P age B? O ctober 9, 1996 • T he P ori land O bserver The Death And Resurrection Of Light Rail Part III by P rof . M c K inley B urt “Clang, clang, clang went the trol­ ley” sang the gaily costumed dancers who requested you to "Meet Me in St. Louis ’ as they frolicked their way through that Broadway musical re­ prise of a great and glorious W orld's Fair at the turn of the century The “Gateway to the West" was host to the world. But nostalgia aside, we must ask ourselves, "do we really understand the processes and underlying m o­ tives that drove America’s clean, economical urban transit system to the brink of complete destruction? High-octane vapors may have had as much to do with degenerating lungs as tobacco; that could be factored into my observation that "the free­ ways expedited a frantic exodus from the cities, leaving the urban infra­ structure in economic and social shambles.” I delighted in the opportunity to extol the virtues of several light rail systems as you undoubtedly con­ cluded the past two weeks. The death and destruction of two urban transit systems in particular will be o f great interest; there is only a shadow left of that vibrant, ebullient "Red Car Line in Los Angeles-nothing at all of "The Portland Traction Company.” For a well-documented account of what happened in these ‘massacres’, I again refer you to James Howard Kuntsler, “The Geography of No­ where,” Touchstone, 1994 (Simon & Schuster). Drawing from “Automo­ bile Age”, the archives of the Ameri­ can Association ol State Highway and Transportation Officials, Robert W alker's benchmark study, “Urban Planning in Thirty-one of the Nation’s Largest C ities" and many court records, he makes a frightening case. In the particular case we review pp. 90-92. "In 1925, with the acquisition of the Yellow Coach Company, the General Motors Corporation under took a systematic campaign to put streetcar lines out of business all over America...erected a byzantine network of subsidiaries and holding companies to buy up the lines, scrap the tracks and convert the routes to buses. As the great depression deep­ ened, GM formed Atlantic Grey­ hound." “In 1932, General Motors formed the United Cities Mobile Transit Corporation' (UCMT) to create a market for its products by taking over streetcar lines in small cities and converting the lines to buses. UCMT wasdissolved in 1935 after the Ameri­ can transit Association censured it lor trying to dismantle Portland, O regon's electric trolley lines, but this didn't stop General Motors.” Perhaps Port land’s daily press with all its manpower and vast resources can provide us with an account of those subsequent strategies employed by this giant corporation in its suc­ cessful efforts to replace clean and economical light rail with the ubiqui­ tous 'horseless carriage’. Could be, since readers called to say that right after my first article appeared, other articles promptly appeared with my “new spin on the trolley car.” But back to Kunstler, we have this, pp. 91,92. I hat same year [as the Portland catastrophe] the mammoth company joined with the Omnibus Corpora­ tion... in a scheme to replace New York C ity’s electric trolley system with buses. The conversion of Man­ hattan was largely accomplished in an eighteen-month period, despite a hue and cry among riders.” "In 19.36. a combination of G en­ eral Motors parts suppliers, Stan­ dard Oil o f California and Firestone I ire And Rubber formed a company called National City Lines... pro­ ceeded to buy and dismantle street­ car systems in San Jose, Stockton and Fresno, California. In 1943, an­ other NCL affiliate, American City Lines, converted trolleys to buses in nineteen more cities, including Pa­ cific Electric's ‘Big R ed’ trolley lines in Los Angeles.” "A federal grand jury indicted GM for criminal conspiracy in the Los Angeles case in 1949, but the even­ tual fine of $5(MM) was about equal to the com pany’s profit on the sale of five chevrolets. By 1950, General Motors had converted more than 100 electric streetcar lines to gasoline - powered buses.” "I know that I was scheduled to conclude the series this week but I have been threatened with bodily harm (smiles) on the part of some readers unless I explore some of the new considerations that must be en­ tertained in evaluating the "true na­ ture of urban