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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 7, 1998)
•« . . ' -i re’ .4 X : s » j8 L » / ' ' r'-Mi:" «►- >%»**>; ’ .< . I - •-'»* ■ . . 4 . . ' . »- • .Jy-V*."». ■ 4 Volume XXVII, Number 53 Committed to cultural diversity. New Home-Based Business Opportunities JAN. 07. 199X ■ H i Portland loses 4 game winning streak. Joyce Purvy helps move Portland towards better future. Look for Martin Luther King, Jr. Special Edition Next Week! See Metro, inside. Bucks snap a six game losing streak with a 98-92 victory over Portland. C------ — Sii? 'Jtorilaith ©b&rxwrr 'if ; . T U C WEEK in in c REVIEW Sonny Bono Is Mourned Prominent politicians are among those mourning Rep. Sonny Bono, who died al age 62 alter skiing into a tree. Bono moved on to city hall and then Capitol H ill altera long career as a pop star. "H is jo y fu l enter tainment ol m illions earned him celebrity, but in Washington he earned respect hy being a w itty and wise participant in policymaking processes that often seem ponderous to the American people." Presi dent Clinton said. House Speaker Newt Gingrich said he and his colleagues "lost a very, very dear friend.” Bono appeared to have died ol head and neck injuries and (here was no immediate evidence o f drugs or alcohol, the local sheriff said. M H H H H H a H H n H H H 1997 Tax Year Brings Changes t s tune to begin thinking about filing your 1997 Oregon income tax return ami there are a lew changes that may allect your Oregon Faxes. New lor 1997 are two tax credits targeted toward low income individuals The W ork ing Family Credit is allowed lor I am dies w ith child care expenses. To qual i ly for the credit, the taxpayer must earn at least $6.000 per year, but may earn no more than 2 0 0 'i o f the federal poverty level. 1 he other new credit is the Earned Income credit which is 5 percent o f the taxpayer’ s federal earned income credit. I Anothei notable changes is an increase in the exemption credit l or 1997 the exemp tion credit amount is $12$ a S I increase from 1996. said I.arty Gasperini. program managei at the Oregon Department ol Res enue "For example, i f you tile (omtlv and have three children, your exemption credit w ill be $640 (5 x $128). I'his means your taxes w ill be reduced by $640." I he tax rates, the rates that arc applied to your taxable income to determine the tax v ou owe. also underwent some changes, " lax- payers w ill notice that the rales have been indexed to counter the effects o f inllation," explained Gasperini. "Q uite simply it means you would pay less tax i f you had the same amount o f income as last year." The new federal c a p ita l gains laws w ill apply equally in Oregon. This means i hat O regonians who sold I heir homes in 1997 w ill receive the same c a p ita l gains e x clu sio n on th e ir state returns as they received on th e ir federal returns. H o w ever. the new' federal ca p ita l gains tax R ATES w ill not a pply in Oregon. l or a d d itio n a l in fo rm a tio n , ta x p a y ers may contact Revenue Fax H elp re p resentatives at (50 3) 178-498$. From January through A p ril the to ll free num her w ith in Oregon is I-8O O-356-4222 Spanish speakers may ca ll (50 3) 945 8618, For T T Y (hearing or speech im paired o n ly ), die year-round to ll-fre e num ber w ith in Oregon is 1-800-886- 7204. In Salem the num ber is (503 ) 945 8617. These numbers are answered by m achine only and are not fo r voice use. T a x p a y e rs a ls o can access the departm ent s W e b site to Iin d and d o w n load form s for filin g , and to locate other h e lp fu l in fo rm a tio n . The address is; w w w .d o r.sta te .o r.u s. WestSide Light Rail Moving Toward Opening Day Clinton Offers Medicare Changes President Clinton proposed today to let early retirees and la iil-o ll workers buy into Medicare as early as age 55. His proposal is sim ilar to an option offered by Social Security, in which people can spread their pension benefits over a longer period, start ing at age 62 instead o f 65. The president's plan would let some Americans between 62 and 65 pay a monthly premium o f about $500 to get government health insurance through Medicare. Algerian Death Toll Reported at 392 Algeria's Islamic insurgency has killed at least 192 more men. women and c h il dren - including 200 in one remote village -news reports and survivors said recently No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks. Bombings and massacres mostly are blamed on Islamic m ilitants who want to overthrow the secular government and create a state based on strict Koranic law European Union nations were studying a German proposal to help the Algerian gov ernment combat terrorism and send aid to victims o f the wave o f massacres. Nichols Jurors Deliberate Sentence For a second day, jurors in Denver are alkingabout life o r death forTerry Nichols. Mter prosecutors pressed for a death sen- ence and the defense pleaded for jurors to put vengeance aside, the jury deliberated five hours yesterday without reaching a verdict. The jurors convicted Nichols o f onspiracy and