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September9.2009
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O bservador .
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Strike Force to Battle Cartels, G angs
Drug trafficking is major focus
A tto rn e y G e n e ra l Jo h n to go after sophisticated drug
K roger has announced that traffickers," Kroger said. “I also
O regon has received a $1.5 appreciate the support of Sens.
m illion federal grant to create W yden and M erkley, who
a drug crimes task force at the helped us obtain this important
O regon D epartm ent o f Ju s­ grant.”
The state attorney general
tice.
“I’d like to thank U.S. Attor­ investigates and prosecutes
ney General Eric Holder for pro­ complex drug trafficking and
viding the resources for Oregon racketeering cases, as well as
violent crime, public corruption
and the sexual exploitation of
children.
A major focus of the state’s
Crim inal Justice D ivision is
Mexico-based Drug Trafficking
Organizations, which dominate
the methamphetmine, cocaine
and heroin importation and dis­
tribution trade.
In June, Kroger announced
Operation Corridor Express,
the largest drug racketeering
case ever prosecuted in the
Oregon court system. The in­
vestigation and subsequent
in d ic tm e n ts b ro k e up tw o
Drug T rafficking O rganiza­
tions - one based on W ash­
ington County and one based
on Clackamas County - that
distributed major amounts of
m etham phetam ine, cocaine,
h e ro in and o th e r d ru g s
th ro u g h o u t the W illam ette attorneys. The team will initiate
new cases, enhance investiga­
Valley.
The new grant will allow the tions and pursue arrests and
departm ent to hire two new convictions.
prosecutors, two new investi­
Included in the effort will be
gators and a new analyst who members of Oregon’s High-In­
make up the core of a multi­ tensity Drug Trafficking Area
agency Drug Crim es Strike board, the Oregon Sheriffs’ As­
sociation, the Oregon Police
Force.
The new strike force will work C h iefs’ A ssociation and the
with drug and gang investiga­ Oregon District Attorneys’ As­
tors, local police and district sociation.
New Moon Rising at Milagro
H IN I Kills Security Chief
(AP) - The Ecuadorean government says President
Rafael Correa's chief of security has died of swine flu.
The online government publication El Ciudadano says
air force Lt. Col. John Merino died Sunday after being
hospitalized for 28 days.
El Ciudadano cited as its source Francisco Torres, the
doctor for the office of the Presidency, which was closed
late Sunday.
The publication said Correa expressed his condolences
to Merino's family at the military hospital where he died.
Ecuador has reported 36 confirmed deaths from swine
flu as of last week, along with 1,382 infected.
With two weeks o f Hispanic arts, culture
Platinum Fade
Cuban jazz singer Jessie Marquez will take the stage at
the Milagro Theatre as part o f a two week festival o f
Hispanic arts and culture.
This week the Milagro The­
atre, 525 S.E. Stark St., kicks off
its two-week festival of His­
panic arts and culture, which
will feature flamenco dance,
Cuban music, and reading of
poetry and songs from local
authors and musicians.
The event titled “La Luna
Nueva" or “The New M oon”
will highlight new artists. It all
begins on Saturday, Sept. 12,
w ith “A N ight in S e v illa ,”
which features traditional fla­
m enco m u sic and d a n c in g
Melinda Hedgecourth has studied and performed tradi­
from respected artists.
tional Flamenco dance in Spain and North America. She
The follow ing week Jessie
takes the Milagro Theatre stage on Saturday, Sept. 12.
Marquez will belt out her soul­
The rest of the festival will G arcia Lorca, it will also fea­
ful and eclectic version of C u­
b an ja z z th a t d ra w s on feature story telling, poetry ture the work of rising local
B ra z illia n b o ssa nova and readings, and plays that will writers.
F o r a s c h e d u le , v is it
N o rth A m e ric a n so u n d s, fe a tu re the w ork o f L atin
w ra p p e d to g e th e r in p u re A m erican literary giants like m ilagro.org, or call 503-236-
Pablo N eruda and Federico 7253.
Latin emotion.
