Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (April 9, 1997)
A prii 9 , 1997 • T he P ortland O bserver P agi A b Doreen Binder Named Executive Director of Transition Projects Transition Projects, Inc. (TPI) a non-profit agency which has pro vided solution oriented assistance to Portland's homeless and very low income people since 1Q71 has an nounced that Doreen Binder has been named Executive Director Ms. Binder moved to Portland after serving for nine years as the Executive Director of the Coos County Women sCrisis Service. Her experience includes public service as Task f orce Chair of the National Coalition against Domestic Vio lence, Board Representative for the Oregon Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, and commit tee co-chair for the State Domestic Violence Council. Ms. Binder at- tended school at Wright College in C hicago, Southw estern Oregon Community College and Haifa Uni versity in Israel. She plans on con tinuing her education at Linfield College Ms Binder's extensive experi ence in Transitional Housing is timely since TPI will soon open Jean's Place, Portland’s first Tran sitional Housing facility for home less women Jean's Place will pro vide a stable living environment for forty-four homeless women while offering a comprehensive program which focuses on assisting women recovering from hom elessness, abuse, poverty and chemical depen dency. The new women’s facility will celebrate it’s opening on April 10th. Martin Soloway, T PI's Board Chair, said, “ We are very enthusias tic about Ms. Binder’s leadership. She has the right expertise to man age our current programs, Glisan Street Shelter, and the Community Service Center as well as with the bold new direction TPI is taking in it’s programs with the opening ot Jean’s Place, as well as working on the upcoming Eastside Shelter. In a fiscal environment of shrinking gov ernment tunding and increasing needs to earn private donations, it is especially important to have an ex perienced leader with a clear vision at the helm.” Portland Attorney elected to high seat C hicago, M arch 27, I997-- Chrys A Martin has been elected to the Board of Directors ot the 20.000-member Defense Research Institute (DRI), the nation's larg est association of civil litigation defense lawyers. A shareholder with the law firm o f Bullivant Houser Bailey P endergrass & Hoffman. P C ., Portland, OR. she specializes—and heads the firm s practice groups—in employment law as well as employee benefits/ life, health, and disability insur ance. Martin, 43, is also chair of DR I’s Employment Law Committee; sec retary-treasurer o f the Oregon As sociation ol Defense Counsel; a member and former com m ittee chair of the American Bar Asso ciation and the Oregon State Bar Association; and a member of the Multnomah County Bar Associa tion. In addition, she writes and lectures extensively unem ploy- Chrys A. Martin ment law and employee benefits issues ranging from sexual ha rassment to compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) as well as other legal top ics. Her civic activities include in volvement in the American Lung Association of Oregon (form er board secretary) and Good Samari tan Hospital Associates (1992- 1993 chair). Martin earned her bachelor ot arts degree with honors from Or egon State University and her Juris Doctor degree from the Northwest ern School of Law at Lewis & Clark College, where she was in ducted into the Cornelius Honor Society. She lives in Portland with her husband. Jack Pessiä. Most o f DRI’s 20,000 members are attorneys in private practice who defend corporations, associa tions, insurance companies, gov ernment bodies and individuals in damage suits and other civil liti gation. The organization also has some 400 corporate members, includ ing insurance co m p an ies and manufacturers. Founded in I960, DRI is headquartered in Chicago. 1996 Newsmaker Honorees Salute Black Press for its Support Showing “Economic Strength” The economy of the Portland-Vancouver, OR-WA PMSA has been given a grade of “A+” as a result ot an economic study which measures thirteen economic elements over a twenty-five year period The metro politan area is ranked 12th among the 313 defined metropolitan areas in the United States tor “economic strength”. The area places just behind the Nashville, IN MSA and ahead of the Fort Collins-Loveland, CO MSA in the national rankings. The most important primary industry in the Port land-Vancouver. OR-WA PMSA is the manufacturing sector which contributes 45.2% of the primary earn ings for the area. Primary industries are those which import money into an area and cause subsequent economic churning and consumption Primary or "contributory” industries are responsible forthe growth of employment and earnings for most other sectors. The Portland-Vancouver, OR-WA PMSA includes Clackamas, Columbia, Multnomah, Washington, and Yamhill Counties in Oregon and Clark County in Washington, The metropolitan area is ranked 27th out ot the 3 13 areas in terms of population size. Pressured to Give False Testimony Attorneys for Mumia Abu-Jamal filed new legal papers recently cen tered on testimony from former Philadelphia police inform ant Pamela Jenkins. Attorneys say the information gives further proof that police manipulated and pressured witnesses to give false testimony against Abu-Jamal. Jenkins was the central govern ment informant and witness in the federal investigation which recently led to the conviction of six 39th District officers for gross police corruption. In a signed statement to Jamal s attorneys in January. Jenkins testi fied that police Officer l orn Ryan, one of the convicted officers, had pressured her to give false testimony against Jamal in the shooting ot police officer Daniel Faulkner. “It was clear to me that Tom Ryan and Richard Ryan wanted me to perjure myself and say that 1 had seen Jamal shoot the police officer,” wrote Jenkins. Jenkins’ affidavit further testifies that Cynthia White, the star witness for the prosecution in Jamal’s 1982 trial, and the only one to claim to have seen Jamal with a gun in his hand, was also subjected to police coercion. The legal brief filed with the P en n sy lv a n ia S uprem e C ourt reads, “ In the days after the shoot ing, (W hite) was arrested at least twice for prostitution. Her pic ture was posted in the Sixth Dis trict with instructions for arrest ing officers to Contact Homi cide.’ Each time police picked White up and took her statement, she rev ised her story about Faulkner’s shooting. Without ex planation, bench warrants against her were also not prosecuted. “We know we can bring this down to a nutshell if you just come forward. We’ve all lost a lot by coming forward. I’ve lost some body 1 love dearly—Just do this one time, one favor, that’s not asking a lot. Then maybe you can clean up your past, like the rest of us are doing,” Jones said. urns bros TRAVEL STOPS 621 S.E. MLK, Blvd. and 620 S.E. Grand Ave. (503) 238-7343 or (503) 238-7347 • Open 24 hours • Great gas prices • Convenient store • Propane • Wet & dry ice Serving the greater Portland area for 50 years. ‘ With a $ 10,000 m m .m u m a d v a n e 2 " C apras ’ o f T l / m ^ r t a i « b e b w $Vo,OOO,<.i.cJra“.e" u S 0 ^ 7 - w ill return ,o the ra .e ^jf (QUAI HQUSIMS LENDER Congresswoman Maxine Waters, »median Dick Gregory and talk iow host Joe Madison saluted the ational Newspaper Publishers As- »ciation (NNPA) for its support, ter receiving the organization s 996 Newsmakers of the Y ear award i a gala dinner, Thursday, March 0, 1997, in Washington D.C. The three w ere selected by INPA's 200-plus member publish- rs for their “courage and commit- lent in exposing the horrors ot the I A/Contra/Crack cocaine scandal. " aid NNPA President Dorothy .eavell, “We must honor those who ift us up on the road to freedom, hese three people had truly led vith the torch.” In accepting her award. Rep Vaters, who has pushed for legisla t e hearing as well as federal inves- igations into the matter, said she lad become involved with the CIA :rack issue because “we are sick and ¡red of having people play with us. “I wanna thank you for carrying he story,” said Rep Waters, whose Los Angeles district has been se verely affected by the crack epidemic. Co-awardee Mr. Gregory, who las been on a fast for over four months to force the government to declassify material relating to the CIA’s involvement in the deadly proliferation o f crack in urban America, was also grateful for the role the Black Press has played in keeping the issue in the public eye. “What a beautiful feeling to be Prime ♦ 1.0%. As of 2/1/97, .h is non-promot.onal rate was 9.25% A ™ never exceed 18 0% APR Property insurance is required. Oiler only ava.iaoie custom ers. Member FD1C. Rep. Donna M Christian (D-Virgin Islands); Washington, D.C. Mayor Marion Barry; Dr. Henry J Lyons, president to the 8.5 million member National Baptist Convention. USA, Inc.; Patrick Ayendi from the Nige rian Embassy; Washington, D.C. Council members Sandy Allen, (D- Ward 8) and Hilda Mason (S-At- large); D.C. Shadow Representative Sabrina Sojourner; D.C, Shadow Senator Paul Strauss; C. Delores fucker, national chair of the Na tional Political Congress of Black Women and Archbishop George Stallings, head o f The African- American Catholic Congregation. NNPA President Dorothy Leavell reminded attendees that the Black Press is just as relevant today as when John Russwurm and Sam Cor nish established the nation’s first African-American newspaper. The Freedom’s Journal in 1827. “There is still a need for the Black Press in America. We’ve got the power, and we’ve got to use it, she said. The NNPA Newsmaker of the Year, which is in its second year, recognizes African Americans who have most influenced issues of con cern to Black America and who have made significant strides in bringing about positive change. Last year. Nation of Islam's Minister Louis F arrakhan was named 1995 Newsmaker of the Year for his spear heading of the Million Man March in October, 1995. among peers, to be validated by your peers,” he said.“We have come here to tell you thanks....God made you the keeper of the flame,’’ Mr. Gre gory told audience members. Mr. Gregory also announced that protesters would again be targeting the CIA headquarters in a Good Friday demonstration. He and oth ers were arrested outside the Lan gley, VA facility last year while at tempting to deliver a copy of articles from the California-based San Jose Mercury News. According to the newspaper CIA-backed operatives pumped $1 billion worth ol crack cocaine into Black neighborhoods, in Watts, Compton and South-Cen tral Los Angeles during the 1980's. The profits from the sales were used to buy arms for Nicaraguan Contra rebels, the investigative articles al lege. In addition, Mr. Gregory de scribed a long-term plan which would include the commercial boy cott of Thanksgiving and Christ mas, if documents relating to the CIA’s role in the matter are not released by July 4. Mr. Madison, who has used his Washington, D.C.-based talk show to publicize the issue, encouraged the Black Press to “Stay on the story andeditorialize about the issue.... We have to rattle these cages,” he said The second annual Newsmaker of the Year Dinner attracted some of the nation's top officials, including Rep Shelia Jackson-Lee (D-TX); 4 Key. For a new America." I 7 / hne M
