Page 2
June 6, 2018
Sen. Jeff Merkely, D-Ore., was confronted by police outside an
immigrant detention center in Brownsville, Texas, Sunday when he
attempted to tour the facility, but was denied access.
A window into the lives of vulnerable immigrants comes to the screen in “Lemonade,” a new film
about a Romanian woman who moves to the U.S. with her son, one of the featured attractions this
month at the Seattle International Film Festival.
New Films and World Insights
I’ve always wanted to take in
the Seattle International Film Fes-
tival (SIFF), and this year I’m in
the middle of a first-time five-day
stint. Like the Portland Interna-
tional Film Festival in February,
SIFF is a great opportunity to
catch a huge variety of films on the
big screen from all over the world,
some of which may never have a
big screen commercial release in
Portland, though many become
available on other platforms. For
the next couple of weeks, I’ll offer
a rundown of what I saw, includ-
ing some films I especially recom-
mend watching for in theaters or
online.
My favorite over the first three
days was “Every Act of Life,”
an appreciation of playwright
Terrence McNally, who remains
a vital presence in the New York
theater scene. Now in his 70s,
McNally first came to New York
in 1956 to attend Columbia Uni-
versity after rough beginnings in
Corpus Christi, Texas. He suffered
from the alcoholism of his parents
and violence from his father; they
little understood their unusually
imaginative and tender-hearted
o PinionAted
J udge
gay son, but their yearly sojourns
to New York to see Broadway
shows helped to plant the seed in
him of love for the theater, which
then sustained him and helped
him to find his voice even in the
face of occasional disappointment
and failure. This well-crafted film
features interviews with major fig-
ures in the theater world, includ-
ing F. Murray Abraham, Angela
Lansbury, Christine Baranski,
Tyne Daly, Edie Falco, Nathan
Lane, Audra MacDonald, and Joe
Mantello, many of whom have
stories attributing their success to
his willingness to take a chance
on them and who speak of his
writing with obviously heartfelt
admiration. Through their obser-
vations and appreciation of his
extensive body of work (including
“Frankie and Johnny in the Clair
de Lune,” “Master Class,” “Love!
Valour! Compassion!,” “Mothers
Established 1970
USPS 959 680
4747 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., Portland, OR 97211
CALL 503-288-0033 • FAX 503-288-0015
Mark Washington, Sr.
e ditor : Michael Leighton
e xecutive d irector : Rakeem Washington
A dvertising M AnAger : Leonard Latin
Office Manager/Classifieds: Lucinda Baldwin
c reAtive d irector : Paul Neufeldt
P ublisher :
PO QR code
by
d arleen o rtega
r ePorter /W eb e ditor :
and Sons,” and “Ragtime”), we
see how McNally was often far
ahead of its time, and come to
understand a thread of love and
generosity that runs through his
most beloved plays. It’s a cele-
bration of an influential life and
of the delicious and risky delights
of life in the world of the theater.
“A Rough Draft” is a trippy
sci-fi/action film adaptation of
a novel by Sergei Lukyanenko,
who also wrote “Night Watch.”
That novel was also made into a
film which I loved, and this one
reminded me of that 2004 film
in all the best ways; it creates
a whole elaborate and complex
world that exists alongside what
most people can see in our world,
where supernatural powers and
long-waged conflicts heighten
the stakes and excitement of
C ontinued on P age 16
The Portland Observer welcomes freelance submissions. Man-
uscripts and photographs should be clearly labeled and will be
returned if accompanied by a self addressed envelope. All creat-
ed design display ads become the sole property of the newspa-
per and cannot be used in other publications or personal usage
without the written consent of the general manager, unless the
client has purchased the composition of such ad. © 2008 THE
PORTLAND OBSERVER. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, RE-
PRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART WITHOUT PER-
MISSION IS PROHIBITED. The Portland Observer--Oregon’s
Oldest Multicultural Publication--is a member of the National
Newspaper Association--Founded in 1885, and The National
Advertising Representative Amalgamated Publishers, Inc, New
York, NY, and The West Coast Black Pub-
lishers Association.
Danny Peterson
P ublic r elAtions : Mark
Washington Jr.
o ffice A ssistAnt /s Ales : Shawntell Washington
news@portlandobserver.com • ads@portlandobserver.comn • subscription@portlandobserver.com
Postmaster: Send address changes to Portland Observer , PO Box 3137 , Portland, OR 97208
Senator Denied Look
Merkley turned back from
separated immigrant children
U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore.,
tried to visit an immigration de-
tention facility in Texas Sunday to
check on immigrant children held
by federal authorities from their
parents, but was denied access and
had police called to stop him.
The action prompted ques-
tions about what’s going on be-
hind closed doors at some of the
country’s detention facilities amid
concerns about the separation of
children from their parents who
have attempted to cross the border
illegally.
Merkley posted the video
The
live on his Facebook page as he
attempted to enter the former
Walmart in Brownsville, Texas,
which has garnered nearly 2 mil-
lion views by midday Tuesday.
The senator made the visit after
his office contacted the facility,
run by a non-profit, and they de-
clined to schedule a tour without
several weeks advance notice.
“I think it’s unacceptable that a
member of Congress is not being
admitted to see what is happen-
ing to children whose families are
C ontinued on P age 14
Week in Review
Protests Turn Violent
Four people were arrested during
competing protests in downtown
Portland Sunday from right and
left-wing groups. Police say they
were compelled to use pepper
spray on two separate occasions
when multiple people were in-
volved in assaultive behavior,
including using pepper spray and
throwing fireworks, bottles, and
rocks at officers and participants.
Culinary School Chef Killed
il Rights Commission violated
Phillips’ rights under the First
Amendment.
Biketown Rentals Expand
The city’s bike-rental program,
Biketown, announced Thursday it
is expanding beyond its inner city
and downtown service area to the
Cully Neighborhood and the Hol-
lywood District of northeast Port-
land, and the Creston-Kenilworth
neighborhood in southeast Port-
land, among other areas.
A well-respected chef and instruc-
tor was found with a fatal gunshot
wound Sunday morning at the
Oregon Culinary Institute, down-
town. Emergency personnel ar-
rived at 8:30 a.m. but were unable
to revive the instructor, Daniel C.
Brophy, 63, who died from his in-
juries.
Portland Kmart to Close
Baker Wins in Court
A Portland developer announced
his company will build Portland’s
first ever “five-star” hotel at the
site of a popular food cart pod in
downtown Portland. The South-
west Washington Street location
will boast 33-stories and may in-
clude a mix of offices and condo-
miniums, according to plans sub-
mitted to the city.
A Colorado baker who refused to
make wedding cakes for same-
sex couples narrowly won a Su-
preme Court ruling Monday. The
justices side-stepped whether a
business can invoke religious ob-
jections to refuse service to gay
and lesbian people, and instead
voted 7-2 that the Colorado Civ-
The Kmart near 122nd and San-
dy Boulevard will soon close, one
of 15 Kmart stores and 48 Sears
stores across the country that are
slated to get the axe by September,
the company announced Thursday.
Hotel to Replace Food Pod