involuntary manslaughter )ec. 23 but acquitted him o f first-degree nurder. Kaczynski Trial Stops I heodore Kaczynski s trial abruptly halted today alter the Unabomber suspect met privately with (he judge. Ka/ynsk complained again about his lawyers anil protested his brother's presence al (he trial Jurors were sent home after Kaczynski, his lawyers and U S District Judge Garland Burrell Jr. met lor nearly four hours in the fudge's chambers. Opening statements had been scheduled lor this morning Latei Burrell said talks with Kaczynski and his lawyers were continuing. He said the ju ry would not be called back until Thursday. Diana Grave Tickets in Demand N early 10 ,0 0 0 ca lls a m inute poured from around the w o rld today, o ver- helm ing the 220 phone lines set up i the firs t day to buy ticke ts to vie w incess D ia n a 's c h ild h o o d home and ria l site. The princess’ s brother, Earl lencer, had announced in O ctober it he w o u ld open the A lth o rp Park n ily estate to the p u b lic this sum- :r, prom pted by the m assive out- u ring o f g rie f over her death Pro- ids from the tic k e t sales w ill ben- I the Diana, Princess o f W ales M e d ia l Fund Like the other 19 Westside MAX stations, the Hillsboro Central Station building - on Washington Street near Third Avenue - is substantially complete. Electrical crews are hard at work in Washington County, stringing the overhead wire that powers the light rail trains, and installing signals and communication systems. They are scheduled to complete this work in April. At the same time, other crews are doing similar work in the three-mile, twin-tube tunnel under Portland's West Hills. The Grand Opening o f the 18 mile-long Westside MAX extension is Sept. 12 and 13, 1998. (Photo by Mark Going). The Future Of Public Hospitals Bv B vit i s W alker II vzei wood L i e & D eitra ublic hospitals nationwide are strug gling to provide medical care to those Americans who need it most. The poor, the underinsured and the unin sured Because o f the growth o f Medicaid managed care, reductions in federal and state gov ernment funding, and the rise in the nuin- b erof people without insurance, some public hospitals no longer have the financial stabil P ity to stay afloat Many are merging, convert ing to private institutions, or closing their doors In the past, most cities had al least one public hospital, and cities like New York and Los Angeles had entire public hospital svs- tenis But between 19 8 1 and 1993 the num her o f public hospitals fell by 25 percent, a trend that is accelerating. Now Congress plans to cut medicaid funding given specili cally to public hospitals that serve a large number o f Medicaid, low income Medicare, and uninsured patients Flic pending budget cuts are also going to shrink public hospitals' revenues far below what is necessary to meet the many healthcare needs ol those who rely on this sy stem lor treatment Given the popularity ol privatizing ser vices, and the apparent growth o f so many forms o f health care. why is it worth preserv - mg public hospitals at all ’ Can't the rest o f out health system pick up the slack ’ It would be nice il that were possible, but the tacts prove otherwise Indeed, already the tears in the public hospital safety net are creating a new health care crisis in its own right If we continue to lose these hospitals, many m i norities. especially in urban communities, stand to lose their last certain access to m edi cal care. C ontinue to B4 Portsmouth Middle School Toy Drive Collects Over 800 Toys B y N adia G vrdner Y outh V oei nteer C orps - z K meri C orps M IlilMtir.K ember p ¡ortsmouth Middle School. North Portland - The students o f Ports JL n mouth M iddle School pulled to gether over 800 new and used toys this December The toy drive was organized by the Youth Volunteer Corps- Portsmouth members. Travis Werbin. Kim A lley, and Loren Whitcomb. Their duties included toy drive initiation, planning and organization, public relations, collection and distribution ol the toys Loren W hitcom b explains; "It's cool because it is helping out people who can't afford presents for the holiday s. That 's what I like doing, helping out." The w e e k-lo ng toy d riv e cu lm ina te d w ith a celebration pizza party lo r Y outh Students o f Portsmouth Middle School stand proud from their accomplishment. V o lun te er Corps Portsm outh members and the class w hich c o n trib u te d the most toys. The w in n in g class, Ms. H u m p h re y's Reading Class c o lle c te d 330 toys. Several other classes fo llo w e d c lo se ly behind that phenom enal n um ber. The toys were d is trib u te d to v a ri ous agencies in N orth P ortland and c ity w id e . Agencies b e n e fitin g in c lu d e . C olum bia V illa /T a m a ra c k s C om m un ity Y outh Advancem ent C o n s o rtiu m and Insights Teen Parent Program . The Y o u th V o lu n te e r C orps has AmeriCorps members in 18 high and middle schools around Portland. Also, two mem bers work w ith homeschool students. Its mission is to address community needs through creating and increasing volunteer opportunities. . ’•A
