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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (April 1, 1982)
Portland welcomes Dr. Prophet ... Cora Smith on Easter Hats Police add Street Crime unit Page 6 tu UJ Section II Page 3 I t 's . . . North Carolina! Page 11 PORTLAND OBSERVER April 1,1982 Volume X II, Number 25 25C Per Copy • . y Tw o Sections USPS 939-68O-85S Z ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------- \ Oregon’s next governor: Who will he be? f E d ito r's Note: This is the fo u rth in a series o f articles on the m ajor candidates f o r the o ffic e o f Gover nor o f Oregon.) Governor V iclor Atiyeh is seeking his party's nom ination Tor a second term as Governor o f Oregon. A Re publican, A tiyeh is a form er State Senator. A tiy e h has received a tte n tio n throughout the nation fo r his “ ra cial harassm ent" b ill which makes harassment a felony when based on race and gives victim s the right to seek damages. A ty ie h also estab lished a Governor’s Commission on Black A ffa irs and one on Hispanic A ffa irs after Blacks and Hispanics failed to get bills establishing com missions through the 1977 and 1979 legislatures. He failed in his e ffo rt to have the 1981 legislature establish permanent commissions. The G ov ernor was cool toward the b ill that makes affirm ative action obligatory in appointment o f boards and com missions; he opposes legislation fo r bidding investment o f state funds in companies doing business in South A frica. When the state faced a $240 m il lion deficit due to less-than-antici- pated tax incom e, A tiy e h recom mended to the Special Session o f the Governor Victor Atiyeh Legislature a plan (hat relied more on reduced spending than on new pal barrier to economic diversifica due to the state o f the national econ revenues. His proposed budget cuts tion is the miserable image Oregon omy. Federal fiscal policies are be w ould have cut deeply in to social has with the national business com yond our c o n tro l. Interest rates, which impact us all, are beyond our programs, health, higher education munity. .. I submit to you that our reach. But we must not sit back and and environmental protection. tough-on-business image is as much D uring the long Special Session an im pedim ent to economic devel wait fo r things to change," Atiyeh told the Legislature in January. In A tiy e h was c ritic iz e d fo r lack o f opm ent as to d a y ’ s high interest March, he advised President Reagan leadership, both within the Republi rates." can party and the Legislature as a He sought and received funds to that his budget policies are hurting whole. "m a rk e t” Oregon, to assist business Oregon. Atiyeh blames much o f Oregon’s development, and to strengthen the W ith little oppositio n in the Re economic woes on its dependence on Department o f Economic Develop publican prim ary, Atiyeh w ill face one in d u s try — tim b e r—and secs a ment. the D e m o cra t’ s choice in N o v need for diversification. " A p rinci "M u c h o f our present problem is ember. Property tax relief deadline near Filing deadlines fo r several prop erty lax relief and exem ption p ro grams are a p proach ing in A p r il, Multnomah County Assessment and Taxation Director James Wilcox has announced. On the local level, homeowners must apply for the Property Tax Re lie f Program before A p ril 15 to be eligible for as much as a 30 per cent re d u ctio n in p ro p e rty taxes when statements are sent out in October. Disabled veterans, veterans’ w id ows and senior citizens are also eligi ble for property tax exemptions and de fe rra ls i f they meet the filin g deadline by A p ril I. H om eow ners and renters may also be eligible fo r state wide relief through the Homeowner and Renter Refund Program (H A R R P ) (based on gross incom e) w hich must be filed for by A p ril 15 along with state income tax forms. W ilcox stressed that only persons who file with the Division o f Assess ment and T a xa tio n by the proper deadlines w ill be eligible for reduced property taxes. He noted (hat except fo r the state H A R R P , applicants must be homeowners and must have a deed or contract o f sale recorded w ith M ultnom ah C ounty to receive the aid. "A n d you must file a separate ap plication for each program in order to q u a lify,” Wilcox said. Forms fo r the C ounty-w ide pro- (Please turn to page 5 column I) Spring awakens the earth with the promise of new life. It reminds us to renew our feelings of friendship, love and mutual understanding, Low income housing in trouble by Nathaniel Scott The low income and elderly hous ing situation in Portland, according to W .E . H unter, executive director o f the H ousing A u th o rity o f P o rt land, is very bleak. "W h a te v e r funds the federal governm ent makes a va ila b le fo r low -incom e and elderly h o u s in g ," he said, “ the Portland area gets less than one per cent o f those funds, generally.” In addition, the housing authori ties budget year begins A p ril I and “ we s till haven’ t fo u n d out what our funding w ill be. We are a n tic i pating at least a 20 per cent cu t.” The housing a u th o rity , H u n te r said, has bene pursuing a policy (hat the racial com position be reflective o f the neighborhoods. He said the Sum m er C o u rts breakdown is 44 per cent minorities; Royal Rose, 40 per cent, Royal Rose Annex, 22 per cent. Unthank Plaza, 26 per cent; Grace Peck, 20 per cent; and Dalke M anor, 11 per cent. The 5100 u n its the housing au thority either manages