Volume XXVII, Number 52
Committed to cultural
H
Willner awarded for
years of support
.S'. Willner honored for
his hard work at Portland
State University.
D oh
(The
REVIEW
Kaczynski Won’t Use
M ental Defense
Theodore K a czyn ski's lawyers aban­
doned plans lo ra psychiatric defense after
the Unaboniber suspect refused to be ex­
amined by governm ent experts. The de­
fense served notice that it w ill not call
mental health experts as witnesses du rin g
the guilt-or-innocence phase o f the tria l,
w hich begins next Monday W ith o u t a
psychiatric defense, the attorneys w ill be
lim ite d to challenging the v a lid ity o f g o v­
ernment evidence against him He is ac­
cused o f cra ftin g bombs that k ille d tw o
people in Sacramento and maimed tw o
others K a czyn ski's lawyers could s till
make an issue o f his mental state during
the penalty phase i f he is found g u ilty .
Witnesses Describe
Bombing Scene
Witness alter witness described the
h o n o r o f the O klahom a C ity bom bing as
prosecutors tried to get across the enor­
m ity o f the crim e and convince a skeptical
jury that Ferry N ichols is deserving o f the
death penalty Jurors last week convicted
Nichols o f conspiracy anil in vo lu n ta ry
manslaughter, but not murder. G iven the
split verdict against N ichols, legal experts
said it is extrem ely u n lik e ly the ju ry w ill
give him the death penalty. The |ury w ill
have to decnle whether N ichols should die
by injection, serve lile in prison w ith o u t
parole or receive a lesser sentence to be
determined by the judge.
Congressional Pensions
Top $ 1 0 0 .0 0 0
or i (¿i
R Pa.. Lee H a m ilto n . D -liu F . anil Sidney
V ales. I) III . w ill be e lig ib le for $98,694
each, about t bree-fourths o f their $ 133,600
salary, when they leave o ffice in 1999
Wltn Man i iww.
he h o lid a y season is tr a d itio n
a lly a tim e w hen we try to he
sure to th in k abo u t the less
p a r tic u la r ly in the m ost u rban and the
I do m y best to th in k ab o u t those
m ost ru ra l areas In 199 3 , fo r in s ta n c e .
a c c o rd in g to the O re g o n I in p lo v m e n t
T
am ong c h ild re n has been s ig n ilic a n tlv
h ig h e i than that rate am ong a d u lts
fo rtu n a te
w ho are s o -c a lle d "less fo rtu n a te " -and
D e p a rtm e n t, the p o v e rty rale fo r c h il
d ren 5 to I 7 w as I 7 ', in B a ke r C o u n iv
p a rtic u la rly o u r c h ild re n
a ll year
ro u n d , and I w a n te d to share my recent
th o u g h ts w ith y o u .
o v e r 1 7 ', in M u ltn o m a h C o u n ty , and
o v e r 2 3 'i in Jo se p h in e C o u n tv (G ra n ts
Pass).
W e ’ ve heard a lo t la te ly a b o u t w e l­
fare re fo rm
W e lfa re re fo rm has been.
W e can change the name o f th e p r o
g ram - fro m "A id to D e p e nd e n t C h il
wc hear, a s p e c ta c u la r success in O r ­
egon. W e lfa re ca se lo ad s are d o w n to
1970 le v e ls .
d re n " to "‘T e m p o ra ry A s s is ta n c e to
Needy F a m ilie s ''
hut it d o e s n 't m ean
B u t my p rim a ry c o n c e rn . I have to
te ll y o u . is n 't w e lfa re ; it 's p o v e rty I
d o n 't th in k it 's m u ch o f a success to
m o ve p e o p le o il o l W e lfa re it we a re n 't
m o v in g p e o p le o u t o f p o v e rty .
that there are fe w e r d e p e n d e n t i h i l
d re n .
I'v e been g iv in g yo u a lot ol s t a l l s
tic s B ut when I th in k about these is
sues. I d o n 't th in k s la tis lic a llv ot d i s
p a s s io n a te ly .
A n d by that s ta n d a rd - in s p ite o f o u r
b o o m in g e c o n o m y -- we a re n 't d o in g
so w e ll
I re m e m b e r w hat it was lik e to be on
w e lfa re w ith a c h ild U n lo rlu n a te lv
A c c o rd in g to the O re g o n P o p u la tio n
m ost o l the p e o p le w h o m ake p o lic y
d e c is io n s w h ic h a ffe c t the liv e s o l the
S u rv e y , the p o v e rty rate in O re g o n in
1996 was I I 8'/, -- a c tu a lly up s lig h tly
fro m I I (,i in 1990. and I 1 .5 'i in 1969
p o o r d o n 't have th a t k in d o f e x p e ri
ence.
