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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 8, 1973)
Portland/Observer -Getting Smart themuskmachine BY WALTER L SMART Executive Oiiector National Federation ol Settlements and Neighborhood Centers P A K T 11 In our previoua rolumn.'we disrunaed the abuse of the F H A 221 (d )(3) housing enactment, which provided funds for low income apart ment complexes controlled by non profit organizations. We saw how developers used nonprofit organizations to reap profits and effectively control a housing project. In the example I cited, the tenants were prohibited from maintaining a washing ma chine in their apartments. On the other hand, the laundry facilities provided in the development were woe fully inadequate (two washers and dryers) for the 120 unit development. Women found themselves waiting in line for six or more hours to w ash t h e i r c lo th e s . Of course, the system broke down and ten an ts began washing clothes in th e ir apartments and stringing a line in the kitchen, some times the living room, on which to dry their clothes. Yet, in another develop ment, controlled under the same program, hut where the local corporation repre sentatives were informed and involved, each housing unit contained a washer and a dryer. Equally, if not more im portant, however, is the re lationship that is developed between tenants and man agement. In those develop ments where the non profit organization turns over the management function to the developer, with no real in volvement from community representatives, the landlord tenant relationship is very lim ilar to that which exists oetween slumlord and tenant, >ne of the most dehumanizing relationships one could ex perience. In those few instances where the non profit organi zation has assumed the man »gement role or played a vital role in the management function, the tenants have s tr o n g ly s u p p o rte d and worked cooperatively with management. In those instances where ROY BURNETT Is Your BEST 1^1 72 Toy o il Mark I I ... 2595 Station Wagon. 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It was not a rase of lark of interest and intent. Good intentions cannot run and manage an apartment complex. There is a definite need for the training of per sons to coordinate such com munity Iwsed projects. Approximately one year ago President Nixon imposed a moratorium on all federally subsidized housing with the exception of those projects which had already received some level of federal ap proval prior to the mora torium. To some, the pitfalls of the 221 (d)(3) program ef forts may now seem moot. We now have the oppor tunity. during this period, to reevaluate our efforts in community training so that the same mistakes do not recur. The government must also realign F H A 221 ldl(3) guidelines so that community people receive the desper ately needed counsel to make great opportunities like this flourish, reaping a new urban America. We are, indeed, faring a housing crisis. If we remain static, our situ atio n w ill steadily get worse. The housing m o ratoriu m must end the sooner the better for the poor of this land. Bike group meets The re ce n tly organized Advisory Committee on Bi cycles will hold its first regular meeting at 10:00 a m. on November 18th in Room 321 of the Capitol. Committee members were sworn in on October 31st by Governor Tom McCall. Mem bers are Don Stathos. Jack sonville; Mrs. Dennis Ross. Hermiston; M r. John Bas com, Eugene; Winslow C. Brooks. Tigard; Glenn Gregg, Portland; Larry Hook, Port land; Ernest Drapela, E u gene; and Rick Seres. Salem. Taxes collect interest 1’agv 3 Conference studies Mekong Delta economy Hom eow ners m ust pay th e ir p ro p e rty taxes to county tax collectors within the time limits set by law in order to avoid interest on late payments, said Charles H. Mack, director of the Oregon Department of Reve nue. U n d er the new home owners' and renters’ property tax refund program, home owners apply directly to the D e p a rtm e n t of R evenue, after January 1, 1974, for a refund on property taxes due November 15, 1973. “Refunds are based on the amount of the taxpayers' household incomes and prop erty taxes, not on when the tax liability is paid," Mark added. Property tax refund claim forms will be part of the income tax packet which will be mailed to all Oregon residences about the first half of January. The World Affairs Council of Oregon and Portland State University jointly are spon soring one of four conferences to be held in the United States this fall on the .Mekong River Basin Project in Southeast Asia. The conference "Me kong Basin: A Rich Future for Southeast Asia and the World" - is scheduled lor November 9th at the Shela ton Hotel in Portland. H ie cost is $20. All four members of tjie Mekong Committee, which oversees development of the rich Mekong Basin, will key note the conference. They are Khy Taing Lin of the Khmer Republic. Houmphanh Saignasith of Laos, Boonrod Hinson of Thailand and Bui Huu Tuan of Vietnam. The executive agent of the Com mittee, W .J. van der Oord, w ill accompany the four members. Since 1957, through wars and revolutions, the repre ■tentative» of four govern ments South Vietnam, Laos. T h a ilan d and the K h m e r R epublic (Cambo dia) have been engaged in a joint study ol the de velopnr.ent possibilities of the Ix>wer Mekong Basin with an eye to harnessing the river for hydroelectric power, flood control and irrigation. Some observers say the area potentially is the "bread basket of the world". The direct responsibility ."or the project lies with the four riparian countries, but already some 25 nations, 12 United Nations agencies and numerous foundations and firms have contributed man The first dam in the master plan for development of the region the Pa Mang would be built on the Laos Thailand border about 20 miles above Vientiane, the capital of Laos. It would have a capacity of four Bonneville Dams. The target date for completion is 1985. The Mekong Committee's stop in Portland is the only one on the west coast during a week long stay in the United States. The trip was arranged by the Asian So ciety of New York. The registration fee for the conference is $20. Re servations may be made by mailing the $20 to Mekong Basin Conference. 