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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 25, 1996)
The Last Angry Anointed: Under the Influence Brown Hat Anointed has risen from virtual anonymity to one of Christian Musics best known vocal groups. See Arts & Entertainment, page BJ. ( 115'{' HIAPPJ KWANZAA A Chicano Play by Alfredo Ramos will be performed_ one time only, December 27 at Monroe High School. See Observador inside. ort anh .e Wishes filled at C111ly Holiday Fiesta IN REVIEW Proposition 209 on hold A federal judge in San Francisco ha.<i issued a preliminary injunction blocking implementation of California's Proposi- tion 209. The voter approved initiative rolls back affirmative action programs in the state. In a 67-page ruling Monday the judge said opponents of the initiative dem• onstrated the probability of success on their claim that the initiative violates the Constitution's equal protection guarante~ to full participation in the political life of the community. Proposition 209 bars pref- erential treatment based on race or SC)( m public employment, education and con- tracting. California Attorney General Dan Lungren is expected to challenge Mon- day's ruling. Civil rights groups called the ruling a major victory. Hebron deal in the balance A deal on the long-stalled Israeli troop pullout from the West Bank town ofHebron is in the balance Tuesday during a sched- uled high-level meeting. Palestinian lead- er Yao;ser Arafat and h,raeli Prime Mimi.- ter Benjamin Netanyahu will auempt to finalize the Hebron agreement. Arafat's spokesman says U-S Middle East envoy Dennis Ross will join the meeting Tues- day. Israel months ago was scheduled to redeploy its troops in Hebron under the Palestinian self-rule agreements. But Ne1anyahu delayed this while demanding protection for 400 Jewish militants who live in the city of 100-thousand Arabs. No break In Lima standoff Peru's government is showing no sign of bowing to the demands of leftist rebels who are holding more than 140 hostages at the Japanese ambassador's residence. The guemllas late Sunday released 225 hos- tages. 'The rebels called the move a good- will gesture. But Peru's government gave no public response. Electricity and water services to the building remain cut off. The rebels are still holding at gunpoint do7.ens of lop Peruvian government officials and aboul 30 high-ranking Japanese business- men and "iplomats. Clinton wishes troops merry xmas President Clinton, in a Yuletide salute to the U.S. armed forces, visited a sprawl- ing Marine base in North Carolina Mon- day to greet troops on duty over the holi- days. Clinton, wenttoCampLejeune, where some42,()(X)MarinesandsailoBarebased. A hi1hli1h1 of Clinton's 4 1/2-hour visit was lunch with members of the Air Contin- gency Force, a rapid reaction unit. He also visited with volunteer social service work- e111, many of them spouses of Marines and sailors posted overseas. The president also dropped oft' sacks of toys. donated by White House slaffers, for the Marines' Toys for Tots proaram. Ball Denied for alleged spy A federal Judge has denied bail in the case of accused spy Earl Pitts. say mg there is substanlial reason to believe the FBI agent is a flight risk. FBI Aaent David Lambert testified al Monday's bai I hearin1 in Alexandria, Va .. thatsurvei llance inves- tiaators found an escape plan in a computer in Pitts' office in 1995. Pitts. a 13-year qency veteran, was charaed last week with sellin1 U.S. secrets to Moscow. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of life in priaon and $250,()(X) in fines for each count of a 12-count indictment filed aaainst him. Pitts. 43. is 1eheduled to be arraigned nul week and is expected lo plead not 1uilty. No trial dale bu been Mt. Photo bJ Douc Welker Two young kids enjoy a visit with Santa at the Cully Holiday Fiesta M ore than 20 local businesses and community troups brouait,t Christmas to a community that mlllht not otherwise be able to eel• brate. The Cully Holiday Fiesta, in its fourth year, was held this past Tuesday, Dec. 17, from 6 p.m. - 9 p.m. at the National Guard Armory, located at I 0000 NE 33rd Drive, in Ponland. Low-income families from northeast Port- land's Cully neighhorhood and the Villa De Clara Vista Apartments were in attendance at this event. Attractions indudedSan1aand Mri. Claus; gifts; enlertainm~nt provided hy the Villa De Clara Vista dancers and singers; a clown entertaining the crowd; and various chil- dren's activities; such as face painting, arts and crafts, and a puppet show In addition. a variety of food was served including burritos, vegetables with dip, and tortilla chips and salsa. Popcorn, cookies, cake and punch was also served "This is the kind of event that makes you feel good about lhe Holiday Fiesta Commit- tee. "It lakes a lot uf work to make an event like this happen. The smiles on the kids' faces made it all wonhwhile." "Kids look forward to Christmas all year long," said Bob Tobin, program director for the Portland Police Bureau's Sunshine Divi- sion. "It is agam a joy for the Sunshine Division to step in and fulfill the wishes of these children." Satlta and Mrs. Claus hoth of whom are bi- lingual. gave each child at the event a gift. These gifts were specific to the child's age and 1ender. After recemng lheir gifl from Santa, each child received a pic1ure of their visit with Santa. Western Family Foods has donated 90 toy stockings from which kids will receive gifts. The Portland Fire Bureau's Toy and Joy Program and the Marme Corps Toys for Tots program have also contrihuted toys for the party. "This is a special time of year, and helping others in need is what showing holiday spirit is all about," said Tom Drew, advertisin1 director for Untied Grocers/Western Family Foods. "It is a pleasure 10 be involved with such a great community effon once again this year." City plans for more pedestrians & cyclists A new city brochure wlll explain requirements for bulldlncs to be pedestrian and bike-friendly. After several years of public discussion involving the business and development com- munities, neighborhoods associations and citizens, new city standards for