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PORTLAND OBSERNER
USPS 959-680-855
C £ u r AeN uA m f (
Aprile, 1983
Volume XIII Number 26
25C per copy
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School District wants less taxes than approved
Kirkpatrick admits
U.S war in Nicaragua
UNITED STATES
Jeanne Kirkpatrick, U.S. Ambas­
sador to the United Nations, admit­
ted on the A B C program " N ig h t
Line” Tuesday night that the United
Stales is involved in the fighting in
Nicaragua.
Following the revelation a year
ago that the C IA had received $19
m illion to destabilize the govern­
ment of Nicaragua and aid counter­
revolutionaries based in Honduras,
Congress passed a law specifically
prohibiting " U .S . military support
to any group or in d ivid u al, not a
part of the country's armed forces,
for the purposes o f overthrowing
the government o f Nicaragua or
provoking a m ilitary exchange be­
tween Nicaragua and Honduras."
"T h e United States government
would like very much to persuade
the government o f Nicaragua to
cease supporting g uerrilla war
against its neighbors.” Ambassador
Kirkpatrick said. It would like very
much to persuade the government
of Nicaragua to negotiate a settle­
ment of peace in the area, to seek a
political solution to the problems of
the region and not to continue to fo­
ment guerrilla war against its neigh­
bors.
" It would also like to sec the gov­
ernment of Nicaragua cease repres­
sion against the people o f Nicara­
gua.
"N o w , various kinds o f persua­
sion can be tried with a government
and one of the kinds o f persuasion
that can be tried with a government
to persuade a government to go into
negotiations in principal is different
kinds o f pressure___I f you have
economic pressure and it fails and
you have moral pressure and it fails
and you have political pressure and
it fa ils ...th e n in fact the United
States might conceivably decide that
it would like to enhance the pressure
on the government o f Nicaragua,
fo r the purpose o f attem pting to
persuade the government of Nicara­
gua to negotiate___ **
Ambassador Kirpatrick conceded
that one form o f pressure that could
be used would be military pressure.
She stated that U .S. m ilitary pres
sure to force Nicaragua to do those
things the U.S. government desires
is hot illegal, because the intended
end is not overthrow o f the govern­
ment. "There is a significant differ­
ence in assisting persons who might
be harassing a government to bring
them to elections and negotiations
. . and an effo rt to overthrow th e
government. Those are different ac­
tivities."
The people of Nicaragua suffered
50 years of the U.S.-imposed Somo-
za dictatorship and prior to that 14
years o f occupation by the U.S. M a­
rines, before they overthrew So-
moza nearly four years ago and es­
tablished a new government.
The U.S. has attempted to isolate
Nicaragua econom ically, blame it
for the civil war in El Salvador, and
has arm ed, trained and supplied
“ contras" bated in Honduras.
Since M arch o f 1982 Nicaragua
has been in a state of national emer­
gency, expecting a U .S . supported
invason. The constrictions of m ar­
tial law are used by (he Reagan A d­
ministration as propaganda to ra ­
tionalize increased m ilitary action
against Nicaragua.
D r. M atthew Prophet recom­
mended in his budget message Wed­
nesday that the Portland School
District levy less taxes than was ap­
proved by the voters. He proposed
that the final year of the eight-year
serial levy for building maintenance
and renovation not be levied for
1983-1984, so that the properly lax
payers will not be burdened by both
that levy and the taxes raised by the
new tax base approved last May.
This would bring the taxpayers a
savings of $3.5 million. The District
also will fu lfill its pledge to reduce
budgeted expenditures by one per­
cent in each of four years, a savings
o f $3.3 m illion during the coming
fiscal vear.
" A t this point it is o f great im ­
portance to stress our recognition of
the fact that many o f our citizens
are concerned about property taxes
and what they perceive as a property
tax burden necessary to support the
Some increases in the budget ad­
dress declining support from state
agencies; collective bargaining
agreements; retirement system re­
quirements; physical plant mainten­
ance; and program improvements
Among the savings to be achieved
is continued decrease of administra­
tive staff.
Prophet emphasized that using
levs lunds than the voters have au­
thorized will take place along with
improvements in education. "Even
though the pervasive thrust o f the
proposed budget is on prudent man
agement, it does not ignore in any
»ay the educational needs of Port­
land students. The District will ful­
f ill its com m itm ent to student
achievement w hile attain ing the
maximum level of economy and ef­
ficiency in an overall operation.”
