r «M mmw A m M i MI December. 21, 1994 Serving the community through cultural diversity Volume .W IV Number 51 Cintas Corp. Builds P lant M useum P reserves H istory Vikings Win Classic A state-of-the-art industrial laundry opens in north Portland providing needed jobs. Leon the owl is a favorite exhibits o f the many sights at the High Desert Museum near Bend. The Portland State University Lady Vikings wi three straight to win the Raindrop Classic in high fashion. See page A4. See Metro, inside. (Tlie See page B2. (T 250 Showing C h ristm as S p irit Fourth Bullet Found Secret Service agents confirm that a fourth bullet was found inside the State Dining Room, one floor below Clinton’s residence at the White House. Other bul­ lets found from the drive-by shooting early Saturday were on a balcony landing, in a driveway outside the back door and be­ neath a nearby Christmas tree. OCA To Try Again The Oregon Citizens Alliance has launched its third campaign to elijninate gay rights from the Oregon legal system. The new initiative comes on the tails of a narrow defeat of the OC A-sponsored Mea­ sure 13 in the November General Election. “It’s writing into the Constitution that it’s all right to discriminate against homosex­ ual people,” said Cliff Carlson, chairman of the No on 13 campaign. Complex Replaces Hanoi Hilton The infamous Vietnamese prison dubbed the “Hanoi Hilton” by U.S. pilots imprisoned and tortured there during the Vietnam War is being razed and replaced by a real hotel and convention center. The $55 million project known as the Hanoi Tower Center is a sign that the Southwest Asia nation of 70 million continues to move away from the devastation o f the war years and the communist economic sys­ tem. Area school children line-up with their teacher outside Emanuel Hospital where a Christmas Party was held last week for kids. Neighborhood Nuisances Targeted Clerics Set Up Courts Muslim clerics in Bangladesh, acting on their own, increasingly are setting up “courts" that mete out punishment under the Sharia, or Islamic law. Women’s rights groups say that at least 48 women have died in recent years after being convicted of violating the Sharia. Most killed them­ selves because they could not bear the humiliation. Debt Weighs Down ANC Growing debts and organizational dis­ array have damaged the African National Congress' ability to govern South Africa, the secretary-general said this week at the organization’s first national conference since taking power. Britain’s Lord P itt Dies Lord Pitt, a Grenadan immigrant who became one of the first blacks to be admit­ ted to the House of Lords, died Sunday of cancer, relatives said. He was 81. “He was one of the first prominent blacks in British political life and a man of great ability and exceptional dignity,” said Lord Healey, former treasury chief. Rashad Entertains For Diabetes The American Diabetes Association has named actress and entertainer Phylicia Rashad honorary spokesperson for its Af­ rican American Program. Rashad is well known for her role as Clair Huxtable on “The Cosby Show” series. The associa­ tion’s program is an outreach initiative aimed at providing awareness of diabetes and is risk factors. SPREADING THE KWANZAA MESSAGE Kamau Sadiki of the Black Education Center explains the meaning of the African- American cultural holiday called Kwanzaa during a free workshop at the center. For more information about Kwanzaa activities you can call the BEC at 284-9552. See Related Stories on Holiday Entertainment, page B4. K illingsw orth Spruced Up For Holidays Volunteers workers met Friday at the Northeast Community Policing Facility to kickoff the 2nd annual Killingsworth Street Holiday Clean Up. The volunteers picked up litter and d e b r is by fo o d a lo n g N o rth e a s t K illingsw orth S treet to the Interstate 5 overpass. Em ployees from the Bureau o f M a in te n a n c e p la c e d d e c o ra tiv e w reaths and candy canes on utility poles. Employ ees from Bureau o fT raffic M an­ agement rem oved all rem aining refuse. This was the second consecutive year for the clean up, which was coordinated through the Northeast Precinct's Neighborhood Re­ sponse Team Participants included the Northeast Co­ alition ofNeighbors, and Northeast Precinct A committee of the Kenton Action Plan has met with David Sweet ofthe City’s Bureau of Buildings to eliminate properties that have been eyesores for years A residence in the 2900 block of Ar­ lington Place between Burrage and Penin­ sular was presented as an example of a nuisance property. Sweet suggested a focused task force. He agreed to assemble a team of inspectors from different departments, including zon­ ing, housing, and parking patrol. The north Portland crime prevention coordinator, a police officer from the North Precinct and the Kenton Action Plan Code Enforcement Committee Chair will also join the group. Team members will be asked to bring the full force o f their respective depart- nlejits to bear on problem properties. The intent is to make it too expensive to allow a nuisance to affect the quality o f life of surrounding residents. According to Kenton Action Plan Co­ ordinator Dave Myers-Eatwell, this prob­ lem of nuisance property has been high­ lighted by recently rising property values in North Portland. Housing that sold two years ago for $35,000 are now selling for $70,000 “Higher prices bring higher expecta­ tions. Many buyers who pay $70,000 for a house also want to live on a street with properties that are neat, in good repair, and free of derelict autos,” Myers-Eatwell said. The level o f frustration for many resi­ dents is rising. What may have been com­ mon in some sections of north Portland 10 years ago is no longer acceptable to a major­ ity of neighbors, a task force member said. Sweet said city codes governing park­ ing and maintenance of vehicles on residen­ tial property has just gotten tougher. “For instance, residents will not be i allowed to work on a car on their property j unless the vehicle is registered to them a that address.” He went on to sav that no major repairs max be carried out in the driveway or in the parking lane of the street. Major repairs must be performed in the garage. And the use of air tools outside is now taboo. Sweet pointed out that the code has also grown teeth, providing for code enforce­ ment fees o f $55 per month, which become a lien against the property if they are not paid. While the task force takes on long-time problem properties, the committee will im­ plement a program to deal with less flagrant code violations. Street parking is legal only for passen­ ger vehicles. Travel trailers, trucks, vans, RV’s and boats cannot be parked on the street, as they present safety hazards and restrict visibility o f vehicular traffic and pedestrians. To report illegally parked or derelict vehicles on private property, call 823-7306 Call 823-7309 to report derelict vehicles parked on the street. Anyone interested in volunteering with the Code Enforcement Committee should call the Kenton Action Plan at 289-6693 The Kenton Action Plan is a non-profit community revitalization group funded by the Portland Bureau of Housing and Community Development EDITORIAL METRO SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT HOLIDAY RELIGION A2 BI B2 B3 B4 B6 » CLASSIFIEDS B7