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August 12, I9‘>
“T h e E y e s a n d E ars o f t h e C o m m u n ity '
V o lu m n X X II, N u m b e r 3 3
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Tri-Met First In Nation To Seek
“Low Floor” Light Rail Cars
Is I t A R a p
G roupe,
NO T!
T ri-M c t announced today the re­
lease o f a request fo r proposals fo r low
flo o r lig h t ra il vehicles the w ill im prove
access fo r passengers w ho have d if f i­
c u lty c lim b in g steps.
L o w flo o r lig h t ra il cars w ill be the
firs t step tow ard a m ajor procurem ent
fo r T ri-M c t’ s Westside lig h t ra il project.
N ext to the W est H ills tunnel lo w flo o r
cars w ill be the largest single item o f
expenditure in the project. Expected
cost o f the 32-car order could be ashigh
as S80 m illio n .
T r i- M e t b o a rd d ir e c to r N ita
Brueggeman, speaking at a news co n ­
ference at the Oregon convention C en­
ter M A X station, called the project,
“ ...tru ly a m ilestone in transportation
technology fo r this co m m u n ity. It takes
a firs t and very big step tow ard creating
p u b lic transportation that is accessible
to everyone.”
“ L o w flo o r cars w ill m a k e lig h tra il
easily accessible, not o n ly fo r people
w ith d isa b ilitie s but also fo r seniors,
parents w ith strollers and a ll other tra n ­
sit passengers,” said Jan C am pbell o f
the tri-co u n ty C om m ittee on Acces­
sible Transportation. W e applaud T ri-
M c t’ s w illingness to pursue pu ttin g lo w
flo o r cars in to service.”
T ri-M e t is the firs tN o rth A m erican
transit system to request proposals fo r
A m e rica ” p ro visio n s o f federal law ap­
p ly , re q u irin g that parts w o rth 60% o f
the cost o f the vehicle must be m anufac­
tured in the U.S. In a d d itio n , fin a l as­
sem bly o f the vehicles m ust take place
lo w flo o r cars, w hich are considered the
m ost sig n ifica n t developm ent in E u ro ­
pean transit technology in the last 10
years.
Though in widespread use in E u ro ­
pean cities, the car technology m ust be
adapted to meet higher U.S. standards
fo r crashworthiness and other factors.
“ W e have high expectations the car
b u ild in g industry w ill respond w ith fa ­
vorable proposals,” said Bob Post, T ri-
M e t D eputy General Manager. “ Re­
spondents w ill need to demonstrate tech­
nical ca p a b ility and o ffe r a reasonable
price before we w ill award the co n ­
tra ct.” I f no q u a lifie d manufacturers
subm it proposals, o r i f costs are too
high, T ri-M e t w o u ld fa ll back to an
order o f standard vehicles.
Since federal funds w ill be used in
the purchase o f the vehicles, “ B u y
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in this country.
Post said the new cars w ill operate
in tw o -ca r trains coupled w ith e xistin g
B a n fie ld cars, assuring at least one ac­
cessible car in each train. M in o r m o d ifi­
cations w ill be made to Eastside p la t­
form s so they are com patible w ith the
new cars. W ayside lifts cu rre n tly in use
w ould be rem oved.
T ri-M e t’ s request fo r proposals fo r
the lo w flo o r cars was issued Ju ly 31.
Proposals fo r b u ild in g the lig h t ra il cars
are due at the agency N ovem ber 6 ,1 9 9 2 .
T ri- M e l hopes to approve a fin a l o ffe r by
N E C D C sounds lik e a rap group
doesn't it, not! W hat N E C D C stands fo r
is N ortheast C o m m u n ity D evelopm ent
C o rp o ra tio n . W hat they are a im in g to
do is to make housing a ffo rd a b le fo r
lo w to moderate incom e fa m ilie s. It is
a part o f the N eighborhood R e v ita liz a ­
tio n A c t to m ake run do w n o r boarded
up houses liva b le again. T h is is a non
p ro fit organization that plans to re­
m odel o r b u ild 250 homes in N o rth -
In n e r N ortheast P ortland by the year
1995.
On September 29, 1989 N E C D C
received c o n firm a tio n that it had been
selected by the U.S. D epartm ent o f
H ousing and Urban D evelopm ent to
receive a 3.75 m illio n d o lla r N ehem ialt
H ousing O pportunities Grant. The P ort­
land A w a rd was the second largest in
the co u n try. Congressman Les A u c o in
p la ye da very s ig n ific a n t role in m aking
this piece o f le g isla tio n a re a lity , this
provides an im portant part o f the A m e ri­
can Dream to fa m ilie s seeking a ffo rd ­
able housing.