The fiscal stability afforded by
the new tax base has allowed long-
range educational and fiscal plan­
ning for the first tim e since the
1970s, Prophet said. "T he return of
fiscal stability could not come at a
more opportune tim e since the
school system and society in general
are facing an extended period of so­
cial. educational and economic tran­
sition from an industrial to an infor­
mation-based society. The 1983-
1984 budget reflects efforts to better
serve the needs o f the children and
young adults in the community in
that context and to respond to
sweeping social and economic
changes now taking place, with ap­
propriate educational programs and
services."
Budget hearings are as follows;
A p ril 7th, 4:30-10 p .m .: E arly
Childhood Education Centers; Ele­
m entary. M idd le and Secondary
Schools; C entral A d m in istratio n
Departments.
April 9th, 1-5 p m Includes per­
sonnel, curriculum, records, facili­
ties. police, transpo rtatio n , p u r­
chasing,
Friday. A pril 15th, 4:30-10 p m
and M onday, A p ril 18th. 4:30-10
p.m. are reserved for further hear­
ings All hearings are public and are
held at the Educational Service Cen­
ter, 501 N Dixon.
Washington
fundraiser
scheduled
Senator Bill M cC oy, C om m is­
sioner Gladys McCoy, Commission-
er Arnold Biskar and M rs. Biskar
will host a reception to raise funds
for Cong Harold W ashington, can­
didate for M ayor o f Chicago, on
A p ril 8th at 7 p.m . The reception
w ill be held at the Portland Plaza
Party Room 1500S.W. Fifth Ave
Contributions can be sent to Ore­
gon Democrats for W ashington,
3419 N .E . 19th Avenue. Portland
OR 97212.
Representatives of Oregon Chapter. National
Business League, meet with Governor Victor Atl-
yeh: Floyd Booker. Courtesy Janitorial; NBA Pre­
sident Charles Crews. CBC Sandblasting end
Painting; Key Toran. State Affirmative Action Of­
ficer; Governor Atlyeh. O B Hill. Northweet
Tradewinds; James Berry. Northwest Business
Center.
(Photo: Ricky Booker)
Millions available to minorities
Hostility intensifies
by Nelson Valdes
Pacific News Service
At a moment when many Latin
Am erican and European govern­
ments are calling for a negotiated
solution to the civil war in El Salva­
dor, the level of military confronta­
tion there—and in neighborhing N i­
caragua and H o n du ras— is rising
sharply. Behind the escalation lies an
apparent U.S. policy shift of enor­
mous consequence to the entire re­
gion.
The stakes include the political
future of several countries, and the
menace o f a general war which, in
the worst scenario, could touch o ff
a superpower confrontation.
{Please turn to page 2 column I)
schools during these difficult eco­
nomic tunes We want to assure citi­
zens that because ol the many con­
cerns expressed in this regard a spe­
cial effort has been made to reduce
the amount of taxes that the elector­
ate has previously authorized for
our »chools for 1983 84 "
The proposed $220. 3 million bud­
get for 1983-1984 is a 12.3 percent
increase over the adopted 1982 1983
budget Programs that will receive
increased funding are: vocational
education; special education (due to
the increase in children served); pre-
kindergarten programs; high tech­
nology Prophet plans high tech edu­
cation in every school in the district.
HAROLD WASHINGTON
Members of the Oregon Chapter
N atio n al Business League met
recently with Governor Vic Aliyeh
to discuss several economic develop­
ment programs related to minority
contractors, suppliers and vendors
in the state.
Among items discussed was the
Surface Transportation Assistance
A d o f 1982. The Mitchell Amend­
ment, which it is called in many cir­
cles, was signed into law on January
6, 1983, by President Reagan. Out
of the multi-billion dollar gas tax/
highway repair b ill, the M itchell
Amendment allows minority busi­
nesses to be eligible for a minimum
of 10 percent of the money author­
ized to be appropriated under the
new public law. Specifically each
fiscal year would provide the
following in approximate amounts
for minority businessmen national­
ly: Fiscal year 1983, $1.5 billion; FY
1984, $1.3 billion; FY 1985, $1.7 bil­
lion; FY 1986, $1.9 billion. The Sur-
fact Transportation Assistance Act
will be implemented by the states,
through the U .S . Departm ent of
Transportation.
