Volume X X V Number 24
Committed to cultural diversity.
June 14, 1995
Join In Celebrating Our
Gospel Choir
Reaches To
Heavens
Building Blocks To
A Career
Outstanding students
prepare for engineering and
science technology' careers.
The New Life Community
Choir is dedicated to
making a positive impact.
See Religion, page B5.
A N N I V E R
A R U
See Careers special section, inside.
^Inrtlanh OP
M r s . F r a n c e s S c h o e n -N e w s
paper
U n iv e r s ity o f 0
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Coalition
Fights
Nuclear
Port
Portland Ready
For Clinton Visit
President Clinton and Vice President
Gore w ill attend an economic meeting
June 27 at Portland State University. The
Pacific Rim Regional Conference w ill at­
tract about 200 business and community
leaders from Oregon, Washington, C ali­
fornia, Hawaii and Alaska to discuss mak­
ing the economy work better for w orking
people.
G raffiti Line Works
Portland is cleaning up thanks to the
involvement o f a city anti-graffiti pro­
gram, according to Mayor Vera Katz. A
gra ffiti hot line has generated the clean-up
o f 400 sites or about 50 percent o f the calls
received. Katz credits several thousands o f j
Energy Department
Environmental
Impact Statement
Stirs Opposition
volunteers who pitched in over the past
year, the commitment o f local businesses
and the cooperation o f city agencies.
Campaign For
School Lovy Opens
The Yes on Portland School Bonds
Committee kicked-offa campaign last week
to win support for a general obligation
bond levy in the November General Elec­
tion. The $196.7 m illion measure would
pay for computers, building upgrades and
other maintenance needs to meet safety
and building code requirements. “ I t ’s a
prudent, common-sense way o f protecting
our b illion-dollar investment in public ed­
ucation,’’ said Portland school superinten-
I dent Jack Bierwirth.
Will our public shipping facilities
become a transfer point for nuclear
waste from around the world? Not if a
Portland coalition is successful in
fighting the proposal.
Summer Plans
For Youth
Summer camp and many other activ­
ities, including computer camp and a pro­
gram called Tennis in the Parks are being
planned for kids by the Police Activities
League. “ Kids who are involved in orga­
nized structured activities are less likely to
I get into trouble,” said Northeast Precinct
Commander Bruce Prunk. For informa-
! tion call 823-0250.
Deficit Forces
S ta ff Cuts
Faced with a $3.8 m illion deficit and
an order to rein in spending by 40 percent,
the N AA C P w ill have to cut much o f its
Baltimore national operations and some o f
its seven regional offices.
Feds Take Control
Of Housing
The federal government has taken con­
trol o f the Chicago Housing Authority in
an attempt to improve the wretched living
conditions o f almost 100.000 public hous­
ing residents. Vincent Lane, the authori­
ty ’s outgoing chairman, gained a national
reputation for innovative management,
including the midnight basketball” leagues
which helped lower crime among youth.
Nlegal Drug Buys Down
Americans spent about $40 b illion on
illegal drugs in 1993, compared to $64
b illion spent in 1988 largely because o fa
decline in buys for cocaine and heroin,
according to government officials.
by
P romise K ing
P
aige Knight does not take no
for an answer if the issue
undermines the environment.
She is part o f a coalition battling the
Energy Department over the proposed ship­
ment o f nuclear waste through the Port o f
Portland.
The radioactive materials would come
from around the world as part o f a nuclear
non-proliferation treaty.
Leading the battle against the shipments
are the Portland dock workers themselves
and members o f several environmental orga­
nizations.
They include the International Long­
shoreman and Warehouseman Union, Nu­
clear Free America, Greenpeace, Don’t Waste
Oregon Committee. Gray Panthers, Hanford
Watch, Hanford Action o f Oregon, Oregon
Peace Works and the Pacific Party.
The objective o f the group is to thwart
any effort to store spent nuclear fuel in Port­
land area ports.
“ We have told the Department o f Energy
every time they asked that Portland is not
acceptable as a port o f entry for this cargo. It
was not acceptable in December o f ’93, it was
not acceptable in August o f 1994 and it’s not
A2
acceptable now,” Joe Keating, a local envi­
ronmentalist and Pacific Party member said
I he coalition is boiling against every
aspect o f the Energy Department Draft Envi­
ronment Impact Statement except a no action
alternative. It’ s demanding that President
Clinton convene a blue ribbon task force to
establish a comprehensive nuclear waste
policy with full public debate.
The draft statement evaluates the poten­
tial environmental impacts that could result
from adopting a policy for the United Sates to
receive and manage spent nuclear fuel from
foreign research reactors.
Much o f the fuel in question contains
highly enriched uranium, a material that could
be used to produce nuclear weapons.
It’s the government intention to reduce
the potential for such highly enriched urani­
um from being diverted into nuclear weap­
ons.
It suggests that by providing
incen­
tive for reactor operators, it would encourage
foreign operators to switch to low enriched
uranium fuel.
The draft statement maps out three alter­
native plans and also a no plan action.
In the first alternative, 10 potential ports
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Continued to page A3
Test Concerns At Middle School
by
D anny B ei . i .
A group o f 31 eighth graders were
recently selected to be re-tested at Ports­
mouth M iddle School in north Portland
after earning high scores in algebra. Some
parents expressed alarm because they were
m inority or low income students.
I he action followed a district wide
competency test called PALT. The test is
used as a tool to assess the proficiency o f
students in the area o f math
According to Ron Reilly, a district
administrator for Portland public schools,
the P A LT emphasizes arithmetic and basic
math skills, although there is some algebra
in the test modem.
Members o f the community became
concerned about the re-testing partially due
to the lack o f notification and confusion
surrounding the grounds for the re-testing.
Portsmouth students in the original test
given in A p ril, scored above average as a
group in the area o f algebra.
The P A LT test that the students took
was a level 8 test, which is higher than the
level 2 to level 5 test ordinarily given to
middle school students. The district makes
a recommendation on what level to use and
the individual school chooses a level they
▼
Continued to page A3
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EDITORIAL
R
METRO
SPORTS
Bl
B2
ENTERTAINMENT
B4
Students at the Community Learning Center were hitting the books this spring, but
now will be away from their desks for awhile. The bell rang Tuesday for the last day of
classes and the start of summer vacation for the private school at 4212 N.E. Prescott
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RELIGION
CAREERS
CLASSIFIEDS
B5
Cl
C5