PCC
Registration _ _
Sales tax
defeated
Page 10
PORTLAND OBSERMER
Volume XV, Number 46
September 18, 1986
25C Copy
Tw o Sections
C«ur ArfNtoAMfC» . fer /«M
Corinto mayor visits Portland
Union V ancouver Business D evelo p m en t Project
receives »1,000 from Pacific Pow er h Light Left to
right are M cK inley W illiam s, John Thompson Carl
Talton. M ike Debnam end Mery Lennox
(Photo Richard J Brown)
Partners in progress
I • •
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by \lu ry Lennox
The U n io n -V a n co u v e r-W illia m s
Business Development Project, popu
la rly know n as the U V W -P a rtn e rs
in Progress, held its first general meet
mg September 12. at the Grayson Inn.
Phis group is dedicated to the re
v ita liz a tio n and re sto ra tio n o f the
once prosperous com m ercial areas
o f A lb in a . The newly form ed 17
member board o f directors is dynamic
and enthusiastic - Irgsh from winning
a bid w ith the Oregon D ow ntow n
Development Association and the city
o f Portland to become certified as an
Urban Center p ro je ct. W ith a p ro
jected yearly budget o f $60,(MX)
$47,(XX) has been raised to date from
City and private sector contributions
— the U V W has hired a district man
ager, established an o ffice on Union
Avenue, and looks toward a program
ol changing the image ol the area from
one o f abandonment to one ot attrac
tive possibilities and o f economic re
structuring to ensure achievement o f
long term goals.
fu n d raising is still a high and en
joyable priority with UV W. with Carl
Tai,on o f P P & l stepping forward to
hand UVW President M ike Debnam
a check fo r $I,(XX) C arl Talton said
this is only a token o f P P & l's support
John Thompson, owner ot American
Appliance and Direcloi ol I in ar, lot
U V W , convincingly a cures people
that fo r everv d o lla r thev invest in
UVW they are sure to get mans mote
back in some fo rm ot another A t
this suggestion ovei $3<X> left tlie p<\ k
ets o f this m eeting’ s p a itic ip a n ts ,
“ know ing a good thine when thev
see on e '"
President Mike Ik b iia n i introduced
the newly luted project manager, Me
kinley W illiam s M i W illia m
in
cent im m ig ra n t fro m I os Angeles,
brings mans line strengths in leadei
ship, business, management and
com m unications skdls D u rin g the
meeting he presented a brtel outline ol
his intended locus o l a ctivity over
the next seat One ol his first tasks is
to network with diverse interest groups
in the area and develop with the I V W
Board a set o l management objec
lives and strategies lo r the next year.
C ounty C om m issioner I a il Bin
menaur spoke suggesting the I A W
should challenge the accepted notions
o f how, when, what and where the
County and other government monies
are allocated and also the ways in
which thev participate in comm unity
economic development He pointed
not just to the ( ounty but to the City,
In -M e t, the School District and Port
Bill Gaboury of Ashland and Jim Gates talk w ith
Sandra Levinson. Executive Director of the Center for
o l P o rtla n d as p o te n tia l resources.
I he firs t step is to start n d ta lo g u e
w iili these offices; ask loi a clarifica
non ol then role, look toward partner
ships and joint venturo; present some
specific, non traditional wavs lot the
governm ents to invest in o u r com
u u in iiv lie said, th in k in creative
terms Resources may lake the shape
ot leveraging around facilities' surplus
equipm ent, or allo ca tio n s to w a id a
vouth program, or technical assistance
on a sjsecial p roject, ( ommissioner
Blum enaur stated he w ould engage
in a " ro lle d up sleeve" session w ith
I \ W hi order to get tins process ol
dialogue underway.
Melissa ( ole, a volunteer in historic
jxeservation, treated everv one to some
early pictures o l a b u stling U nion
Avenue and related her in tention to
send copies to property owners on the
commercial strips so that they could
be inspired to participate in the spirit
ol restoration and regeneration Chuck
Hayden, local businessman, interested
everyone with the fact that in I977 he
had made up a slide show showing
I nion Avenue d u rin g a period o f
prosperity
I he meeting adjo urn e d w ith the
next one planned tor the second I hurs-
dav in < Ktober
Cuban Studies following her lecture at PSU Campus
Ministries on Sunday
IPhoto Richard J Brown)
(Left to right) M argaret Thomas, interpreter. Corinto
M ayor Francisco Tapia M a ta and Portland M ayo r
fry Robert I olhuin
P ortland and l o rin to , Nicaragua
drew closer this week with the visit of
( orinto's mayor.
f ranciso Tapia Mata is an outgoing
dentist with a sense ol humor He ar
rived Sunday (or a six day sister city
tour w hich included meetings w ith
Mavor t la ik and city o fficia ls, port
managers, local I almos, college stu
dents, union members, a dentist at the
Kaiser Hassalo ( lime, and many o f
the activists who worked to establish
sister ties
I nday at 5:30 p.m Tapia Mata will
meet with members ol the Black com
munity at an Urban I eague reception
The mayor brought a message o f
good w ill from his beleaguered town
and country. ” 1 feel a great pleasure
to be in this great c ity ,” he said at a
M onday press conference in the
m a yo r’ s o ffic e I he sister city p ro
gram, approved by the C ity ( ouncil
after an eight-m onth campaign and
many visits to C o rin to by Portland
ers, means "great hope for the people
o f Nicaragua," he said.
