J uly 21, 1993 • T he P ortland O bserver
PAGE A2
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More Walking And Talking In The Neighborhood
p
f
Those kevrendezvous for social
interaction and dialogue 1 described
last week have their merit, but, still,
there is nothing like the old fashioned
street corner Not as popular as it once
was for gatherings o f the brethren,
though returning to popularity with
conmiuruty policing
and all.
T h is tim e , 1
thought we m ight
‘ liste n in ’ on some o f
the conversations
that go on and get
some idea o f what the
neighborhood talks
about. “ Community
p o lic in g ” is a freq ue n t subject
these day s as people compare early
personal experience w ith media
predictions o f improvements in the
comm unity’ s quality o f life “ Let’s
give it a chance’ seems to be the
governing consideration. O f course,
the view points are now m odified
by speculation as to the impact o f
the new police department appoint
ments (seem very favorable so far)
e
P
and o f the ‘ Fred M eyer Police
Station’ .
But all concerns about public
health and safety in the neighbor
hoods have been underwnttcn by
broader ev aluations by householders,
shippers, parents and even the
children -- and
over a long period
o f time You have
but to listen to the
b e a t’ o f the
neighborhood —
Proffessur
the conversations
M ckinlev
in those fo cal
B u rt
points o f neigh
borhood interac
tion we’ve described; "Things a in ’t
what they used to be” “ Remember
w hen you could go shopping without
your piece’ in your pocketbook?” “ I
used to like to go walking after dinner
-- no more!”
That Portland Observer article
on page 2 last week, “ G irls Terrorize
Safeway” , sure got a lot o f attention.
For a week a group o f teenagers
had harassed shoppers at the
e
M artin Luther K ing store, snouting
obscenities and even abusing the
elderly. T h is w eird conduct had
been the topic o f conv ersation in the
neighborhood for sometime, w ith
overtones o f 'counterv iolence How
ever. it is reported that store manage
ment and police have coiTected the
situation — we hope!
These circu m stan ces have
resulted in the revival o f some earlier
discussions in the area -- that while
we are devoting so much o f our
energy and resources to “ saving
the young black males” , we are
sorely neglecting our young sisters.
It goes without saying that these
future mothers, careerists and role
models are in as much need o f
n u rtu rin g and guidance as the
boy s. One o f my neighbors suggest
that there had been as much danger
ous neglect here as in the 'women’s
health fie ld ’ as recently highlighted in
the nation’s media
No one around here has been able
to find any relevant organizations
operating in the area — or attempts to
t
/
launch and secure funding for sucn an
activ ity . Since there is a new organi
zation o f black men' (area residents)
that has gotten o ff to a good financial
start in the neighborhood, it is being
suggested that a ’girls’ program would
be an excellent endeavor for them to
sponsor; a club, i f you w ill, that would
bring in role models, tutors, career
counselors and the like -- provide
‘ safe’ facilities
On a lighter side, the denizens
o f the neighborhood are as heav ily-
involved in sports as ever -- both
in real life and vicariously before
the television set You would be
surprised at how many black men
o f all age groups who are (contrary
to reports) actively involved w ith
our youth in sponsoring and super
vising sports activity. This ranges
from baseball and softball to basket
ball. swimming, archery, scuba d iv
ing and golf. It goes without saying
that many whites are equally involved,
but 1 thought it good to offer some
specific opposition to the rap that
brothers take in respect to involve-
ment w ith our youth.
Who is “Chris Dudley” ? Now,
there is a name popping up every day
in the area (and probably all over the
city). A ll the Blazer fans I ’ve talked to
or ov erheard have firm and often bel
ligerent positions on this New Jersey-
center the Trailblazers have hazily
spoken o f as an acquisition Com
ments have ranged from “ Marketing
realities dictate that we need a white
boy’” to “ My God, look at his specs: he
averaged 3.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, 1.5
blocked shouts, shot 3.5 from the field,
and 518 from foul line” . And, then,
there are the countervailing opinions,
“ There must be some reason New
Jersey offered him a seven-year, $20
m illion deal
These are just a few o f the topics
discussed in this neighborhood.
The interests and activities o f my
nearby friends and acquai ntances cover
the same wide spectrum presented
by the national media - and with
the same intensity, though I would
say evaluated w ith quite a bit more
‘ mother w it” .
