Volume X X V I, Number 40
Committed to cultural diversi)
M rs . F r a n c e s S c h o e n -N e w s p a p e
U n i v e r s i t y o f O re g o n L i b r
E u g e n e , O re g o n
97403
Cesaria coming
to Portland
Acoustic Junction
See Metro, page BI.
October 2, 1996
______________________
Minority Enterprise
Development
In the past five years, this
band has ebbed and flowed
its way into being one o f
the most sought after bands
in the country.
Don't miss this performance
at the Aladdin on Tuesday,
October 15, 1996.
F
The Albina Community Bank
is one o f many businesses
showing their support for
minority enterprises.
See Arts & Entertainment, page B3.
See MED, Section C.
Shooting shocks Portland
man carried a pistol and a can of
g a s o lin e in to a d o w n to w n
C h u rc h o f S c ie n to lo g y on
Wednesday, starting a fire and shooting
four church members, Including a preg
nant woman.
Godeka, originally from Kenya, is a legal
resident o f the United States with a criminal
record that includes drunken driving and
minor thefts dating back to 1984, said police
Lt. Cliff Madison.
He had run-ins with the Celebrity Centre
in 1994 and in February . The latest incident
resulted in criminal charges for blackmail
and extortion.
“ It was the typical ranting o f a psychotic,”
said Karin Pouw, a church spokeswoman.
Court records indicate Godeka was con
victed o f attempted coercion for threatening
the church, given 10 days in jail and placed on
probation. Conditions o f probation included
that he have no contact with the church and
not possess any weapons.
The building, in the heart o f downtown
Portland, features displays o f Scientology
books and is devoted to assisting artists.
“Any shoot ing is pretty disturbing. But our
business is for the public so w e’re not going
to keep people out," said Barbara Roland, a
church community organizer.
Founded 40 years ago by science fiction
writer I. Ron Hubbard, Scientology teaches
that technology can expand the mind and
help solve human problems.
A
Arafat, Netanyahu m eet
Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
met for nearly three hours Tuesday as
lunch at the White House turned into mar
athon bilateral talks. Details o f the talks
were not disclosed. But W hite House
spokesman Mike McCurry described the
meeting as cordial and said both leaders
departed in what appeared to be a good
mood.
Umpires work playoffs
Major League umpires cal led o ff a threat
ened strike Tuesday, just minutes before
the post-season playoffs began. The um
pires had threatened a walkout over the
behavior o f Baltimore Orioles second
baseman Roberto Alomar, who was sus
pended for sp ittin g at um pire John
Hirschbeck last Friday.
Opposition rally for peace
Israeli peace activists gathered by the
tens o f thousands Tuesday in Tel Aviv to
demonstrate against the policies o f the
hardline Netanyahu government. One ac
tivist said if Netanyahu returns to Israel
without taking steps toward peace, Israeli
leftists will work to topple his government.
Exposure estim ate grows
The Pentagon has again raised its esti
mate o f the number o f LF.S. G ulf War
veterans who may have been exposed to
chemical weapons. Pentagon spokesman
Ken Bacon said Tuesday at least 15,000
U.S. troops, and perhaps far more, might
have been exposed to Sarin nerve gas when
an Iraqi ammunition dump was blown up
five years ago.
U.S. Bosnia
mission extended
The Pentagon says some 5,000 U.S.
troops will stay in Bosnia until March. The
current NATO-led military peacekeeping
mission, which includes 15,800 U.S. sol
diers, is scheduled to end in December.
But the Pentagon says 5,000 U.S. troops
will begin moving into Bosnia from G er
many within days to help cover the with
drawal o f the international peacekeepers.
Jairus Godeka, 3 8, surrendered after walk
ing out o f the church's Portland Celebrity
Centre with a female hostage who was heard
shouting: "D on’t do anything. He’s got a gun
to my head.” Police talked the man into
releasing the hostage unharmed and drop
ping his handgun.
