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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 15, 1981)
Br. Frane.. U n iv e r s ity R0°* o f O r.g o - U b r t u g « » « . O re g o n 9 7 4 0 3 PORTL4ND OBSERMER October 15, 1981 Volume XII, Number 1 250 Per Copy PDC arrow misses its target Almost ten months ago the mayor and the C ity ’ s Economic Planning Section announced plans to target inner northeast Portland for econ omic development w ith a com pre hensive investm ent strategy. The C ity ’ s m ayor-appointed Economic Development Advisory Committee (E D A C ), voted its unanimous sup port o f specifically targeting King, Boise and E lio t neighborhoods. Humboldt was also to receive study for future targeting o f its commer cial areas. A broader surrounding impact area was to be fro m 1-3 to N .E . 42nd Ave. and from Columbia B lvd. to the B an fie ld Freew ay. W ithin the three targeted neighbor hoods, specific project sites were to be id entified w ith e ffo rts made to attract commercial and light indus trial development to these areas and with project resources and responsi bility assigned. At the time o f the M ayor’s second organization o f economic planning and developm ent, tran sferrin g all activities to the Portland Develop ment C om m ission, the O bserver asked, " W h a t role will citizens o f this area, or future targeted areas in the C ity , have in recom m ending projects or program s and a p p ro priate resources designed to enhance their c o m m u n ity ’ s w e ll-b e in g ? " Asked also was whether the mayor and City Council would relinquish their authority and responsibility to P D C for plann ing and allo catin g C ’ty resources in economic . •velop- ment. A draft o f an “ Economic Devel opment Program for Northeast Tar get A r e a " has been circu lated by P D C to the press and com m unity groups. U p on e xa m in atio n , one first notices that the boundaries o f this document’s targeted area differ from those approved by E D A C . Why is it that the specific neighbor hoods o f King, Boise and Eliot are no longer to be the prime target o f concern, with viable commercial/in d u strial sites to be id e n tifie d and targeted for m arketing e ffo rts by PD C , as was originally proposed by the City and EDAC? In stead , P D C proposes to con centrate its efforts in the Columbia Blvd. and Lower Union Ave. areas, both o f which were included pre viously w ithin the proposed broad impact area, with potential to create employment for northeast residents. Now these areas are to be the prime focus o f activity by PD C . W h ile both o f these areas have problems, previously identified by the City and detailed in P D C ’s plan fo r northeast, these are areas ripe fo r developm ent, which w ill occur with or without P D C and other City resources. There is nothing inher ently wrong in addressing needs in these areas. But to make them the prim e focus o f their e ffo rts to a l low P D C to escape the burden o f addressing in a comprehensive and coordinated manner the needs o f the most d ete rio rate d area o f the northeast and the city. Though P D C notes problems in the Columbia Blvd. and Lower U n ion areas, its proposed plan does little to address the identified prob lems. For instance, one constraint upon C olum bia Blvd. development is said to be lack o f sewers and poor storm drainage. But P D C offers no solution to the problem. E D A , for merly the funding source for econ omic development, faces dismantle m ent. Does the C ity intend to use part o f its c ap ital im provem ents budget as part o f the northeast pro gram? This is not indicated in the plan. A d d itio n a lly , Low er A lb in a District problems the C ity has iden tified include railroad crossings. No proposal is made in the plan to deal with this and other problems noted. In targ eting L o w er U n io n , w ill P D C have money to buy out owners to assemble land, or is Lower Union the area P D C proposes to give u r ban renewal designation? Preliminary City Council approv al for developing an urban renewal plan for the inner northeast area is given to PD C with this plan’s adop- (Ptease turn to page I I column I) FBI faces minority harassment charges Governor Victor Atiyeh visited Albina this week to receive citizer input and to assess the effects of state programs on the citizens anti businesses of the area IRtoto: Rlchard j BfOwn| was essential. And it was just something that I would do. There was never any doubts about it." Yet, he in fo tm e d the N a tio n a l In dian Education A ssociation, meeting in Portland, to expect sub- ” antial cuts in federal funding o f Indian education programs. " In our recommendations there is not a single program lhat is untouched and some must be sacrificed to save others more central to our m is s io n ," he reported. Expensive post-secondary specialty schools such as Southwest Indian Polytechnic Institute might have to be closed. Boarding schools ought have to be consolidated, with children travellin g farth er from home. A d u lt education w ill be eliminated. States might have to provide more services for In d ian children to compensate for federal reductions, a though the federal governm ent has the responsibility for education ° f In d ian people. " . . . by suggesting the possibility o f more Elm er P ratt, convicted in C a lif o rn ia in 1972, and R ichard M a r shall, convicted in South Dakota in 1976, both say they are p o litic a l prisoners. Both men argue that they are victims o f "fram e-ups” — fabri cation o f evidence and withholding o f v ital in fo rm a tio n by the au thorities in order to get them con victed. T he Am nesty In te rn a tio n a l re p o rt, a detailed 144-page study based on examination o f thousands o f pages o f official transcripts and documents, cites many examples o f irregularities by the F B I. the major national law enforcement agency in the U .S ., in the cases o f activists fro m m ilitan t groups targeted for FBI intelligence work. Production o f false