"W e lc o m e , frie i d , " said M ayor
C la rk , extending warm greetings on
behalf o f the city, ( lark stressed the
non-political nature o f the sister rela
tio n sh ip . " I n order to fin d peace,
you need to have a dialog at all levels,"
sard Clark
Tapia M ata said the ( I A backed
contra war continues to disrupt Nica
raguan lile, taking a psychological toll
on the people. C o rin lo 's harbor was
mined, and oil tanks near the water
fro n t were attacked, starting a fire
which necessitated evacuation o f the
to w n , w hich is N icaragua's m a jo r
port. Defenses have been beefed up
and residents are safe now, though
“ the U S. Navy is stationed just out
side C o rin to ," he said. The main mu
n icipal p ro b le m , said the m ayor, is
relocating families who live close to the
oil tanks.
" I f I could speak with the President
o f the U n ite d S ta te s," said Tapia
M ala, " I would ask him to remember
that 200 years ago 13 colonies fought
against English colonialism to have the
right to live the way the colonies want
ed to live.” Nicaragua is in the position
o f the American colonics, and wants
the right to live in freedom and peace,
he said.
Tapia Mata said C orinlo’s main ex
port pro d u cts, shrim p and lobster.
AT»-
;xZ. '
< 1 * 7 /4
Bud Clark
are now shipped to ( anada because o f
the U S trade em bargo. Speaking
o f trade possibilities, he said Nicaragua
could use lum ber fro m O regon be
cause its forests were destroyed by
foreign companies
C o rin to com m ittee sta ffp e rso n
Diane Hess said the may lr's visit
"opens the d o o rs" for future delega
lions between the tw o cities She said
several thousand d o lla rs w o rth ol
supplies have already been sent from
Portland to Corinto, and that a major
new fu n d ra isin g pro je ct w ill be a n
nounced soon Serving as translator
for I apia Mata was Margaret Ihomas
ot the C ouncil fo r Hum an rights in
la tin America.
Tapia Mata spoke in Spanish, but
drew a laugh when he asked a reporter
to repeat a question by saying, in Trig
hsh, "p a rd o n m e,” in just the right
tone M ayor C la rk , adm iring Tapia
M a ta ’ s s h irt, asked if he could buy
one Clark was delighted when la p ia
M ala replied that he had brought
along an extra shirt as a present lor
Portland's mayor.
Tapia Mata, 47, flew on an airplane
A
(Photo Richard J Brown)
. ♦
for the Inst tune in this, his first visit
to the U S He lauded in I os Angeles
and was slowed by the sheer number
o f jx'ople going through customs. His
own custom delay was resolved quickly
by a phone call to get the address ol
his portland hosts, b ill tie missed his
plane to Portland and arrived a day
late Sunday night, he was welcomed
during an ecumenical service at I ill
coin Street United Methodist Church,
which has a sister church in Corinto
A lte r the service he talked w ith
Portlanders about ( o rin to 's ra in y
summer weather, and he described an
active volcano near the tow n He
dutclxxl a rose and a small gill wiappexl
package o f M t Si Helens ash from a
Made In ( fregón store
Tapia M ata was born in ( o n n to
and practiced as a dentist until lie be
came mavor in 1979 A member of tlie
Sandimsta party, he offered his fam
ilv ’s house as a safe house during the
1979 insurrection. His wile, Mercedes
( orea, is a home economics teacher.
I hex have two children, ( laudia, IK,
in her last year o f high school, and
Modesto. 14, who attends junior high.
Sales Tax Defeated
Tor the seventh time in 52 years Oregon voters overwhelmingly rejected
a sales tax by nearly a 4-to I margin at the [soils I uesday I he legislative
measure, which promised property and income tax relief, received a 7K
percent " N o " vote
Opponents o f the measure, which included groups fro m the (d a y
Panthers to consumer activists, felt the vote showed a relusal to shift the
tax burden from business fo consumers A representative ol Oregon 1 air
Share com m ented that the vote indicates "O re g o n voters cannot be
bought."
Supported by most Oregon political and business leaders, the tax mea
sure was the subject o f an intense media campaign Opponents charged
that the pro-tax effort was financed by banks, insurance companies and
other big businesses who stood to gain by the property and income tax
provisions. Sales tax proponents, such as Governor Victor Atiyeh, objected
to these charges.
Vera Katz, speaker o f the Oregon House and a leading proponent o f
the sales tax, acknowledged, " 1 he voters have spoken," adding that the
question now was what do the voters want One alternative that has been
suggested is a homestead exemption. I lie issue o f where to find the money
for property tax relief will send the tax planners and legislators back to the
drawing boards.
Oregon remains one o f five stales without a sales tax.
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