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8, 1997
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(Tljc 'jjjortlanb (Observer
Groups Call on Kitzhaber to
Keep Food Stamps Available
A coalition of anti-hunger and
labor organizations called on Gov
ernor Kitzhaber to seek waivers from
a harsh provision o f last year’s wel
fare reform limiting food stamp ben
efits to three months out of a three
year period for 18 to 50 year old
recipients without dependents who
are not fully working. The groups,
Oregon Food Bank, Oregon Hunger
Relief Task Force, AFSCME, AFL-
CIO, the Oregon Building Trades
Council, and the Oregon Law Cen
ter, recently sent a letter to Kitzhaber
requesting that he seek a waiver from
the time limit requirements for six
teen (16) Oregon counties officially
designated as “labor surplus areas”
by the US Department of Labor.
The new welfare reform law
signed by President Clinton August
22,1996 restricts able-bodied adults
age 18-50 without children who are
working under 80 hours a month to
only 3 months of food stamp ben
efits in a 36-month period.
The Act grants the US Secretary
of Agriculture the authority to waive
this harsh time l im it for an area of a
state that has an insufficient number
of jobs. In the letter to Kitzhaber, the
groups noted, “It is imperative that
Oregon utilize all available means to
mitigate the harmful effects of this
time limit provision.” The groups
noted that perhaps as many as 10,000
Oregonians face losing their ben
efits March 1,1997. Approximately,
twenty-nine thousand Oregonians
received notices December 1st tell
ing them they may lose benefits
March 1st.
Report studies working women
O f particular concern to the
groups, is the demand already placed
on private non-profit organizations.
For example, the Oregon Food
Bank’s statewide network is cur
rently serving over 400,000 Orego
nians with emergency food each year
and would be hard pressed to handle
increased demand if 10-29,000 Or
egonians lose food stamp benefits.
“There is no need to deny food
stamps to people who are jobless and
go hungry,” noted Sara Fleming,
Executive Director of the Oregon
Hunger Relief Task force.
“Requesting waivers can help
mitigate the harsh time limits in ar
eas of the state where there is a labor
surplus. And because Food Stamps
are fully federally funded, there is no
cost to the state,” she added.
Electronic encyclopedia availaible
IBM’s New 1997 World Book Multimedia Encyclopedia Deluxe Edition
Today IBM announced the avail
ability of The 1997 World Book
Multimedia Encyclopedia Deluxe
Edition. The double CD-ROM com
bines the quality content parents
have grown to expect from World
Book with the latest Internet and
multimedia technologies that make
achieving high marks on homework
assignments fun and easy.
“The 1997 World Book Multime
dia Encyclopedia Deluxe Edition
provides unmatched depth o f con
tent, and easy-to-use search features,”
said Jim Firestone, general manager
oflB M ’s Consumer Division. “The
package represents the superior qual
ity and motivational technologies that
parents need in learning tools today.
Parents know they can trust the IBM
and World Book brand names.”
A comprehensive education re
source, The 1997 World Book Mul
tim edia E ncyclopedia D eluxe
Edition’s content is tailored to school
curricula with help from some of the
nation’s top boards of education and
curricula advisors as well as thou
sands of students worldwide. As a
result, article topics are written spe
cifically for users in the fourth grade
through high school and beyond.
“Over the last eight decades,
World Book’s commitment to meet
ing and exceeding the needs of stu
dents, parents and teachers has been
our top priority. By listening to our
customers, we have developed a
reference and learning product that
showcases what they have asked for
—all in a dynamic and interactive
CD-ROM form at,” said Ralph
Schey, CEO of World Book, Inc.
“Our partnership with IBM reflects a
common commitment to raising the
bar on accuracy and excellence in
learning.”
The 1997 World Book Multime
dia Encyclopedia Deluxe Edition
brings information to life in an excit
ing and engaging way. From his
toric events, such as the invasion of
Pearl Harbor, to complex issues like
the science of recycling, informa
tion is presented in an entertaining
and interactive format to help users
understand and retain it.
Random House to donate children’s books
Random House Juvenile and Mer
chandise Group has changed its name
to Random House Children’s Pub
lishing, it was announced today by
Harold Clarke, president o f the divi
sion.
Along with the new name, Ran
dom House has announced an inten
sive literacy outreach program for
1997.
Coinciding with the name change
is the 40th birthday of The Cat in the
Hat, the popular Dr. Seuss character.
Random House Children’s Publish
ing will turn birthday wishes into
free books for underprivileged chil
dren. For every birthday card sent to
the Cat in the Hat at Random House,
the company will donate a book to
The National Center for Family Lit
eracy. Plans are to donate up to
150,000 books in 1997.
Children can make their own birth
day creations, or, to help make it
easier for kids to send birthday wishes
to the Cat in the Hat, the company
will be distributing over half a mil
lion pre-addressed birthday cards
through bookstores, libraries, muse
ums and postcard kiosks across the
country.
“We have always been the lead
ing children’s publisher and will con
tinue to publish books o f the highest
quality. Our new name will better
define what we have been and what
we are truly about. It is our mission
to publish books that engage chil
dren in the lifelong love and joy of
reading,” said Clarke. “And, our lit
eracy outreach will ensure that many
more children will be able to enjoy
reading good books,” he added.
Random House Children’s Pub
lishing is the preeminent publisher
of books for children in America
today. The company has introduced
over 50 book series including: Be
ginner B ooks(R ), First Tim e
Books(R), Stepping Stones(R), and
Step into Reading(TM), many of
which have been hailed by elemen
tary educators and reading special
ists as the best on the market. In
addition to Children’s Publishing,
the division includes Random House
Children’s Media, encompassing all
of its children’s activities in audio,
video and CD-ROM.