Along The Color Line “Environmental Racism
By Dr. Manning Marable
Last m o n th , I W a lked the
picketline in the struggle against
environm ental racism. Dozens o f
community activists in conjunction
w ith the Los Angeles Labor/Commu
nity Strategy Center protested at the
headquarters o f the South Coast
A ir Q uality management D istrict
(A Q M D ), the regulatory agency
responsible fo r co n tro llin g to xic
emissions from stationary sources o f
air pollution in metropolitan Los A n
geles W ith an annual operating bud
get o f $ 110 m illion, the AQ M D m oni
tors a population o f 13 m illion, the
second largest urban area in the U S
This public confrontation con
cerned the ongoing battle over L A. ’s
“ lethal air” , whether large corpora
tions would continue to spew thou
sands o f tons o f dangerous, life-threat
ening chemicals into the environment-
-such as benzene (w hich causes leuke
mia), formaldehy de (another carcino
gen). methy lene chloride, lead (w hich
attacks the central nervous system),
and chromium. The L A basin is one
o f the nation’s most polluted environ
ments. Labor/Community Strategy
Center director Eric Mann reports
that “ smog-forming hy drocarbons re
leased in the air each month equal the
amount released by the Exxon Valdez
o il spill ” D uring the summer months,
for southern California residents in
R iversid e and San B e rn a rd in o ,
"breathing the air is the equivalent o f
smoking one pack o f cigarettes per
day.”
The economic and social cost o f
L A ’ s polluted env ironment are enor
mous According to the AQ M D . smog
and particle pollution cost $9 4 b illion
per year in human health care costs
alone Pollution obviously hurts all
people who have respiratory prob
lems, such as asthma But it also tar
gets many other potential victims:
people w ith AIDS, whose immune
systems are weakened; the elderly,
w hose health problems can range from
bronchitis, emphysema and cancer;
and children, w hose lungs are devel
oping and who take in up to three
times as much air per body weight as
their parents. In Los Angeles, about
140,000 pregnant women each year
are adversely affected by high lev els o f
toxic air emissions.
The immediate issue being de
bated at the AQMD hearing concerned
new definitions for “acceptable" lev
els o f toxic emissions On one side o f
the debate stood a regiment o f law
yers, representing L .A .’s largest cor
porations. They fought against tighter
safeguards on pollution, asserting that
higher costs on businesses reduce prof
its and cost jobs. They asked for rules
which, in effect, would permit them to
become self-regulated!
In 1989, General Motors at Van
Nuys, California, alone produced 4.2
m illion pounds o f air emissions, p ri
marily methy l chloroform, xylene, and
acetone. Two huge aerospace plants
owned by Douglas Aircraft, located in
Long Beach and Torrance respectiv ely,
generated a combined total o f 1.6
m illion pounds o f methy lene chloride
and methyl chloroform that year
Chevron's large plant at El Segundo
emitted 3,250 tons o f nitrogen oxides.
But large corporations explain that
the real health risks to the general
public are small. Tall smokestacks
can distribute emissions high into the
air. distributing the toxic wastes to
hundreds o f thousands o f people in
small amounts Thus, according to the
corporate polluters, the actual health
risks to what is termed the “ maximum
exposed indiv idual” are reasonable.
Com m unity activists and re
searchers from the Labor/Community
Task Force challenged these claims at
the AQ M D governing board meeting.
Standards for toxic polluters should
take in to account the total quantity o f
toxic chemicals emitted, as well as the
total number o f people who are ex
posed As the issue was debated, many
board members literally stood up and
walked out o f the hearings, when black.
Latino and working class people were
testify ing But when the corporate law
yers in thousand dollar suits walked to
the podium, all AQ M D board mem
bers scrambled back into their seats.
