates, he added.
However, these services are being
things the county does are “not very
squeezed by the abysm al economy.
sexy.”
W heeler said h e’s trying to get the
Legislature to change how the county
is funded.
He explained that the tax “kicker" law,
w hich requires the state to partially
refund income taxes if the am ount col­
lected is above what is projected, is
problem atic. If the state collects more
revenue than it expected that money
should go into a “rainy day” fund for
times like these, argued Wheeler.
“T hat m ay have been great for a
short term pop,” said W heeler o f the
kicker. “ But now here we are a couple
years later in a very tough economy
with no meaningful reserves to fall back
continued
on page A3
Child Actor Gets a Taste of Hollywood
Roles come after move to L.A.
age range in Phoenix, Ariz.
by J ake T homas
He easily w on the com peti­
T
he P ortland O bserver
Alleged Nazi Hears Charges
tion, w hich cam e with a cool
Charles
Lott
Sr.
always
knew
S itting in a w heelchair and
$10,000 prize. He w ow ed the
breathing through a nasal tube, that his son had a flair for the
ju d g e s with a m onologue on
theatrical,
but
d
id
n
't
foresee
his
retired A m erican auto worker
how he tries to avoid becoming
John D em janjuk listened si­ fast rise as a child actor.
e x a c tly lik e h is fa th e r w ho
L
o
tt
re
m
e
m
b
e
rs
h
is
so
n
,
lently T uesday as a Germ an!
shares his same name. His m od­
judge read a 21-page warrant C harles Lott Jr., always w ant­
eling, and cold reads on the spot
ing
to
put
on
a
show
in
church.
accusing him o f acting as an
accessory to the m urder o f He would mimic the preacher
29,000 people at a Nazi death and w ould sneak on the stage
when dancers were performing.
camp.
It annoyed his parents, but d e­
Cheaper Gas for Summer lighted everyone else.
A fter a plunge in gas prices,
L ott’s com fort being on stage
A m ericans are expected to hit and natural talen t for acting
the highw ays in larger numbers have quickly catapulted the ca­
this M emorial Day, giving a reer o f the 9-year-old Portland
boost to the traditional start of native. H e's relocated to Los
the sum m er driving season, A ngeles, and is slated to ap ­
AAA said Tuesday.
pear in big name films, like Iron
M an 2.
Lott Jr.'s start in acting o c­
cu rred suddenly. H is fam ily
heard about a local acting com ­
p etitio n last year, w here the
w inner would have a chance to
com pete with over 200 other Portland child actor Charles
youths in the 6 to 10-year-old Lott Jr.
Child actor Charles Lott Jr. poses next to a stunt car at Universal Studios in Los Angeles.
Lott was getting them in droves
also im pressed the judges.
“Pop! Cam eras everywhere I from headhunters. After care­
went," exclaim ed Lott of the at­ fully considering the slew of
tention he got at the com peti­ offers by talent representatives
L ott's family chose an agency,
tion.
Most fam ilies who take their H ines & Hunt, they felt they
kids to auditions can hope to could trust. They quickly got a
get maybe one call back. But deal for a national food chain.
»
follow ed by a Vitamin Water
c o m m ercial fe a tu rin g Kobe
Bryant and Lebron James.
But L ott's rising star inevita­
bly meant a big change for him
and his family. T h ere’s just not
continued
on page A 10