Rollerblading for kids
Laura Clark, 25, of Murfreesboro,
Tennessee, who began a cross coun
try trip across the country on
rollerblades to call attention to the
plight of abused and neglected chil
dren, will leave from the entrance to
the Santa Monica Municipal Pier,
Santa Monica, CA at 10:00 a.m.,
Saturday, January 4, 1997.
Laura is following Wilshire Bou
levard to Mission to Huntington
Drive to Foothill Boulevard toward
San Bernardino. Continuing from
San Bernardino on a southward route
to Riverside, Twenty-nine Palms and
along route 62 into Arizona.
She is expected to travel approxi
mately 50 miles per day and should
arrive in Phoenix, Arizona on Janu
ary 13. The entire journey will span
some 2,900 miles and will culminate
in Washington, DC an March 13 at
the National Conference of the Child
Welfare League of America, where
she will be met by thousands of child
advocates. Sending Laura off on her
compelling journey will be Eileen
Mayers Pasztor, Director of the
Western Regional Office of the Child
Welfare League o f America and Pe
ter Digre, Director, Los Angeles
County Department of Children and
Family Services, a CWLA member
agency that oversees the care of over
70,000 abused and neglected chil
dren.
Subsidy program improves family life
At least 89% of Michigan fami
lies who participate in the Family
Support Subsidy Program say the
quality of their family life has im
proved, according to a Michigan
Department of Community Health
(MDCH) survey released today. O f
the 89%, more than 60% say their
family life has greatly improved.
“It is gratifying to see that this
has made such a positive impact in
the lives of so many families,” said
Governor John Engler. “This pro
gram illustrates Michigan’s com
mitment to helping people who have
a developmental disability remain
a part of their family and their com
munity.”
The program, which is coordi
nated through MDCH, provides
subsidies to assist families of chil
dren who have a severe develop
mental disability. Many of the chil
dren who receive the subsidy cannot
talk, walk, or feed and dress them
selves.
“Supporting families has always
been a high priority for Michigan’s
public mental health system,” said
MDCH Director James K. Havcman,
Jr. “This program enables families
to stay together and allows them the
flexibility to purchase goods and
services locally that help them meet
their unique needs.”
Families may purchase items that
help them keep their child at home,
including clothing, education aides,
general household expenses, respite
care, and medical expenses.
In addition to helping families
keep children at home, the program
has helped to reduce the number of
children with severe disabilities in
state- operated institutions from 104
in Fiscal Year 1985 to only six in
Fiscal Year 1995. Without the sub
sidy, hundreds o f other families
would likely have needed an out-
of-home placement for their child.
As of October 1,1996 nearly 4,500
children with severe disabilities
were receiving the subsidy.
“We’re very pleased with these
results,” said Haveman. “It’s been
proven time and again that children
who live with their families thrive
within their home environment.”
Children with severe develop
mental disabilities include those
who have severe mental impair
ments, severe multiple impairments,
and autism.
• 8-oz.
• Regular or No-Salt
•SAVEup to
750 on 7
Fresh Oregon
Fryers
• Economy Pack • First three
• Whole Fryers, 69(-lb
• Cut-up Fryers or
Fryer & Hell, S9(-lb.
PORTLANt)
PDC is the City of Portland's urban
renewal, housing and economic
development agency.
news, however, since the study
found that in some cases women’s
situations improved compared with
men’s not only because they worked
more hours, but because men’s
wages were relatively stagnant.
On the negative side, the study
also noted that, despite their in
creased time and effort in the work
place, women remain responsible
for most housework and child care.
While married mothers scaled
down housework from about 30
hours a week in 1965 to 20 hours in
1985, fathers have picked up only
part of the slack, increasing from 5
hours to 10 hours weekly.
Bianchi is a professor the Uni
versity of Maryland. Spain teaches
at the University of Virginia.
SAFEWAY
Tomato Sauce
[)EYEL o EME^T
C ommission
COMMISSION MEETING
Commission meetings are open to
the public. A complete agenda is
available at PDC or by calling
823-3200. Citizens with disabilities
may call 823-3232 or T D D 823-6868
for assistance at least 48 hours in
advance.
This increase follows steady im
provement in women’s educational
levels, as illustrated by statistics from
1993 compared with 1977.
Among whites, women earned 54
percent of bachelor’s degrees in
1993, up from 46 percent in 1977.
For blacks with bachelor’s degrees,
the percentage of women increased
to 63 percent from 57 percent.
W omen’s shares ofdoctoral de
grees jum ped from 25 percent to
44 percent among whites and from
39 percent to 55 percent among
blacks.
Women have also narrowed their
earnings gap, bringing home 72 per
cent of men’s wages in 1994 com
pared with 59 percent in 1970.
This may not be entirely good
Prices Effective 1/08/97 thru 1/14/97 at your nearby Safeway store.
PDC
Date: January 15,1997
Place: Blazer's Boys & Girls Club
525O N E M LK , Jr. Blvd.
Portland, OR
T im e 9:00 a.m.
The authors o f a study on
women’schanging lives in America
say women gradually are gaining
parity with men in the workplace.
“The picture of women in the
workplace is one of clear, albeit
slow, progress toward equality with
men,” Suzanne M. Bianchi and
Daphne Spain report in the study:
"Women, Work and Family in
America.”
Between 1970 and 1995 the share
of women 25 to 54 who work out
side the home climbed from 50
percent to 76 percent, with the big
gest gains shown by married women
with children, according to the
study, published Thursday by the
independent, nonprofit Population
Reference Bureau.
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61 (-lb.
Seedless Red Grapes
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• Imported form Chile
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