<1 lie Census has n u m b e rs lo r 1969. not
A n d that is why th e y th o u g h tle s s ly
tru m p e t s ta tis tic s a b o u t d e c lin e s m
w e lfa re caseloads
w ith o u t b o th e rin g
I 9 7 0 .) S ince the p o p u la tio n o f the state
lias gone up. the n u m b e r o f p e o p le in
p o v e rty has c le a rly gone up - s ig n if i­
c a n tly since 1990, and d ra m a tic a lly
since 19 6 9 -7 0
to fin d o u t w h e th e r there has been any
a ctu a l im p ro v e m e n t in p e o p le 's liv e s
Q u e s tio n about p o lic ie s a ffe c tin g the
p o o r are u su a lly fra m e d in d o lla r term s
"how can we save the m ost m oney
In 1969. there w ere 2 3 4 .0 0 0 O re g o ­
n ia n s m p o v e r ty ; to d a y , th e re are
3 7 5 .0 0 0 -a 6 0 ',' in cre a se . T h e re m ig h t
be the same n u m b e r o f p e o p le on w e l­
fare as in 1970 b u t there are a lo t m ore
p e o p le in p o v e rty .
A lth o u g h the S u rv e y d o e s n 't p ro ­
v id e a b re a k d o w n by age fo r 1996, we
can e xp e ct that a d is p ro p o rtio n a te n u m ­
ber o f that I 2 Ci are c h ild re n
In recent years, the p o v e rty rate
AIDS: A Silent Killer In Our Neighborhood
B y M arian
W right E delman
In some com m unities o f color, one in
every 30 young men. ages IS and 19. is
hood, threatening to k ill your ch il
already H IV infected And A ID S does not
;lren. w o u ld n 't you mov e heav en and
discrim inate by gender: more than h a lf ol
earth to protect th e m ’ W o u ld n 't you infected
do
Black teenagers are female
whatever it took to keep them safe?
But A ID S is about much more than num ­
I someone came into your neighbor
I
children and youth arc m serious danger A nil
study, a private sector employee earning
$50.000 or more was e lig ib le for pension
This is not si unefx xJy else's priiblem - we are
all living with it. African Americans and Latino
u ntil we expand our A IDS prevention efforts,
how can any o f us rest easily?
benefits averaging $17.062.
Americans bear a disproportionate brunt o f this
deadly epidemic, and the tragic reality is our
children are no exception. H alf o f all people
newly infected by H IV . tlie vitus that causes
A ll )S. are under 25; one in four are teenagers.
And o f those young people, six in blare Black
and Latino Of i I k ? teenage girls infected, a
shocking eight in blare Black and Latino.
Fortunately, there are some prom ising
developments. The rate o f H IV transmission
from mothers to infants declined 43 percent
last year. And the ai rival o f prom ising new
drugs has brought new hope to those people
revelation o f the Koran. Islam 's holy book,
to the Prophet Moham m ed some 1.400
years ago.
from protecting oui children today. N o r can
we allow lear or hom ophobia Io co lo r our
perception ot the disease that is stealing so
T e ll them w hat you know , and listen care­
fu lly to what they tell you and to what they
w ish they could.
many of our children s dreams. A ID S is an
equal opportunity threat, and A ID S preven­
Remind yo u r ch ild that A ID S isn 't some­
one else’ s problem . N o one thinks th e y're
tion is a mission that demands our lu ll atten­
tion and action now.
going to get A ID S . Seventeen yeat old
A ngelica found out she was H IV p ositive
when she went to get prenatal care in the
l ime and tim e again, our churches, our
extended fam ilies, and inform al kinship has
been there to meet our c o m m u n ity's needs
N ow it is tim e for those same institu tio n s to
take up the A ID S prevention banner. A n d it
13.
your doctor o r from a local c lin ic oi A ID S
latter months o f her pregnancy
Ask 16
year-old Jesse w ho had been taught by
society that he did not deserve to live be
cause he is gay.
Stars
1997 S EI
student leaders from Jef ferson. Grant, and
Benson high school are charged w ith p lan­
move lueleil s u s p ic io n s the election was
being rigged to lavoi President Daniel
arap M oi Two people were kille d in po­
litic a l violence. an election rio t erupted in
Ramadan To Begin
organization. Then educate yout children.