The pregnant woman was hospitalized in
critical condition with a gunshot wound in
her shoulder. The center’s executive director
was in fair condition with a wound to his right
side and another man was in serious condi
tion with a wound to his chest. The fourth
victim was treated for a wound to his buttocks
and later released.
Firefighters quickly put out the blaze and
it did not cause serious damage. The man had
carried a 1-gallon can o f gas.
Godeka was charged with attempted ag
gravated murder, arson, kidnapping, assault
and burglary. Investigators said they had no
idea what prompted the shooting. The church,
however, denounced it as a hate crime.
“There’s a lesson here, and the lesson is
about the damage religious hate mongers
cause,” said a statement issued by the church’s
Los Angeles office.
The site of the Scientology shooting
that wounded four people.
Photo by Curtis Huff
New Thumbprint I.D.
he Oregon Bankers Association,
the Oregon Credit Union League
and the Oregon League of Finan
c ia l In s titu tio n s im p le m e n te d
Thumbprint Signature Program -a state
wide effort aimed at reducing check
fraud and protecting financial institu
tion custom ers-on April 1, 1 9 9 6 .
T
Oregon financial institutions participating
in the Thumbprint Signature Program re
quires non-customers presenting a check for
cash to place their thumbprint on the check
between the memo and signature lines. This
“thumbprint signature” is in addition to other
standard forms o f identification. It is impor
tant to note that customers maintaining an
account at the participating institution will
not be impacted. Participating institutions
will not maintain a database o f thumbprint.
the wi 11 be used by law enforcement only in
They
cases where fraud is suspected.
Frank E. Brawner, President, Oregon
Bankers Association, said the program had
been implemented in Oregon to address the
growing problem o f check fraud in the state.
“Similar programs in states throughout the
country have proven to be a deterrent to bad
check scams,” Mr. Brawner said.
Brawner added that similar programs have
been adopted by 19 states thus far including
neighboring California, Washington, Idaho
and Nevada.
The Rose
Garden is
celebrating it'
first Anniversc
The arena hai
become the n
home to The
Trailblazers ai
their fans.
Perot loses bid
Ross Perot is not taking “no” for an
answer. A lawyer for the Reform Party
cand idate says he’ll appeal a federal judge’s
decision keeping Perot out o f the presiden
tial debates. U.S. District Judge Thomas
Hogan rejected the Texas billionaire’s bid
to be included in the debates between
President Clinton and Republican presi
dential nominee Bob Dole.
Photo by Curtis
Huff.
Court to rule
on assisted suicide
The Supreme Court has decided to step
into the right-to-die controversy. The ju s
tices agreed to decide whether mentally
competent, terminally ill patients may seek
help from their doctors in committing sui
cide At issue is whether states may ban
doctor-assisted suicide, an issue that has
sparked a national debate.
Now unabomber
Indictment
The Justice Department says Theodore
Kaczynski, already charged in a number of
a tta c k s b la m e d on the so -c a lle d
Unabomber, is now under indictment in a
1994 bombing that killed a New Jersey
advertising executive.
by
R obin L eary
A2
FAMILY
A3
he C lin to n /G o re Campaign
Committees will deposit five
million dollars of its campaign
funds into four of the nation's leading
minority-owned, community-focused
banks on September 3 0 , announced
Clinton/Gore Campaign M anager Pe
ter S. Knight.
Each bank will receive deposits totaling
$ 1.25 million, making it the largest sum ever
deposited into minority-owned banks by a
democratic general election committee. The
four banks are United Bank o f Philadelphia,
International Bank ofCommerce in Laredo,
Texas; Banco Popular in New York City;
and Citizens Trust Bank in Atlanta, Geor
gia.
In announcing the transfers, Knight said,
“Today’s action reflects the President’s deep
commitment to urban redevelopment and mi
nority-owned businesses. It also represents
the President’s long-held view that expanding
opportunity and investing in communities are
key elements in keeping America on track as
we head into the 21st century .”
