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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (May 14, 1981)
Portland Observer M ay 14. 1981 Page 3 From City Hall From the Capitol Congressman Ron Wyden (E ditor's Note: This week Congressman Wyden discusses the next step in the budgeting process anu funding problems for the han dicapped.) Q. Congressman Wyden, what happens now that the House has approved the President's budget proposal? A. All the House has done so far is approve the firs t budget resolution for fiscal year 1982. This resolution sets broad targets fo r federal spending and revenues for the coming year. Although this is an important first step in the budgeting process, the precise tunding levels for specific programs have yet to be decided. Thus, a good deal o f our work remains to be done. As we set about making the fund ing decisions for specific programs, l w ill be guided by two m ajor priorities. First, 1 am committed to ensuring that the proposed cuts are both fair and cost-effective. 1 w ill not go along with cuts that tighten the belts o f senior citizens who can a ffo rd only two meals a day, but don’ t touch large tobacco growers who receive huge subsidies or defense contractors who can’ t manage costs on big projects. Second, I believe we must come up with a tax cut that encourages Americans to save and invest in the future o f our country, while at the same time p ro vid in g re lie f from runaway inflation. We must remove the barriers to work that are present in our current tax code, such as the marriage tax penalty, and create in centives for small businesses to grow and increase productivity. Q. While addressing a ra lly o f handicapped persons this week, you said the adm inistration is treading on shaky econom ic ground by proposing certain cuts in programs to the handicapped. What specific cuts do handicapped Oregonians face and why do you th in k those cuts are fiscally un wise? A. Under A d m in istra tio n proposals, handicapped Oregonians would be asked to sacrifice a num ber of programs which provide them w ith the modest assistance and training necessary to live indepen dently. For example one proposal would elim inate $869,000 from a program which supplies a rtificial limbs, wheelchairs and braces to the handicapped. Letters (Continued from Page 2) Media coverage biased Dear Editor: 1 am writing to express my anger and profound concern regarding media coverage o f the A p ril 4 March Against Racism sponsored by the P ortland Black United Front (BUF). Portland newspapers presented more or less balanced coverage, though some did not provide enough depth and prominence in their coverage. The P ortland television stations, however, showed dangerous bias and extreme dis respect fo r the M arch by their coverage. They focused 9O9/o o f their coverage on a verbal and physical fig h t between the RCP (Revolutionary Communist Party) and the BUF. C ertainly this in cident, which reminded many o f us o f the M cCarthy era, was s ig n ifi cant. But it was allowed by the television news to completely ob scure the March itself. The March was, after a ll, a M arch Against Racism, and the issues raised — police harassment, welfare cuts, and the A tlanta murders — warranted far better depth o f coverage than they received. I seriously question the objec tiv ity and the ethnics o f television stations that decided that it was far more im portant to focus on the fight with the RCP than to show the anger and concern expressed that day over the issues o f racism. Not only did the television coverage con tribute heavily to the McCarthy-like “ red-baiting” by its emphasis on the incident, but it expressed by its lack of balanced coverage an almost complete disregard o f the fact that (at that time) 22 Black children had been murdered in Atlanta! We do not need television news that contributes to red-baiting and helps promote racism by presenting biased and sensational news. We are in d iffic u lt and dangerous times. The coming days w ill require the best that people can offer, and that hopefully was not evidenced by the news coverage o f the March Against Racism. I f that is the best we can do, we w ill not make it through the times ahead. Catherine Smith United Feminists Against the Right Favors Jefferson/Adams merger Dear Editors: A ll o f the recent emotional o u t rage over the possible closure an d /o r merger o f Jefferson High School makes me wonder if the com m unity has really tried to be rational and sensible over this issue. I would like to see some energies directed tow ard m aking this possible change have a positive im pact on the community. The follow ing suggestion is fo r the consideration o f both the com munity and the school board: keep Eliot as an early childhood center, move the new m iddle school (Harriet Tubman) into the Jefferson High site, and merge Jefferson with Adams on the con d itio n that the school board leaves the magnet arts program intact and put the com puter sciences magnet program at the site also. The proposed expenditure o f 1.5 to 2 million dollars to renovate Eliot School into a middle school could be used to update facilities at Jeffer son as a middle school. A portion could also be used to offset in stallation costs o f the computer sciences program and improve the arts program in the new Jefferson/ Adams High School at the Adams High location. This proposal w ill benefit the community in several ways: 1. The com m unity w ould then have three schools to service its student popula tion - an early childhood centre, a new m iddle school, and a relatively new high school. 