Mrs Frances 3choen-\e«spaper Roo»
U n iv e rs ity o f Oregon L ib ra ry
iugene, Oregon 97403
Homeland
threatened
New sister
city
Blazers'
chances
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PORTLAND OBSERVER
Volume XV, Number 25
April 17, 1985
25C Copy
Two Sections
utPS «* a® «*
Seattle Protest set
by Robert Lothian
The largest national protest in sev
eral years is coming up on Saturday,
April 20th.
An alliance of labor, anti-aprthcid.
Central America and peace groups —
the April 20th Coalition — is organiz
ing the nationwide demonstration to
protest President Reagan’s policies.
On the West Coast, the April 20th
Coalition is planning rallies and
marches for Seattle, San Francisco
and Los Angeles. Ten busses will be
available to transport people from
Portland to Seattle.
The coalition is calling for an end
to apartheid and U.S. support of the
South African regime, no intervention
in Central America, a reversal of
the arms race, more jobs, and cutting
the military budget.
Speakers will address those and
other issues and entertainment will in
clude skits and music.
In Seattle, marchers will assemble
at I p.m., Saturday, April 20th, near
the Seattle Federal Building, Second
and Marion, downtown, and then
march to the Federal Courthouse.
Fifth and Spring, for a rally.
Nila Bruggerman, Portland, April
20th coordinator and Northwest man
ager of the Amalgamated Clothing
and Textile Workers Union, said the
protest will likely be the largest since
the Solidarity Day demonstration
in Washington, D C., on Sept 19,
1981
With 80 national supporters, April
20th has much broader backing than
Solidarity Day, she said.
“ I think the message that people
are trying to send the government
once again is that you arc doing some
wrong things, both domestically and
internationally,” she said.
Bruggerman mentioned the Oregon
South Africa divestment bill, HBJOI.
as one of the issues of concern for the
local coalition.
The bill asks the state to withdraw
investments o f state funds in com
panies that do business in South Afri
ca State employee and other unions
are not opposed to the bill, she said.
Twenty-five local sponsors o f the
April 2Uth demonstrations include
the Amalgamated Clothing and Tex
tile Workers Union, the Inland Boat
man’s Union Colulmbia River Coun
cil, the Rainbow coalition, the Oregon
National Organization of Women,
the Portland Freeze Coalition and
the Portland Central America Soli
darity Committee.
Busses leave for Seattle at 9 a m.,
Saturday. April 2<>th. from the Lloyd
tenter parking lot at Northeast 17th
and Multnomah, and return about
6 p m Round trip cost is $15. and res
ets atams arc necessary Call 231-<1902.
State may soften HUD cuts
by lan ita Duke
GRASSROOT NEWS, N.W. -
When Congress debates a possible
two-year Ireeze on all lederal housing
assistance programs administered by
the Department of Housing and Ur
ban Development, Portland will not
be caught off guard. City, County
and State housing officials arc gearing
up to develop a state-wide policy
that addresses the housing problem
faced by low-income Oregonians
Representatives Al Young and
Mike Burton have proposed legisla
tion that will create an Oregon Hous
ing Trust Fund to respond to unmet
housing needing not being addressed
in the private sector.
"These needs will become more se
vere as federal budget cuts carve away
at housing development that supply
basic shelter assistance to house-
holds," Young explained
"I see it as a question of priorities
and political will. The people with
housing needs are represented in Sa
lem by us, the legislators, not by the
lobby The extent to which we are
able to meet these needs will depend
primarily upon the results of serious
soul searching by individual legis
lators,” Burton added
Columbia Villa, located in North
Portland, is the largest public housing
development in the city. Under the
current federal proposal, a morator
ium is proposed for Section 8 funds
used for main.enance and moderni
zation.
The City’s Urban Homestead pro
gram, which acquries federal mort
gage foreclosure houses, rehabili
tates them and transfers the homes to
low-income families, is also in jeo
pardy due to the targeted elimination
of funds
Other housing units across the
city face financial eviction because
of a ten percent cut in the ( ommunity
Development Grant. This grant is
used to stimulate private sector in
vestment in activities with public
benefit. Connie Easier, Public Af
fairs Coordinator for the Housing
Authority of Portland, said cuts in
ihe block grant will shake an already
shaken construction industry.
"Also, there is a move afoot to
return housing to private industry.
Tenants will purchase their own
homes for a quarter of its value, but
they won’t have any money to main
tain them. And the best housing
will be sold first, leaving those most
in need of work to those unable to af
ford maintenance," she added.
