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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 12, 1984)
" • ' ewapapar rtooa so« L ib rary NEW S FLASH: County C o m m it sionar Gladys M cC oy added her name to tha race for City Council today, m aking tha total number of candidates, to data. 10. S Pill poppin' problems Page 7 X Presidential smoke screens Child sexual abuse Page 4 Page? Volume XIV, Number 47 September 12, 1984 254 Per Copy / •• f v a a Bra« « . /« Two Sections mm American State Bank loses funds h r Z anna Duke On September 4. American Stale Rank (A S B ), O re g o n 's o nly m in o rity b a n k , file d a m o tio n in U .S . D is tric t C o u rt fo r a Prelim inary Injunction and a T e m porary R estraining O rd er against m em bers o f the Reagan A d ministration. Named as defendants are Donald T. R egan, S ecretary o f the T re a s u ry , D o n a ld P. H o d e l, Secretary o f the D e p a rtm e n t o f Energy and Peter T . Johnson, a d m in is tra to r fo r the B o n n eville Power Administration (B P A ) ASB is challenging a decision by the Treasury D e parim cni to divert B P A funds p revio u sly deposited through ASB into two o f the largest ban king in s titu tio n s in the w orld : the Bank o f A m erica in San F ra n cisco, C a lifo rn ia , and ihe M e llo n Bank in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania The treasury said the change was necessary to strengthen cash m anagem ent practices w ith in the federal governm eni in response 10 The Reagan adm inistration's Grace Commission and Reform '88 objec tives. "This conversion is an example o f our nationw ide plan 10 catch up with the private sector by employing ihe most e ffe c tiv e and m odern School daza - Tha Hum boh School safety patrol sprang into action at tha start of school (Photo: Richard J. Brown) collection system a v a ila b le ," said Bruce E. Thom pson J r ., assistant secretary for legislative affairs in ihe Treasury Department. O n Septem ber I , the treasury began to n o tify some BPA customers to send their payments to the banks in S o u lh ern C a lifo rn ia and on ihe East coast. Account w o rth 01.3 Billion Since 1977, A S B has handled B P A 's account. A S B deposits the funds with ihe Federal Reserve Bank within one day of receipt. BPA esti mates its deposits for fiscal year 1981 84 al more than S I.3 billion. Venerable F Booker, president of ASB, said in an affid avit, "A S B bas used the B P A funds flo w in g through its bank to establish loans and tines o f cred it to sm all businesses that directly and indirectly resulted in over 8 0 0 jobs in the Northwesi area. Those jobs resulted in su b stan tial tax revenues to the govern m en i. Each jo b creates 2.2 a d d itio n a l jobs and resu ltin g lax »evenues Therefore, revenues to the governm ent exceeds any savings projected by ihe conversion.” A t tha Expanse of M inority Buslnaaa Entarpriaaa through ihe M ino rity Bank Deposit P ro g ram established by the Treasury Deparimcni to support the development o f MBEs. The program was developed and fostered to im p le m e n t Executive O rd er 11458 and 1625. Signed by President Nixon and re-emphasized by President Carter, Ihe order coor d in ated a n a tio n a l p ro gram to strengthen and expand m in o rity businesses " T h e S ecretary o f C om m erce shall c o o rd in a te ...t h e plans, program s and o p e ratio n s o f Ihe federal government which alfect or m ay c o n trib u te to the estab lish ment, preservation and strengthen ing of M B E s ," ihe order read M in o rity banks were encouraged to m arket th e ir services to the governm ent and fed eral agencies were urged lo establish depository relatio n sh ip s w ith e lig ib le p a r ticip a n ts . A S B and the B P A had such a relationship. U nder Ihe Reagan a d m in is tra tio n , the T rea su ry D e p a rtm e n t has re in te rp re te d the g o v ern m ent's M in o r ity Bank D eposit Program " T h e M B D P , which was created by p res id e n tial d irec tiv e and not legislation, clearly places a higher p rio r ity on the e ffe c tiv e m anage ment o f cash flo w than on bank s e le c tio n ," said assistant c o m missioner, Russell D. Morris. In a m em orandum opposing ihe Restraining O rder, Thomas C . I ee. Assistant U .S . A tto rn e y , said " P la in tiff (A S B ) has no 'legitimate claim o f entitlem ent’ 10 have public- monies deposited in il banks were never e n title d to treat Ihe availability of excess funds from the flow through as an asset base The I reasury also ignored Ihe ob- jeciio is ol Senators M ark H a tfie ld and P >b Packwood, and Rep. Ron W ydi n who requested the Treasury to delay im p le m e n ta tio n T hey noted a discrepancy in ihe projected savings figures and queslio n ed w hether the conversion w ould originate in real savings. D a v id R o y, a tto rn e y for A S B , said Judge James Burns inform ally seni w ord lh a i be expects to deny the m o tio n fo r a T c m p o ia iy R e stra in in g O rd e r Roy w ill con lin u e to pursue the m o tio n fo r a Preliminary Injunction ASB obtained the B P A account Union fact finders examine Nicaragua " W e plan lo break ihe Reagan b la ck o u t and d is to rtio n o f ihe tilu a h o n o f N ic a ra g u a 's w orkers and trade u n io n s " asserted N ila Brueggeman, Secretary Treasurer o f Ihe Am algam ated C lo th in g and Textile Workers (A ( T W U ), Pacific N W J o in i B o ard , al a press c o n ference held today al Ihe A C T W U union office. Brueggeman is one of fifteen West coasi labor leaders con ductin g a fa c t-fin d in g lo u r o f Nicaragua next week "R eag an 's attacks on Nicaragua are cle arly aim ed at o verth ro w in g that governmeni and may draw ihe U .S . in to a fu ll-s c a le C e n tra l A m erican w a r ," said Roger A u e r bach, past President o f the Oregon Fed eration o f Teachers, the other delegate fro m O reg o n "T he reasons given for (his C IA -w a r are very questionable " " C o m in g fro m a president who specializes in u n io n -b u s tin g and coddling big business in (be U S , we suspect Reagan o f doing the same in C e n tra l A m e r ic a ," Brueggeman charged The O regon delegates claim ed that ihe U .S .