a T
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N> » ■
C ommitted to cultural diversity.
Volume XXVII, Number 65
"OWLS", people
who inspire
The Voice of An
Angel
Members of the "OWLS"
group, whose purpose is to
promote social and
economic equality for
women age 40 and over.
See Metro, inside.
Grammy award winning
CeCe W'inans has new hit
album "Everlasting Love".
BULK RATE
See Religion, Page B4.
See Popeye's
Coupon's
Inside!
11.8. POSTAGE
PAID
PORTLAND, OR
PERMIT NO. 1610
h set ber
(The
FEDS MAKE VIOLENT ARRESTS
Oscars Ratings Bonanza
ABC said the Academy Awards show
was the m ost-w atched O scar telecast o f
all time in the United States with an esti
mated 87 million people tuning in. The
show scored a 40.5 rating and 60 share in
Nielsen Media Research’s overnight m ea
surement from 38 m ajor markets. It is
expected to be the top O scar telecast in
ratings since 1983. The extraordinary in
terest in “Titanic,” which won 11 Oscars,
fueled the ratings.
Xerox To Cut Jobs
X ero x is re p o rte d ly p re p a rin g to
e lim in a te 10,000 jo b s , o r 11 p e rc e n t
o f its w o rk fo rc e , o v e r the n ex t tw o
y e a rs. T h e R o c h e ste r D em o crat and
C h ro n ic le said few er th an h a lf of the
cu ts w ill co m e from U .S. jo b s , as
m any as 2 ,0 0 0 at its p ro d u c tio n p la n ts
in R o c h e ste r. X ero x c u rre n tly e m
p lo y s 9 1 ,4 0 0 p e o p le .
Clinton Wants S. Africa
Partnership
P re sid e n t C lin to n b e c a m e th e first
s ittin g U .S. p re sid e n t to v isit S outh
A fric a and c a lle d fo r a p a rtn e rsh ip
o f m u tu al re sp e c t an d m u tu al re
w a rd .” C lin to n p ra ise d S o u th A fric a
for e n d in g a p a rth e id an d m a k in g a
p e a c e fu l tra n s itio n to m a jo rity ru le.
C lin to n w as g r e e te d b y P r e s id e n t
N elso n M an d e la in a fo rm a l, r e d -c a r
pet c e re m o n y . H e said he w o u ld b u ild
tra d e an d p o litic a l in te ra c tio n w ith
M a n d e la ’s g o v e rn m e n t.
Classes Resume at
Arkansas School
S tu d e n ts re tu rn e d to th e W e stsid e
M id d le S c h o o l, tw o d a y s a f te r a
b lo o d y am b u sh by tw o c h ild re n th at
sh o c k e d th e n a tio n . T w o W e stsid e
stu d e n ts - M itc h e ll Jo h n so n , 13, and
A n d rew “ D rew ” G o ld e n , 11 - a re a c
cu se d o f g u n n in g d o w n fo u r s c h o o l
m ates an d a te a c h e r. T he b o y s are
b e in g h eld on fiv e c o u n ts o f m u rd e r
and 10 c o u n ts o f b a tte ry .
A w h ite c ro ss o f flo w ers w ith a red
bow w as on th e fla g p o le in fro n t o f
the sc h o o l and th e flag flew at half-
sta ff. C la sse s re su m e d as p e o p le trie d
to g e t th e ir liv e s back to n o rm a l. “ L ife
goes on, and from th e re w e ’re g o in g
to sta rt a new b e g in n in g ,” sa id six th
g ra d e r C o lb y B ro o k s.
U.N. Inspecting Iraq
Palace
U .N . w e a p o n s in s p e c to r s m a d e
th e ir f ir s t- e v e r s e a r c h o f o n e o f
Saddam H u sse in ’s p a la c e co m p o u n d s.
The in sp e c to rs w e re a c c o m p a n ie d by
senior dip lo m ats as Iraq had dem an d ed
in an a g re e m e n t th at a v e rte d a pos
sible m ilita ry c o n fro n ta tio n .
A U .N . o ffic ia l said th e A m erican -
le d
te a m
w e n t to
S a d d a m ’s
R adw an iy ah p a la c e , b elie v e d to be one
o f th e la rg e st o f th e p re sid e n tia l com
p o u n d s. T h e in sp e c to rs and d ip lo m a ts
b ro k e in to se v e ra l team s in sid e the
p alace. A G erm an d ip lo m a t sa y s Iraqi
c o o p e ra tio n h as b een “ fa n ta s tic .”