evidence, mis Speaking o f Schools BIA Secretary projects Indian education cuts Kenneth S m ith , Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, credits education with his successes in life. I rom the earliest I can remember, it was always instilled in my mind lhat an education was necessary. It Amnesty International has called fo r an in q u iry in to the effects on U .S. trials o f abuses by the Federal Bureau o f Investigation (F B I), par tic u la rly in the convictions o f a Black m ilita n t and an A m erican Indian now serving life sentences. In a new re p o rt, the w orldw ide human rights movement called on the United States Government to set up an independent commission o f inquiry into the influence o f FBI ac tivitie s on the c rim in a l justice system. It said the inquiry should in clude the cases o f E lm er P ra tt, a leader o f the Black Panther Party, and Richard Marshall, a member o f the A m erican In d ia n M o v e m en t, both convicted o f m urder a fte r being targeted for F B I intelligence action. state p a rtic ip a tio n , I am not suggesting the ab d ic a tio n o f the f ederal responsibility for assuring the provision o f their education." Sm ith emphasized the p rim a ry responsibility o f trib a l groups for the social and economic well being o f the people on reservations, saying it is very im portant that the Indian community accept and recognize the p rim a ry resp o n sibility fo r the education o f Indian children. The federal government and the states have roles but the In d ian com m u nity must make the decisions, p rovide the leadership and shape the education Ind ian children receive. " T h e reductions in Federal fun d in g , consequently cannot be used as an excuse for not trying - or not succeeding." Sm ith was raised on the W arm Springs Reservation and attended boarding school there. He attended public school from 6th through 12th grade, then graduated fro m the University o f Oregon with a BA in accounting and business administration. After graduation he w orked to r the W arm Springs I ribes, becoming business manager. He also served on the Oregon Stale Board o f Education. 1 l)r. M a tth e w Prophet, Superin example school closures— there’s tendent o f the Lansing, M ichigan way it could have gone well exc< public schools, is a candidate f o r the by accident. So you have to be « position o f Superintendent o f the countable for planning. Portland Public Schools. Following The third item is that whatev are excerpts fro m his replies to ques you plan and whatever you deliv tions o f the Superintendent Citizens in terms o f instructional quality h Advisory Committee. * to be supported and you have to c ganize your whole support system m ake sure both instructional su Accountability. I know that there port and non-instructional suppo arc five things that need to be done. are there. The first thing is that some program O f course you have to be accour or some form o f managerial special a b l e .. .to evaluate what you d< ty is established to ensure that there And the evolution has to take pla< is a q u a lity edu catio n al program in three d im e n sio n s .. .the evalui taking place and that o f course. . .is tion o f people. Education can nev my first and principle responsibility, be more valuable than the people ii to ensure that every single aspect of volved because education is peopl every single activity or program on Second, o f course, is organization, going in the P o rtla n d school dis e v a lu a tio n .. .and third is prograi trict, or any school district for that evaluation. matter, is in fact the highest quality Racial fairness: To me racial fai lhat can be offered anywhere. ncss translates in to those factoi The second thin g, o f course, is that im pact on equal education« that we have to have accountability opportunity. for planning. I think that many of The very people who ought to b the problems that districts run in more involved in the formulation c t o . . . ! thin k that many o f your policy that govern the schools ar problems have come too from what the ones moat likely to be left out be I perceive to have been a lack o f cause you generally find when yoi planning. A n d there’ s no way for form committees the perpetuation o you to have been accountable in the same kind of involvement o f peo some o f the other areas when the pic who traditionally for the last 151 whole aspect o f planning for global years are involved in schools. Yoi issues you were dealing w ith — for (Please turn to page 10 column I) statements about F B I action, h ar assment, in filtr a tio n o f defense teams by inform ants and failure to make available in fo rm atio n which the defense might have used are all shown to have occurred. The report does not com m ent on ju rie s ’ de cisions on the basis o f the inform a tion given them , but says an inde pendent, overall inquiry is needed to determine whether the basis o f fair tria l was underm ined. It stresses that Amnesty International has not tried to judge questions o f guilt or innocence. Some o f the abuses documented were part o f the F B I’ s C O IN T E L - PR O program, aimed at disruption o f target organizations, which o ffi cially ended in 1971; but other mis conduct took place long a fter that under investigation programs. The report, entitled Proposal f o r a commission o f inquiry into the ef fe c t o f domestic intelligence activi ties on crim inal trials in the United States o f A m erica, says the inquiry should try to d eterm ine whether m isconduct w hich judges m ight have treated as isolated irregularities formed part o f a pattern. Amnesty International, it points out, does not assume that a defendant should au tomatically be acquitted if FB I mis conduct is shown. "B ut there comes a p o in t,” it adds, "w hen the num ber or type o f measures taken against members o f a political group suggest that it may be impossible to decide whether a particular case has been affected by law enforcem ent (Please turn to page I I column / )
