t.
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SECTION
The Death And Resurrection Of Light Rail
Portland Light Rail stops a Convention Center for commuters
B y P rof . M c K inley B urt
It is the I Oth birthday of P ortland's
highly-touted light-rail system and,
indeed, “ M A X ” iseredited with keep­
ing 2000 ears an hour off the Banfield
freew ay during rush hours; this trans­
lates into “about 27,000 people a
d ay ,” we are told.
And it is a rem arkable coincidence
(if later to prove em barrassing), that
T raóe U níons
the centennial o f A m erica’s ebullient
auto industry is celebrated this year
- in many of the very same cities that
are boasting o f yet a “new " advance
in urban transportation. But who was
ín t R e
it that “sat on a w all” and ingenu­
ously proclaim ed, "things are what 1
say they are?” (H um pty Dumpty,
“unbirthday”).
The fast and efficient people-m ov­
ing system s provided by electrically-
pow ered urban mass transit are far
from being a "n ew ” or modern co n ­
cept. In fact, this m ode o f transporta­
tion is older than the autom obile in ­
dustry. R eaders o f the Portland O b ­
server and many teachers who, n a­
tion-w ide, have introduced the facts
from my book, ‘‘Black Inventors o f
A m erica" are very much aw are that
the black en g in eer, G ran v ille T.
W oods, began patenting “Electro-
M otive Railway System s”, June 26,
1888 No. 386,282 (over 90 total).
T his prolific A frican A m erican
genius was described by the 'A m eri­
can C atholic T rib u n e’ in 1988 as
“the greatest electrician in the w orld”
after he dem onstrated his latest in­
vention before an assem blage o f en ­
gineers gathered in New York to see
a ‘real-tim e dem onstration. This d e­
vice was the famous “third rail” which
carried the electrical current that made
underground light-rail practical all
over the w orld, e.g. The Subway!
“So, what in the world has been
going on for a hundred years" ask
smog-bound Americans with reddened
eyes, malfunctioning lungs, an ozone-
depleted sky and a steadily-wanning
climate euphemistically described as
the “Green House Effect.” The resi­
dents o f many an American city are
wondering "why did we ask for all this
pollution by tearing out those street car
tracks and bringing in tens-of-thou-
sands of fossil fuel-burning people
wagons? T o export mountains of steel
scrap?”
Some of the more naive among the
populace thought, perhaps, that recent
and widely heralded series in the Phila­
d e lp h ia In q u ire r new s p ap e r --
"America; who stole The Dream" -
M oc J ern BI ac I< C ommunity
the B rotherhood o f S leeping Car
Porters in the 1920’s. B lacks scored
E xecutiveC ouncil, Randolph led the
w h ile o n c e b la c k s c o u ld n ’t get
how m u ch th e re la tio n s h ip b e ­
o u t. T h a t b e in g so, b la c k s o fte n
b e c a m e r e p la c e m e n t w o r k e r s
fight against discrim ination with the
tw e e n th e tra d e union m o v e m en t
w h en w h ite u n io n la b o re rs w h en
trade unions.
T o d a y , a lm o st th re e m illio n
in to u n io n s, to d a y th ey are “ o v e r
r e p r e s e n te d ” in te rm s o f th e ir
b la c k s b e lo n g to u n io n s, a b o u t
N ow is a g o o d tim e to recall
an d th e b la c k c o m m u n ity has
on strik e . A nd w h o c o u ld b la m e
the first m ajor breakthrough in thier
struggle for adm ission into the ranks
c h a n g e d o v e r th e p a st h u n d re d
th e m ? W hy s h o u ld th ey re s p e c t
o fo rg an ized labor in 1930, w hen the
y ea rs. In the n in e te e n th and early
tw e n tie th c e n tu rie s , m o st la b o r
union card also m enas added ben­
p o p u la tio n .
A m erican Federation o f Labor (AFL)
o n e o ut o f fo u r b la c k w o rk e rs , in
T rade union m em berships has
th a t d e n ie d teh m m e m b e rs h ip s ?
recognized the B rotherhood. As the
c o m p a ris o n , o n ly o n e out o f six
m eant a great deal to black w orkers.
ance, pensions, and o ther on-the-job
leader o f an A FL A ffiliate and later
w o rk e rs o v e ra ll is o rg a n iz e d . So
In 1992, the average non-union black
safeguards.
tio n s in A m e r ic a - -k e p t b la c k s
w hen A. Philip R an-dolph organized
as a m em ber o f the
A F L -C IO ’s
State to help businesses on MLK
o f a financing package to pay for land,
buildings, equipment and machinery
for an emerging small business. They
are intended for manufacturing enter­
prises and may not be used for retail or
food service operations - unless the
business is located on Northeast M ar­
tin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
“The program was intended to pro­
m ote m anufacturing,” Cully says.