Personal Income Jumps
0.6 Percent
A m e ric a n s’ p e rso n a l in co m e in
c re a se d a stro n g 0 .6 p e rc e n t in F e b
ru a ry fo r th e s e c o n d c o n s e c u tiv e
m o n th , p u ttin g cash in c o n su m e rs
p o c k e ts th at sh o u ld h elp the eco n o m y
w ith sta n d the A sian fin a n c ia l c risis
T h e g ain , to a se a so n a lly a d ju ste d
an n u a l rate o f $ 7 .1 4 trillio n , out
paced th e h e a lth y 0 .4 p e rc e n t ad
v a n c e in c o n s u m e r s p e n d in g , th e
C o m m e rc e D e p a rtm e n t said .
I
Federal agents arrest migrant worker in Plaid Pantry parkir
lot. Witnesses allege unnecessary force was used.
(Photo by Guretn Miles)
last week that “about a dozen” people were
arrested
in the first raid and “six to eight more”
conflict between the Workers
in
the
second.
O rganizing C om m ittee, the
W O C c h a rg e d th a t the agents used
Central East Side Industrial Coun
“
u
n
n e c e s s a r y and u n w a rra n te d v io
cil and the U.S. Immigration and Naturaliza
le
n
c
e .” S p e c ific a lly , th ey say they ta c k
tion Service has escalated into violence.
led
a
m an w ho w as not re sistin g , th at
On March 19 the INS arrested 18 Latinoday
th
e
y
c
h
a se d a n o th e r th ro u g h heavy tr a f
laborers in the parking lot o f a Plaid Pantry at
fic,
th
a
t
th e y b ro k e o n e m a n ’s n o se, and
East Burnside Street and Southeast Grand
th a t th e y a p p lie d “ fin g e r pain h o ld s ”
Avenue. The next day, in the same vicinity,
a g a in st a m an a lre a d y h an d cu ffed .
they arrested five more. The Workers Orga
T h ey a lso ch a rg e d that the ag e n ts
nizing Committee, an advocacy group for
a rre ste d a m an le g a lly in th is co u n try
third world workers, said at a newsconference
B y L ee P erlman
A
a lso c h a rg e d th a t th e ag e n ts a rre ste d a
m an le g a lly in th is co u n try w ith o u t g iv
ing him a c h a n c e to p ro d u c e his papers.
G a re th M iles o f W O C , w ho took the
p ic tu re s th at a p p e a re d in th is p ap er, said
he w as th re a te n e d w ith a la w su it and
a rre ste d by Jo e S h a ffe r, a ssista n t d ire c
to r o f the P o rtla n d d is tric t fo r INS.
A c c o rd in g to W O C d ire c to r T eresa
E n ric o , the raid b eg an w hen som e w o rk
ers w e re lu red in to an u n m ark ed van by
IN S a g e n ts and a sk e d if th e y w ere in te r
e ste d in w ork. O n ly w hen one p ro te ste d
the term s o f the “ w o rk " did the ag en ts
id e n tify th e m se lv e s and begin the a r
re sts, she says. W OC p lan s to file an
o ffic ia l p ro te st, she says.
Shaffer denies that excessive and unwar
ranted force was used, saying, “If someone
takes a swing at an officer, he has to defend
himself." He also states that “no one law
fully in this country was detained.” An un
marked vehicle was used, he says, because
“as soon as (undocumented aliens see an
immigration van, they start to run.” This
does not constitute entrapment because
“these people are already guilty o f the crime
o f being in the United States illegally.” He
admitted to another reporter that he threat
ened Miles, but said he “w asn’t serious.”
Shaffer in his turn accused WOC organiz
ers of encouraging the arrestees to try to run
orresist. “I think their interest is misdirected,
he said. “They’re doing these people more
harm than good.” He suggested that they
work on getting a “shelter" where casual
labor hiring can take place in an orderly
manner.
W OC has been a tte m p tin g to do th is
fo r the past tw o years. T hey have
faced o p p o sitio n from the C entral E ast
Side In d u strial C ouncil. B ased on INS
c laim s that “ 80 to 90 p e rc e n t” w ho
g ath er in the a rea seek in g w ork are
illegal a lie n s, the b u sin e ss g ro u p say s
that a h irin g hall w ould e n c o u ra g e p o
tential em p lo y e rs to e n g a g e in illegal
ac tiv ity . T he so lu tio n , they say, is
, im m igration law enforcem ent.