pedestrian- and bike-friendly development will go into effect January I, 1997 in response to the state's Transportation Planning Rule (TPR). "The TPR requires cities and counties to reduce automobile usage ~y lwenty percent over the next 30 years," Planning Director David Knowles said. "That means we musl make walking, bicycling, car-pooling and riding transit more attractive and plan with those modes of transponation in mind." The new regulations amend the city zon- ing code to strength the city's pedestrian access and bicycle parking standards. Devel- opment along transit streets--streets with buses or light rail--will have to be more inviting to pedestrians. According to Knowles, new setbacks stan- dards which will require buildings to be close to the transit street will ensure a comfortable environment for walking. Access to build- ings will be more convenient for pedestrians since main entrances will face lhe transit st~et; and fun her promote pedestrian orien- tation, the new regulations limit the amount of parking area along site's transit street frontage. The city ha.,; also adopted regula- tions thal require more and higher quality bicycle parking. "All of these changes will help us accom- Widening gap in job skills A report released by the Oreaon Employment Department p~ Jected a wldenlnl &ap over the next ten years between the Job skills of Oreeonlans and the skllls required by the state's employers. While some finnscan 't find enough work- ers with certain skills, especially engineer- ing, computer, and other technical skills, many Oregonians can't find jobs that match their skills. The new study, Oregon• s Future Workforce: Will Supply Match Demand?, looks at the 300,000 new jobs projec1ed to he added to Oregon's economy by the year 2(X)~. and the replacement openings for that time period. Replacement openings are cre• aled by workers retiring or leaving jobs for other reasons. The new growth of roughly 30,(lOO jobs annually will be supplemented by replace• ment openings of about 34,()(X), for a total of 64,000 available jobs each year. Of the 64,000 annual new and replace- ment openings. fewer lhan 1 1,000 will re- quire at least a bachelor's dep-ee, while more than 16,000 Oregon college graduates will enter the labor force each year. "However. on an individual hasis a col- lege education continues to be a viable choice for those who aim for advancement and posi- tions requiring specific degrees", the report slates. "S1a1istics still show thal the wages of workers with some college education contin- ue to surpass those wilh a high school educa• tion and training make workers more com• petitive and increase opportunities for ad- vancement even in jobs that may not require a degree initially." modate our growing population without com- promising our high quality of life," Knowles added. "These amendments will promote a more efficient use of our land and resources- -we 'II spend less money and use less space for new roads by making better use of exist ing roads, sidewalks and bike lanes." The Planning Bureau is preparing a bro- chure to help developers, neighborhood asso- cillionsandothercitizensunderstandthechang- es. FOi' more information or to get a brochure, call Robin McIntyre at (S03) R23-7849. Rot Jay joins Visitor Association School board exam'ines nee~ for change A n extensive Hit-examination to help "define what succeH IS all about" and determine the best method of pursuln1 that success was announced last nllftt at a Portland Board of Education meetlna. "Class Action: Collaboration for the Fu- ture of Portland of Public Schools" is the name of the plan involvin1 lhe community outlined by the board. II addresses the need for new direclion in public education brou1h1 about by changes in funding, expectations about student achievement, demands on school personnel and preparation of sludenls for the world of work. The plan developed out of a $5,()(X) plan- ning granl Ponland Public Schools received last sprina to study the possibility ofbe<:om- ina a chaner district. "We asked ourselve1, how can we lake a good school system and make ii a better one?" says board member Lucious Hicks. "1'hrou1h an examination of charter district status, the superintendent challenged us lo broaden our thinking." The board's examinalion revealed the need for an in-depth look across the district repre- sentatives, will begin meeting within 30days and will pre!ICnl their findinas to the board this sprinJ.--vote on which of their recom- mendations they choo!C to pursue, then will vote on a plan 10 implement the recommen- dations by the end of the school year. "We'll end up with a critical combination of punuits," Hicks says. "if they are allow- able under current state reaulations, we'll go ahead with them. If not, we will seek a waiver or ask for charter status." The board's examination of its current method of governance is prompted by chang- es in school funding and shifts in local deci• sion-making authority since the passage of Measure 5. Portland schools have lost $50 million over the past five years, while requirements of educational reform legislation place in- creased demands on schools. Passa1eofMcuure47 (cut and cap)threat• ens to take an additional $20 million from next year's bud1et, which could result in cuts of hundreds of teachers and many successful programs. Community members are encoura1ed to participate on the teams examinin1 district operations Nomination forms are available at the Blane hard Education Service Cenler, 50 I N. Dixon Sr R oy Jay, Prealdent of Oreton Convention and Yllltor S.r- vlcu Network was recently unanimously elected tre•urer for the W•hlnston County Visitors ANocla- tlon by the o,....lutloM board of directors. He will replace Mau, Director of Sales for Sweetbriar Inn. who will be leavina to accep1 a similar position in Washinaton State with Heathman ManqemcntOroup. Jay, who has been a lon1 standin1 and active member of the WCV A Board will become an oftker and exec1&1ive board member sts1in1 in I f/97 in aucceuion for po11ibly the board presidency in the fu- ture. EDITORIAL EDUCATION METRO CHRISTMAS ARTS & ENT. FAMILY OBSERVADOR CLASSIFIEDS A2 A3 Bl B2 B3 B4 B5 B7