Bill Hunter, Director of the Hous
ing Authority, said the cuts will de
stroy improvements made in public
housing in Portland during the last
15 years. "Because of Ihe retrench
ment of the federal government, all
the improvements made in the Villa
will be eliminated. It may go back
where it was Riddled with crime and
vandalism.”
The Oregon Housing Trust Fund
is designed to prevent the years of
gains to be wiped away with a budget
cut. The fund will provide an annual
ly renewable and predictable amount
of revenue for low and moderate
income housing assistance. It will op
erate as a trust fund, generating earn
ings from the investment o f its re
sources, lending capital at no or low
interest rates and providing a high
degree of efficiency in both the oper
ation of the fund and the use o f its
resources.
Herb Cawthome. director for the Office of Special Service« at
PSU and Portland School Board member, ha« been «elected president
and chief executive of the Portland Urban League A field of over one
hundred we« narrowed to three final»«»: Leonard Van ton. Oklahoma
City Oklahoma; Lawrence Lakey. Tulae, Oklahoma, end Cewthorne
(Photo: Richard J. Brown)
“ Trends in housing and mortgage
interest rate costs have made it in
creasingly difficult for many Ore
gonians to provide themselves with
adequate shelter,” noted Young.
"Oregon's economic problems, along
with federal actions to reduce the
deficit, arc hitting lower income Ore
gonians particularly hard. For that
reason, it is imperative that discussion
of these problems occur and that po
tential solutions are outlined,” Young
said, concluding that the Oregon
Trust Fund could be a part o f that
solution.
Deborah Lynn Norqutat. 32. was «enouafy injured Fri
day night when her motorcycle collided with an auto
mobile at Northeast Cleveland Avenue and Failing
Street. Police are searching for the auto believed
involved
(Photo: Richard J. Brown)
'Fronts * abuse exaggerated
Tougher minority contracts law sought
Charging that penalties for fraudu
lent schemes to get Federal contracts
and subcontracts under programs
designed to aid minority business de
velopment are inadequate. Rep
Parren J. Mitchell (D-7th. Ml)) has
introduced a bill to broaden the cov
erage of existing law and to stiffen
criminal fines for such offenses.
(Generally, the minority person’s
share of ownership must be at least 51
percent in order for a business to
qualify for federally-funded contracts
and subcontracts as a minority firm.
Mitchell noted that violations in
volving misrepresentation of white-
owned firms as minority-owned (com
monly known as "fronts” ), controlled
and operated are frequently cited by
opponents of affirmative action as
cause to rescind laws to aid involve
ment of non-white firms in publicly-
funded projects.
Mitchell said the problem of fronts
has been “ blown out of proportion"
by critics of affirmative action, but
his bill increasing fines for violation
from $10,000 to $50,000 while main
taining a prison term of five years
"would deter offenses of this kind
that bring disrepute and scandal to
otherwise legitimate remedies to past
and ongoing discrimination in Federal
contracting and subcontracting pro
grams.”
In addition to increasing fines,
Mitchell’s bill, H R 1961. would
also extend the coverage of existing
law to Federal subcontracts and other
contracts let by State and local gov
ernments with grant funds made avail
able under the Surface Transportation
Assistance Act o f 1982.
Under present law, a misrepresen
tation must be made directly to the
Federal Government in order to in
volve a criminal sanction. In the sub
contracting area "fronts” deal direct
ly with prime contractors so, techni
cally. there is no misrepresentation to
the United States.
Similarly, under the Surface Trans
portation Assistance Act, misrepre
sentations generally are made either to
the prime or to the State govern
ment.
Mitchell’s bill would make all such
misrepresentations illegal regardless
of whether they arc made directly to
the Federal Government or some
other party.
"Those who abuse these programs
—both the minority and majority per
petrators of such schemes — deserve
punishments to suit their felonious
crimes," Mitchell said.
"I am asking the U.S. ( ongress to
change the existing law (a provision
of the Small Business Act) to realis
tically reflect the criminality of this
offense again ,t Ihe United Stales Gov
ernment, U.S taxpayers and eligible,
legitimate disadvantaged businesses
that lose out in competition with the
fronts,” Mitchell said.
Mitchell said critics of affirma
tive action and set-aside programs
exaggerate in their characterizations
of how widespread the practice of
fronting actually is. “ Rather than cor
recting such abuses, these opponents
would have the Congress renege on Us
promise of equal access to economic
opportunity as mandated by the Con
stitution and provided for in the Small
Business Act," Mitchell added.
Children from tha Tri Countlaa respond to tha question from AM A
Headstart Director Ron Herndon. "H ow many of you have haard of
Michael Jackson?" The children and adult« were on hand to celebrate
the 20th birthday of the Headstart program (Photo: Richard J. Brown)