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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 1, 1984)
Ura Frances Fehosn-I.'ewspaper Fooa University of Oregon Library an 'J Jesse Owens cleared by Athletic Union The name of the late Jesse Owens has been cleared by the A m ateur Athletic U nion, which suspended the track star after he won four gold medals in track and field at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. The penalty, given to Owens for not participating in a benefit exhibition tour in Europe, barred him from competing as an amateur in the U.S. Joe Henson, national president of the Am ateur A th letic U nion said Paramount Studio executive*, who recently aired a television m in i series about Owens, made A A U o f ficials aware of the suspension. Circus excitement Central city plan pride Page 7 Page 4 Page 3 PORTLAND OBSE Volume XIV, Number 41 August 1, 1964 25C Per Copy uses Í .« ^».1.«.,, < • It. / M4 Nuclear train stopped by Robert Lothian tha M att Dishman Cantar. Frailer partlclpatad In tha ralay of tha torch. Saa story on papa •. . (Photo: Richard J. Brown) Legislature grants tax break by Chuck Goodmacher The Oregon State Legislature ap proved the repeal o f the unitary method for computing state taxes for corporations M o n day. The overwhelming 53 to 5 vote in the House and 27 to 3 vote in the Senate came after several months o f in creasing pressure from m u lti national corporations and from Governor A tiyeh, U .S . Congress man Ron W yden, and other po liticians. The unitary system o f taxing multi-state and multi-national cor porations has been attacked as being the prim ary obstacle to economic development here in Oregon, and supporters hoped to, in the words of Representative Fred Parkinson (R- Silverton), “ signal employers that we not only want them to come to visit, but we want them to stay.** C hair o f the House Revenue Committee, Tom Throop (D-Bend), said the repeal w ill give Oregon nation-w ide and w orld-w ide recognition as the first state to repeal the unitary method. After the vote Tuesday, only eleven states still use the unitary system. The unitary method views the corporation subject to taxation to be one unit rather than separate en tities. A share of the entire unit’s yi- come is attributed to Oregon based on the percentage of the company’s property, sales and payroll located in Oregon. For example, if one- tenth o f the corporate property, one-twentieth o f the payroll and one-thirtieth of the sales o f a com pany are in Oregon, then the averaged fraction of one-twentieth would determine the company's tax liability for Oregon's corporate in come tax. A study by staff researchers for the House Revenue committee found the unitary system only ap plies to 1,405 of Oregon’s 43,000 corporations, yet it produced ap proxim ately 70 percent o f total revenue collected from corporations during 1971. The unitary system accounts for approximately 118 to $20 m illion dollars in state revenue per year, and the Legislature has not yet tackled the question of how to make up this short-fall in the state budget. Speaking in opposition to the repeal of the tax was Representative Wally Priestley (D -P ortland), who used charts to show that of the 1,405 corporations that w ill get some relief from the unitary system repeal, most are large corporations. Priestley’s chart showed 89 percent z o f the corporations with income over SI m illion per year getting relief while less than 25 percent of corporations with incomes o f less than $100,000 w ill receive such benefits. Priestley said the measure provides "tax benefits for the very well o ff," and stands in stark con trast to many pledges made at the Democratic N ational Convention not to enact such legislation. He ad ded. the real reason for repeal through a special session is to "get the tax give-away on the b oo ks" before the desperate situation of our ^state’ s poor economy and fiscal situation comes to the fore. t • The fact that all members of the House and half the Senate is up for re-election this November apparent ly played a major role in the speed with which the repeal passed. Many legislators admitted, off-the-record, they d id n 't fu lly understand the system replacing the unitary method, but didn’t want to be seen as the person who held up the steamroller. "P e o p le are scared to death o f getting tabled anti-business in this e le c tio n ," said L arry H ill (D - Springfield), who voted against the repeal. H ill has no opposition in the general election. Oregon jobs loss continues by Chuck Goodmacher Despite the efforts of state public o ffic ia ls , and despite widely heralded claims o f an economic recovery, O rego n ’ s economy remains in deep trouble, according to facts released Monday in a report to a Joint Legislative Committee on Trade and Economic Development. The report shows that although there is a slowly increasing number of jobs available in Oregon, they are not in sufficient q u a n tity , or quality, to replace jobs lost during the 1979 to 1984 recession. " A s Oregon recovers from the worst economic downturn since the Oreat Depression,” the report says, " i t appears that most of the high paid jobs lost to the recession are being replaced with the lowest average wages.” Many of the lost jobs ap- U .8 Joba Loot and Ragaksad AWa fr’II in /Sr« 1 t e n 1 Zmfcirn im n C uatiruum n 4WMXX) t r «V J ir / « u / wm rr» «nm 7.(JUO Nun blccWH al Mfchinery m soo M J .* ® Pnm»ry M zia l. : w .t o o IW.(MÏ) 197. m o • 2 NM) 1 jbcKWrd M p ij I s Mining 15. (MX) SS ITO Source U S Uvpanmeni o f Labor and f r o w M ilr N M 0 m a g u in p parently are not being replaced at all. Oregon's situation is linked in the report to nationwide trends toward a service economy. "Em ploym ent trends,” notes the report, "reveal that jobs in manufacturing and con struction are declining while em - .