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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (June 4, 1981)
Portland Observer June 4. 1981 Page 3 From the Capitol INTERESTING FACTS Congressman Ron Hyden Brought To You Every Week (E d ito r’ s Note: This week, Congressman Wyden discusses the im pact o f the A d m in is tra tio n ’ s proposed Social Security cuts on Oregon employer* and the reaction o f T h ird D is tric t residents ro the proposed tax cut.) Q. C o n g re s s m a n W y d e n , you've talked a lo t about how the a d m in is tra tio n 's proposed social security cuts w ould h u rt retirees. What about employers? A . As a m atter o f fact, em ployers stand to lose as w ell. M y s ta ff conducted a study o f m ajor Oregon employers and found that most o f them peg private pension benefits to retired employees on the amount the employees receive from Social Security. I f Social Security benefits are reduced, the companies must make up at least part o f the difference. In itia lly , this might sound like a good deal for retirees. Rut w hat ac tually happens is that both the em ployer and the employee get short changed. The employer suffers because he or she has to pay more than planned in pension benefits. The employee suffers because the amount picked up by the company in most cases w ill not be sufficient to compensate fo r the lost Social Security benefits. Clearly, the A dm inistration did not calculate the far-reaching im plications o f its Social Security proposals. Not only w ill the proposals leave many retirees without their hard-earned and badly needed benefits, but at a time when we’ re tryin g to strengthen the private pension system to reduce pressure on Social Security, they will also make things tougher on the private sector. I simply cannot see the logic in that. A. The debate over cu ttin g taxes seems to dom inate the news com ing out o f Washigton these days. What kind o f tax cut do you favor? A. I have consistently said I favor a selective tax cut that is targeted so as to stimulate personal savings, business investment and research. The results o f a questionaire my o ffice distributed earlier this year indicates the residents o f the Third D istrict agree. According to those results, 47 percent favor a selective tax cut, while only 35 percent favor a general, across-the-board cut. Six teen percent indicated they do favor any tax cut at this time. As the responses o f Third District residents indicate, what we need rig h t now is a tax cut that w ill prom ote greater savings and p ro d u c tiv ity - not ju st encourage people to spend even more, thus fueling the fires o f inflation. I w ill w ork tow ard just such an economically - sound tax cut. I f we hope to get our economy back on track and lay the foundation fo r a sounder economic future, we have no other choice. From the Boardroom By Gladys McCoy Multnomah County Commissioner The Budget Hearings are over but there remains a deficiency o f $6.6 m illio n . There are two options available to balance the budget: One is to cut services and personnel, and the second is to increase revenue. We will have to do both. The impact o f the $5 m illio n Serial Levy can best be explained by saying the average homeowner in Multnomah C ounty w ith property valued at sixty thousand ($60,000) dollars will experience a real property tax in crease o f $18. This is a relatively small price to pay fo r m aintaining M ultnom ah C ounty’ s present obligations that provide some services to citizens in every area o f the County. Everyone is experiencing a struggle in balan cing budgets. Prices have sky rocketed. Goods and services, which cannot be eliminated, must be pur chased at an inflated cost. M ultnom ah C ounty is not privileged by exemption from the same in fla tio n affecting every budget. This is why the Serial Levy w ill be placed before the voters on June 30. We cannot even stay at the same level w ith in fla tio n and the cuts being imposed by both federal and State governments. Yet we must provide these services that are man dated, i.e., courts, public health, public safety. It is the civic responsibility o l all voters to consider the losses suffered i f the Levy is not passed. Libraries, fo r example, w ill suffer enormous cuts, causing neighborhood branches to be closed, reduced days and hours at the C entral L ib ra ry and c u rta ilin g the B ook m obile which is an “ intellectual b lo odlin e” fo r many housebound citizens. It is for the general main tenance o f a healthy population that we must ensure the Levy is passed. 1 believe health care fo r the depen dent is a right to which they are en title d . It is our responsibility to provide services for those o f us who have not the financial means to do Then there is the oppssum in cident in which two officers were fired for placing dead oppossums in fro n t o f U nion Avenue’ s Burger Barn. That m atter is now in the hands o f a federal arbitrator. The City faces civil liability in the cases o f 56 individuals arrested by the five resigned officers from the Special Investigations Division. In addition there are a number of investigations and lawsuits under way involving allegations by a num ber o f Black citizens that they were beaten and otherwise mistreated by officers. A ll these factors plus the eternal internal po litickin g in the Bureau has even caused some division among its officers. In othe words, its a helluva time to be named Chief. As we have writ ten in earlier columns, the police department is in great disarray. Former Chief Bruce Baker was in poor health after open heart surgery and he has admitted that this kind of stress isn’ t calculated to ease him back to full health. What was needed was a strong C hief; one who could call upon a wide range o f police experience to shape up the department and restore citizen’ s faith in its efficiency and credibility. S