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Volume XXV, Number 49
Committed to cultural diversity
December 6, *1 995
Join In Celebrating Our
Recording
America’s Mood
Anna Deavere Smith is a
playwright, actor and educator
who will appear in Portland with
“Snapshots: Glimpses o f
America in Change. "
Music Plays To The
Heart
Portland's C 'harles Patton has
taken his artistic talents to the
best in contemporary Christian.
.z
See Arts and Entertainment, page B3.
S e e p a g e B4.
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250
Bank, Tri-Met Clash Over Bus Stop
PurmikL'
B i , P
romise K im ,
1
________
enerable Booker of America
State Bank had good inten­
tions when he decided to
immortalize the late Gladys McCoy
with a memorial on Martin Luther King
Jr. Blvd.
............ .
V
Poll Shows
Clinton Support
Booker did not think his monument and
park named after McCoy, former Multnomah
County Commission chairperson and revered
community activist, would strain his rela­
tionship with Tri-Met and the Elliot Neigh­
borhood Association.
But Booker has found him self deep in
at a low of 34 percent. The support is
disarray over the memorial because the site
I attributed to "moderates, women and the
also serves as a bus stop location, a designa­
elderly, voters who might find the Repub­
tion he opposes.
How did it happen?
lican’s budget proposals threatening.”
At the time Booker’s bank considered
the memorial at the intersection o f Northeast
Bull Run Conduit
Knott Street adjacent to the bank, there was
Repairs Needed
already a bus stop shelter in front o f the lot
Portland is repairing to two conduits
where the memorial was to be situated.
I damaged by a landslide las, week. The
The bank asked Tri-M et to move the bus
I breakage reduced the city 's water trans­
stop one block north to the intersection o f
mission capacity from the Bull Run reser-
Northeast Graham because o f fears the bus
I voirs.
stop would open the memorial to trash and
drug-related activities.
Preparation
Tri-Met reviewed the request and agreed.
For Freeze Urged
But barely five months later, the Elliot
Neighborhood Association started receiving
Portland's W ater Bureau is encourag­
ing the protection o f pipes in case o f freez­
complaints from area residents that Tri-Met
had not notified neighbors that the bus stop
ing weather. Broken pipes or even pipes
had been moved.
dripping to avoid freezing could increase
In response, Tri-M et on Sept. 2 1, wrote
water demand dramatically. Tips to pre­
the bank and the neighborhood association
pare for freezing weather include caulking
I around pipes where they enter the house
indicating that it was relocating the bus stop
back to the front of McCoy Monument.
and to close all foundation vents, protect
I outside pipes with wrappings and to drain
Tri-Met spokesperson Steve Johnson told
| and shot o ff all outside lines.
the Portland Observer that the decision to
remove the bus stop in the first place was
opposed to the public transportation agen­
Republican
cy’s own standards.
Budget Faulted
According to recent polls, voter ap­
proval ol the jo b President Clinton isdoing
is on the rise, primarily due to his stand on
the budget. The New York Times reports
a poll showing C linton's positive rating at
| 52 percent with the Republican Congress
B a n k p re sid e n t V enerable B o o k e r worries ^ a t
a n e w land m a rk on M a d i r ^ u t h e ^ i n g J ^ b l v ^ ^ ^ ^ o r o t ~ t h e late G ladys
M cC o y will dra w litter a n d va n d a lism if Tri M et allow s a b u s s to p to rem ain in front o f the m em orial.
He said I ri-Met policy requires it to
review the effects a bus slop would have on
the surrounding neighborhood. Often prop­
erty owners would like bus stops moved
elsewhere, while riders go for more conve­
nient location.
"W e wanted to do everything we could
to try to accommodate the bank’s request,
clearly the neighborhood association and our
customers were opposed to that move,”
Johnson stated.
An editorial in the New York Times
I claims the GOP has undercut its own posi­
tion in the budget debate by inserting wind-
fall profits to the American Medical Asso-
| ciation. “ If the Republican budget legisla­
tion were a consistent, logical effort to cut
federal spending, it would deserve respect.
If it put fiscal goals ahead o f the wishes o f |
R
"The time is here to come back to Ore­
gon,” Hatfield said after touring a hospital in
Silverton.
Hatfield, 73, a former governor o f Ore­
gon who firs, was elected to the Senate in
1966, is the I Ith of 33 senators up for re-
election next year who have said they are
retiring.
His decision sets offa scramble to fill his
seat jus, months after
fellow O reg o n R e p u b lic a n Bob
Packwood resigned amid scandal after 27
years in the Senate.
