Oregon Daily TUESDAY. MARCH 28. 1995 EUGENE. OREGON VOLUME 96. ISSUE 119 Amazon demolition screeches to a halt Reaction: University officials outraged after Amazon advocates receive stay of demolition Lori Bettmeski O«pon ( ve'y FmorjHd fust when it looked like the threatened Amazon Family Mousing complex was going to l>e bulldozed to extinction, pro tection was granted Monday that now slops, all demolition on the site until further nothe The Save Amazon Coalition re< eived an unexpected stay In ihi* slat** Land Use Hoard of Appeals (l.UBA) late Mondas afternoon, which requires Uni varsity officials to immediately stop all work at the low-income housing site until the hoard can rule on the coalition's appeal to the demolition permit A time for this ruling has nut vet been announced. hut will likely take pirn it Into this week or early next week "This borders. if not crosses, the line of tbutivn pro* es»," s.iui Mike Evster. director of University Housing "We still have plenty of time though, amt it won’t hurt tint University's plans any Even if we did miss the construction season, the demolition of Amazon would still occur It will be replaced After the stay was granted Monday. Kvster immediately contacted the demolition con tractors to prevent any irrejmni bio damage from taking place before I.UHA s final dm ision is rem hot! “Our demolition contractor has been pulled off and I told our contractors Monday to halt all at lion immediately.'' Kyster said “They won ’ la# bat k until a final decision is reached Daniol Stottor, an Kugomt attorney reprosunting the Save Amn/on Coalition, said that despite r»* ant d«* isions against the i oaiition. Monday \ stay is a positive stop in the direc tion of saving the complex front demolition "It's thn first victory we've had in this struggle and my chants ara mi hod." Stottor said Torn to AMAZON Pa t Women file suit against civil rights organization Accusations: NAACP is accused of giving women lower salaries and fewer perks than their male counterparts "WASHINGTON (AP)’ A $2 million sox discrimination lawsuit has been filed against the NAACP, accusing the civil rights group of giving women employees lower pay and fewer porks than men who do the same work The lawsuit, filed Friday in U S Dis trict Court in Washington, was brought on behalf of about 40 women who held professional or management positions in the NAACI* from l‘M)I through tins year. The lawsuit names as defendants the NAACP, former hoard Chairman William Giltson. Acting Executive Dim - tor Earl Shinhoster. Acting Deputy Director Fred Knsheed. General Coun sel Dennis Courtland Hayes, former l ««litiv'e Dms tor Benjamin Chavis and former DepuH Dirts tor lewis Myers The defendants "failed and refused, in nearly all instances, to properly inves tigate or redress economic grievances or qiMstioni of the women,'-' the lawsuit savs. Messages left for Shinhosler. Kashewi, Hayes and Chavis were not immediate ly returned. Gibson was unavailable for comment No forwarding telephone nunilier could lm fount! for Myers, who Turn to NAACP - i Buyin’ the books haiaix uOHJChOHtfrr/iiwm The first day of classes brings a rush of students to the Bookstore Lines extended to the back of the store. A quick trip to the bookstore to buy just a few books could end up being an houre-long ordeal Financial aid fraud explored by Congress Findings: Ineligible sc hoo! . continued receiving federal aid because federal laws were difficult to enforce WASHINGTON (AP) At toot hearings on student financial aid fraud, wnalurs wondered why the l- du ration Department had failed to creek down on moli gthle trhoolit that continued to receive millions of federal dollars Part of the answer was right under their noses Interviews and government documents show that members of Congress themselves often make it hard for the department to enforce the rules on home state schools Losses to defaulted loans and wasted grants run into the billions of dollars ear h year A stark example hart» onto just a few months Indore the hearings w hen Rep Jerrold Nadler. D N.Y , t ailed department officials to a meeting on (arpitol Hill Hie purpose w as to lobby the department to uncon ditionally approve Merr y College's proposed takeover of the bankrupt Center for Media Arts in New York lie- college wanted to use CMA ils a satellite (anil pus, but wished to avoid having to repay $000,000 in federal tintt«m refunds due I MA s stodeiils lie department was insisting the students and the tax payers in- protected as a condition of the takeover In the wood-paneled Kaybum Room, just a few stops from the House floor, Nodler, Rep Hen Gilman, K N Y , ami six aides toother New York lawmakers lectured the bureaucrats for nearly four hours, nut letting them go until H; IS p m , according lo a w ritten summary of the meeting " I tie amount of political pressure exerted against the department was truly extraordinary in tins raise," department official Diane Modicum wrote in a memo a few days after the April 2H, t'tud, meeting She ( ailed Turn to SCHOOLS, Pago 3 ■ GOOD MORNING ► Eugene voters must turn their vote-by-mail ballots in to the elec lions office by 8 p m. The election contains only one measure, a video poker tax ref erendum, and numerous school board, park district, pod commis sion and fire and water district races Voters who have not already mailed their ballots should deliver them in person to the elections office at 115 E 6th Avenue, The Eugene measure seeks to repeal a 10 percent tax on busi ness' video poker commissions that was approved last fall by the city council It was put on the ballot by a referendum petition campaign financed by the Ore gon Restaurant Association The Otegon Restaurant Asso ciatron « also urging the 1995 legislature to ban video poker taxes The council approved (he tan to help pay lor the community policing program II it had been in eftect last year, the tax would have raised about $450,000 According to Betty Burgess, a senior clerk at the Lane County elections office, an approximate count will be compiled shortly after 8 p m. Final results will be posted within a few days ol the election. Burgess said ► SAN DIEGO (AP) — A parade ol Republican presidential hope fuls courted California's most con servative political activists this weekend while Gov Pete Wilson took his budding presidential campaign to Washington Sen. Phil Gfamm of Texas, commentator Pat Buchanan. California Rep. Bob Dor nan and talk show host Alan Keyes com peted tor the most conservative anti tax. anti-crime, anti welfare, anti-abortion message In appearances before 300 leaders ol the California Republican Assembly There was no formal winner before the CRA. a coalition of more than 100 local political clubs that will not endorse a can didate until a September con vention. but Gramm appeared to have an edge THE ENVELOPE, PLEASE... A selection of winners from Monday night's Academy Awards ceremony: Best Picture: Forrest Gump Best Actor. Tom Hanks Best Actress: Jessica !.