till is such an officer. His com mand experience includes two stints as commander o f the Special In vestigations Division, both coming after a scandal o f sorts had rendered the form er commander ineffective in bringing the division under con trol. He has commanded both East and Central precincts and served as chief o f detectives. In addition he is a graduate o f the FBI adacemy and has earned both his Bachelors and Masters degrees in recent years while on the Bureau. Now all that cart be shown on paper. What cannot be shown on paper is what type o f officer the new chief was when he worked the Albina area while a patrolman. I have close personal knowledge o f this because for some of that time we were partners. He was a dedicated o ffic e r who guaranteed all citizens the best kind o f police protection. He worked d ilig e n tly to insure that A lb in a residents could be as secure in their lives and property as any other group o f citizens in any other section o f the city. He was not then and is not now a racist. He never resorted to physical or mental b ru ta lity against any citizen but instead displayed com passion and sound judgement night after night and year after year. Now, he did vote against Com missioner Jordan’ s plan to have two civil service lists, one white and one Black fo r hiring new officers. But 'No memory of it' (Continued from Page 1 Col 4) hospital. Is transferred to Portland Adventist Hospital.” But according to David A la rid (Peter’ s brother) it was the efforts o f a defense attorney that got a court order to have Peter transpor ted to the hospital. The court order was issued May 24th and Peter was taken to the hospital. May 25th. In a progress note written by W. R. Weissert M .D .. dated September 6, 1979 he states: “ After con siderable discussion it was the con sensus of the staff that the most feasible diagnostic and therapetic procedure would be Sodium Amytal interview and E.C.T. Phone conver sation with the office of Circuit Court Judge Robert E. Jones, on September 6, 1979, gave the a ffir mative action for proceeding with whatever treatment was indicated. Thia was a verbal phone conver- sation and will be considered as pari o f being hre for treatment until fit to proceed.” A May 1, 1980 Discharge Sum mary stated: “ On November 6, 1979, permission was granted by Judge Jones to again adm inister Electroconvulsive treatments to treat M r. Alarid. He was given five ECT between November 6, 1979 and November 13, 1979, with very satisfactory response.” When contacted by the Observer, Judge Jones said very pointedly, ” 1 have no record or memory o f giving anyone permission to adm inister electroconvulsive treatments to Mr. Alarid. However, Dr. Weissert said its a m atter o f record that Judge Jones gave verbal permission to adm inister the treatment. O fficer Gaskell has not been available for comment. (to be continued) READ AMERICA’S NUMBER 1 NON-SELLER. Although both New York City sod Philsuslphis were each once the capital of the U.S., today neither is even the capital of its own state. • The five countries in the w orld w ith the most population are, in order, China, India, Russia, the U.S. and Indonesia. • The youngest person ever to make a million dollars on their own was actress Shirley Temple, who report edly made a million dollars before she was 10. & so for themselves. The “ A ” and “ B” Ballot w ill restore funds in H ealth Services, both Mental and Physical, Justice Services, A nim al C o n tro l, Aging Services, Human Relations, and the Library. However, both “ A " and " B ” Ballots must pass if " B ” is to be funded. “ A ” Ballot can stand alone, but “ B” Ballot is dependent on “ A ” Ballot passing. It is in the best interest o f the general public and the C ounty workforce to know as far in advance as possible the effect o f that plan on the services and jobs on which they depend. Therefore, I urge you to vote for the Levy on June 30. American State Bank AN INDEPENDENT BANK Head Office 2737 N. E. Union Portland, Oregon 97212 JK Bausch 6 Lom b SOFLENS® Dick Bogie W hoa, W hoa, just a m inute. Let’ s back up a moment and think it over. Portland has a new police com missioner and a new police chief and that has caused a lot o f anger in the Black community. Lets separate the two changes. M ayor Frank Ivancie removed Commissioner Charles Jordan from the Police Bureau and installed Cap tain Ron Still as Chief. I f lvancie’ s act o f removing Jor dan as police commissioner is reason fo r anger, it shouldn’ t be taken out on Chief Still. I don’ t pretend to know or under stand all the behind scenes maneuverings that led to the change affecting Jordan, but 1 do know that the selection o f Still is the best possible choice. Ivancie has long had an image problem in the Black com m unity but just because Still is his choice as chief doesn’t mean Still should have to take criticism or come under suspicion as an insensitive. Lets look at the shape the police department is c u rre n tly in. Its c re d ib ility w ith the overall com munity is at an all time low. Five o f ficers have resigned in light o f revelations that they stole defend ants money, planted narcotics, stole narcotics, fa lsifie d a ffid a v its leading to search warrants and even stole items o f clothing and food from those they arrested. By AMERICAN STA TE BANK this does not mean he doesn’ t recognize the need fo r more Black policemen. Don’ t be surprised if and when he comes out with a sim ilar plan but one that would remove much o f the stigma which would fo llo w Black officers hired o f f a purely female and minority hiring list. S till has many friends and acquaintances in our com m unity and they and others w ill remember him as tough, persistent but fair. We all should trust this man unless the tim e comes when he proves he doesn’ t deserve it. 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