T he q u e stio n o f how m any o f the
la b o re rs are legal or illeg al is “m is
d ire c te d ,” E n rico says. “ If we put up
a c e n te r th at serv es only 10 p e rc e n t,
w hat h ap p en s to the o th e rs? T h e y ’re
lo o k in g fo r w o rk , c a n ’t feed th e ir
fam ilies w h ere they liv e , and th ere is
a dem and fo r th e ir se rv ic e s. T h ere
can be a so lu tio n th a t’s a b e n e fit to
e v e ry o n e .”
City Hall Opens After Two Years of Renovations
B y N eil H eilpern
et’s get back to work,” exclaimed
Portland City Commissioner Jim
'Francesconi Monday morning as
he and City Auditor Barbara Clark swung
open the front doors o f a renovated city hall
and invited workers back in.
The historic building, declared danger
ous in 1995, has been closed for almost two
years during construction to meet fire, safety
and seismic codes.
The two officials led visitors on a brief
tour past marbled pillars, through brightly lit
courtyards, and upstairs to city counci 1 cham
bers.
“Those courtyards used to be windowless
offices,” Clark told The Portland Observer.
“It was just brutal.”
“This place was seismically unsafe, with
floor concrete that could break in your hands
and had loosened with lateral stress from
things like holes we drilled for computer
Portland Commissioner Jim Francesconi invited visitors to tour the renovated city
hookups,” she said. “The hot and cold water
hall, when it re-opened Monday after almost two years o f construction.
taps gave us brown, lukewarm liquid.”
Photo by Neil Heilpern
She also noted how inadequate wiring
L
caused many outages, affecting all the com
puter workstations.
“We took out everything except the walls,”
said Clark, “open to the sky, right down to the
dirt under the building.”
“I’m excited, but anxious to get to work,:
said Judy Tuttle, personal assistant to Mayor
Vera Katz.
“It is gorgeous,” exclaimed Commis
sioner Gretchen Kafoury as she viewed the
new city council chambers and who recalled
the old massive desks.
Her office manager Jona Davis thought “it
is nice to be in an ergonomically correct
place.” She remembered her 1995 starting
day, seeing “scary signs on the pipes warning
o f lead and asbestos,” and w asn't sure about
the workplace until told o f the planned
renovations.Free noon-hour guided tours are
scheduled for the public during the week of
April 13-17, followed by various fundraisers
and celebrations that weekend.
With the front door changed to the other
side o f the building. City Hall is located at
121 SW Fourth.
New impotence pill wins U.S. FDA approval
B y M aggie F ox , H ealth
C orrespondent
ano
S cience
he first pill that men can take for
impotence won approval from the
U.S. Food and Drug Administra
tion on Friday.
Viagra, made by New York drug giant
Pfizer Pharmaceuticals , could become one
o f the top-selling drugs o f all time, accord
ing to pharmaceutical analysts.
Known generically as sildenafil, Viagra
will cost $7 a pill wholesale.
The FDA said a man must be sexually
aroused before the drug will work. Bu, un
like mechanical devices that engorge the
penis, it mimics the natural effectsofarousal.
T
“ It’s an erection enhancer,” said Dr. Drogo
M ontague o f the Cleveland Clinic in C leve
land, Ohio.
Tests on more than 3,000 men showed
Viagra could help impotence associated with
diabetes, spinal cord injuries, prostate sur
gery, and even impotence with mysterious
causes.
“ I think it will help a lot o f men for a
couple o f reasons," said Dr. James Barada, a
urologist in Albany, New York who helped
draw up erectile dysfunction guidelines for
the A m e ric a n U ro lo g ical A sso c ia tio n
(AUA).
“The most important thing that this does
is place erectile dysfunction on the radar
screen for patients and partners,” Barada
said in a telephone interview.
Also, it was the first oral therapy. Other
treatments include injections, pellets that
must be inserted into the end o f the penis and
mechanical pumps.
For exam ple, Pharm acia & U pjohn’s
Caverject involves an injection into the pe
nis and Vivus Inc's MUSE system is a pellet.
There arc vaccum pumps, and surgical im
plants.
Such therapies can be off-putting, for
obvious reasons.
“ People will prefer a pill," said Montague,
who headed the AUA guidelines panel.
Barada and Montague said all o f these
systems worked. “The vast majority o f men
who have a problem, the only thing they arc
missing is erections," Montague said. “Many
men maintain a good interest in sex, or
libido. They can still have orgasms and ejacu
late with a flaccid penis.”
There are drawbacks to any impotence
treatment — especially the lack o f sponta
neity* Side-effects included headache, flush
ing and nausea. Men taking nitroglycerin
should not use Viagra.
Some analysts have predicted that Viagra
would generate revenues o f $2 billion by
2001 and sales upward o f $5 billion in fol
lowing years, which could make it the big-
gest-selling drug ever.