In ta lkin g w ith C yn th ia L u c k e tt
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A p ril 3 0 ,1 9 9 3 , to proceed w ith the cars.
Others appearing at the news co n ­
ference in support o f the lo w flo o r cars
include A lic e Pickard fro m U nited Se­
niors o f O regon; Jim H arding, president
o f Oregon Paralyzed Veterans; and R oy
Porter from the T ransit Riders A ssocia-
tion.
a lo t o f businesses buy ing ne w co m p u t­
ers or updating th e ir softw are. B u t that
o n ly gets you so far. I,t ce rta in ly doesn’ t
u nlock the secrets o f the com puter and
<* it surely wastes a lo t o f tim e as e m p lo y ­
ees h it o r miss th e ir w ay through the
tra in in g m anual o r h o ld em ergency
confabs w ith the amateur at the next
desk.
B u t help is on the w ay. N ew H o ri­
zons o f Santa A na, C a lifo rn ia , is open­
ing up tra in in g centers around the co u n ­
try that w ill take care o f a ll those start­
up headaches. B y p ro v id in g inexpen­
sive, e a s y -to -fo llo w tra in in g on the la t­
est com puter hardw are and a ve ry broad
range o f com puter softw are. N e w H o ri­
zons o ffe rs the keys to the com puter
keyboard.
The com pany was founded in 1982
by M ich a e l B rinda, a fo rm e r senior
in stru cto r w ith Sperry U nivac W o rld ­
w ide E ducation and a fie ld engineer fo r
both H arris C orporation and B unker-
R am o C o rporation. B rinda knew firs t­
hand the problem s o f tra in in g e m p lo y ­
ees to get the m ost o u t o f a com puter
system and he realized that not e ve ry­
one could a ffo rd the services o f a high-
priced com puter consultant to tunc in
the w o rk force.
So he set up N ew H orizons to p ro ­
vide a tra in in g center where in d iv id u a ls
co u ld learn com puter management and
update themselves on new software.
From the start, the com pany also o f­
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the lis t o f p riva te foundations and c o r­
porations reads lik e w h o ’ s w ho list.
C ity o f P o rtla n d , M e ye r m e m o ria l
T ru st, W est One B ank, K e y Bank,
E m anuel H ospital, U.S. W est C o m ­
m unications, C o llin s Foundations, and
N ike Inc. The P ortland T ra il Blazers
donated the tickets sell proceeds th»--.
N B A d ra ft to this project. W hat we
have here co u ld be the best th in g to
happen to this c o m m u n ity in year’ s,
and could very w e ll be the catalyst fo r
restoring d ig n ity and in te g rity to drug
infested, run dow n neighborhoods, by
g iv in g them a new life .” A fte r taking
a n icke l and dim e to u r o f the homes I
found that Jaki W a lke r, D ire cto r o f
and his p e rfo rm in g groups w ill be D ora
A ts w e i A y e h and K w e k i Patience
Q uaynor., both teachers and p e rfo rm ­
$45,000 d o lla r home a ll you need to
finance is $30,000 dollars. Sounds too
N E C D C is ru n n in g a very successful
operation and getting a lo t o f se lf sat­
good to be true rig h t, not! Because it is
a fa c t under this program ! C yn th ia goes
on to say, “ There are fo u r targctcdarcas
w here these hom es w ill be, Boise,
V e m o n , H u m b o lt, and K in g . The p ro ­
gram is w o rk in g w ith local banking
in stitu tio n s lik e F irs t Interstate Bank,
U.S. B ank, B ank o f A m erica, and Pa­
c ific F irst Federal. T o make th is w o rk
isfaction o u t o f m aking the A m erican
Dream a ffordable to lo w and m oder­
ated incom e fa m ilie s . T h is program is
about the re birth o f a c o m m u n ity in
Ism aila w ere a ll members o f the in te r­
national to u rin g group Oboade.
In a d d itio n to a w id e va rie ty o f
tra d itio n a l pieces, the program w ill in ­
clude H ig h life m usic and A fric a n dance
m usic. A n a ll-sta r H ig h life band w ill be
composed o f Ghanaian players fly in g
in from all o ver the U nited States. M ost
fered on-site custom ized tra in in g fo r
companies w ith a larger w o rk force.
N ew H orizons started franchising
ju s t this year and, since January, B rinda
has sold franchises in m ore than 15
m ajor m etropolitan areas w ith very little
a dvertising—w ord o f m outh is spread­
and your com puter w o n ’ t p rin t? ” asks
B rinda. N ew H o rizo n custom ers have
access to a 2 4 -h o u r assistance lin e that
ing the message.