A moderate Republican, Hatfield was an
early opponent o f the Vietnam War who has
served in elective office since winning elec­
tion to the Oregon Legislature in 1950.
Ilis votes frequently have put him a,
P re sid e n tia l C a n d id a te L am ar
I Alexander slammed fellow Republicans
for failing to protect the environment in
attempts before Congress to gu, the Envi­
ronmental Protection Agency. “The Re­
publicans in Washington are missing out
on an historic opportunity to seize the high
g ro u n d on th e e n v iro n m e n t,” said
I Alexander.
Peace Corps
To South Africa
An historic agreement has been signed
that will send Peace Corps volunteers to
South Africa. By living and working at the
grass roots level, the Peace Corps volun­
teers are expected to help further strength­
en the personal ties between Americans
and South Africans. Currently more than
2,500 Peace Corps volunteers are working
in 36 African countries.
it deal with the issues o f protecting human
I rights, eliminating bigotry and enhancing
a sense o f community. If interested, call
Helen Cheek at 823-5136
EDITORIAL
A2
Continued to page A7
epublican Sen. Mark Hatfield,
powerful chairman of the U.S.
Senate Appropriations Com­
mittee, said Friday he will retire
his fifth term ends in 1996, ending a
46-year career in politics.
Alexander
Criticizes EPA Cuts
The Metropolitan Human Rights Com-
| mission seeks a volunteer member to help
Berman wrote in a letter to Tri-Met General
Manager Tom Walsh.
The attorney argued that when the deci­
sion to move the bus stop was firs, made, all
criteria were known and reviewed.
The bank, Berman said, is also troubled
that I ri-Met did not furnish the names o f the
committee that made the decision to pu, the
stop back in front o f the Gladys M cCoy’s
Memorial. He says the bank was never given
oth Parties Hail Hatfield
big contributors, it would deserve respect.
If it resisted ideological lusts, it would
deserve respect. It fails all those tests,” the
I Times said.
Rights Commission
Seeks Volunteer
(Photo By Michael Leighton)
He said the location at Knott make more
safety sense and was also recommended by
local residents who offered solutions to trash
and security concerns.
But the bank is not buying Tri-M et’s
explanation. It believes the agency is pander­
ing to the neighborhood association for polit­
ical reasons.
" I ri-Met is a political organization. It
should not be surprising that it’s new deci­
sion to move the stop again is based solely on
political pressures,” the bank’s attorney John
odds with fellow Republicans, most recently
this year when his vote caused the defeat in
the Senate o f a constitutional amendment to
when
balance the budge,.
"While we have disagreed on issues
from time to time, I have never
doubted that Mark I latfield always stood
for what he bel ieved was right for Oregon and
America," said Senate Majority Leader Bob
Dole.
“Mark Hatfield is a most honorable and
courageous man,” said Sen.
Robert Byrd o f Wes, Virginia, the sepior
Democrat on the Appropriations Committee.
“The Senate is losing one o f its very best.”
Hatfield’s announcement comes in the
midst o f a mail-in primary election to fill
Packwood's Senate term, which expires in
1998
Gordon Smith, the multimillionaire Re­
publican president o f the state Senate, and
Democratic Rep Ron Wyden are favored to
win the right to face off in the special general
election next month.
Portland Observer
Marks 25 Anniversary
O
regon’s oldest and largest
"A city like ours calls for a newspapei
minority-owned newspaper,
that s willing to provide a diverse service
the Portland O bserver is
We are proud that over the years we have held
celebrating its 25th Anniversary. this commitment,” said newspaper editor
Since its first publication in November
1970, the Port land Observer has dedicated its
pages to enhancing community awareness
and development.
It has also maintained credibility as a
A C h ristm as tree fra m e d in w rought iron e x p r e s s e s th e m o o d o f th e holidavs at
source o f community news and information
P io n e e r C o u rth o u se S q u a re.
T
while striving towardsjournalistic excellence.
The newspaper draws it strength from its
(Photo By Michael Leighton)
openness and its commitment to diversity.
HOUSING
A3
Chuck Washington.
A gala celebration to m a ik this anniver­
sary is scheduled at Oregon Association of
Minority Entrepreneurs (OAME) Cascade
Plaza a t4 1 34 N. Vancouver Ave. from 6p.m .
- 9 p.m., Friday, Dec. 8. A keynote address
by Portland Police ChiefCharles Moose and
community awards to deserving recipients
will be the highlights o f the ceremony.
HEALTH
SPORTS
ENTERTAINMENT
RELIGION
A4
CLASSIFIEDS
B2
B3
B4
B5