2. The middle school at the Jef ferson site w ill accomodate future student population growth. Accord ing to the school board's p rojec tions, the E liot school site w ill be filled to capacity when opened as the Harriet Tubman Middle School. To spend 1.5 to 2 million dollars on this site is not exercising good plan ning or foresight and the com munity as taxpayers can ill afford this senseless expense. 3. The academic offerings at the Jefferson/A dam s High School would equal if not exceed the programs in other parts o f the city. A computer science program would really prepare our students fo r the technological age o f the eighties. The magnet arts program could con tinue to offer a creative outlet for gifted students. The above proposal has many other merits that could be beneficial to the com m unity and the school d is tric t, there fore, I hope it is seriously considered fo r the possibility o f study and feasibility. Sincerely Yours, Grayce Kennedy W WEST COAST IS THE PLACE FOR CUSTOM FRAMING •IN C E 1818 We have all the currant trends in Interior Framing Rick Oaks. Contemporary Metals. Oriental Patterns, Natural Woods. Gold Leal Traditional Our Expert Sales Consultants are available to assist you with all your framing requirements WEST COAST PICTURE CORP. 5408 NE Skidmore 2427395 S ' VISA Hours: 4-5 Monday Saturday M A STER CH AR G E By Mayor Frank Ivancie Proposed cuts would also lead to closure o f W oodstock House, a Portland in stitu tio n which serves severely disturbed deaf individuals and the loss the h a lf-a -m illio n dollars fo r two independent living programs for quadraplegics and the chronically emotionally disabled in Portland and Eugene. In addition, the cuts would mean cancellation of plans to b u ild two mental health clincs in southeast and west P o rt land; servere curtailm ent o f a University o f Oregon program for multi-handicapped children; and the loss o f $153,(MX) for programs which serve the emotionally disabled. It does not take a genius to figure out that it is neither equitable nor cost-effective to cut out support programs o f this nature. We may save a little now, but if the result is increased institutionalized and in creased dependence by handicapped individuals, we’ ll find ourselves in an even worse financial situation further down the road. (unity. Bruce Broussard, the publisher o f Early estimates that city govern the P ortland Observer, has asked ment simply would not have enough that I write a regular column for this money to m aintain existing paper. 1 welcome this opportunity. I programs at their current levels. hope to w rite about subjects o f special concern to the readers o f the This meant that I had to either propose increasing taxes or cutting Observer in this column, and I want programs. to encourage you to write or call my I do not believe that the city office with suggestions for topics. should ask the voters to increase As you kn o w , P ortland city their taxes. In fla tio n has already government operates a wide variety forced many Portland fam ilies to o f services and programs. They range from road repair to economic tighten their belts. The last thing development. A lthough very d i they need is another tax increase. 1 sincerely believe that government verse, they are all funded by budget appropriations approved by the full can save money while improving or maintaining services, and I designed C ity C ouncil in open, public meetings. a proposed budget to prove it. Simple, across-the-board budget The Council just completed work on next year’s budget. I want to give 1 cuts were out of the question. I con you an overview o f the new budget sider some services, like police and in this column and discuss specific fire p rotection, too im p o rta n t to programs o f concern to the readers cut. So I concentrated my cuts on a dm inistrative overhead. My o f the Observer in future columns. Preparing and passing the new proposed budget called for a reduc budget was the greatest challenge 1 tion o f 101 general fund positions, have faced as M ayor. But I also most o f them supervisory or ad look at it as my greatest oppor- ministrative in nature, for a savings o f over $2.5 million. I proposed to cut to ta l general fund spending by $5 m illio n and overall spending by $63 m illio n .* Many o f these cuts would have oc- cured anyway because ot reductions in federal spending. But I remained convinced that Portlanders should not be asked to increase their taxes to make up the difference. The C ity Council considered my budget for over three weeks. Many City Hall observers commented that the hearings were among the most peaceful in recent memory. Some changes were made, o f course, but in the end the Council approved the vast m a jo rity o f my recommen dations. These include the changes in the C ity ’ s econom ic development programs that have been discussed in the Observer. I am convinced that these changes w ill im prove P o rt land’ s e ffo rt in this field and help create new jobs in coming years. I w ill discuss how I believe this will happen in my next column. Ben’s Bank. Free. M e e t a coin collector. Save your pennies and put them in Ben's Bank. This colorful 11-inch tall coin bank is in the image o f a specially-commissioned characterization of Franklin created in Qaymation*™’ by Will Vinton Productions o f Portland, Oregon. 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