O n ly one franchise is sold per c ity
so the e xclusive te rrito rie s o ffe r a large
great new o p p o rtu n ity . Com puters are
s till fin d in g th e ir w a y in to businesses
and there is an abundance o f new so ft­
m arket fo r investors. People are re­
sponding. Sales were up 48% last year
and arc expected to top 50% this year.
ware products. Someone has to train the
M ore than 50 new franchises are e x­
pected to be sold b y the end o f 1993,
ca ll.
w ill b a il them out every lim e .
A fte r tra in in g m ore than 250,000
people in o ve r 10,000 classes. New
H orizons believes it has locked in to a
people w h o use them and, at the m o ­
ment, New H o rizo n is answ ering the
M ajorcom puterm anufacturersand
retailers o ffe r tra in in g to purchasers o f
p u ttin g a N ew H o rizo n tra in in g la c ility
w ith in d riv in g distance o f v irtu a lly all
m ajor centers o f A m erican business.
The com pany has al so sold te rrito rie s in
large numbers o f com puters. Private
tra in in g consultants are available, but
they arc often expensive and uneven in
M e x ic o and India.
B rinda has com e a long w ay since
he started New H orizons by h im s e lf
q u a lity.
W ith sm art m arketing strategics
such as o ffe rin g a menu o f classes w orth
w ith an answering m achine, a shot-in-
thc-dark m arketing strategy, and a tra in ­
ing program lim ite d to ju s t PCs. today,
his rapid ly-e xp a n d in g netw ork offers
over S5,(XX) i f taken s in g ly fo r a m em ­
bership fee o f o n ly $599, New Horizons
is d raw ing in thousands o f new custom ­
ers and the advantage o f having on-site
tra in in g custom ized fo r a com pany’ s
tra in in g in PCs, M ac, N o v e ll, L A N
Manager, Sun, N e X T , SCO, U N IX and
special needs is re a lly catching the eye
is the authorized education center lo r a
w ide variety o f to p -o f-lh c -lin e s o ft­
o f the business c o m m u n ity.
A franchise sells fo r $20,000 and
ware.
New H orizons is g ro w in g so rap­
id ly because it fills a huge need.
prospective investors are advised to
G o in g it alone is the standard reac­
tio n fo r the m a jo rity ol businesses and
velopm ent. It do e sn 't lake long to gel
up and running thanks to New H o ri­
zons’ very sophisticated tra in in g and
have al least S2(X),(X)0 in capital to pay
lo r com puters and tra in in g center de­
they suffer the consequences ‘Have
you ever had a 4:(X) o clo c k deadline
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They have recently arrived in Portland
fro m Ghana and w ill be liv in g here and
p e rfo rm in g w ith O bo A d d y , also, a
featured drum m er is Em m anuel A d d y,
the oldest p e rfo rm in g m em ber o f the
A d d y fa m ily . Emmanuel live s on the
east and p e rfo rm s w ith the g ro u p
Odadaa. He taught most o f the fa m ily
members to play and perform ed w ith
the Ghana Broadcasting Band, The
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Ghana Dance Ensemble and was a
master d ru m m e r o f Ga W onche M e i.
He and O b o and a younger brother
The H om ow a Foundation fo r A f r i­
can A rts and C ultures announces The
T h ird A nn u a l H o m o w a Festival fo r
A fric a n A rts w ill be held on Sunday,
A ugust 30 beginning at 2 p.m . in the
W ashington Park Rose Garden a m p h i­
theater. The free fe stiva l features an
array o f drum m ers and dancers from
Ghana, many o f them from the A rts
C o u n cil o f Ghana.
In G h a n a , W e s t A f r ic a , th e
H om ow a Festival is an annual event
that began 700 years ago. The Festival
can be com pared to a harvest festival.
The Portland event intends to capture
the s p irit o f the Festival in a fo u r h our
program . The Festival includes m usic,
dance, crafts and food.
The event w ill begin w ith a proces­
sional w ith members o f the Ghanaian
com m unity wearing the authentic c lo th ­
ing o f the kings and queens and m arch­
ing to tra d itio n a l dru m m in g . A repre­
sentative fro m the Ghanaian Embassy
w ill open the afternoons event w ith a
short in tro d u ctio n . A num ber o f p ro m i­
nent members o f the local A fric a n -
A m e ric a n c o m m u n ity w i l l speak
throughout the afternoon.
Featured artists jo in in g O bo A d d y
f e y '- '
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o f them have played w ith the w e ll know n
H ig h iife bands: E .T . Mensah, U huru &
the Ghana Broadcasting Band. T h is is
the firs t tim e that this ste rlin g array o f
m usicians w ill be on stage together.
