S Diversity 50tf Tolls Divide Vancouver Officials Mayoral candidates take opposite views to charging tolls on a proposed new 1-5 bridge S ™ nie Workplace See special coverage, inside See story, page A3 tí an h © bs e n ÏÉ T 0 Í ROSeS t r l n k l i r k o z l ¡ „ 1070 ....... www.portlandobserver.com Established In 1970 Committed to Cultural Diversity Volume XXXVIV. Number 32 .Week ¡n The Review Global Tribute Coming A tr ib u te -J UP a September to Michael Jack son on the gr° un^ s ° * a 17th century ------- p a la c e in Vienna will feature a three-hour, star-studded show to be tele­ vised live to a global audience o f 1 billion people, the event prom oter said Tuesday. Crash Kills 4 Teenagers Four teenagers from Ridgefield High School were lulled and two other people were seri­ ously hurt M onday w hen their SUV tried to pass another ve­ hicle on H ighw ay 30 to the O r­ egon Coast. The teen driver lost control o f the SUV after passing a slow m oving vehicle and hit a van. Kennedy Sister Dies President John F. Kennedy's sister, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, who carried on th e f a m ily 's p ublic service tr a d itio n by f o u n d in g th e Special O lym pics and cham pi­ oning the rights o f the m entally disabled, died early Tuesday. She was 88. Volt Gets 230 MPG G eneral M otors C orp, said Tuesday its C hevrolet Volt re­ chargeable electric car should get 23 0 m iles per gallon (98 kilometers per liter) o f gaso­ line in city driving, more than four tim es the current cham ­ pion, the T oyota Prius. The Volt is pow ered by an electric m otor and a battery pack. Sharks on Oregon Coast It was a big weekend for shark sightings off the Oregon coast, from the 12-foot great white sh a rk th a t a p p a re n tly g o t snared in a fisherm an's crab pot at D epoe Bay to a shark w arn­ ing that Seaside police issued to beach crowds. Wednesday • August 12. 2009 First Hispanic on Supreme Court Another ceiling tumbles down (AP) - Sonia Sotom ayor was sw orn in Saturday as the Su­ preme Court's first Hispanic ju s­ tice and only third female m em ­ ber in the top court's 220-year history. S h e is P re s id e n t B a ra c k O bam a's first appointm ent to the influential court, w hich has shaped m any o f the country's laws on polarizing issues like abortion and the death penalty. A s a successor to liberal Jus­ tice D avid Souter, w ho retired, she is not expected to alter the nine-member court's ideological Judge Sonia Sotomayor takes the Judicial Oath o f the Supreme Court with her mother, Celina, balance. holding the Bible and her brother, Juan Luis looking on. Sotomayor becomes the first Hispanic Sotom ayor took the second and ju s t the third woman on the highest court in its 220-year history. (AP photo) o f tw o oaths o f office Saturday hold their private conferences. from C hief Justice John Roberts H er left hand resting on a Bible the rich." M inutes earlier, she swore a H er 60 or so guests included in an ornate conference room , that w as held by her mother, beneath a portrait o f the legend­ S o to m a y o r p le d g e d to "do first oath in a private ceremony J u s tic e A n th o n y K e n n e d y , ary C hief Justice John Marshall. equal right to the poor and to in the room where the justices W hite H o u se C o u n sel G reg Craig and other m embers of the Obama administration team that helped prepare her for her Sen­ ate confirm ation hearings, fam ­ ily and friends. Roberts, w earing his black judicial robe, said that once the oaths w ere done, Sotom ayor could "begin work as associate justice w ithout delay." O bam a scheduled a W hite House reception for Sotomayor on Wednesday. The 55-year-old Sotom ayor has been a federal ju d g e for 17 years. Obama nominated her for the lifetime appointment in May, and the Senate confirm ed her on Thursday. The vote was 68- 31 with Democrats unanimously behind her and m ost Republi­ cans lining up in a show o f op­ position. She w ill jo in Ju stice Ruth B ader G in sb u rg as the only other w om an currently serving on the court. Sotom ayor is the daughter of Puerto Rican parents who was raised in a housing project in New York City's gritty South Bronx neighborhood and edu­ cated at the elite universities continued y^ on page A2 Community Rallies Against Hate Denouncing case of racial, sexual attack by J ake T homas T he P ortland O bserver Bao Vuong, a 22-year-old Viet­ nam ese-A m erican, w aited out one o f the longest stop lights in his life at Northeast Freemont Street and 41st Avenue w hen four young men began yelling racial and sexual slurs at him. Vuong ignored them but the w hite males becam e even m ore aggressive. Bagels were thrown at his car and one o f the agita­ to r s a p p ro a c h e d h im an d punched a dent in the passen­ ger side o f his car. A d iv e rs e g ro u p of P o rtla n d e rs th a t in c lu d e d neighborhood and other civic leaders assem bled on F riday across from the intersection at B eaum ont M iddle S chool to denounce the Aug 2 attack, and hopefully extract a teachable moment from it. photo by J ake T homas /T he P ortland O bserve « Hate crime victim Bao Vuong (center) draws support from Portland City Commissioner Nick Fish (left) and Ronault “Polo’ L.S. Catalina, a lawyer and columnist for the Asian Reporter. Vuong, spoke to the crowd o f about 60 supporters. He said was determ ined not to accept being th reaten ed in his own neighborhood. "Although I come from a dif­ ferent origin, this is where I was n u rtu red , and this is w hat I know as home," he said. Vuong said that the emotional harm inflicted on him during the violent episode w as real, and he encouraged people to better understand each other and why events like this occur. City Commissioner Nick Fish also sp o k e. H e p o in te d that even though the nation has just confirm ed its first Hispanic Su­ preme Court Justice, there are still pockets of bigotry, even in a progressive place like Port­ land. "R e g a rd le ss o f w h ere we com e from tonight, we speak with one voice,” he said. “We are here to say 'no. No to hate and no to violence.'" Fish then thanked Vuong for continued y^ on page A2 Governor Proves Chef’s Mantle Expanding nutrition for women, children photo by J ake T homas /T hf . P ortland O bserver Gov. Ted Kulongoski swaps his sports jacket for an apron Thursday during a cooking competition to promote good nutrition at the Blazers’ Boys and Girls Club in northeast Portland. by J akf . T homas T he P ortland O bserver Gov. Ted K ulongoski proved his m antle as an 'Iron C h ie f at the Blazers' Boys and Girls Club in northeast Portland. In order to stir up interest for an expansion o f a state nutri­ tion supplem ent program for w om en an d c h ild r e n , Kulongoski, state Sen. M arga­ re t C a rte r, D -P o rtla n d , and Janette Kaden o f the Tin Shed G arden Café, joined local kids Thursday in a cook off. T h e y w e re c h a rg e d w ith w h ip p in g q u e s a d illa s m ade from healthy, fresh ingredients that are now included under an expansion o f the W IC nutrition program , which provides food supplm ents for w om en, infants and children. Bm ce G oldberg, continued y^ on page A9 photo by M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver ‘N everland’ at the County Fair Mercedes and Darren Harper-Taloff take in the thrills o f the 'Lolly Swing' during the Clark County Fair. The ride was purchased last year from Michael Jacksons Neverland Ranch and has generated a lot o f public interest since Jackson's untimely death. The fair, located in Ridgeview along 1-5 north o f Vancouver, continues through Sunday.