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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.
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