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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (June 11, 1981)
Portland Observar Juno 11,1M1 Page 3 Salvadoran leaders speak From the Capitol Congressman Ron Wyden Q. Congressman Wyden, this week the House voted to retain funding fo r a nerve gas manufac turing facility in the south. How do you feel about this vote? A. I find it nothing short o f in credible that the House would vote to spend ta xp a ye rs’ m oney to finance a weapon that is unsafe and ineffective against a ll but defense less populations. The arguments in favor o f fin an cing th is weapon have a fa m ilia r rin g: “ The Soviets are increasing their nerve gas arsenal, so we better do the sa m e ." T h a t argum ent makes as m uch sense as the argument that since they have 5,000 statutes o f L enin, we should b u ild 5,000 statues o f Jefferson. We must ask ourselves, w ill the p ro d u c tio n o f a rtille ry shells con- ta in in g b in a ry nerve gas make us any safer? W ill we sleep any better at night? W ill our children live in a more secure world? The answer to these questions is no. The m ilitary forces o f the Soviet U nion and its allies are adequately protected against chemical warfare - as are our Arm ed Forces. The only p o p u la tio n s vu ln e ra b le to th is weapon are T h ird W o rld countries and u n p ro te cte d c iv ilia n populations. T his is n ot an issue fo re ig n to Oregonians. We have our own nerve gas stockpiles in U m a tilla . I have never met an Oregonian who feels safer or less threatened because we have our share o f nerve gas in our state. A nd I d o n ’ t believe I ever w ill. M a n u fa c tu re o f b in a ry nerve gas and w ill not co ntribu te to develop ment o f the s tro n g defense th is co u n try needs. It m erely prom otes yet another arms race with a weapon e ffe c tiv e o n ly against the u n p ro tected. Q. The news these days is filled with stories about how hard hit the Housing Industry is. Why is the Housing Authority in its current predicament and what can be done to help resolve it? A. The H ou sing In d u s try — from the stump to the stud — is on its knees largely because o f federal policies - from spending too many defecit dollars to wrenching interest rates a rtific a lly high. A t this point, nothing short o f targeted assistance w ill pull the housing industry out o f the sink holes we have shoved it in to. Such targeted assistance should start w ith the tax cut Congress in considering. It must extend further, however, to include such measures as HR 110 (U.S. Congress) and HB 2014 (O regon I e gislatu re) w hich would create tax-exempt Individuals H ou sing A c c o u n ts fo r firs t-tim e homebuyers. Individual Housing Accounts are im p o rta n t to Oregon because they w ill p rovide fin a n c ia l in s titu tio n s w ith stable, lo n g -te rm sources o f ca pita l and b rin g dow n m ortgage interest rates. T his is a bso lu te ly c ritic a l in a c a p ita l-s ta rv e d state such as O regon whose econom y depends so heavily on housing and supporting industries. In addition, it w ill meet the needs o f Oregonians w ho believe th e ir rig h t to own a home should be more than a dream. Trade u n io n leaders fro m El Salvador w ill present a talk and slide show , “ W o rk in g People o f El S a lv a d o r” on F rid a y , June 12th, 7 :0 0 p.m ., at 3I3 E. Burnside. F ernando B e lto n , G eneral Secretary o f the T e x tile W o rk e rs ’ U n io n , is a c o -fo u n d e r o f the R e v o lu tio n a ry T ra d e U n io n Federation. Rosa M a rie R ivera, a m id d le school teacher fo r 30 years, is c o founder o f the National Association o f Salvadoren Educators. The R evolutionary Trade U nion Federation (FSR) is a large national federation made up p rin c ip a lly o f te x tile and fo o d w orkers. L ik e a ll Salvadoran union organizations, the FSR has faced great repression over the last few years. Its national office has been m ach in e -g un ne d and dynamited five times and ransacked tw ice . On M a rc h I9 , 1980, the N ational A rm y invaded the o ffice, assassinated the Secretary o l Grievances o f the union, and seized 25 workers. Last year, the FSR joined with the eight other p rin c ip a l Trade U nion F ederations in E l S a lva d o r and fo rm e d the C o m m itte e o f Trade U nio n U n ity (C U S ). CUS consists o f over 120 u n io n s representing 9O’ /o o f El S a lv a d o r’ s o rganized workers. Jlb Z 1 & From City Hall By Mayor ! rank Ivancie M ay 24th marked the end o f my firs t six m onths in o ffic e . D u rin g that time I have taken steps to help city government p rovide more ser vices fo r less money. Several o f the changes 1 have initiated are just now beginning to pay o ff. One example is occuring in the area o f economic development, a topic that the Port land Observer has covered at length in previous articles. One o f my fir s t m a jo r acts as M ayor was to reorganize the C ity ’ s economic development programs. 