development and the economic confines of A m erica’s in­ ner-cities and euphemistic ghettoes.” And an economist at a local univer­ sity is certain that he can get a large grant to pursue “this new spin on industrial policy and its social impli­ cations.” So, we will do it ‘one-more-once’ with a couple of added tid bits con­ cerning black inventors who were pioneers in their patented contribu­ tions to light rail. Pandora's box may have a gold lining. Classrooms linked on Internet Classrooms across America are being wired for the Internet, but educators say computers will be of little use to students unless teach­ ers know how to use the technol­ ogy to leach daily lessons. To help, a coalition o f educa­ tional o rg a n iz a tio n s, teach ers unions and technology companies launched a grassroots initiative Tuesday to recruit 100,(MM) com ­ puter-literate teachers to voluntar­ ily tram five of their teaching col­ leagues. So far, 4,(MM) teachers have signed up. They arc registering by elec­ tronic mail and the 21st Century Teachers Internet homepage — http://w w w .2lct.org. The site on the World Wide W eb — the graph­ ics-oriented part of the Internet — contains a list of resources for edu­ cators and will connect them with other teachers involved in promot­ ing and using educational technol­ ogy. “T oday’s students still need to know the three R’s, the old basics,” Education Secretary Richard Riley said. "But they also need to under­ stand how to use the three W ’s — the W orld Wide Web." Barbara Blevins, a reading spe­ cialist at Thurgtxxl Marshall Elemen­ tary School in Manassas, Va., said computers force students to sharpen their decision-m aking skills and solve problems to find the best infor­ mation available. What our kids have Iodo is man­ age information that it coming in at a rate that’s almost unimaginable,” Blevins said. No Need to Drive Across Town • IVe Honor Competitors Coupons' c |omfort £J u to Q jepair Foreign & Domestic Minor & Major Repairs fa c to ry Trained Technician • 2 Shops Same Location TUNE-UP BRAKE SPECIAL SPECIAL OIL LUBE & FILTER $29^5 I $56^! $14 95 « cycle only r«KJ M 9 9S Includes plugs & scope check. Check cap, rotor & filters. Other cars slightly more. | Turn rotors or drums, replace | Up to five quarts of oil shoes or pads, inspect hydrolics, repack wheel bearings if applicable OPEN MON FRI 7-6 • OPEN SATURDAY 8 4 2 6 5 3 MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. BLVD. 2 8 7 -3 0 2 2 Blazers Boys & Girls Clubs Brick Sales 5250 NE MLK - —— — — — — n PURCHASER’S NAME: A D D R E S S ;________ _____________ DAYTIME PHONE #: — _ _ • — I I _ [ PRINT IN BLOCK LETTERS the name as you wish it to appear on ■ your brick:____ ___ ________________ _ _________________ I You have room for 24 characters includmgspaces. I PLEASE PLACE MYORDER FOR BRICKS AT $50 EACH. | METHOD OF PAYMENT: Charge my: □ VISA □ Mastercard | □ Check enclosed, Card Number: . payable to: Boys & Girts Clubs Name on Card: ----- — | M p Îf. I.. A S 1 1 of Portland SIGNATURE: I 0 Please bill me. MAIL TO: Bricks, 7119 SE Milwaukie Ave. Portland, OR 97202 I Exp Dal°^ S 0 , 1 BS i - . — — — — — — — — —I - . — . . — — _ — W 0 RW TIGER WOODS MAKES GOOD Yankees-Orioles series postponed Managers Joe Torre of the New York Yankees and Davey Johnson of the Baltimore O ri­ oles have had ample time to set their pitching rotation for the American League Championship Series. Maybe too much time. Tonight’s opening game at Yan­ kee Stadium was postponed due to inclement weather It has been rescheduled for Wednesday at 4 p.m. EDT. Game Two is sched­ uled for Thursday at 3 p.m. George stays with Falcons The NFL trading deadline has come and gone, and quarterback Jeff George still is a disgruntled, suspended member of the At­ lanta Falcons. Both the Fal­ cons and the Seattle Seahawks — where George was rumored to be headed forquarterback Rick Mirer — announced shortly af­ ter the 4 p.m. EDT deadline that no deal had been reached. Lance Armstrong recovering from cancer Noted American cyclist Lance Armstrong revealed today he is undergoing treatment for cancer after having a malignant testicle removed last week. Armstrong, a member of the 1992 and 1996 United States Olympic teams and the two-time defending Tour DuPont champion, had the can­ cerous testicle removed Thurs­ day, a day