O
voting was
C lerics around the Islam ic w orld spot­
ted a new moon recently, signaling that
Ramadan
the holy month o f dusk to-
dawn fasting w ill begin Ramadan' s start­
ing date changeseachyear It m arksG od's
But good drugs do n 't by themselves save
people's lives II we can't even im m unize all
A cure is still la r o il the horizon, and we
can t allow the hope o f to m orrow to stop us
is tim e fo r B lack parents to lig h t that same
fight on b e h a lf o f o u r children.
Pamplin Fellow s po sitive ly in
lluenccd their peers at a one day
eonterencecalled "Don't Believe the Hype."
I lie morning keynote address was delivered
by SEI President T ony Hopson. The 40
plagued w ith delays and confusion. The
one town and observers reported blatant
fraud, w ith some Kenyans' votes being
bought for only $1.50 each. M o i is seek­
ing a tilth term in K enya's th ird m ultiparty
election since independence in 1963.
currently liv mg w itli the v irus.
If yo u 're a parent, start by educating
yourself. G el the facts about A ID S from
n D e ce m b e r
Election o ffic ia ls ordered a second day
after
bers. it is about the simple (ruth that out
the children in our m ajor cities, how can we
hope to bring the expensive 40 p ill-a day
A ID S drug regimen toeveryone w ho needs it
particularly in low income com m unities?
Hopson Addresses Local Area Students An Evening of
Kenyan Election
Extended to 2nd Day
o l voting to be held
W e c o u ld ask a d iffe r e n t q u e s tio n
“ h o w can we im p ro v e c h ild r e n 's liv e s '
b u t. s h a m e fu lly , we do not
U n til we have a d iffe r e n t set of d e ­
c is io n m akers w ith v a llie s that p u l c In i
d re n b e fo re d o lla rs , we as a s o c ie ty
w ill c o n tin u e to d e v o te lo o lit t le a lie n
lio n to the w e ll b e g in o f the c h ild re n
w h o are b e in g ra ise d in p o v e rlv
Senator Avel Gordly
U nfortunately, the k ille r is in vour neigh­
borhood. Ils name is A ID S
Guinea pigs that were injected w ith
genes from the Libóla v ¡rus gained protec­
tion against in fection, a possible step to ­
ward creating an Ebola v accine for people.
The w ork is reported in the January issue
o f the journal Nature M edicine. No vac­
cine or specific treatment exists now for
Ebola hemorrhagic fever, w hich k ills its
victim s 50 percent to 90 percent o f the
time
See Metro, inside.
(Observer
A ccording to a 1994 l abor Department
Ebola Vaccine Shows
Promise
With special guest David
Dorfman, Eroot will dance
his way in your hearts this
coming January.
Welfare Cases Down -Child Poverty Is Up
Some C ongressional lawmakers retire
w ith annual pensions o f roughly $ KM).(WM)
. about live tim es the national avei age. So
says the National l ax pay ei s Union. a con­
servative group that advocates less g o v ­
ernm ent spending Reps Joseph McDade.
Ing
New
Year!
See Metro, inside.
THEiw
DEC. 30, 1997
ning and conducting com m unity anil school
programs and events that address the issues
inner-city Portland teenagers face daily.
I he SI I Pamplin Project encourages and
Tony Hopson
empowers young adults to use their natural
skills o f influence to persuade peers Io make
positive choices when confronted w ith teen
pressures such as drugs, gangs and violence.
W orking w ith schools fam ilies and com m u­
nity organizations. The SEI Pamplin Project
teaches young people that life offers op­
tions. and w ith positive decision-m aking,
teenagers can make a difference locally,
regionally and nationally The project is
funded bv Bob Pam plin, a Portland entre­
preneur. who wants to make a positive d ii
ferente in the lives o f inner-city teens.
“A C elebration Of
Educational
E x c e lle n c e ”
he United N egroC ollegc I undi Flu
T
C ollege Fund/UNC I I has named
Louis Gossett Ji . A ltic W oodard
and Debbie A lle n to serve as co hosts along
w ith lead co-host I ,ou Raw Is lo r their new ly
form atted annual broadcast " A n I veiling ol
Stars A C elebration of Educational Excel
le n c i. scheduled to air on KP I V ( "haniicl
12 from 6 :0 0
10:00 p m on Saturday
January 10. 1997
T o h ig h lig h t the essential w o rk UNC I
does in p ro vid in g m inority scholarships to its
member institutions, they are m in u lu cin u an
e xcitin g new 4 hour form at that w ill feature
extended concert performances by some o f
the music in d u stry's top artists
I lie nationally syndicated telev ision spe
cial w ill locus on the co m p e llin g success
stories ol UNC F students anil in sp ii mg mes
sages about our n a tio n 's histo rica lly black
colleges and universities