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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (May 5, 1999)
■ > 5 May 5, 1999 Hage AS <£lje |îarUauh ©beeruer Necessity Takes Precedence Over Protest B y C indn S immons A ssociated P ress W riter As she w aited for a fill-up at a dow ntow n service station, m otorist Christi Boom said she really w anted to partic ipate in the national gas boy cott to oppose high prices. There w as ju st one little problem . She was running on empty. Across a state that has the nation’s fourth-highest gas prices _ up to S 1.60 a gallon in some places _ necessity seemed to take precedence over protest. “ It’s kind o f like food, y ou’ve got to buy it,” said M ark Edlen, w ho also knew about F riday’s boycott before he forked over $31.70 to f i l l the tank on his Range Rover. Even w ith the boycott and prices o f $ 1.59 for regular unleaded, atten dant Joe Kelly said he saw no dropoff in business at his C hevron station in the city ’s O ld Tow n district. K elly said com plaints have ta pered o ff as custom ers have grown num b to the highest prices in years. Prices norm ally go up w hen it gets close to sum m er, he said, “but this is rid ic u lo u s.... W e were a little shocked ourselves." O ne person who said he was driv ing right past the pumps Friday was U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, who has taken aim at high gas prices across the West. The Oregon Democrat has asked the J ustice Department to look into the high prices and to determine whether to launch an antitrust investigation o f the oil industry. He said that while the na tional average is $ 1.15 a gallon, Oregon drivers are paying $1.52, trailing only California, Hawaii and Nevada. At the Fairgrounds Texaco station in G rants Pass, prices were a rela tively inexpensive $ 1.49 a gallon for regular unleaded, and if there was a boycott going on, nobody could tell. “We had six motor homes at once in here this morning,” said owner Randy Harris. “Personally, I don’t think it will affect the oil companies unless people quit driving the whole day. I don’t think anybody is going to walk to work.' Added customer Denise Troxel, whose tab for filling up herpickup came to S42.50: “When you need gas, you need gas. What are you going to do?” adults get a m inim um o f seven hours sleep. O th er w ays to pro m o te good sleep include: A com fortab le m attress that is Exercise, but not right before bed. A light snacks before bed if you tend to aw ake hungry in the night. Adopting a regular bedtim e ritual, like having decaffeinated tea each night, gives people a chance to un w ind and think about things before going to bed,” he said. Medical Marijuana Activist Rally at the State Capitol Salem, O R - V oter Pow er, a grassroots PAC, is sponsoring a “ M arijuana is M edicine" rally o f medical patients and their supporters on the front steps o f the State C apitol in Salem at 10:00 AM Friday April 30th. The group is celebrating the implementation o fth e O regon M edi cal M arijuana Act (ballot m easure 67) which goes into effect on M ay 1. The law allows seriously ill patients with doctor’s approval, to grow and use marijuana. A ctivists are also urging the O r egon Legislature to pass H JM 10, which vans» un n g ita a to change w hich calls on c C u ongress federal law. T he current federal law classifies m arijuana as a S chedule I drug under the Controlled Substance Act. T his classification m eans that doctors are prevented from prescrib ing m arijuana and it cannot be sold at pharm acies. H JM 10, sponsored by R epresentatives Jo A nn Bow man, calls on C ongress to “ m odify the legal status o f m arijuana to al low its lim ited m edical use in those states w here lim ited m edical use has been legal u nder state law ." The H ouse Judiciary com m ittee passed HJM 10 yesterday. S p eak ers — at — the - rally w ill in- ----- c lu d e R e p re s e n ta tiv e s Jo A n n B o w m an , R e p re se n tativ es Floyd P ro zan sk i, S torm y R ay, and chief p e titio n e r o f O M M A , M ic h ae l R ose, c h ie f p e titio n e r o f the m a ri ju a n a re c rim in a liz a tio n re fe re n dum (m easu re 57). A n d o th e r p a tien ts and ac tiv ists. At 8:00 AM in the G alleria area o f the C apitol b u ild in g , there w ill be a b r ie f o pening o f a p o ster d is play show ing patien ts affected by the federal policy. F or m ore in fo rm atio n or to a r range interview s co n tact John Sajo 5 0 