“T he theory is that if you ge, that, the
little delis will follow .” H ow ever,
M LK been targeted for special treat­
m ent as p a rt o f g o v e rn o r Jo h n
K itzhaber’s C om m unity Solutions
program . Borrow ers do need to em ­
ploy one new w o rk er for every
$15,(XX) o f the loan, and to give
preference to local residents through
first-source hiring.
A nother program , the E ntrepre­
neurial D evelopm ent Loan Fund,
provides small loans - not more than
$15,(XX) - to sm all com panies that
have been in operation for 15 m onths
or less, and either has revenues o f
$50,000 or less or is ow ned by a
severely handicapped person. O rigi­
nally conceived to help wood prod­
uct-dependent tow ns, the loans are
available for 10.25 percent interest
and, as Cully points out, “You c a n ’t
get that from any bank.” “ P eo p le
need to know that the resources are
here,” she says. “T his is a chance for
northeast Portland to knock on the
door and take advantage.”
Cully can be reached at 249-7744.
Health director calls for partnership
S elly K ing
The executive director ofthe C en­
ter for Com m unity M ental Health
(C C M H ) Carol R. Chism told par­
ticipants at the 1st A frican Am eri­
can W ellness C onference to join
efforts geared toward achieving a
healthier community.
In this era o f sky-rocketing health
care cost, Chism says CC M H is
w illing and able to collaborate with
other agencies in order to make
health care affordable and available
for all residents o f N orth/N ortheast
and M etro Portland.
“CCM H is poised m ore than ever
to be a partner in ensuring quality
m ental health care for the needy in
our im m ediate com m unity and we
are not going to com prom ise this
position as long as we exist,” as-
m em bers w ere $468, or 45 percent
higher. Besides wage increases, a
th e p ic k e t lin e s o f o r g a n iz a tio n s
All that began to change, though,
by
p ro p o rtio n o f the to ta l A m e ric a n
w orker earned $322 a w eek, while
the average earnings o f black union
efits, including better health insur­
u n io n s --lik e a lm o st all in s titu ­
The state o f Oregon wants business
development in northeast Portland, and
they’re open for business locally to
make it happen.
Laily Cully o f the Oregon Eco­
nomic Development Department is
available every W ednesday at the O r­
egon Association of Minority Entre­
preneurs facility at 4134 N. Vancou­
ver Ave. to advise on and market five
business assistance program s. T o­
gether, they offer $ 1.9 million in loans
and grants for business startups and
expansion, in some cases under terms
available through no other program,
and in few other places in Oregon.
For instance, the state Business
Development Fund can provide loans
o f up to $250,000 as up to 40 percent
would explore just such critical issues
that threaten the health and economic
welfare of the nation at the threshold of
the 21st-Century
But not a word on the peculiar
dem ise and resurrection o f “ Light
R ad” - nothing on the alm ost reli­
gious fervor o f a w ondrous apotheo­
sis driven by federal funding, e.g.
paid for by the sam e cash-exhausted
taxpayers w ho financed the concrete
w ebs of freew ays in the first place.
The very sam e who bought tens o f
m illions of D etro it’s gas-guzzling
splendors and hundreds o f billions of
barrels o f M iddle East oil to expedite
a frantic exodus from the cities, leav­
ing the urban infrastructure in eco ­
nom ic and social sham bles.
A voiding for the m om ent the very
unpleasant realization that there is
som e connection here to the trillions
spent over the decades on “defense
o f our vital interests in the Persian
G u lf ’, som e o f us may indulge in abit
o f nostalgia. If you think that new
M A X light rail car at T ri-M e t’s
Elm onica operating facility is pretty,
then you should have seen the beau ­
ties Made In A m erica 60 years ago.
These “streamlined projectiles” as
they were described by the new spa­
pers in my hometown were m anufac­
tured by the* St. Louis Car and Foundry
C o .’ and did not help fuel a negative
balance o f trade (Portland' s light rai I is
made in G ermany and assembled in
Sacramento, California). I remember
that as teenagers in the late 1930’s we
would watch at key intersections for
unwary motorists who couldn't be­
lieve the acceleration of the new cars.
Light rail made converts of those who
survived, but the foundry didn't. W hy?
C ontinued next week.
Carol R. Chism
sured Chism.
C urrently the non-profit mental
health agency is cham pioning efforts
to educate the m asses about solu-
tions to behavioral health care.
“ We want to let folks know that it
is alright to seek help if one feels too
stressed to function properly in the
society. In the com ing months we
will aggressively address this con­
cern," says tlie Executive director.
CCM H serves the mental health
need o f NZNE Portland residents
regardless o f race, color, creed or
sexual orientation. It relies on con­
tributions and donations from well-
wishers. For m ore inform ation call
289-1167.
Organizers o f the W ellness con­
ference say, the overall goal is to
improve the health statusof people o f
color living in Oregon. Stats show
that minorities in the state lagged
overwhelmingly behind in health care
coverage compared to whites.