O ther topics discussed were the
October 22nd inter-agency agree­
ment between the Small Business
Administration (SB A ), the Depart­
ment of Housing and Urban Devel­
opment (H U D ), involving an invest­
ment o f $5 billion into small busi­
nesses in 21 slates, of which Oregon
is one As many as 300,000 new per­
manent private sector jobs will be
created.
The program is in keeping with
the President's Private Sector Imtia-
tive Federalism program, combining
existing federal programs in order to
bring about a quicker revitalization
of inner cities.
NBL members ask the governor
to consider an Executive O rder
implementing a stale Minority Busi­
ness Enterprise program fashioned
after the national progam and the
Stale o f W ashington's M BE p ro ­
grams.
The NBL delegation attended the
Economic Development Conference
in Oakland sponsored by H U D to
increase the awareness of Minority
Businesses and organizations of po
tential opportunities available from
the Urban Development Action
Agents (U D A G ) and Section 202
programs. They w ill report their
findings to the G overnor and the
black com m unity.
U.S. fans consider selves equal to athletes, better than coaches
N E W YORK. N. K — Seven of ten
(69 percent) Americans watch, read
or talk about sports every day, while
about half (44 percent) actually par­
ticipate in sports activities daily or
almost daily, according to the M iller
Lite Report on American Altitudes
Toward Sports.
This new, landmark study also re­
ports that husbands and wives who
share similar interests in sports ex­
press greater satisfaction in their
m arital relationships. Eight o f 10
Americans (82 percent) believe par­
ticipatio n in sports would reduce
crim e, according to the findings,
and three of four people believe star
athletes are good role models for
children.
The study was commissioned by
Lite beer from M iller and was con­
ducted by Research A Forecasts,
Inc., an independent research firm.
The report identifies the w ide­
spread influence of sports in Am er­
ican life. This influence extends to
many o f the key issues and concerns
of contemporary society, including
health and leisure, m arital h ar­
mony, parent-child relationships,
crime, drugs, emphasis on sports in
schools and colleges, equal oppor­
tunity, high salaries o f superstars,
athletes as leaders, and others.
Charles B " B u d " W ilkin so n,
former football coach and athletic
director for the University o f O kla­
homa, said, " I t has been widely be­
lieved that a hard-core group of
sports enthusiasts in Am erica are
the only ones really interested or in­
volved in sports activities. However,
this study shows that the impact of
sports can reach into virtually every
household, school and business or­
ganization, and affects the outlook
and the relationships o f a m ajor
portion of the population."
The Lite Sports Report employes
a unique Sportsfan Index and A th ­
lete Index to determine the degrees
of fan intensity and athletic partici­
pation among Americans. The
Sportsfan Index reveals that almost
35 million people are ardent sports
fans who watch sports events on
television at least once a week (99
percent of sports fans) or every day
(57 percent). O f the sports fans, 93
percent watch or listen to sports
news almost daily, and 46 percent
attend 20 or more sports events a
year.
Among ardent sports fans, men
outnum ber women about four to
one. People with eighth-grade edu­
cations or below are less likely to be
fans than are those who are better-
educated (7 percent versus 21 per­
cent). People in large cities tend to
be more sports-oriented than those
in small towns.
Football la favorite
When asked to cite their favorite
spectator sports, Americans chose
football first, followed by baseball,
basketball, gymnastics, boxing,
swimming and tennis. Favorite
championship sporting events are
the Super Bowl and the W orld Se­
ries.
Almost half (44 percent) of Amer­
icans engage in at least one activity
every day or almost every day. The
teenage group is most active. Also,
women are closer to men when it
comes to active p articip atio n (14
percent to 22 percent) than in spec­
tator interest (8 percent to 30 per­
cent).
Swim ming is the most popular
participator sport in America, with
one o f three (33 percent) persons
swimming at least once a week.
Other favorites include calisthenics,
jogging, bicycling, baseball and
bowling Primary reasons for parti­
cipation include: enjoyment, health,
release of tension, and mental alert­
ness. An estimated 19 million Amer­
icans— particu larly those with
higher incomes and educations—
participate in sports at their places
of employment.
Sporta and families
The Lite Sports Report strongly
suggests that couples who share
{Please turn to page 9 column / )