101 Public Service Building, 920 S.W. 6th, Portland, Oregon 97204. The conference is open to the public. For more information, con tact the World Affairs Coun cil of Oregon at 229 3049. s power, expertise, equipment and money to the project. The proposed magnitude of the developm ent exceeds similar projects in this coun try including the Tennessee Valley Authority. Though no dams have been built on the main stem of the Mekong River yet, long range plans indicate that by the 21st century there could be 12 dams on the main river and more on tributaries. The price tag could reach $12 billion. SPECIAL! i Bachelors Laundry One Day Service SAVE YOUR CLAIM TICKETS! 10 cleaning and pressing claim tickets good for I 8 lb. load of cleaning and pressing BUDGET DRY CLEANERS 7 2 2 0 N. Fessenden 2 8 6 -2 2 9 6 Diggs effort brings DC Home Rule Thanks to the effective leadership of Representative Charles C. Diggs. Jr., and intensive lobbying, the citi zens of the nation’s last colony, the District of Colum bia, now have home rule, at least in part. I t was through the calm, sagacious negotiations and political m aneuverings of R e p re s e n ta tiv e D iggs, as chairman of the House Dis trict of Columbia Committee, that saved the home rule bill from certain death. Over whelming passage came after a hotly contested floor de bate. Diggs and supporters of the home rule bill had to fight off last minute attempts by opponents to amend the bill "to death". Diggs, who is the ranking Black congressman on Capitol Hill with 18 years of service, became C h airm an of the House District of Columbia C o m m itte e last Ja n u a ry, after the election defeat of staunch home rule foe, Rep resentative John McMillan of South Carolina. Not openly mentioned by opponents of home rule for D.C. was the fact that the city is 70 percent Black. DC welcomes Brown Many of the elite among Federal and local govern ment leaders and represents lives of national private or ganizations g ath ere d on October 23 to officially wel come Ronald H. Brown to the nation's Capital. Brown became director of the Na tional Urban league's Wash ington Bureau on September 1 of this year. T he 32 ye ar old Bureau director was formally intro duced to some 150 select guests at the Washington Hilton Hotel by Donald H. M cGannon, the League's president, and Vernon E. Jordan, Jr., the executive director. Paying high tribute to the new director, Jordan said that he would serve as the organization's principal rep resentative and spokesman in the nation's Capital with responsibility for monitoring and analyzing Federal legis lation, administrative guide lines and appropriations, and preparing testimony for de livery before congressional committees. He will also ad vise the N a tio n a l U rban League of the potential im part of such Federal actions on the national Black and minority committees. Brown, who served as gen eral counsel for the League in New York before coming to Washington, gave a brief talk to the group in which he noted the crisis situation in Washington precipitated by the firing of Special Prose cutor Archibald Cox. He added that "crisis situations are not new to Blacks and minorities of this country." For the most part, he said, "they live their lives in one crisis or another. That is what the National Urban League is all about -- the reason for its existence for 63 years." Thursday, November 8, 1873 He promised to work with selected Federal officials and p riv a te sector re p res en ts lives in assuring that Blacks have adequate opportunity for input on important social- economic issues, and invited those present to seek out the expertise and experience of the League before making im p o rtan t derisions and recom m endations affe ctin g minority America. The intensive lobbying ef fort» were led by a coalition of national organizations, in cluding Common Cause, Na tional League of Women V o ters . A F L C IO . U A W L eadership Conference on Civil Rights, the National Council of Churches, and the D.C. Self Determination Co alition, headed by Richard Clark, also of Common Cause. D.C. delegate at large Wal ter E. Fauntroy was also active in garnering support for the bill. ONE WOMAN DRAMATIZATION OF Now appearing in: L A D Y SINGS T H E B LU ES THE UJQRLD OF MY AMERICA and LOST IN T H E STARS Lost in the Stars was made in Oregon with citizens from the Portland community including Clara Peoples. H o w e v e r, congressional leaders and the Washington newspapers have attributed the success of the home rule legislation to the personal leadership and political savvy of Representative Diggs. The Washington Star-News stated in an editorial ". . . this (the passage of home rule) was an immense* legislative achievement, for which the city is indebted chiefly to District Committee Chairman Diggs . . . " The Senate passed a home rule bill earlier this year, and now the House passed bill goes to a joint House Senate conference committee to iron out differences between the respective home rule mea sures. Under the new bill, D.C. residents would have the right for the first time to elect a mayor and 13 city council members. However, a provision in the bill allows Congress to retain its control over the D.C. budget. Mayor Washington, Dis trict of Columbia mayor, was jubilant over the home rule victory. And so were thou sands of other D.C. residents who have waited for so long for their own "self determi nation". NOVEMBER 17 th 7:30 FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH 1126 SW PARK Reception Fo llow ing $ 2 .5 0 do n atio n MARATHON Featuring local professional and a m atu re ta le n t Brock Peters, Paulene Myers and Lee Henderson in "Lost in the Stars". Get Down Productions Presents Roberta Flack Saturday N ov. 24,1 9 7 3 Two shows-7:00 & 11:00 Paramount Northwest Theatre Reserve Sealing Only 6 .0 0 /6 .5 0 /7 .0 0 D A Y ICVx T 1 J guest MC THANKSGIVING BENEFIT FOR COMMUNITY CARE ASSOC. Call 288-8321 You can contribute to Community Care w hen you purchase your subscription to the PORTLAND OBSERVER Your subscription on this coupon w ill put $1.00 in Com m unity C are’s Special Thankgiving and Christmas Benefit Fund Name Ticket Outlets Address, Lipmnn's Downtown Everybody Records all stores Lincoln Savings & Loan Stevens & Sons Lloyd Center Paramount Northwest - Box Office City 221-0892 Cascade College November 16th 4:30 until ? ......... State . . . . . . . $5.25 in Tri-County Area and Armed Services $6.00 Other Areas of the U S $6.25 Canada and Mexico Zip PO RTLAND O B sER t P.O. Box 11.17 Portland. Oregon 97208
