luly 29, 2009
Portiani* (Dbsertoer
Page A2
Church volunteers
spruce up Jefferson
Hundreds o f volunteers spread bark mulch, painted,
washed and'cleaned nearly every part o f Jefferson High
School on Saturday. The help came from eight congrega­
tions of the Mormon Church. “We want to provide a
service to the community that is helpful to the public and
instill in our members that service is important, ’ said Dr.
Brian Humble, a local church member and a lead organizer
o f the effort.
photo by
M ark W ashington ZT he P ortland O bserver
Committee Approves Hispanic Judge
With just one Republican vote
(AP) - The Senate Judiciary
Com m ittee on Tuesday voted
to approve Sonia Sotom ayor as
th e first H isp a n ic S u p rem e
Court justice over nearly solid
Republican opposition, paving
the way for a historic confirm a­
tion vote next week.
The panel voted 13-6 in fa­
vor o f Sotomayor, with just one
Republican, Sen. Lindsey G ra­
ham o f South Carolina, joining
Dem ocrats to support her. The
nearly party-line tally masked
deeper political divisions within
G O P ranks about confirm ing
President Barack O bam a's first
high court nominee.
"I'm deciding to vote for a
w om an I would not have cho­
se n ,” G raham said. O bam a's
choice to nom inate the first-
ever Latina to the highest court
is "a big deal," he added, d e­
c la rin g th a t, " A m e ric a h as
changed for the better with her
selection.”
T he solid R epublican vote
Sonia Sotomayor
against Sotom ayor on the Judi­
ciary panel reflected the choice
many G O P conservatives have
made to side with their core sup­
p o rte rs an d o p p o se a ju d g e
they charge w ill bring liberal
bias and racial and gender preju­
dices to her decisions. O thers
in the party, however, are co n ­
cerned that doing so could hurt
th eir efforts to broaden their
base, and particularly alienate
Hispanic voters, a fast-growing
segm ent o f the electorate.
D em ocrats, for their part, are
lining up solidly in favor o f the
5 5 -y e a r-o ld fe d e ra l ap p e a ls
co u rt ju d g e , the d au g h ter o f
Jackson’s Doctor Investigated
(A P) - Federal authorities
searched the Las Vegas hom e
and medical office o f M ichael
J a c k s o n 's p e rso n a l d o c to r
T uesday, seeking d o cu m en ts
as part o f a m anslaughter in ves-
Puerto Rican parents w ho was
raised in a South Bronx hous­
ing project and educated in the
Ivy League.
"There's not one exam ple —
let alone a pattern — o f her rul­
ing based on bias or prejudice
or sympathy," said Sen. Patrick
Leahy, D-Vt., the Judiciary Com ­
m ittee chairm an. "She has ad­
m inistered ju stice w ithout fa­
voring one gro u p o f perso n s
over another."
E very G O P senator on the
com m ittee alluded critically to
th e n o w -in fa m o u s re m a rk
Sotom ayor made in 2001 that
sh e h o p e d a " w is e L a tin a
woman" would often reach bet­
te r co n clu sio n s th an a w hite
m ale w ithout sim ila r ex p e ri­
ences.
P e n n s y lv a n ia S e n . A rle n
Specter, a Republican recently
tu rn e d
D e m o c r a t,
sa id
S o to m ay o r's m u ch -m alig n ed
co m m en t reflected a w om an
sta n d in g up fo r w o m en and
so m e o n e e x h ib itin g e th n ic
pride. "I didn't find fault with
'wise Latina w om an,' I found it
com m endable," he said.
Prescription may have killed singer
tigation into the singer's death,
Several D rug E nforcem ent
A dm inistration agents entered
Dr. Conrad M urray's spraw ling
hom e in a g ated co m m u n ity
while others searched M urray's
m edical offices in Las Vegas,
G lobal C ardiovascular A ssoci­
ates.
A u th o ritie s had no a rre st
w arrant for Murray, w ho w as at
hom e w hen the in v estig ato rs
arrived, they said.
M u rra y
w as
M ic h a e l
Ja ck so n 's personal physician
and was w ith Jackson w hen he
died. M urray, who is based in
L as Vegas and is licen sed in
California, N evada and Texas,
had his H ouston office and a
storage unit searched last week
by D EA agents. C ourt records
show the agents were seeking
evidence o f w hether the doctor
com m itted manslaughter.
Police say M urray is cooper­
ating and have not labeled him
a suspect.
T o x icology rep o rts are still
pen d in g , but in v estig ato rs are
w o rking under the th eo ry that
th e a n e s t h e t i c p r o p o f o l
c a u s e d J a c k s o n 's h e a r t to
stop, a law en fo rce m en t o ffi­
cial to ld T he A sso ciated Press
on M o n d ay . Ja c k s o n is b e ­
lieved to have been u sin g the
p o w erfu l drug fo r ab o u t tw o
y ea rs.
Urban Leage finds Disparities
co n tin u ed j ^ f r o m F ront
W HERE RUBBER
M EETS THE RUNWAY
N o rth R u n w a y E x te n s io n P r o je c t
Flight pattern and noise changes at PDX this summer
Learn more at www.flypdx.com, and click on PDX North Runway Extension
0
PORT OF PORTLAND
Join us for the 2009 PCC Cascade Campus
N a tio n a l
Night Out
&
Open House
Come to our house!