The board decided to delay its final
vote for one month to consider the new
Activists Say Clinton Has Abandoned Blacks
Murdock criticizes Clinton for
mainstream Black Americans w ho are
busy try ing to improve our lives, fam i encouraging the breakup o f the black
lies, and communities.”
family through his economic policy,
Murdock believes that C linton’s which leaves “ the so-called marriage
economic plan w ill further stunt p ri penalty intact. A couple earning
vate sector employ ment in the inner- $12,000 a year each w ith hopes for
city C iting the President's budget three kids would pay $2,744 in taxes
proposal, which includes a ten percent i f they got married but earn refunds o f
capital gains tax surcharge plus an $831 i f they remain single.” I f such a
increase in taxes by some $250 b il couple does not get married. Murdock
lion. Murdock asks, “ Given these tax believes that it “makes it easier for a
hikes, why would anyone open shop dad to walk away from such an infor-
in, say. East St. Louis?” He points out mal union andtum his kids into socio-
that these tax increases w ill “ shrink economic statistics.”
the amount o f capital available for
Noting that “ homicide has be-
investment in the inner-city” and. come the number one k il er o f black
consequently, w ill lead to economic men below theageof25.” M r Murdock
contraction.
thinks that C linton’scampaignprom-
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! T hank Y ou F or R eading
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T he P ortland O bserver
evidence But many board members
seemed all too eager to defend the
corporate polluters, rather than to de
fend public health standards.
A frican Americans and other
people o f color have a major stake in
the continuing struggle for a safe,
clean env ironment. blacks and Latinos
are frequently overrepresented injobs
which use dangerous chemicals-such
as custodial work, dry cleaning, tex
tiles. and in the furniture industry. Is
it surprising, therefore, that the aver
age African-American male dies be
fore he can even collect Social Secu
rity? The fight for strict environmen
tal standards, worker’s safety on the
job, clean air, and the right to shut
down huge corporate polluters, must
be at the heart o f our new movement
for multicultrual democracy
Dr. M anning Marable is Profes
sor o f History and Political Science,
and Director o f the African-American
Studies Institute, Columbia Univer
sity. “ Along the Color Line” is fea
tured in over 250 newspapers and by
over60 radio stations internationally.
Oregon’s hearing aid licensing
laws, established in 1959, the first o f
their kind in the U.S., are among the
strictest in the nation, Scott Austen, a
spokesperson for Willoughby Hear
ing Aids, Inc. said today. The com
pany is the largest retail hearing aid
dealer in Oregon.
Austen w as responding to a NBC-
T V Dateline program, aired Tuesday
night (July 6, 1993) which criticized
the industry by showing disgruntled
employees in New York State, the one
state in the United States that does not
license hearing aid dealers or have
conditions governing the sale o f hear
ing aids.
Oregon licensing and testing
Oregon, in contrast, requires that
all hearing aid dealers to be licensed
Class room tra in in g is required
by consultants before taking the
licensing tests which are based on
written and practical examination.
T o p ics o f study in c lu d e audio
metric testing, otoscopie examina
tions, m edical re fe rra l c rite ria ,
hearing and fittin g , sanitation &
safety, follow up care, state licens-
ing laws and FDA regulations to list,
a few. Many dispensers in Oregon
also take a national board ce rti
fic a tio n exam a fte r they have
completed two years o f practical
experience
In addition, all hearing aid deal
ers must obtain an additional 9 hours
o f continuing education every year to
keep current w ith industry standards
and product improvements.
Consumer complaints
Last year, Oregon’s 355 hearing
aid dealers sold 28.000 hearing aids
and only 30 complaints were filed by
consumers w ith the State o f Oregon
Health Division, a ratio o f 001 per
cent.
Consumer protection
In addition, Oregon law allows
consumers to return hearing aids for
up to 30 days after a purchase
Currently, 355 Oregonians are
licensed to sell hearing aids in the
state. Willoughby has 30 employees
and 3 5 dispensers who sell and service
hearing aids at over 140 locations
throughout Oregon including central
and eastern Oregon. They also pro
vide in-home services for house bound
seniors
Holland Joins Bank
Administration Proposals are Detrim ental to Families, Communities
A fte r p le d g in g su pp ort fo r
African-Am erican communities dur
ing the campaign last year. President
Clinton has failed to deliver on those
promises and has “ turned his back
on blacks,” according to a national
Policy Analysis ju st released by
The National Center for Policy Re
search.
