<-• H Volum e X X V I, N um ber 17 Committed to cultural diversity. Volunteers Build House Volunteers construct a local Portland home. A p ril 24, 1096 Ebony Fashion Fair Ny’a Ebony Fashion Fail- models Tijiany Kilbride, Anesha Johnson and Nicole Franklin showed “The Power o f Color”. Ny 'a is creating a buzz in the industry with her debut album Embrace on the Independent label. See Housing, Page A 7. See Metro, Page BI. QSlu' See Entertainment, Page B3. nt> (Ohsertiex* T i n U c B W EEK irM Police To Restore Gang List Terriorism REVIEW City Says Revisions Can Survive Legal Challenge County Ponders Toll Bridges "If a list is | going to be kept, people need to know th e y ’re on it and they need to know how to get o ff it," M ultnomah C o un ty is considering charging tolls on local bridges to raise $290 m illion needed to maintain them for the next two decades. Problems with the aging spans have state and local officials looking at a number o f financial options. If financing is not found ultimately the coun­ ty owned bridges -- Sellwood, Hawthorn, Morrison, Burnside and Broadway - may close. The state owns the St. John’s, F'reemont, Marquam, Ross Island and is leasing the Steel Bridge until 2006. The bridges carry almost 160,000 vehicles a day. -Richard Brown, Chairman of the Black United Front. A review board o f five senior-level Bu­ reau o f Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms managers has recommended that 10 A T F agents be punished for their behavior at “good o f boy roundups.” Signs were post­ ed and skits performed containing raciest comments at the Tennessee gatherings. The board recommendations ranged from verbal cautions to four-day suspensions. The board also recommended all receive training in diversity and sensitivity. Three other agents are to receive counseling. The Clinton administration argued that seizing property from crim inally prosecut­ ed drug traffickers is not double jeopardy. Ju stice departm ent law yer M ich ael Dreeben asked the justices to reverse two rulings in which federal appeals courts found fault with civ il forfeitures o f proper­ ty in Michigan and California. The high court ruled in 1993 that drug dealers might not be forced to forfeit so much property that it violated the Eight Amendment’s ban on excessive fines. The courts have inter­ preted double jeopardy under the Fifth Amendment to mean multiple punishments for the same crime. More than 130 Oregon defendants have filed challenges to forfei­ tures. The Court is expected to make its decision in June. Do Oregonians Dislike M easure Five? In a Survey o f 500 Oregon voters 43 percent felt Measure 5 has been bad for the state compared to 37 percent who praised it. However, they reject the idea o f appeal­ ing it 45 percent to 37 percent. Previous surveys have shown the same divided atti­ tudes about the measure that limits proper ty taxes to five percent o f assessed value Supporters say the law holds down taxes and keeps state spending down. Oppo­ nents site its impact on public schools. Freaknick Tamer But Still B ig Party Freaknick, the Atlanta street party, was less unruly this year according to officials. There were no significant problems caused by thousands o f black college students on spring break who gathered on city streets paraded in car caravans and attended mu sical events throughout the weekend Freakinck has been in Atlanta since the 80s. In the last four years the event has attracted as many as 200,000 people. This years estimate was less than 100,000. The INS Denies Raids Rumors o, Immigration and Naturaliza­ tion Service raids have Hispanics in Ore­ gon avoiding groceries stores and laun­ dries. IN S officials say they have raided work sites an deported undocumented workers in the past month but no more than usual. There are an estimated 20,000 un­ documented workers in Oregon and the IN S does routine job site enforcement. They have deported 2,600 Mexicans in the past two years officials say. FRO N T section EDITORIAL A2 Bill Goes To Clinton T ATF Agents Penalized Supreme Court Hears Case For Forfeitures A t Police Chief Charles Moose with Richard Brown o f the Black United Front. he Portland Police Bureau Some say it got to the point that talking to plans to restore the controver­ a black kid in northeast Portland was enough sial list of suspected gang to be put on the list. members with new determination meth- Police used a loose guide o f clothes, jew ­ | ods and a revised appeals process. elry, hand signs and tattoos to determine Three years ago the federal courts ruled gang members. With the old list, a kid in a that the list was too broad and didn't give starter jacket, who was friends with a sus­ the 2,800 people listed a way to appeal their pected gang member could be placed on the inclusion. list. O fficials have maintained the lists help The only way to know someone was on the protect officers and warn them o f potential­ list was to call police. And the way only to be ly dangerous people. removed fromthe list wastoask police —who Many others have expressed concerns made up the list. Some suspected gang mem­ that the list is a violation o f peoples rights. bers never knew they were on the list. T In Oregon such lists are public record and people have lost jobs and apartments by appearing on gang lists. Although the list didn't presume guilt, it put the suspicion there. Being in a gang is not a crime. Police, community members and city attorneys have worked more than a year to redefine the list. The new process includes explicit crite­ ria based on specific behavior for place­ ment and notification o f placement by form letter. Characteristics must be carefully ▼ Continued to page A4 Political Pioneer Bill McCoy Dies enator Bill McCoy died April 12 at Legacy Emanuel Hospital. The 74-year-old Senator never re­ gained consciousness after suffering a heart attack April 1 4 while golfing. Considered a pioneering political figure in Oregon’s black community, Senator M cCoy was elected in 1973 to the house o f represen­ tatives. A year later he was appointed to a vacant seat in the state Senate. He was the first black to serve in the Oregon legislature and was its longest-serving member as ofthis year. Governor John Kitzhaber ordered flags flown at half-staff at state buildings. “Senator M cC o y’s