3 -7 3 6 -0 9 0 7 Earlier Prenatal Screening Are You Getting Enough Sleep? for Down Syndrome One ofthe most prevalent sleep prob- ems in America is insufficient sleep. “ People try to do too m any things n 24 hours. W hen push com es to ¡hove, sleep gets sho v ed ,” said Dr. vlax H irs h k o w itz , a s le e p r e searcher at B a ylorC ollege of M edi- :ine in H ouston. “ T o avoid sleep leprivation, he recom m ends that not too old. G oing to bed when sleepy instead o f fighting sleep. M a in ta in in g a re g u la r sle e p schedule. Preliminary Construction Work Begins On Airport Max In p rep a ra tio n for the start o f \ir p o r t M ax light rail constru ctio n ater this spring, B echtel Infrastruc- are Corp, w ill create co nstruction tag ing areas at tw o T ri-M et park fc rid e lots located along the align- nent. T his m eans som e park & ride paces w ill be n ot be available dur- ng construction. At Parkrose Park & Ride, lo o te d at 95,h and NE Sandy Blvd., a juarter o f the lo t’s 273 spaces will be en ced o ff w hich started April 28. This is an underutilized facility and will not im pact current users. •At G atew ay Park & Ride, lo cated at 99lh and NE M ultnom ah, 20 parking spaces will be elim inated to accom m odate the construction work. T hese 20 spaces will be fenced o ff w hich started M ay 3. This lot is cur rently at capacity and com m uters are encouraged to take a bus or carpool to the park & nde. To be eligible for a designated cappool spot, carpools m ust register by calling 227-7665. To find out about bus routes that serve G atew ay T ransit Center, call 238-RIDE. The pre-construction activity will not affect bus or M ax service. •M ajor construction on the 5.5- m ile A irport Max light rail extension is expected to begin in mid-June. This innovative project is the result a public-private venture involving the Port o f Portland, Tri-M et, the City o f Portland, the Portland D evelopm ent C om m ission and Bechtel. The 67th Season of Multnomah Greyhound Park W ood Village, O R - “ Here com es Rusty!” That fam iliar call that is now synonym ous w ith the fastest dogs in the world trying to catch "R usty the B one," as the 67,h official season o f greyhound Park (M GP). N ew th is seaso n is im p ro v e m en ts and co n stru ctio n at the Park. M u ltn o m a h G re y h o u n d P ark is b u ild in g an ex p an d ed p ark in g lot, rem o d e lin g the h o ld in g k en n els, an d b u ild in g , a new sta te -o f-th e art k en n el com p o u n d for the g rey h o u nds. P atro n s w ill h av e a new en try w ay an d the la n d sca p in g and flo w ers w ill be ex p an d ed . "A fte r the g reat se aso n w e h ad la st year, th e se new im p ro v em en ts sh o u ld sig n al o u r co m m itm en t to o u r ra c ing fa n s,” n o te d C arl W ilson, g e n era l m anager. T he F req u en t Fan C ard retu rn s th is se a so n fo r p atro n s to w in prizes. I f you alread y have a card, be rea d y to earn p o in ts startin g the o p en in g day. S ign up fo r a F re q u en t Fan C ard ( if you d o n ’t h av e on e) and be rea d y to earn p o in ts tow ard free program s, buffets, trips and o th e r g reat g ifts. E very tim e a fan com es to the P ark, a co m p u ter track s the entry. A new racin g sch ed u le is being in tro d u c ed this year. R acing from M onday through Saturday (in som e ca se s T uesday th ro u g h S atu rd ay ) w ill be the race card this year. S u n d ay m a tin e es are b eing re m oved and M o n d ay s added. T his allo w s for m o re racin g o p p o rtu n i tie s, and this a ttracts a h ig h er c a li b er o f kennel an d greyhound. “ W e w an t the ab so lu te b est k en n el in term s o f racin g , rep u ta tio n , care o f do g s an d co m m itm en t to e x c e l le n c e ,” said W ilson. A lso new this y ear w ill be an ex p a n d ed in fo rm atio n booth. A n n o u n c e r E ric A n d erso n w ill be p la ce d on th e th ird floor. R ace fans can ask him q u estio n s in -b e tw een races. F or co m p lete racin g sch ed u les and inform ation fans can ac cess the M G P w eb site at: h ttp :/ /w w w .ez2w inm gp.com Be a p art o f the 76,h season o f M u ltn o m ah G rey h o u n d Park rac ing. L ive racing co m m ences the ev en in g o f Friday, A pril 30, and w ill co n clu d e O cto b er 9th. L ocated in W ood V illage, O regon take 1-84 to W ood V illage E xit 16-A. C all (5 0 3 ) 6 6 7 -7700 for details. Crime Statistics per Northeast Neighborhood Association R ate R obbery 1 Boise- 1 Concordia- 1 King- 0 A lam eda- 0 Eliot- 0 G rant Park- 0 H um boldt- 0 Irvington- 0 Lloyd- 0 Piedm ont- Sahin- 0 Sullivans Glch.