Referring to C linton's position
on the cre a tio n o f jo b s in the
inner-city, the reversal o f the decline
o f the b la ck fa m ily , and the
strengthening o f law enforcement
in African-Am erican communities,
black w riter and media consultant
Deroy Murdock says that President
Clinton has "overlooked most o f us
99
In N ation
ise to put 100,000 new cops to work is
vital to the fight against crim inal ac-
tivity in black communities. “ Clinton
has yet to fu lfill this pledge." U ntil
Clinton acts to implement an anti-
crime program, Murdock says, “ let’ s
hope that crime takes a holiday.”
He observes that the abandon-
ment
promises to support black
communities has not come without its
price The Congressional Black Cau-
cus, angered over Clinton s reversals
concerning Haitian refugees and the
nomination ofLani Guinier. has “ twice
refused to meet w ith the President in
recent w eeks.”
Deroy Murdock serves as a lead
ing advisory committee member o f
Project 21, an initiative which seeks
community-based solutions to prob
lems facing Black Americans M r
Murdock, w ho is currently President
o f a marketing and media consultancy
firm . Loud and Clear Communica
tions. has w ritten political and foreign
affairs commentary since 1979.
For more information, or to ar
range an inte rvie w w ith Deroy
Murdock, contact Ron Nchringat 202-
543-1286
Rate
For Seniors
On Monday , July 19th. City Com
missioner Earl Blumenauer talked
about his proposal to reinstate re
duced rates for low income senior
citizens and disabled residents. The
Bureau o f Environmental Services
eliminated the discount effective July
1. 1993. Commissioner Blumenauer
is asking the City Council to reinstate
the Senior Citizen Sewer user Rate
and the Disabled Citizen Sewer User
Rate for at least one year while the
City looks for w ays to help low income
senior citizens and disabled offset the
impact o f rising sewer rates
Perry G. Holland hasjoined West
One Bank. Oregon’ s International
Banking department as Vice Presi
dent and manager o f Business Devel
opment His responsibilities w ill in
clude developing international busi
ness for new and existing Oregon
customers, working closely w ith the
Bank’ s Corporate Group and Busi
ness Banking Div ision to prov ide ex
pert counsel on both domestic and
international business transactions.
Holland is an accomplished ex
ecutive w ith more than 25 years’ ex
perience in International Banking,
Trade Financcand Business Develop
ment He is a past president o f the
World Affairs Council o f Oregon, the
Japan America Society o f Oregon and
currently is treasurer and board mem-
ber o f The Japanese Garden Society.
Holland received a bachelor o f
science degree in banking & finance
from the University o f North Carolina
at Chapel H ill, and is an honors gradu
ate from the Pacific Coast Banking
School, University o f Washington in
1973.
Holland and his Sandy reside in
LakeOswego, Oregon They have three
sons and a daughter
West One Bank, Oregon is a
wholly-owned subsidiary o f West One
Bancorp, a diversified financial ser
vices company and the second oldest
bank west o f eh Mississippi, w ith $7.4
b illio n
in
assets,
4500
employces.opcrating for more than
200 banking offices in idaho, Wash
ington, Oregon and Utah.
a I
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A-ZEBRA
Realty Inc.
Class Guarantee”
tEALTOR
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3UAJ, I.O U jfJ O
700 N.E. Multnomah, Suite #400 • Portland, Oregon 97232
(503) 230-1390 • FAX 233-2688 • (503) 287-6837
Deadline Nears For Human
Services Fair
The Tn-County and Clark Countv
area human sen ices organizations are
being urged to sign up for a booth at
the upcoming Social Sen ices Resource
Fair, designed to give human serv ice
professionals and the publican oppor
tunity to learn about resources avail
able in the metropolitan area
The deadline for booth sign-up is
July 31. 1993 The Fair, which w ill be
held at the Eastport Plaza, is sched
uled for October 1st. 1993,10am until
9pm and October 2nd. 1993 from
10am to 7pm
The Fair's goal is to bring to
gether social services prov iders and
* * * * • . • - • * ’ î *» GAt * *
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the public to learn and share inform
tion about all sen ices offered by lot
governmental and human servic
organizations Among the areas re
resented at the Fair w ill be. hor
health sen ices, senior and youth c
ganizations. drug abuse alcohol ai
mental health treatment, services f
the disabled, and housing and er
ploymcnt In addition to booths, tl
Fair w ill feature workshops and ente
tainment
For more information on rcser
ing a booth, organizationscan conta
Ralph Policar o f Vision Northwest
284-7560