passing is a great loss to the state o f Oregon and to me personally,” said Kitzhaber, who served with the senator Senator Bill McCoy “ He understood the issues important to work­ ing fam ilies and worked to preserve civ il stay at home with a sick child or family rights for all Oregonians.” member and al lows up to 12 weeks o ff to care His voting record included support for the for a seriously ill family member. He also family leave bill which allows employees to opposed bills that would have cut workers S k compensation benefits and bills that would damage the environment which he called “Oregon's legacy to future generations.” The Portland Democrat was running for re-elec­ tion in Senate District 8. “ He was a very quiet unassuming person.” said his long time friend Matthew Prophet, former Port land Schools superintendent. “ He was more the salt-of-the-earth sort o f leader, who really cared.” Representative Avel Gordly called him a mentor to her and other young black politi­ cians. And Representative Margaret Carter, who represented half o f M cCoy's district, said he was an advocate for peoples rights “especially for the mentally ill and poor people." At the time o f his death, Senator M cCoy was working on an effort to put a statue o f Martin Luther K in g Jr. along M L K Jr. Blvd. Before election to office, the Senator ▼ Continued to page A4 he House sent President Clinton a major counter-terrorism bill Thursday to mark Friday's first anniversary of the Oklahoma City bomb­ ing. The bill passed 293-133 after clearing the Senate 91-8 Wednesday. It is a compromise between a stronger Senate bill passed last year and a weaker version approved by the House last month and was pushed through both chambers because o f the impending anniversary. “ 1 think it has some very effective tools that we can use in our efforts to combat terrorism,” Attorney General Janet Reno said. She cited provisions making it easier to expel foreigners suspected o f being extremists or belonging to groups the U S. government considers extremist and preventing such groups from raising money in the United "tates. The bill provides $ I billion for anti-terror- m efforts at the federal and state level over >ur years and requires chemical “tagging” fplastic explosives so they can be traced if iey are used in bombing. It also calls for a study o f similar tagging o f other explosives Clinton is expected to sign the bill when he returns from his trip this week to A sia and Russia. He asked Congress to pass the bill quickly after the April 19, 1995, Oklahoma C ity blast that killed 168 people. But it was delayed for months in the House by objec­ tions from diverse groups including the Na­ tional Rifle Association and the American C iv il Liberties Union, both o f which feared the legislation would give the government too much power. “The balance between public safety and order and individual rights is always a d iffi­ cult dilemma in a free society. For this rea­ son, significant time was needed to consider this legislation,” said Gerald Solomon, R- New York. I he N R A , which opens its annual conven­ tion Friday in Dallas, said it was not opposing the compromise bill. “ We have had our con­ cerns taken care of,” said Tanya Metaksa, the gun group’s legislative director. But Michigan Democrat John Conyers said the legislation was too weak to do any good. "This bill would do nothing to prevent another Oklahoma C ity bombing," he said. "It’s a sellout to the N R A and the freshmen Republicans.” First-term Republicans led an effort last month that gutted much o f the previous House bill to the dismay o f Republican leaders. Some o f the previous provisions were re­ stored in a conference with the Senate. The bill also limits the number o f federal appeals o f death sentences, long sough, by most Republicans and supported by Clinton but fought by opponents o f capital punish­ ment. It does no, include expanded authority sough, by the administration to allow wire­ taps to be switched from phone to phone to keep up with suspects who use multiple cel­ lular telephones. More Problems For Minority Students in P romise K ing f there is anything Samuel Wade of King Elementary School I* certain of, it’s the impact the current Portland school budget will have on minority students. “ Everything that was in place to really empower African Americans and poor stu­ dents has been systematically wiped ou,” Wade laments. Wade is a counselor whose job is to curb student antisocial behavior, motivate stu­ dents to work diligently and pursue excel­ lence. He also teaches these young folks to I HEALTH A3 BUSINESS A5 reason ethically and behave morally. H is job, however, is par, o f the special programs the district says it can’, aflord next fall. crisis The majority o f those who need counsel­ ing at K in g School happen to be those who, for economic reasons, rely on the school system to provide a niche This crisis has raised plethora o f questions on how minority and low-income students w ill be affected. Many area school adminis­ trators - depending on who you talk to - agree that less privileged students w ill be worst hit by this budge, rift. HOUSING A6 “ When our inner city schools are destroyed, we have a population that is left with no options. It doesn’t make sense to build more ja ils and not put more into schools” Tom Schraw o f Fair share argues passionately. Minority students are scoring less in basic assessments since the school funding crisis began in 1993. Scores by students o f color have plummeted consistently Bu, Lew Frederick the school district spokesman says it’s still better than a decade ago Many fear that with fewer teachers and programs the number would worsen Last week, the school district made des­ METRO METR0 S E C T IO N BI ARTS & ENT. B3 perate attempts to lure the business commu­ nity and well-meaning citizens to help reju­ venate it’s cash-scraped volt. In coalition with the Portland School Foun­ dation, Mayor Vera Katz, and the Portland Association o f Teachers, the district has launched an aggressive campaign to involve the entire community. A fund-raising pledgewalk, March For Our Schools, o f 30,000 students, parents, teachers and political leaders, lead by Mayor Katz and Sho Donozo o f the Public School Continued to page A4 RELIGION CLASSIFIEDS B4 B6