Portland
Community
College
il,r jparilanh (Obscruer
<§>
Established 1970
USPS 9 5 9 - 6 3 0 ___ __________________________ ____
4747 NE Martin Luther King. Jr. Blvd., Portland, OR 97211
Cascade Campus
Charles H. Washington
EniroR.Michael Leighton
D istribution M anager : M ark W ashington
C reative D irector : Paul N eufeldt
E ditor -I n -C hief , P ublisher :
705 N Killingsworth Street
August 4,2009
P ostmaster : Send address changes to Portland Observer,
4:00PM -8:00PM
Sponsors:
Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods
North Portland Neighborhood Library
Islamic Center of Portland
Portland Police Bureau
New Seasons
Enterprise Rent-a-Car
Traiels Food 4 the Soul
cide victims that are white). Black
O regonians are also six tim es
more likely to end up in jail than
whites.
"This report is a w ake up call
to Oregon," concludes Mundy.
"The statistics reflect a consis­
te n t tren d o v e r d ec ad e s - a
trend fueled by social and eco ­
nom ic disparities that dem on­
strate a d e e p ly -ro o te d , s y s ­
tem ic disadvantage for its A fri­
c a n -A m e ric a n c itiz e n s. O u r
hope is that this report can serve
as call-to-action for addressing
these disparities through policy
p ro p o sals aim ed at both the
public and private sectors."
The report includes an action
plan that calls for im plem enta­
tion o f proven, effective tools
to elim inate the state's gaps in
incom e, w ealth, health, social
p ro g ress and ed u catio n al a t­
tainment.
"M ost im portantly this is a
‘reality ch eck ’ for those w ho
m ay h av e th o u g h t th a t d is ­
crim ination and disparity had
been overcom e. We still have
m uch to d o ,” said Mundy.
A dditional fin d in g s include:
• T he black m ale lab o r fo rce
p articip a tio n rate is ab o u t 9
p erc en ta g e p o in ts b elow p ro ­ firm.
C o n trib u to rs p ro v id in g e s­
p o r tio n a te ly th a t o f w h ite
says included D arrell M illner,
m ales.
• Black death rates by diabetes professor. D epartm ent o f Black
(73:100,000) are considerably Studies, Portland State U niver­
higher for A frican A m ericans sity ; S h e ila H o ld e n , N o rth /
(73 per 100,000vs.29per 100,000 N ortheast Econom ic D evelop­
ment Alliance; K aren G ibson,
for white O regonians).
• 75 percent o f O regon's black associate professor; N ohad A.
1 Oth graders did not m eet bench­ Toulan, School o f U rban Stud­
mark standards for math in 2007- ies and Planning, PSU ; Joyce
Braden Harris, co-chair, African
08.
• A frican A m erican borrow ers A m erican A llia n ce ; C aro ly n
w ere tw ice as likely to receive L eonard, co m p lian ce officer,
high cost, high interest loans as Portland Public Schools; Algie
w hite borrow ers - and more G atew ood, president, Portland
likely to have faced foreclosure C om m unity C ollege, Cascade
in the current econom ic clim ate. C a m p u s; R o b ert T h o m p so n ,
• Black children represent 7 O regon State U niversity, D e­
percent o f the children in foster p a rtm e n t o f E th n ic S tu d ies.
care, although they are about H ousing; Victor M erced, direc­
2% o f the child population in the tor, O regon H ousing and C om ­
m u n ity S e r v ic e s ; M a x in e
state.
T he Urban League o f Port­ Fitzpatrick, Portland C om m u­
land is one o f the oldest civil nity R ein v estm en t Initiative;
rights and social service o rga­ T ric ia T illm a n , M u ltn o m a h
nizations in the state. Its m is­ C o u n ty H ea lth D ep a rtm en t;
sio n is to e m p o w e r A fric an Kevin Odell, Organizing People
A m e r ic a n s a n d o th e r s to and A ctiv atin g L ea d ers; Jill
achieve equality in education, Fuglister, Coalition for a Livable
em ployment, economic security Future; A ngela Cause and Kory
Murphy, Oregon D epartment of
and quality o f life.
T he State o f Black O regon H um an S ervices; and form er
re p o r t w a s c o n d u c te d by Sen. Avel Gordly, associate pro­
EcoN orthw est, the N orthw est's fe sso r, PSU D e p a rtm e n t o f
largest eco n o m ics co nsulting Black Studies.
PO Box 3137, Portland, 0B97208
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Yost Grube Hall
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> *ta a a « (s
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mahlum
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Lents Park
Ice Cream
Social
Rose C om m unity D evelop­
ment and the Lents N eighbor­
hood A ssociation are hosting
the L ents National Night Out
Ice C rea m S o c ia l, T uesday,
Aug. 4 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at
Lents Park G azebo near South­
east H olgate and 92nd Avenue.
A rea residents are invited to
com e m eet your fellow neigh­
bors, police officers, and fire­
men w hile enjoying free ice­
cream on a first co m e, first
serv ed b asic w h ile m ingling
with various organizations.