- 0 0 V ernon- 0 W oodlaw n- Lloyd- SullivansGlch.- Boise- Eliot- Hum boldt- Irvington- W oodlaw n- Concordia- King- Piedm ont- G rant Park- Sabin- V em on- A lam eda- 7 4 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 ACC.R A ssault R es B urglary 6 12 Piedmont- King- 5 King- 11 H um buldt- 4 Eliot- 9 W oodlaw n- 3 Boise- 8 Concordia- 3 Sabin- 7 Lloyd- 7 Sullivans Glch.-3 V em on- 3 Concordia- 6 Piedmont- W oodlaw n- 3 5 Boise- G rant Park- 2 4 Eliot- 2 Humboldt- 4 Sabin- 2 V em on- Sullivans G lch.-1 1 Alameda- 0 Alameda- G rant Park- 0 0 Grant Park- 0 Lloyd- 0 Irvington- T heft F/Airro 1 Boise- 1 Eliot- 1 H umboldt- 1 Lloyd- 1 Piedm ont- 1 Sabin- 0 A lam eda- 0 C oncordia- 0 G rant Park- 0 Irvington- 0 Kina- Sullivans G lch.-0 0 V ernon- 0 W oodlaw n- 15 Lloyd- Eliot- 15 Concordia- Lloyd- 11 Eliot- Alameda- 11 Humboldt- Irvington- Irvington- 8 Piedm ont- King- Sullivans Glch.- 8 SullivansGlch.- 7 Concordia- G rant Paik- 6 G rant Park- Boise- 6 H um boldt- W oodlawn- 6 King- Alameda- 6 Sabin- Piedmont- 5 W oodlaw n- Sabin- 3 Boise- V em on- 3 V em on- M urder - N one Reported Hum boldt- 4 Irvington- 3 King- 3 Piedm ont- 3 Concordia- 2 Eliot- 2 Sabin- 2 Boise- 2 G rant P a r k - 1 SuBfrareGIch-1 V ernon- 1 W o o d law n -1 A lam eda-0 Lloyd- 0 O ther T heft A uto T heft A rson N on /R es B urglary 10 9 9 8 7 7 7 6 4 3 2 2 1 1 Lloyd- SuOivansGlch. Eliot- H umboldt- Irvington- King- V em on- Boise- Concordia- G rant Park- Piedm ont- Sabin- W oodlaw n- A lam eda- 69 20 11 10 9 6 6 3 3 3 3 3 2 0 H O U STO N — Pregnant w om en might benefit from a screening test that can be given earlier during preg nancy. Currently, prenatal screenings for Down syndrome using maternal blood cannot be perform ed in the U.S. before the 14,h week o f pregnancy. Researchers at Baylor C ollege o f Medicine in Houston will soon evalu ate a screening test that can be per formed between the 10,hand 14"’week o f pregnancy for a m ulticenter study by the National Institute o f health. The new procedure requires an ultrasound exam and a blood sam ple from a fingerprick. T he ultrasound m e asu res the sp a ce b e h in d the b ab y 's neck that, w hen larger, often correlates w ith an increased risk o f D own syndrom e. The blood sam ple is analyzed for two chem icals asso ciated w ith the genetic disorder. T hese results, in com bination w ith the m o th er’s and the b o d y ’s size, can be used to p roject the likelihood o f D ow n Syndrom e. If a high risk is determ ined, the m other will be o f fered prenatal testing that can co n firm these presence o f absence o f D ow n Syndrom e. A pproxim ately one in 700 kids is b om w ith this form o f m ental retardation, w hich is caused by an extra chrom osom e. “ By perform ing the test for D ow n Syndrom e during the first trim es ter,” said K atie L eonard, a genetic counselor at Baylor. W om en inter ested in participating in the study can call (713) 798-4363. Free Skin Cancer Screenings W ith sum m er just around the cor ner, it’s a great time for free skin cancer screening! WHO The A m erican Cancer Society WHAT Annual free skin cancer screenings WHEN Saturday, June 5, 1999 from 9:00 a.m. until 1 p.m. WHERE The follow ing Portland/V ancouver area locations: Legacy Good Samaritan Com prehensive Cancer C enter 1015 NW 22nd Ave. Portland Providence/ With summer just around thecomer, do Portland Medical Center Radiation O ncology Dept. 5050 NE Hoyt, B Level Portland OHSU OHSU H ealth Center 15350 SW Pacific Hwy. Tigard Southwest Washington Medical Center Campus 400 NE M other Joseph Place V ancouver WHY Skin cancer is the most common form o f cancer in the United States, and the most easily prevented and detected. yourself and your skin a favor and learn more about skin cancer. Although the screenings are free, pre-registration is required. Call the American Cancer Society, toll free at 1 - 800-528-1525 inOregonor 1 -360-695- 2278 in Washington to register. Ap pointments are available on a first-come, first-served basis. The skin screenings are performed by dermatologists donat ing their time and talent to this event. The screenings take just five minutes. F or m ore inform ation about skin cancer, such as FREE brochures, please contact the Am erican Cancer Society at 1-800-ACS-2345 or visit our W eb site at w w w .cancer.org.