after learning that he had the disease, at St. D avid’s Hospital in Austin, Texas. Joyce Christman, who directs a gifted education program at Bailey Elementary School in Dublin, Ohio, recently connected with an astro­ physicist working at the South Pole. She chats on-line with him, dow n­ loads his writings, screens out adult humor and shares his work with her students. “This does not replace our in­ struction — this is only a tool,” she said. As part of the 2 1 st Century Teach­ ers initiative, Christman is mentoring UCLA hoops being — via the computer — a prospective investigated teacher studying at the University of The storied UCLA basketball W est V irginia in M organtow n. program is being investigated in­ W.Va. ternally by the Pac-10 Confer­ President Clinton wants every ence following a report in today’s school classroom to be hooked up to Los Angeles Times that gave the information superhighway by accounts of the sale of a car from 2000. coach Jim Harrick to the sister of As of October 1995, about half a signed recruit. The u n iv e r­ the nation's public schools were sity issued a statement this after­ linked to the Internet — up from 35 noon confirming that there is an percent from the year before, ac­ ongoing investigation by the cording to the Education Depart­ school and conference regarding ment. But only 9 percent of indi­ the report and that there would vidual classrooms had access. not be further comment until its After volunteers inCaliforma held conclusion. a NetDay" in March and wired 4,000 classrooms for the Internet, Griffey wins grassroots efforts began in other states to upgrade technology at seventh Gold Glove schools. This month, “NetDays” to Outfielder Ken Griffey Junior wire schools and classrooms are of the Seattle Mariners won his scheduled in at least 35 states. seventh consecutive American “When we provide students with League Gold Glove award, it was a well-trained teacher and the appro­ announced today by Rawlings priate computer-based learning tech­ Sporting Goods. Griffey com­ nology, something very exci ting hap­ mitted only four errors in 390 pens: Students pursue knowledge chances and had 10 outfield as­ rather than waiting to have knowl­ sists. He is joined by teammate edge pu rsu e th e m ,” says Reg and fellow outfielder Jay Buhner, Weaver, vice president o f the Na­ who was honored for the first time. tional Education Association. $ G raft O livi ros & R yan A ttorneys at L aw Gregory P. Oliveros Attorney at law Northeast Portland (503) 282-7285 2 I6 I Northwest Broadway St Portland, Oregon 97232-1512 (503) 282-7285 Fax (503) 282-8007 Bankruptcy Line (503) 335-3800 Welcome, Tiger. You are no longer the child wailing to take his place among men. You are a professional golfer — and a winner. So often, reality falls short of ex­ pectation and anticipation outweighs actuality. So far, that is not the case with Tiger Woods. This man— still nearly three months short of his 2 1 st birthday — is as good as advertised. Woods qualified for the PGA Tour with his playoff victory over Davis Love III at the Las Vegas Invitational on Sunday. It should be just the start. Pull your seatbelts tight and keep your arms inside the car at all times. We could be heading for a thrill ride as exciting as the one Jack Nicklaus took us on from 1962 — when he won the U S. Open for the first of his 70 victo­ ries and 18 major pro titles — through 1986 when he won the Masters for his last. Woods is not aplayer— oraperson without flaws. But his talent and composure tantalize with the prospect that he may become the best ever. Yes, the '’Hello World” news con­ ference in Milwaukee was pretentious. Yes. the 'There are still some courses I can’t play because of the color of my skin "adforNikewashypcrbolesimplyto sell a lew sneakers. And yes. it was unwise to abruptly pull out ol the Buick Challenge and insensitive to stiff the Haskins Award dinner at which he was to be honored as college golfer of the year None of that is stuff of which Woods should be proud. He has to realize that the financially rewarding thing to do will not always be what’s best for his ambition to be the best ever. Does the $40 million man — who has skipped one event because of ex­ haustion — really need to play in the Australian Open next month for a $190,(MM) appearance fee? Or the H