President Clinton has a strong record o f
supporting community economic empow
erment.
Among other initiatives he has champi
oned, such as raising the minimum wage and
expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit
for working families. The President has also
established the Community Development
Banks and Financial Institutions Fund to
leverage private investments. He has ex
panded the Community Reinvestment Act
that will help unleash billions in new credits
for economic development in distressed com
munities. And he has established one-stop
capital shops that are distributing millions in
loans and investment for small and minori
ty-owned businesses.
Deputy Campaign Manager and Chief
Operating Officer, Theodore Carter ex
plained that the banks were chosen on the
strength o f their community involvement as
well as their solid financial position “The
President consistently stresses that it is good
business to support companies that it is good
business to support companies that invest in
their communities,” said Carter.
International Bank o f Commerce, incor
porated in 1966, is the largest Hispanic-
owned commercial bank in the U.S. Citizens
Trust Bank was incorporated in 1921 and
has eight branches in Atlanta. United Bank
o f Philadelphia, founded in 1992, is the first
African American controlled, full-service
bank established in the city since 1923.
Banco Popular in New York City is a branch
o f Banco Popular de Puerto Rico, the largest
banking operation on the island.
Support won for 48-hour maternity stays
sponsored o f the House bill 1995 which is a
ew mothers could get to spend
companion bill to the Senate's proposal.
more tim e In the hospital if leg
Under the Senate plan, which was part of an
islation passed in the U.S. Sen
unrelated spending bill for veterans and hous
ate earlier this month becomes law. ing,
The private insurers would also have to pay for
bill requires health insurers to pay for at
a four-day stay for women having Cesarean
least a 48-hour hospital stay for women
section deliveries, provided the mother's doc
after they have babies.
tor thought more time was needed.
N
“Ending the practice o f ‘drive-through’
baby deliveries has my enthusiastic and total
s u p p o rt,” said C o n g re ssm a n T hom as
Foglietta, D-PA. “The question o f when a
new mother should leave the hospital must be
decided only by the mother and her doctor -
not by some insurance company bureaucrat."
Congressman Bob Borski, D-PA., is co
Uesigned to curb the trend among insur
ance providers o f push ing new mothers out of
the hospital within 24 hours after delivery,
the measure passed the Senate unanimously.
The Congressional Budget Office esti
mates that this legislation would boost pri
vate group health insurance premiums by less
than one percent. This extended insurance
■
EDITORIAL
A good
democratic deed
EDUCATION
A4
HEALTH
HOUSING
A5
B2
provision would take effect Jan. I, 1998 if it
becomes law.
Health insurers and most business groups
opposed the Senate measure as an un war
ranted federal intrusion
The Cualitiuii fui Optimal Maternity Care,
an insurance industry alliance, argues that it’s
wrong for medical-care standards to be guided
by a federal law which claims to know the
appropriate length o f time a women needs to
stay in the hospital after giving birth, without
conclusive scientific proof. It predicts insur
ance costs will go up as a result of the law.
But Sen. Bill Bradley, D-N.J., chief spon
sor o f the Senate bill sharply disagreed with
such arguments during the floor debate.
ARTS & ENT.
B3
“The need here is very clear,” Bradley
said “ It is common sense backed up by
medical experience. The problem is that some
illnesses, like jaundice and even heart ail
ments, don’, develop in babies until the sec
ond day."
Bradley also pointed to a recent New
Hampshire study that showed mothers who
wen, home within 24 hours after giving birth
had a 50 percent increased risk o f having to
go back the following day, in contrast to
mothers who stayed longer in the hospital
Thirty states in the country have already
adjusted their laws regulating insurance com
panies to allow members to stay longer than
24 hours in the hospital.
RELIGION
CLASSIFIEDS
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B5
MED
Cl