- backed "contras" seem to be trying to reim pose a " u n io n - f r e e " N icaragu a, a low -w age haven for runaway shops from the U.S. " W o rk in g people bear ihe bruni o f this war drive They need in fo r- inaiion they can trust, from leaders w ho represent w orkers interests, said Auerbach. Joining Ihe labor leaders at the press co n ference was C ity C o m missioner M ik e Lindberg, recenlly returned from Nicaragua Lindberg c o n g ra iu a la te d the delegates fo r su p po rtin g the P o rtla n d -C o r in to sister-city cam paign. The tw o have been authorized by several Portland area union locals lo establish sister- union ties belw enn U .S . and Nicaraguan workers. The d eleg atio n plans to in vestigate these key questions: • How has the N ic a ra g u a n revolution affected the working and i City Commissioner M ika Undbarg (cantor) encouraged Nlta Broag gam an (left) and Roger Auerbach (right) In their efforts to aatablish slater - union ties batw aan U.S. and Nicaraguan workers (Photo: Richard J. Brown) living conditions of Ihe Nicaraguan people? H ow are ihese conditions im p acted by b oth the th rea t and reality o f U.S. intervention? • W hat is the state o f democracy in Nicaragua today? W hat kind of democratic participation lakes place am ong Ihe masses of the N ica ra g u an people th ro ug h the mass o rg a n iza tio n s , the electo ral process, etc? • W hat is the role o f trade unions in N ica ra g u a and w hat rights do they have? H o w are trade unions d e fen d in g the interests of t Please turn to Page 2. Column 6J Brandon and Joah Black of Scappo»« poaa wfth Traf. w lnnar of tha Oragon Hum ana Soctaty'a “AM American M u tt" show at Lloyd Cantar Saturday (Photo: Richard J. Brown) Portland's Black TV Channel 23 wins AC E programming award by l.a m la Duke G R A S S R O O T N E W S , N .W ,— " M y faith in the community's desire for inform ation is well-placed!" ex claim ed producer A rt A lexander when Black C o m m un ity Television won a national award fix excellence B C T V , C h an n el 23, received an A C E cable T V aw a rd in the category o f p ro gram m in g fo r a special audience, com peting w ith N e w a rk . New Jersey, fo r Black comm unity programming, and with San Francisco fo r gay co m m un ity p ro gram m in g Hosted by the N a tio n a l C a b le Television A ssociation, the A C E aw ards are the cable industry's Oscars " P o rtla n d 's Black com m unity is concerned w ith a w hole lot more iban seeing Blacks singing and danc- in g ," said A le x a n d e r. " I d o n 't knock singing and dancing, but if I have a choice between a band and a speaker. I ' l l go w ith the speaker iT ir r - 'x * ». • There aren't many instances where Black people have been slopped for singing and dancing. W e are frequently slopped from expressing our points o f view and reaching each other " B C TV broadcasts the concerns of (he local Black comm unity A daily satellite feed from Black Entertain ment Television keeps Portlanders tuned in to nationw ide trends and events. When regular programming hours end, B C T V offers viewers an electronic b u lletin board o f en joyab le and constructive reading w hile they listen to K B O , a Los Angeles jazz station Alexander also produces a lecture series title d " T a lk in g B o o ks,” where visiting and local Black speakers are recorded for broadcast. To enter the c o m p e titio n , Alexander .aid be produced a tape o f m aterial that gave a " f a i r representation of I be range of issues A rt A laaandar. w inner of the national ACE aw ard for his program ming of BCTV Channel 23. (Photo Richard J . Brown) ■ M • N _a . a I . » If and ideas covered by B C T V ." The tape included channel tden tific a lio n s that showed children playing , co m m un ity residents w alking dow n ihe street and at w o rk , and a segmeni fro m Ihe "T alkin g Book” lecture series. " C a b le o ffers us one o f the few opportunities we're going to have lo reach a whole lot o f Black people, w iih a w hole lot o f in fo rm a tio n , w ithout the heavy constrictions of turning a p r o f it ," said Alexander " M y concern with Black culture and our future was fostered and suppor ted by many members in (he Black com m unity." Joyce H a rris , directo r o f the Black E ducalional Center and con sultant to the P o rtlan d Public Schools, said, " B < T V is the lifeline o f our co m m u n ity . It shows an honest reflection of who we are and visions of who we wanl lo become ” Hosier! by the N a tio n a l C a b le Television A s s o c ia tio n , ihe A C E A w ards are Ihe cable in d u s try 's O scars, The Rogers system was nom inated fo r seven aw ards, and received three The olher tw o win ning program s were Video V e n te fo r Best in In n o v a tiv e P ro g ram m ing, producer Ed G eis; and Chrulm as at the Juniper tavern for Best Single D ram a/D ance Program, also prixJuced by Ed Gets. " O n ly one o ther system in ihe c o u n try placed higher than ours, both in number of nominations and aw ard s re c e iv e d ," says Rogers' p ro gram manager Sarah B arn ett, w ho accepied the aw ards fo r Rogers' program m ing deparlm ent " I think Ihe main reason we've been able lo achieve this q u a lity o f programming is tha’ our producers care so much ab o u t th eir subject areas— seniors. Black co m m un ity, g o v e rn m e n i, and so o n ."