Sotomayor Support Grows
Prospects fo r the first
Hispanic named to the
Supreme Court look good
Columbia Slough Regatta
Area residents are invited to
join the largest one-day
paddle in Oregon
See Arts & Entertainment, page A6
See story, page A3
tinniti©
Ol R o s e s
In IO 7A
Established in 1970
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Volume XXXVIV, N um ber 29
TLWeek in
The Review
Portland s
www.portlandobserver.com
Wednesday • Iuly 22. 2009
Growjng Despair
Scholar Confronted
Prosecutors dropped a disor­
derly conduct
charge T ues­
d a y a g a in s t
p ro m in e n t
black scholar
H enry L ouis
G ates Jr., who
was confronted and arrested at
his hom e near H arvard U niver­
sity after a report o f a break-in.
A uthorities issued a statem ent
saying the arrest "was regret­
table and unfortunate." See
sto ry , page A3.
Summer Heat Warning
W ith a long stretch o f warm
w eather expected over the next
few days, the local Aging and
Disability Services D ivision is
rem inding old er adults and
people with heat sensitive dis­
abilities to take precautions. See
sto ry , page A3.
Governor Signs Tax Plans
G o v. T ed K u lo n g o sk i has
signed a $733 m illion tax in­
crease plan M onday he says
will protect schools and state
program s from budget cuts.
Passed by the D em ocratic-led
O regon L egislature, the tax
package sets a higher tax rate
for upper-incom e earners and
increases taxes on co rp o ra­
tions.
Ex-Adams Official Sues
M ayor Sam A dam s’ form er
spokesm an, W ade N krum ah
file d
s u it
against the city
M onday, alleg­
in g w ro n g fu l
discharge defa­
m a tio n , in v a ­
sion o f privacy by false light
and unpaid w ages. The suit
was expected after Nkrum ah
filed a tort claim on M ay 14
alleging that Adams lied by m is­
representing the circum stances
surrounding his resignation.
Roxy Davenport sits outside o f Powell's City o f Books, downtown, with her dog, "Baby, ” while asking passers by for spare change. Davenport
says she's been homeless for nine months and hasn 't been able to find work.
Homeless
ranks on
the rise
by J ake T homas
T he P ortland observer
N ine m onths ago R oxy D avenport
fle d fro m a r e la tio n s h ip she d e ­
scrib ed as “ a b u siv e .” D u rin g that
entire tim e she has been hom eless,
un ab le to find w ork
“There have been som e really nice
people who have helped me out with
change,” she said.
But other tim es she’s felt “invis­
ible,” or has had some people openly
heap scorn on her, telling her she had
no right to have her dog, “Baby.”
A new report released by the fed­
eral D epartm ent o f Housing and U r­
ban D ev elo p m en t rev eals th at the
num ber of people in D avenport’s situ­
ation is on the rise in O regon, which
has more hom eless people per capita
than any other state in the union.
The report also revealed alarm ing
trends, such as the jum p in families
experiencing homelessness.
Each year HUD presents a report
to Congress that gives the num ber of
homeless people in each state. Oregon
cam e out on top with 0.54 percent of
the state’s population lacking a place
to call home. The total number is about
17,000 people, roughly the size of
Pendleton.
Nationally, there are 664,414 shel­
te re d an d u n s h e lte re d h o m e le s s
people, which is about the population
o f M em phis, Tenn.
O ver the last decade, the city of
Portland has launched several initia­
tives aim ed at ending homelessness,
which haven’t staved off the grow ­
ing num ber o f hom eless people.
In 2004, the city launched its 10 Year
Plan to End Homelessness, which stra­
tegically directed resources towards
com bating the problem.
Two years later, the City Council
passed an ordinance m andating that
30 percent of monies generated in ur­
ban renewal districts go towards af­
fordable housing. In 2007, the legisla­
ture tacked on a $ 15 fee on every real
estate docum ent recorded with the
continued
on page A3
NFL’s Vick Released
Suspended NFL star M ichael
1 V ick ended his
federal dogfight-
in g
s e n te n c e
1 M onday, freeing
L him to lobby fora
re tu r n to th e
field. That means Vick no longer
has to wear the electronic m oni­
tor he's had w hile under home
confinem ent for the last two
m onths o f his 23-m onth sen­
tence.
R
Quarterback Accused
A woman has filed
a lawsuit accus­
in g P itts b u r g h
Steelers quarter­
back
B en
R oethlisbergerof
raping her last sum m er in his
penthouse hotel room at a ca­
sino in Lake T ahoe during a
c e le b rity g o lf to u rn a m e n t.
R oethlisberger's law yer ad a­
m antly denied the allegations
T uesday.
Vancouver Clinic Sued
A clinic in V ancouver is being
sued for $1.3 m illion over the
overdose death o f a Portland
teenager. The parents o f the
18-year-old accuse the Payette
Clinic o f negligence or reck­
le s s n e s s in p r e s c rib in g
oxycodone.
Group tackles
police practices
by J ake T homas
T he P ortland O bserver
A new front has been opened to heal
old w ounds betw een the Portland Po­
lice Bureau and m inority populations.
A com m ittee on C om m unity and Po­
lice Relations for the city ’s H um an Re­
lations Com m ission fully assem bled for
the first tim e this month to address ra­
cial profiling and other com plaints.
M embers o f the com mittee expressed
a desire to im prove relations between
the police and the com munities it serves.
However, the group is still finding its
voice as it grapples with lingering is­
sues from the city's previous efforts to
address police tensions.
"This is a very unique opportunity,
and th a t’s very exciting; so it better
w o r k ,” s a id H e c to r L o p e z , th e
com m ittee's chair and retired United
Church o f C hrist minister.
The com m ittee is com posed o f four
H um an R elations Com m ission m em ­
bers, five police m embers, and four citi­
zens. It is charged w ith develo p in g
guidelines and pathways for im proving
relations with police, m aking recom ­
m en d atio n s on com m u n ity policing
policies, and addressing prickly issues
like racial profiling.
The gro u p 's citizen com ponent in-
photoby J ake T homas /T he P ortland O bserver
Darryl W. Kelley Jr. volunteers to serve on a committee to heal old wounds between the Portland Police Bureau
and minority populations.
This is a very unique
opportunity, and that's very
exciting; so it better work.
— Hector Lopez, Human Relations Commission chair
elude two African Americans w ho have
been on the wrong side o f the law in
the past and now m entor youth, an im ­
m igration lawyer, and a H ispanic who
w orks with at-risk Latino youth.
As com m ittee m em bers introduced
th e m se lv e s to ea ch o th e r th e y ex-
pressed a deep com m itm ent to Portland
and improving police-com m unity rela­
tions.
East Precinct Police Commander Mike
Crebs nearly teared up when describ­
ing his fondness for the com m unity he
served and how the sound o f gun fire
community service
v
I
in residential neighborhoods distresses
him.
", want our critics to come out and
shake our hands, and say, 'you know
what? You have achieved excellence,'"
he said.
H ow ever, the com m ittee acknow l­
edged that its plans to improve relations
between police and the com m unity are
still in its infancy.
"We all got to crawl before we walk,"
said D anyl Kelly Jr., a former gang m em ­
ber who was recently appointed to the
committee.
The formation of the committee is one
continued
on page A2