The event prom ises to be a great
afternoon o f m usic and dance and c u l­
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ture.
The H om ow a F estival is a part o f
the W ashington Park summ er Festival.
Funding fo r the Festival comes from
The N ational E ndow m ent fo r The A rts,
M e tropolitan A rts C om m ission, Oregon
A rts C om m ission, C o llin s Foundation,
Tem pleton Foundation and A rtic h o k e
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M usic.
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The figures, based on the 1990 census,
were jo in tly released by C h ild re n F irst
fo r Oregon and the C h ild re n s Defense
Fund
Salcms C h ild poverty rate rose by
32.3% from 14 06% in 1980 to 18 6 %
in 1990. Eugenes rate clim bed by 9 8%
and Portlands by 3.4%. Salcms 1990
poverty rate o f 18 6 % was highest among
the three, w h ile Portlands was 18 6 %
and Eugenes 13 4% Portland had the
greatest num ber o f poor ch ild re n under
18, 17.043.
Carol M etzler, C h ild re n First Presi­
dent and a behavioral research scientist
w ith the Oregon Research Institute,
stated. Increased c h ild poverty spells
poor health, poor education and bleaker
prospects fo r these ch ild re n O u r eco­
nom ic future depends on the w e ll-b e in g
o f a ll children. A ll o fu s - policy makers,
business leaders and private citizens -
must accept the challenge o f d ra m a ti­
ca lly reducing c h ild poverty d u rin g the
1990s.
O ut o f the nations 200 largest c it­
ies, Eugene ranked 46th lowest in per­
centage o f poor ch ildren under 18; w h ile
P ortland was 75th and Salem 80th For
poor ch ild re n under six, Eugene ranked
61st, Portland 79th, and Salem 104,h
S im ila r to statewide figures released
by C h ild re n Firs, in July, most poor
ch ild re n in these cities live in house­
holds led by a single wom an Likew ise,
w h ile most poor ch ild re n arc w hite, a
disproportionate percentage arc c h il­
dren o f color
A m ong A frican-A m erican children
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under 18, Portlands c h ild poverty rate
was 39.4% , Salcms 4 8 % a n d Eugenes
27.4%. F or A fric a n -A m e ric a n ch ild re n
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under six, the c h ild poverty rate was
Portland. 46.5% , Salem. 55.5% and
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Eugene, 24%.
In 1989. a fam ily o f three was
considered to be poor i f its total incom e
was less than 9,885 A fa m ily o f fo u r
was poor i f its incom e was less than
12.675
C h ild re n F irst o f O regon is a state-
w id c c h ild advocacy org anization w o rk ­
ing to establish ch ild re n as Orcgons
first p rio rity . T h is fa ll it w ill release a
Report C ard on the Status o f Oregons
C h ild re n
C h ild re n F irst can be reached by
c a llin g 526-6417 (M e tro P o rtla n d ) o r
to ll-fre e 8(X)-544-O376, o r w ritin g PO
Box 23519, Portland, O R 97281
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Salem leads with 32.3% increase
The percentage and numbers o f
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Child Poverty Rises In
Oregon s Three Largest Cities
poor ch ild re n in Orcgons three largest
cities increased over the past decade
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support.
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ers fro m the A rts co u n cil o f Ghana.
need o f new life . N o it is not a new rap
group, but N E C D C sure arc singing a
sweet, sweet song. So i f you need a
N e w H o riz o n s : C o m p u te r
T ra in in g C o m p a n y U n lo c k s
S e c r e ts O f N e w T e c h n o lo g y
“ Learn by D o in g ” is the m o tto fo r
. r. '
A d m in is tra tiv e Support Services o f f i­
cer o f N E C D C , she seemed to be very
excited by w hat is taking place in our
com m unity. C ynthia slated, “ I f you have
good cre d it and a decent jo b N E C D C
w ill put up the firs t S I5,000 dollars
tow ard a house, in w h ich you can p ick
o u t the design. N o i t ’ s not free you w ill
have to pay a m in im u m o f a ¿,000
tow ard a dow n paym ent and theclosing
costs. There is a dow n paym ent assis­
tant grant that w ill pay a m axim um o f
$3,000 to assist q u a lifie d applicants.
The homes com e equipped w ith
appliances and a b u ilt in alarm system.
Each house is n e w ly constructed w ith
state o f the art extras. I f you w ant a
house today go see C yn th ia L u cke tt at
N E C D C rig h t away.
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The Third Annual
Homowa Festival
BY B IL L Y MOORE
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