H1N1 Front Lines
Acclaimed Drummer
5(ty
Dynamic drummer Rodney
Holmes brings his beat to
Mt. Hood Community College
School nurses will be a key
resource in the battle
against the swine flu
See Health Matters, page A5
See Arts & Entertainment, page A9
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C r f n k l i r k ù r ì ir» IO 7ZY
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Volume XXXVIV, N um ber 39
TLWeek ¡n
The Review
Uncoin Coaches Disciplined
Lincoln High School's head
football coach Chad V. Carlson
and tw o assistant coaches will
not return to their coaching jobs
this season because o f their
encounter last m onth with po­
lice at a M ax light rail stop. The
school district has told them to
either resign or face being fired.
Police within Guidelines
1 Portland Police
Chief Rosie Sizer
iP rU'eS t*1Ul
A
ik
XJ ers acted within
they chased and
struggled with Jam es Chasse, a
m entally ill m an w ho died in
police custody three years ago.
See story, page A2.
Truck Plant Won’t Close
In a surprise m ove, D aim ler
Trucks N orth A m erica says it
will keep its Swan Island truck
plant operating, a move that
will likely save about 650jobs.
The com pany says the deci­
sion resulted from a big military
contract. See story, page A2.
iin in
u r» r» rfIo n rlr» h c i» rv f» r m m
www.portlandobserver.com
Established in 1970
Wednesday • September 30. 2009
Two Wheels
on the
Rise
Biggest jump yet in bicycle commutes
by J ake T homas
T he P ortland O bserver
atthew Breeze has been
biking to w ork in north
Portland for the last 12
years for exercise and out o f concern
for the environm ent. But in the last
several years he said his com m ute
has becom e less lonely, w ith more
people taking to tw o w heels to get to
work.
“ It’s kin d o f cool to see,” said
Breeze w ho has seen an up tick in
people on the bike lanes on North
W illiam s and V ancouver Avenues.
B re e z e ’s o b se rv a tio n has been
confirm ed by recently released U.S.
C ensus data that reveals that P ort­
land just experienced the largest one-
y ear increase in people using b i­
cycles to get around.
A cco rd in g to the d ata released
last w eek, over 17,000 Portlanders
rode their bike to w ork in 2008, up
from nearly 11,000 the previous year.
T h a t’s a ju m p from 4 to 6 percent,
m aking Portland the largest city of
bike com m uters am ong the nation’s
30 largest cities. Less than one per­
cent o f A m ericans bike to w ork na­
tion wide.
“O ur small investment in bicycling
infrastructure and education are pay­
ing off in a big way,” said M ayor Sam
A dam s, w ho has headed the P ort­
land Bureau o f T ransportation since
2004.
S ince the early 1990s P o rtlan d
h a s b e e n m a k in g sm a ll in v e s t­
m en ts in its b icy clin g in fra stru c­
tu re by ad d in g lanes, sp ecial stop
lig h ts , an d o th e r a d d itio n s th a t
have m ade it m o re co m fo rtab le to
cy cle in th e city.
In recent years Portland has es­
tablished a national reputation for its
continued
on page A7
Commuters bicycle
to work on the
Hawthorne Bridge
in -southeast
Portland.
photo by J ake T homas /
T he P ortland O bserver
Sign Change Pulled
The University o f Oregon has
backed out o f plans to buy and
c h a n g e P o rtla n d ’s h isto ric
“Made in Oregon” sign atop the
W hite Stag Building. The deci­
sion leaves the sign in limbo as
it is still up for sale or for lease.
Senate Pick Spurs House Vacancy
With Shields in, another
seat needs to be filled
Trio Win Brutality Case
A jury sided M onday with three
local African American men in
an ex c essiv e fo rce law suit
against a Portland Police officer.
The decision will cost the city
$ 175,000. See story, page A6.
by J ake T homas /T he
DMV Fees Going Up
Starting Thursday, it will cost
more to drive in Oregon. Fees are
going up to register most cars
and trucks, obtain identification
cards and apply for trip permits.
