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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 21, 1998)
rpwaout PDX G+M A u t o m o t iv e A u t o m o t iv e is SAD TO is GLAD TO ANNOUNCE WE ANNOUNCE WE ARE ADDING ARE CLOSING OUR DOORS. TWO MECHANICS PDX A u to m o tive an d G+M, t h e fix in g power o f t w o . NOW IN ONE CONVENIENT LOCATION, JUST 2 LIGHTS NORTH ON 60TH. 2 8 2 -3 3 1 5 gg gp J 2 3 1 -8 4 8 6 A U T O M O T 1 V E M echanics w ith a conscience O regon certified DEQ repair facility . 5934 NE H alsey • P o r t l a n d . OR 97213 • G erard L illie TWENTY-THIRD AVENUE 1015 NW 23rd Avenue, Portland, O regon 97210, (503) 224-5097 Monday-Friday 9:30 - 9 pm O Saturday 10 am - 9 pm O Sunday 11 am - 7 pm Promoting parks and salmon To the E ditor : As the population of Oregon continues to grow, the importance of m aintaining and improving the pristine Northwest environment and quality of life is also growing. Most of us choose to live in Oregon, at least in part, because of the state’s natural heritage, vast green spaces and remaining frontier. Ballot Measure 66 (Measure for Parks and Salmon) will make a great impact on the future of our state parks and wild salmon runs. This measure will provide crucial funding to take some initial steps to restore the habitats and facilities that have been degrading over the past 30 years. As an outdoor enthusiast and a scientist, I realize not only the importance of parks and recreation to our society, but also the enormous expense of fixing environmental and social problems after they have become crises, rather than taking proactive steps to prevent them in the first place. I cannot stress enough the need to improve our water and air quality, as well as the stream habitats in the Northwest for salmon and the people who choose to make this region home. Oregon has been and should continue to be the leader in the Northwest for environmental quality and creative problem solving. Let’s take action now to preserve the streams and rivers so that future generations will enjoy the same beauty and quality of life that we have all come to expect. S ybil M errels Portland W ENTW O RTH Wu is his man To 107 S. Grand • East End of the Burnside Bridge • 232-2000 the E ditor : Oregon lesbians and gay men have a direct and urgent interest in electing David Wu to Congress because he opposes the extreme reli gious-right-wing agenda of today’s Republican Party. The outcome of this race in Oregon’s 1st District promises to be very close and may deter mine whether House Speaker Newt Gingrich will hold on to his power. Wu, winner of the Democratic primary, came forward with a political booth at Pride ’98 in Waterfront Park. He is skilled as an attorney and experienced in serving on local boards and commissions. As a congressman, Wu will be a politically effective advocate for justice. Opposition to the extreme religious right wing is evidenced in the political positions Wu has taken. With courage and integrity he states clearly that he would have voted against the anti-gay Defense of Marriage Act. If elected this November, he will become a co-sponsor of the Employment Non- Discrimination Act, seeking equality in the workplace for lesbians and gay men, as for all Americans. And in support of the struggles of people living with HIV and A ID S, he will fight any attempts to cut funding for the Ryan White C A R E Act. A close contest is always assured in the 1st District, which includes Portland west of the Willamette River, Washington County and northwestern Oregon to the coast, because voter registration is about evenly split between Democratic and Republican. Our retiring incumbent, Rep. Elizabeth Furse, a Democrat, has always had to campaign very hard and has always been able to win only by close margins. In this year’s election, the Republican Party and conservative political groups have chosen to pour large amounts of campaign money into Oregon’s 1st District in pursuit of a national strategy to hold or increase their currently nar- row majority in the U .S. House of Repre sentatives. Eager for victory, they are attempting to mask their candidate’s offensive right-wing, anti-gay and anti-choice ideology. Nationally pivotal and closely contested, the 1st District congressional race involves major differences on issues that are very important to each of us and to our community. With the power of Newt Gingrich and the religious right wing in the U .S. House hanging in the balance, Oregon lesbians and gay men should do every thing they can to help elect David Wu. T om R uckman Portland Fed up To the E ditor : I am sick of you rewriting history to erase transsexual voices and define us out of exis tence. Your story on the passage of the Benton County anti-discrimination ordinance [“Benton County Leads the Way,” Just Out, Aug. 7] is a particularly disgusting example of this. In this story, you quote After 8 members as saying that passage of this ordinance was “pain less” and happened with “no controversy.” It was not painless to me, nor to the other transsexuals who had to fight very hard to get the specific coverage of transsexuals into the ordinance. It’s not painless to me to watch you write us out of history because of your ridiculous, narcissistic need to gloss over the abuse we constantly get from lesbians. The public record clearly shows that it was the work of transsexuals, including myself, that got the specific coverage in the ordinance. From now on, Just Out is the last place I’ll ever look for news on issues of importance to transsexuals. A shley S inclaire Portland Editor’s note: A key source quoted in the story u>as Corvallis resident Derrick Travers, who identifies as a transsexual and transgendered activist. Travers was also among those who worked toward the ordi nances passage. OPB deserves kudos To the E ditor : If letter writer Kelley Begley [“Speak Out,” Just Out, Aug. 7] were a contributing member of Oregon Public Broadcasting, she would have received in late May a copy of the June issue of Oregon Focus, in which there was a half-page feature on O PB’s gay pride month programs. As far as 1 know, this was a first for OPB's monthly publication. (I have been a volunteer for O PB’s audience services since October 1993, respond ing to comments and questions of listeners and viewers, so I am quite well acquainted with the contents of Focus.) Personally, I was quite delighted to see this space devoted to programs of special interest to Oregon’s gay community. Before I began my work at OPB, I too wrote to complain about the lack of programs for our community, but over the years I have seen quite a change— from no gay-related programs to the current regular appearance of the bimonthly In the Life, the fabulous series Tales of the City, and, occasionally, other gay and lesbian shows. Aside from the attempt to drop music from O PB radio, the most difficult thing I have had to deal with as a volunteer has been complaints about anything perceived by some listeners or viewers as “promoting homosexuality.” Whenever I have finished listening to one of these anti-gay diatribes (having held back my anger to avoid further upsetting a dissatisfied