or owns "a re not adequate.” H unter said that he is perturbed th a t some m embers o f the c o m m u n ity have m ade, and are making, allegations about the Hous ing A u th o rity w ithout checking the validity o f those allegations. " I t is time fo r concerned citizens to stop m aking u n fo u n d e d c o m plaints and look into the va lid ity o f those com plaints," he said. In regard to the agreement that was made w ith the people w ho va cated their homes in the Eliot neigh b o rh o o d to make the U n th a n k Plaza possible, (they were to be given p r io r ity fo r housing in the plaza), he said, " I t is my recollec tion that we did in fact do th a t." H u n te r said th a t " . . .a ll o f the agencies in P o rtla n d th a t come in contact w ith elderly people have a re s p o n s ib ility to encourage those people to apply fo r any funds—any program s that w ill address th e ir needs.” He added that the elderly m inority waiting list is less than one percent. "S in c e N ovem ber [1981] I have been to W a s h in g to n , D .C . three times and each time it concerned the impact housing has on our people,” he said. The last budget submitted by the president to congress called fo r an additional 10,000 housing units na tio n -w id e , under the Section 202 program . P ortland " is not eligible fo r the Section 202 program .” N ation-wide, the plan the adm in is tra tio n is p u rsu in g calls fo r a “ c a p p in g " the housing assisted (Please turn to page 4 column 4) New governm ent brings little hope fo r Guatemala A n o ve rth ro w o f G uatem ala's m ilitary government by another m il itary faction could bring U.S. aid to the terror-stricken C entral A m e ri can n a tio n , but it brings no real change and w ill not bring an end to civil war. In a country with a long history of p o litic a l repression, President Romeo Lucas Garcia may have been the most feared ruler Guatemala has seen. His a d m inistration is said to be responsible fo r 10,(KM) o f the 70,(MM, people k ille d by the A rm y since 1954 when a U.S. organized and financed invasion toppled the governm ent o f Jacob Arbcnz. His younger b ro th e r, B cnadicto, was chief o f the Arm y General Staff. In an election that was widely c rit icized as fraudulent, Garcia's hand picked successor, General A n ib a l G ucvcra, fo rm e r M in is te r o f De fense, was elected. Sixteen days later m ilitary officers and 2,(MX) men with tanks, a r tille r y and helicopters moved in to the c a p ita l’ s central plaza and to o k possession o f the presidential palace. Guatemalan sources say the coup was the result o f the young officers’ fear that growing public hostility to Guevera and the obvious fraud o f the March 7th election would erode the political base o f the Arm y itself. Guatemala has long been ruled by the m ilitary, with only three civilian presidents since 1871. Leader o f the new ruling junta is General Efrain Rios M ontt. A presi d e n tia l candidate in 1974, M o n tt won a plurality o f the popular vote but was denied the office. M ontt is considered less conservative than the fo u r candidates in this year’ s election, but the coup was linked to the fa r rig h t when the fir s t an nouncement to the nation was made by l eonel Sisniega O tero, the run ning-mate in the recent election o f M ario Sandoval A larcon, reputed head o f the death squads. Representatives o f the four guer rilla groups said the change is only a "change in the facade" and vowed to continue their revolution. On February 8th the four guerilla o rg a n iza tio n s united to fo rm the Guatem alan N ational R e vo lu tio n ary Unity. Their platform : 1) The revolution w ill put an end to all repression against the people fo r good and safeguard both their lives and peace, these being the su preme rights o f human beings. 2) The re v o lu tio n w ill lay the foundations fo r meeting the basic needs o f the great m a jo rity o f the people by ending economic and po litic a l dom ination by the repressive wealthy sectors, both domestic and foreign, who rule Guatemala. 3) The re v o lu tio n w ill assure equality among Indians and put an end to cultural oppression and dis crim ination. 4) The re vo lu tio n w ill guarantee the creation o f a new society where the government w ill represent all pa trio tic, popular and democratic sec tors; and w ill guarantee freedom o f p o litic a l asso cia tio n , freedom to practice re lig io n , e q u a lity o f women, and the right to protection for old people and children. 5) The re v o lu tio n w ill pursue a policy o f non-alignm ent and in te r national cooperation, required by the poor countries to develop in the w orld today, based on the self de termination o f the peoples. G u e rrilla a c tiv ity has increased dram atically since December, when bombs h it the N a tio n a l Congress headquarters, the C o ffe e Bank, Chamber o f Industfies and the Sal vadoran Embassy in G uatem ala C ity . C onstant attacks on govern ment troops and outposts continued th ro u g h January and F e b ru a ry, w ith several small towns occupied. Fighting has taken place in every re gion o f the country, with highways, bridges, and municipal buildings de stroyed. Some 80 per cent o f the northwest provinces were blacked out by m id-February, the result o f sabotage. The government also has stepped up its counterinsurgency a c tiv ity , m a in ta in in g a "s c o rc h e d e a r th " policy. E ntire towns are occupied, inhabitants to rtu re d or massacred, (Please turn to page 4 column 6) t