O ther fees for commercial ve­
hicles will take effect in January.
Blazers Resign Udoka
NBA veteran Ime Udoka, a
Jefferson High School and Port-
I ami State I 'm ver
1
A
sll.v graduate, has
I hccn re'1iretl
U d o k a p la y e d
with the team in 2006-07.
Post Office Name Change
The U.S. H ouse last week ap­
proved a bill to renam e the post
office in northeast Portland
serving the 97211 zip code for
Dr. M artin Luther King Jr. A
com panion bill m ust now pass
the U.S. Senate.
Police Raid Star Theater
The Star Theater, a dow ntow n
ev en t ven u e ju s t steps o ff
Burnside Street, was closed last
week after being raided by po­
lice and the O regon Liquor
Control Com m ission. The raid
occurred after a tip that the club
was selling alcohol without a
license.
years.
•T community service
photo by
M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver
Rep. Chip Shields stands outside his legislative offices at 5513 N. Vancouver Ave. The incumbent
legislator is moving up to the Senate after winning an endorsement from county commissioners to
replace outgoing Sen. Margaret Carter.
P ortland O bserver
ep.Chip Shields will
becom e the newest
state senator from
P o rtla n d
a f te r
th e
M ultnomah County C om ­
mission Thursday narrowly
appointed the local D em o­
crat to replace M argaret
Eddie Lincoln
C arter w ho resigned last
month to take a position with the D epartm ent o f
Human Services.
Shields got three out Five votes from the com m is­
sion, beating out com munity organizer Jo Ann Bow ­
man and Karol Collym ore,
a staffer for County C om ­
m issioner Jeff Cogen, who
cast his vote for her.
Now the process to fill
Shields' House seat, which
covers parts o f north and
northeast P ortland, starts
anew, and will likely be con­
cluded in October.
In Oregon, the way a va­
Lew Frederick
cant House sea, is filled is
continued
on page A 7
Door Opens to Measure 11 Challenge
Law ruled too severe
in some cases
(A P) — The O regon m andatory sentencing law
approved by voters in 1994 has been ruled too
severe in some cases, opening the door to addi­
tional challenges.
In a divided opinion, the Oregon Supreme Court
said the law, known as M easure 11. w ent too far
when a young w om an was sentenced to more than
six years in prison after her breasts rubbed against
a 13-year-old boy.
The ruling Thursday also applied to the case of
a man given the same 75-m onth m andatory sentence
for briefly touching the buttocks of a 13-year-old
girl.
In a m ajority opinion by Justice T hom as Balmer,
f
other people.
Buck was charged with the same crim e, sexual
abuse, when he briefly touched the buttocks o f a 13-
year-old girl w hile she was casting her line to fish on
a cam ping trip, then later brushed some dir, off her
pants.
In both cases, the court said, the pun­
ishm ent did not fit the crime.
The opinion noted both cases involved
only brief touching in public w hile fully
clothed, ye, under the m andatory sen ­
tencing law, Rodriguez and Buck would
have received the same 75-m onth term if
they actually had sex with the teenagers
- Margie Paris, dean of the University of Oregon School of Law
or sodom ized them.
The court also noted that neither Rodriguez nor
she was charged with sexual abuse after she held a
Buck had any criminal record, saying that also should
13-year-old boy so that the back o f his head was
the co u rt said six y ears in p riso n fo r V eronica
Rodriguez and Darryl Buck under M easure 11 vio­
lated the Oregon constitutional requirem ent that "all
penalties shall be proportioned to the offense."
Rodriguez was a youth counselor in her 20s when
The ruling is going to apply only
in these exceptional circumstances.
But it does make a dent in the
mandatory sentencing law.
resting against her breasts for about a m inute while
they were standing in a crow ded room with nearly 50
I
continued
on page A 6