Latino Workers Supported
Civil rights
priorities
outlined
*
Oregon Labor Commissioner
Brad Avakian w ants Latino
workers to know that the Bu­
reau of Labor and Industries
(BOLD is there to help them
grapple with employers who
stiff them on wages or break
periods, in addition to provid­
ing protections in housing and
public accommodations.
“The state o f Oregon is go­
ing to protect your rig h ts,”
said Avakian to a crowd gath-
laws or civil rights, call BOLI
for help.”
Avakian proudly points to
the state agency’s successful
efforts to stave off harsh bud­
get cuts during the last Leg­
islative session in its Farm
Labor Unit and Civil Rights
Division, which is crucial to
protecting the rights of w ork­
He said inquires from Span­
ish-speaking Oregonian con­
sistently represented 10 percent
of
all contacts for BOLI staff,
Brad Avakian
and 25 percent of claims for
ered recently at Centro C ul­ unpaid wages also came from
tural in C o rn elius. “ If you Spanish speakers in the same
have q u estio n s about labor time period.
(AP) - W ashington's new in the United States and sold to
ambassador to Mexico says the drug gangs in Mexico.
Pascual also called for a so­
U nited States must stop the
flow of guns smuggled south lution for millions of undocu­
across the border in order to mented workers in the United
improve security on both sides States.
He sp o k e F rid a y at the
of the border.
Carlos Pascual says "we can­ c lo se o f th e an n u a l U .S .-
not continue to arm the car­ M exico B o rd er G o v ern o rs
tels," referring to guns bought Conference. Security and en-
vironmental topics dominated
the meeting.
C o ah u ila
state
Gov.
H um berto M oreira said he
hoped the border region would
become "a green wall" with the
environmental accords.
The only U.S. governor to
attend the conference was New
Mexico's Bill Richardson.
Candidate Killed; Teenager Charged
year-old Jose Francisco Fuente
and rape his 38-year-old wife.
Fuente belonged to the Institu­
tional Revolutionary Party.
Gonzalez says the boy was a
neighbor and another teenage
suspect was a security guard
at the gated com m unity in
Villahermosa where Fuente, his
wife, and their 9- and 13-year-
old sons lived.
Gonzalez said Sunday that
police found a receipt in the
guard's uniform for objects
used in the attack.
State officials are offering
protection for candidates in the
Oct. 18 election.
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Guns Sales Hurt Security
(AP) - Police in Villahermosa,
Mexico have arrested a 16-year-
old boy and two young men for
allegedly killing a state congres­
sional candidate and his family.
Tabasco state Attorney Gen­
eral Rafael Gonzalez says the
three told police they planned
to burglarize the home of 43-
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An ongoing series of questions and answers about America's natural healing profession
Dr. Billy R. Flowers
Part 1. CHIROPRACTIC: For the best in
natural healing, hearing is believing.
How did
Chiropractic
care come about?
Ay
Spinal manipulations
have been practiced for over
2,500 years. Hippocrates, the
“Fatherof Medicine," advised:
“look well to the spine for the
causeof disease." But modem
Chiropractic came of age back
in 1895. In Davenport, Iowa, a
patient came to Dr. D.D. Palmer
complaining of back pain. This
patient had also been nearly
deaf since suffering a back
injury 17 years earlier. Dr.
Palmer noticed a bump on the
p a tie n t’s back, which he
suspected was related to a
dislocated vertebra. Torelieve
the patient’s pain and reposition
the vertebra. Dr. Palmer placed
him on a table and pushed down
on his back, perf orming a spinal
manipulation or “adjustment.”
He performed this adjustment
three days in a row. By the third
day, not only had the patient's
back pain disappeared, his
hearing reappeared. Today’s
Chiropractors know that the
j central nervous system (housed
within the body’s spinal column)
provides the energy, which
govemsallbodilyfunctions. By
making sure that the spinal
column isin correct alignment.
Chiropractors eliminate any
possible interference, which
would prevent the central
nervous system from keeping
the body functioning the way
nature, intended.
To
find
out
how
Chiropractic might be able to
help you or for answers to any
questions you might have
about your health, please feel
free to call us at the phone
number shown below.
Flow ers' C h iro p ractic Office
2124 NE Hancock, Portland Oregon 97212
Phone: (503) 287-5504
Jlortlanh (Dbsrrurr
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