Ginger Ehn Lew Deputy Administrator
G inger Ehn Lew , as D eputy A d ­
m inistrator of the U.S. Sm all B usi­
ness A dm inistration, serves as the
c h ie f o p eratin g o ffic er for the
agency and is responsible for policy
developm ent, program supervision
and the day-to-day m anagem ent o f
agency operations.
B eforecom ingtoS B A , Ms. Lew
served as the G eneral C ounsel at
the U.S. D epartm ent o f C om m erce
and as a top advisor to the late S ec­
retary Ron Brow n. L ew ’s g overn­
ment experience also extends to the
C a rter ad m in istratio n , w here she
served as a D eputy A ssistant S ecre­
tary o f Slate for East Asia.
Im m ediately prior to jo in in g the
C linton ad m in istratio n , M s. Lew
w orked w ith a start-up, bio-m ass
technology sm all business based in
San Francisco. As vice president
and general counsel, she w as in­
volved in all phases o f its operation
including product developm ent and
licensing agreem ents, product patent
and tradem ark registrations, reg u la­
tory perm itting and site approvals.
M s. L ew had sp e n t th e p r e v i­
o u s six y e a rs as a tra d e p rin c ip a l
w ith A rth u r Y o u n g and C o m p an y .
A t A rth u r Y o u n g , L ew w as a
r e g u la to ry an d b u s in e s s a d v is o r
to s m a ll, m e d iu m an d F o rtu n e
5 0 0 c o m p a n ie s , w ith a p rim a ry
fo c u s on in te rn a tio n a l m a rk e ts.
H er c lie n ts in c lu d e d la rg e and
sm a ll c o m p u te r h a rd w a re and
s o ftw a re m a n u fa c tu r e rs , e n v i­
ro n m e n ta l te c h n o lo g y m a n u fa c ­
tu r e r s a n d d i s t r ib u t o r s , c o n ­
su m e r g o o d s m a n u fa c tu re rs , and
p ro fe ssio n a l se rv ic e c o m p a n ie s.
A native C alifornian from the
San F rancisco Bay area, Ms. Lew
received her law degree from the
U niversity o f C alifo rn ia at B erk e­
ley (Boall H all) in 1974, and her
undergraduate degree in political
science from UCLA. Ms. Lew has
also practiced law w ith private law
firm s as well as with governm ent
agencies.
M s. L ew h as b een a c tiv e in
c iv ic an d A sia n A m e ric a n c o m ­
m u n ity o r g a n iz a tio n s and w as
c o - f o u n d e r o f th e A sia n P a c ific
A m e ric a n B ar A s s o c ia tio n o f
W a s h in g to n , D C . S he h as
s e rv e d as c h a ir o f th e N a tio n a l
D e m o c r a tic C a u c u s o f A sia n
P a c ific A m e ric a n s , an d o f the
J u d ic ia l C o u n c il o f th e D e m o ­
c r a tic N a tio n a l C o m m itte e .
Spanish broadcasting in Miami
N ew A ge B ro a d c a s tin g , In c .,
ow ns and operates ten H ispanic ra ­
The P resident o f N ew A ge, Russ
o w n e rs o f M iam i S p a n ish la n ­
dio stations in N ew York C ity, Los
O asis, w hose background in radio
g u a g e ra d io s ta tio n s W X D J-F M
A ngeles, M iami an d C h ic ag o ip e n d -
broadcasting dates to 1970, is being
El Zol 95 and W R M A -F M R o ­
ing FCC approval).
m a n ce 10 6 .7 , a n n o u n c e th a t th e y
trolled by Raul A larcon, Jr.
SBS is c o n ­
nam ed E xecutive V ice President and
C h ief O perating O fficer o f SBS and
are b e in g a c q u ire d by S p a n ish
E arlier this year, SBS closed on
will continue to operate the M iam i
B ro a d c a s tin g S y ste m In c ., (S B S )
the acquisition o f W PA T-FM in New
stations as well as S B S ’s oth er prop­
fo r $ 1 1 0 .0 0 0 ,0 0 0
York City creating that m arkets first
erties.
N ew A g e is
o w n ed by R uss O a sis (5 0 % ), A lan
and o n ly S p an ish lan g u ag e FM
C IB C W o o d G u n d y S e c u r itie s
P o ta m k in
duopoly. L ast m onth, SBS entered
C o r p o r a tio n h as b e e n r e ta in e d by
in to an a g re e m e n t to p u rc h a se
S B S as its fin a n c ia l a d v is o r an d
(2 5 % ) and
R o b e rt
P o ta m k in (2 5 % ).
SBS. the largest H ispanic-ow ned
m edia entity in the U nited States,
W Y SY -FM in C hicago from Infin­
s e c u r itie s p la c e m e n t a g e n t in
ity B roadcasting.
c o n n e c tio n w ith the a c q u is itio n .
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