1 a p p o in te d new m embers to the P o rtla n d D evelopm ent C om m ission, which is the five-m em ber citizen committee that is authorized, by the C ity C harter to direct P o rt la n d ’ s econom ic developm ent and urban renewal programs. I also appointed new members to the 16-member Economic Develop ment A d v is o ry C o m m itte e . T his group advises the Mayor and Coun c il on econom ic developm ent ac tiv itie s. At its firs t meeting since I to o k o ffic e , th is co m m itte e designated inner Northeast Portland as an area deserving top p rio rity in the coming years. And I eliminated several bureau’ s that I felt were unnecessary, trans- fe rin g th e ir fu n c tio n s to the professional staff w orking under the direction o f the P ortland Develop ment Commission. The first m ajor projects are now beginning to emerge from this new o p e ra tio n . A w ell th o u g h t-o u t p ro po sal fo r the o ld C a d illa c - Fairview site w ill soon be presented to the C ity Council fo r its approval. T his is know n as the M o rris o n Street P ro je c t, and it has been developed through a lengthy series o f p u b lic hearings in v o lv in g numerous citizen advisory groups. U n lik e the ill- fa te d C a d illa c - F a irvie w p ro p o s a l, the M o rris o n Street Project is being designed by Portlanders fo r P ortland. I believe this process w ill prove successful and w ill serve as a model fo r future projects, like those that w ill occur in inn er N orth ea st P o rtla n d . I w ill discuss this further in future column in the Portland Observer. The Portland C ity C ouncil a f f ir med my econom ic developm ent changes d u rin g the fin a l series o f hearings on the new C ity budget. This budget contains the first reduc tion in both general fund spending and c ity employees in 30 years. It was approved a fte r the most peaceful budget hearing in recent memories. The new C ity budget is v irtu a lly id e n tic a l to the proposed budget that I presented on March 30, 1981 It w ill allow the C ity to provide bet ter basic services w ith o u t fo rc in g Portlanders to increase their taxes. The budget accomplishes this goal by cu tting adm inistrative overhead D ic k This week’ s ram blings...The ink was h a rd ly d ry on a special M u lt nom ah C o u n ty grand ju r y in vestigation report on county correc tions when seven Rocky Butte ja il inmates broke out and a week or so later, five o f them are s till on the loose. A fte r weeks o f study, the grand ju ry branded county corrections as “ in a state o f crisis” and even went so far to say in its recommendations that corrections ch ie f Bob H atrack should be fired. The grand ju ry cited examples o f p oo r tra in in g fo r c o rre c tio n s o f ficers. One example was o f a young officer who didn’ t even know where to turn o ff the lights in a certain sec tion o f the ja il. The escape o f the seven was almost a stamp o f endorsement o f what the grand jurors had stated. Can you believe this? One ja ile r got a tip from an inform ant that an escape in vo lv in g an inm ate named C haney and several o thers were planned fo r th a t n ig h t. A sub sequent search o f his cell revealed that bars had been sawed through, w hich when rem oved le ft a hole measuring nine by twelve inches. N a tu ra lly , Chaney was removed fro m th a t tank and placed somewhere else. T w o o f the three correctional officers in the tank had to leave to attend to obtaining some chains w hich were being b ro u g h t from another facility. They left one and elim inating costly duplications. It should serve as a model fo r other cities in these times o f budget cuts and shortages. D uring my first six months in o f fice I have also taken steps to a d dress P o rtla n d 's housing needs. I have established a H o u s in g A d v is o ry G ro u p , b rin g in g to ge th er representatives fro m the P o rtlan d D evelopm ent C o m m is s io n , the Bureau o f B uildings and the P lan ning Bureau and the H ousing and C o m m u n ity Developm ent agency. This group is meeting regularly un der my d ire c tio n to b etter c o o r dinate the C ity ’s housing programs, especially those dealing with low in come and single roo m occupancy housing. 1 have also worked during the last six m onths to insure th a t c ity government w ill be able to meet the day-to-day needs o f all Portlanders in the years ahead. Im p o rta n t im provements to Portland’ s water and electrical supply systems are being made. An emergency water supply system is being developed in East M ultnom ah County and two hyrdo- electric power houses are under con- strucion at the Bull Run dams. Both projects are right on schedule. And I have taken the opportunity to work on a number o f im p orta nt regional issues as well in the last half year. I te stified before the Oregon I egislatu re on the need fo r ad- 639-7728 620 5199 CASCADE TREE SERVICE Topping, Trimming, Removals Hedge A Shurb work Free Estimates “ The Portland Branch N A A C P is shocked beyond w ords o f ex pression o f M ayor Frank Ivancie's a ctio n o f recent days to relieve C om m issio ne r C harles Jordan as head o f the Portland Police Bureau. " T h e P o rtlan d Branch N A A C P wishes to go on record as p u b licly sta tin g its d is-ap p ro ved o f the M ayor’ s appointment o f a new chief without in-put from the community. "W e further deplore the securing and the appointment o f a chief who was n o t in accord w ith C o m m issioner J o rd a n ’ s rece n tly ap proved A ffir m a tiv e A c tio n C e r tific a tio n R ule. The Black co m munity desires to ascertain i f the A f firm ative Action C ertificatio n Rule Bausch 6 Lom b SOFLENS® ONE PRICE/ONE DAY (149 00 Complete Offer