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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 10, 1997)
SBaHHKSmj •■¿X» . »»»' . '.'.s SEPT. 10/ 1997 Committed to cultural diversity. Volume XXVII, Number 37 Performers bring ♦ extreme excitement Discount tickets go on sale for The Greatest Show on Earth. See Family Living, page A5. New Max cars fill immediate need Album is what's next for Vanessa Williams There's no time to wait as the new low-floor Max rail cars go into service. I alented artist calls her life, just an interesting series of events See Metro, inside .A»- <V'. See Arts & Entertainment, page B3. 'Porilatià (Ohsmnr T U B WEEK In c in REVIEW Countdown to gridlock 1-5 bridge closure just days away Test: Di driver intoxicated New tests confirm that Princess Diana's driver was over the legal limit for alcohol when he crashed their car in Paris, French police sources said Tuesday. Eu rope 1 radio said a new test found 1.75 grams of alcohol per liter of Henri Paul’s blood. Two previous tests of blood taken from the chauffeur, conducted shortly after the Aug. 3 1 crash in two independent laboratories, had detected essentially the same level, about three times the legal limit for driving. Ex-DNC chief testifies Former Democratic Party chairman Don Fowler said neither President Clinton, Vice President A1 Gore nor anyone else at the White House ordered or suggested that campaign fund-raising rules be bent during the 1996 election campaign. Tes tifying Tuesday before the Senate Gov ernmental Affairs Committee, Fowler acknowledged that the Democratic Na tional Committee made mistakes during the campaign but insisted these were “mis takes of process, not intent.” Haiti leader at sinking An international recovery team pre pared to pull a sunken ferry from the water Tuesday as Haitian President Rene Preval and government ministers visited the di saster scene. The hull of the ferry La Fierte Gonavienne, which sank Monday in 120 feet of water just 50 yards from shore off the coast at Montrouis, contained doz ens and perhaps hundreds of bodies. An international recovery team of U.N. peacekeepers brought a crane to the scene to help them pull the 60-foot ferry out of the water. Productivity up sharply The government says American busi nesses increased productivity at their fast est pace in three and a half years in the second quarter. The Labor Department report should ease concern over infla tionary pressures. Productivity outside of the farm sector rose at a strong 2.7 percent annual rate during the recent pe riod. Mir restarts computer Russia’s Mir space station turned back to face the sun after the crew fixed the latest in a series of problems aboard the 11-year-old craft. M ir’s main computer failed Monday, forcing the three-man crew to shut down some systems. The gyrodine devices that help align the station’s solar panels with the sun switched themselves off automatically, reducing energy supplies. The crew, with help from Mission Control, repaired the computer overnight and restarted it. Mother Teresa’s funeral debated Three rifle shots — and not a tradi tional 21 -gun salute — will be fired at the state funeral on Saturday ofMother Teresa, the revered “Saint of the Gutters." The decision was announced as protocol breaking funeral plans for the gentle nun roused debate throughout the country. State funerals are usually reserved only for India’s presidents and prime minis ters. The decision to accord the same honor to Mother Teresa caused some raised eyebrows in tradition-bound India. Albright heads to Mideast Secretary o f State Madeleine Albright left Tuesday on her first Middle East trip, which aides said would aim to set prin ciples for reviving the peace process but with little hope of immediate result. Portland and Vancouver traffic conditions during the repair of the Interstate 5 bridge may be worse than originally anticipated. This, according to Oregon Department o f Transportation officials may occur as a result of last week's announcement to shorten the bridge closure time from 21 days to one week, giving commuters a sense they don't need to adopt alternate routes. (Photo by Neil Heilpern) B y N eii , H eilpern ommuters between V ancouver and Portland have a handful of days left to figure out how they will deal with the partial closure of the 1-5 Interstate bridge which is scheduled lor some long needed repairs. Work on the 8 1-year-old structure was originally scheduled to start Sept 16 and last three weeks. However, the Oregon De partment of Transportation (ODOT) an nounced last week that new construction procedures developed by the contractor could reduce that to somewhere between a week and 10 days. Recent ODOT studies revealed a growing crack in the mechanism which lifts the bridge, creating a potentially hazardous situation The estimated $2.87 million price tag in cludes totally closing the northbound bridge during repairs "We are squeezing all of the northbound traffic onto the southbound bridge," ODOT public affairs coordinator Ron Scheele told The Port land Observer, noting one lane would become a "reversible lane." "From midnight to noon each day, we will have two lanes going south and one lane north, to handle the traffic from Vancouver to Portland." said Scheele "Then, from noon to midnight we will have two lanes going north and one going south, for traffic leaving Portland.” 1-5 ramp closures include: SR-14 & Washington street in Vancouver (south bound onto 1-5). Hayden Island and Marine Drive (northbound onto 1-5), and Everett and Grand (eastbound onto 1-84). With 1-5 Interstate bridge closure and increased traffic diverted to the 1-205 Jack- son Bridge, Scheele said ODOT is encour aging carpooling, vans and buses by creating temporary "high occupancy vehicle” (HOV) lanes along the freeways. These so-called "diamond" lanes will be ▼ C ontinued topage B6 Ockley Green's Stocker blazes on race trail adre Stocker looks like any other 6th Grader when walk ing to his classes at Ockley Green Middle School in north Portland. But put him on a bicycle and his rare form becomes apparent. Madre Stocker is a bicycle racer. He trains on the road with adults on long rides, on the trail for an even' called Cyclocross, and on the steep banks ot the Alpcnrose Velodrome to practice the art of Track Racing. At the State Championships held last Sunday at Alpenrose Velodrome. Madre won a series of events and The Champion ship in the 10 - 14 old division. He can now wear the blue and gold State Championship Jersey worn only by state champs. Madre was the only African-American competing in the championship event. He w as discovered and trained at Matt Dishman Community Center on Northeast Knott Street, in a program called Bicycles and Ideas for Kids Empowerment (or B I K E). After reaching a high skill level in the w _________ JL _____________---------- — — fa— ■ it class. Madre and two of this team-mates, Madre Stocker (right) is finding success in bicycle race competitions. Tuesday he was honored at his Ockley Green school Deandre Perry, and Durriel Panky were with the presentation of a championship jersey. (Photo by Michael Adamson) lent racing bicycles, given racing clothes Cyclismc Racing Program and Bicycles Series ', and the “Bike A Fair" at Woodlawn After months of training, the boys com and were sent out on training rides with and Ideas for Kids Empowerment. He can Park peted in races like the "Mt Tabor Cycle seasoned adults of the "RiverCityCyclisme" be reached at 234-6008. John Benenate is the Director of the Series", the "P.I.R Tuesday Night Cycle cycling team M