« ployment in the low-wage service and retail sectors are increasing rapidly.” In addition to the presentation of d ata, the report explores the im plications o f these trends fo r the fa m ily , com m unity, and govern mental levels o f our society. It shows that the lost higher paid jobs are those which pay wages sufficient to support a typical family, and the lower paid jobs in the growing sec tors mean, said Joe Cortright, prin cipal author o f the report, “ less of an ability to support a fam ily.” " A fam ily w a g e ," notes the report, "is alsc a community wage. Most families spend much o f their income in their com m unities, generating income for local businesses, and providing jobs for (Please turn to Page 4, Column 3) The White T rain , believed to be carrying nuclear weapons, came through Vancouver Friday on its way from Texas to the Trident submarine base at Bangor, Wash ington. About 150 protestors from Oregon and Washington were there to greet it, and to stop it. A spokesman for a coalition of protest groups said the train carried 144 nuclear warheads, each with five times the destructive power of the bomb that destroyed Hiroshima. The policy of federal officials is to neither confirm or deny the presence of nuclear weapons on the train. Protesters began gathering near where Burlington Northern tracks cross West I Ith Street in Vancouver about 9 a m. As the train came around the bend shortly after 11 a.m. they began sitting on the tracks. They were nearly outnumbered by police. Helicoptors buzzed o~urhead. The train rumbled up at a good rate o f speed, then slowed, then stopped as protesters cheered. Plain clothes security men began dragging people from the tracks. There were screams, some people cried. Those who had been dragged away returned to the tracks. The train backed up several hundred yards and the protesters cheered again. Some protesters ran to a nearby track thinking the train was going to be switched onto it. As protesters and security regrouped, the train came back, stopped , then retreated again. Some of the all-w hite cars had turrets with dark slits for obser vation and possibly for weapons. Finally, on the third time around, a phalanx o f Vancouver police surrounded those on the tracks and began arresting them. Altogether, 49 protesters were deposited on a waiting bus. As protesters were picked o ff by police, the train inched forw ard, then sped up and headed north with protesters and police running alongside. It had been delayed nearly an hour. The last protester arrested was Kajsa Holm strom , 15, from Port land. She confronted the huge locomotive alone. " I 'm scared to death for all these people here,” she said. " I t scares me that people can bring (his s tu ff through here and police officers can arrest us when this train carries so much death and destruction." The protesters were released short ly after the train passed. They were charged with obstructing a (rain and arraingnm ent was scheduled for August 1st. A statement prepared by the protesters said the White Train con- stitutes mobilization for global war. “ The reality is that the N a v y ’ s Trident submarine is intended to enable the U .S . to strike first and actually in itiate a global nuclear war,” it said. Nigel G r iffith , 27, a native o f Guyana and a canvasser for the an ti-nuclear group NuClear Vision in Portland, alluded to the Jonestown massacre in saying the train sym bolized mass suicide. Another protester likened the train to the N azi death trains. " T h e y brought people to their d eath," he said, "w hile the White Train brings death to the people.” I Proteetera block tha track to atop tha Whlta Train In Vancouver,. Washington. (Photo: Krla Altuchar) UF reviews Grenada, Jackson by Lanita Duke G R A S S R O O T N E W S , N. W — " F o rw a rd Together, Backwards N e v e r," is the slogan o f the National Black United Front, whose membership met in Chicago, Illinois, July 19th through 22nd, for their fifth annual convention. Over 1,000 participated, in cluding twelve from the Portland area. With workshops, speeches and an award ceremony, N B U F reviewed the conditions of A fro - Americans as it related to their local communities, the national scene and internationally. Ronnie Herndon, co-chair of the Portland chapter, said the conven tion focused on the issues, such as international affairs, law and order, economic development and education. " T h e re are chapters of N B U F located in every m ajor city across the U .S . Local chapters take work plans and try to make them fit their own circumstances.” W ith workshops building around topics such as land, power and self- determ ination, A frican women organizing and culture, N B U F collected reports and feedback from each chapter. Herndon said reflections were centered nationally on the victory of the Jesse Jackson campaign and internationally on the victory of the imperialistic overthrow of Grenada and sorrow over the murder of Grenadian Prime Minister Maurice Bishop. "There was a saddness over the events in Grenada coupled with the joy over the impact of the Jackson campaign. " In a year, we have gone from having some interest in politics to having a great deal o f interest. Millions of people got involved in primaries and caucuses. There was tremendous political sophistication gained through on-the-job training We not only played catch-up, but we caught up.” On the 19th, a cultural explosion occured involving the youth of Chicago, and many Portlanders complimented the Chicago Front on getting young people involved in the convention. On the 20th, NBUF in troduced the first annual Pan- A frican award. The first recipient was the mother of Maurice Bishop. "The award is given to somebody who continues to work within the Black Liberation M ovem ent. Bishop's mother lost her husband when Eric Gairy, Grenada's former Prime Minister, was in power. And later, she lost her son to those same forces," Ben Priestley said, reflec ting on the ceremony. Events on the 21st and 22nd revolved around workshops and in ter-chapter communications. Nia Turner attended the cultural workshop conducted by poet Haki M adhubuti (D o n L. Lee). " H e discussed cultural being functional to people. Culture leads to working for a purpose, which leads to iden tity , consciousness and later ac tion,” Turner recalled. She said M adhubuti spelled out 22 items for individuals to absorb that will give them a revolutionary cultural mentality. Included in these items was: w orking for one-self, being organized and systematic about time, and operating from an extended family concept.” (Please turn to Page 4, Column 3} 8*»