good until 6 /1 /6 1 Pnce includes eve exam ination contact lenses chemicol disinfection supplies and com plete follow up setvice with most fittings com pleted in the some day 224-5367 Contact Lens Clinic of Portland Portland Medical Center Dr James H. Vale. Optometrist Dr. Philip Stocksrad. Optometrist Visa ond Mostetchotge W elcom e v ”1 **• ' Financing Avoiloble on A ppto ved Credit Pacific Citizen Power o f the Week ogle guard to w atch fo r “ unusual m o ve m e n t” in the ta n k . U n fo r tu n a te ly , the one g ua rd , where he was stationed, could not observe the w ind ow w hich had its bars sawed th ro u g h . The next th in g anybody knew, there were fo o tp rin ts on the ground outside the ta n k , tram pled bushes and a rope fashioned out o f inm ate’s clothing. Yes, th a t’ s right, even w ith advance knowledge, the discovery o f the lo c a tio n o f fro m where they were leaving and all that, the seven still got away. Corrections o fficials ought to thank their lucky stars they d o n ’ t w o rk fo r M a y o r Frank Ivancie. C ounty executive Don Clark held a news conference a week later to b o th com m ent on the grand ju r y NAACP 'shocked' L ucius H icks, P resident o f the N A A C P , P o rtla n d Branch has released the fo llo w in g statement on the rem oval o f C om m issio ne r Charles Jordan from his position o f Police Commissioner. d itio n a l p riso n space in P o rtla n d several m onths before the Special M u ltn o m a h C o u n ty G rand Jury issued its rep ort s u p p o rtin g my position. The federal governm ent is th re a te n in g to cut back on tra n s p o rta tio n fu nd s th a t have been prom ised th is area, and I have w orked to prevent th is fro m hap pening. Much o f this money w ill be spent on road improvement projects to open up areas fo r in d u s tria l d evelopm ent. P o rtla n d needs the new jobs that a dd itio na l industrial developm ent w ill p ro v id e . I am w o rk in g to make sure the federal government honors its agreements w ith P ortland and the surrounding region. And, on a smaller regional issue, 1 have worked to overturn the state- imposed ban on backyard burning. This ban is a good example o f a costly, unnecessary governm ent regulation. It imposes an additional burden on the residents o f this area at the very tim e when government should be cutting back. During my first six months in o f fice, I have laid the foundation for c o n tin u in g P o rtla n d ’ s progress in the years to come. M uch o f th is w o rk has not been v is ib le to the average Portlander. But the results w ill become m ore and m ore a p parent as we move further into the 1980s. w ill be implemented under the new ch ie fs administration? "T h e Black c o m m u n ity is desirous o f k n o w in g w hat is the M a y o r’ s position w ith reference to C om m issio ne r J o rd a n ’ s Special Task Force on In te rn al A ffa irs o f the Police Dept? “ F in a lly , the P o rtla n d Branch N A A C P feels the removal o f C om m issioner Jo rd a n as head o f the Police Bureau w ith o u t reason and the M a y o r's secretative manner o f selecting a new c h ie f raises very serious d o u b t in the cty a d m in istratio n in terms o f what does the Black com m unity have to look fo w a rd to w ith reference to equal police protection for all citizenry?" report and to release the findings o f a S h e riff’ s Inquiry board report on the escape. The news m edia was hard on Clark as well; they should have been because he announced there would be no d is c ip lin a ry a c tio n taken against any co u n ty employees in volved in the escape fiasco. A C hannel T w o m anagem ent editorial branded it “ incredible and unbelievable.” A p p a re n tly no one is a ccoun table. Sure there are going to be escapes fro m most any p riso n o r ja il and everyone w orking in them is human and prone to m istakes. I ce rta in ly have made my share on my job and most everyone I know has com m it ted jo b related e rro rs . But how many o f us can expect to make the kinds o f mistakes that jeopardize the safety and lives o f c i’ .zens and then not have to pay any co n sequences? Politically C lark’ s decision not to discipline was strange fo r he is the o nly one who is accountable to the voters. W h ile on the subject o f co rrec tions, did you know that convicted felons are serving sentences which i f it w eren ’ t fo r o vercrow ded co n ditions at the Oregon State Peniten tia ry in Salem would be doing their tim e there, are instead serving it at Rocky Butte? And at the same time, there are over one hundred men ser ving time at O.S.P. for driving with a suspended license. These are indeed strange times. A man who has dedicated his life to young people is Vernon Chatman, retiring Director of Education and Youth Incentives for the Urban League of Port land. Chatm an spends countless hours finding scholarships and employment for students, arranging work study placements, finding 'foster homes' for o u t-o f-to w n students, arranging youth job fairs, scheduling tutoring for SAT test preparation, and many other activities that help college students stay in school. He has earned the love and respect of the Black community and its young people and the business com m unity. He serves as a model for the com munity's youth - quiet, untiring devotion. brought to . you by Pacific Power
