June 9, 1999 Committed to C ultural Dhersih Volume X X IX . Number 24 Bulk Rate Learn Spanish Reading the News - See El Observador Belly Dancers Celebrate the Rites of Spring See Page B7 See Focus Page 2 U.S. Postage PAID Look for Popeye's Coupons Inside! A , / B| Portland, OR Permit No. 1610 University of Oregon Knight Library iv n ig n t L io ra ry Newspaper Section u ) b s u A V <■ X 4 Sección en Español TUB? WEEK ■ H e i n REVIEW Amber Starks Queen of Rosaría A n acco m p lish ed ath lete, A m b er w as the 1998 PIL D istrict L ongjum p C ham pion and she co m p etes for C lev elan d as w ell in the 4 X 1 0 0 relay race, trip le ju m p and ja v ­ elin throw . A m b er is also c o -cap tain o f the v arsity ch e erlead ers, co -o rg an iz er o f the Jam M asters D ance T eam , sen io r class h isto ria n and p resid en t o f the C H S C o n se r­ v atio n ist R ecycling. O u tsid e o f school. Special Seating For The Grand Floral Parade A m b er is a sev en -y ear m em ber o f the “ I H av e A D ream F o u n d atio n .” She hopes to atten d H aw aii P acific U niversity and plans to earn a d o cto rate in m arine biology. A m b er S tark s w as chosen from th e 14 m em b ers o f the R ose F estival C o u rt from P o rtlan d area h igh schools on June 5. She w ill b e re p rese n tin g the state in ap p e ar­ an ces th ro u g h o u t the country. Serbs Withdraw A P entagon re p re se n ta tiv e recently an nounced that S erb forces in K osovo are m aking p rep a ra tio n s to w ithdraw from the Y ugoslav province. T here are no signs that th e tro o p s have begun m oving or assem b lin g fo r a pullout. Theaters Ask for ID P resident C lin to n ch allen g ed the m ovie industry to enforce the rating system m ore strictly. T he N ational A s­ sociation o fT h e aters w ill be adopting a new policy requiring youths unaccom ­ panied by an adult to p roduce a photo ID before being adm itted to R -rated film s. T hey rep rese n t ab o u t 20,000 screens - 65 p ercent o f the m otion p ic­ ture screens in the U nited States. Summer Flights Discounted T icket p rices fo r o ff-p eak sum m er tra v e l w ere sla sh e d 25 p e rc e n t by U n ited A irlines. D elta A ir L ines, C on tin en tal A irlin e s and N orth w est A ir­ lin es w ere am ong the first to siash the U n ited p ro m o tio n on dom estic and in­ C om m issioner Jim Francesconi announced special seating will be available for senior citizens and individuals with special disabilities w ho w ant to view the Rose Festival G rand Floral Parade, scheduled for Saturday, June 12 at 10:00 A M Seating is available on a first-com e, first-served basis. The location is on N.E. M artin L uther K ing Jr. Boulevard in front o f the Convention Center Parking Lot and offers park bench seating and an open area. Six portable toilets will be at this location, w ith two te rn a tio n a l travel. Burnside Bridge to Close T he B u m sid e B ridge w ill close to riv er traffic for tw o even ts in June. T he b ridge w ill clo se from 9 A M to 2 PM on S aturday, Ju n e 12 for the P ortland R ose F estival G ran d Floral P arade. O n S unday, June 27 the b ridge w ill close from 6 A M to 8:15 AM for the 6 ,h an n u al R iv er C ity D istance C lassic. Overtime Law U p to fiv e-th o u san d em p lo y ees o f the S tate o f O regon m ay be in line for a larg er paycheck . T he O reg o n C ourt o f A p p eals has ruled the state m u st pay several m illio n d o llars in o v ertim e to sa larie d em p lo y ees and m angers. T he d ec isio n involves peo p le w o rk in g for the state b etw een 1995 and 1997 and a new o v ertim e law enacted by the le g is­ lature in 1995. Congratulations to Amber Starks of Cleveland High School for being selected as the 1 9 9 9 Queen of Rosaria. Quality Time with Governor Kitzhaber Gun Safety Courses O re g o n c h ild r e n in g r a d e s K - th ro u g h -S ix co u ld soon be ex p o sed to an N RA gun sa fety course in school. O re g o n ’s H ouse has passed legislation th a t w ould req u ire school d istric ts to acq u ire the “ E ddie E ag le” gun safety course from the N atio n al R ifle A sso ­ ciation. S uppo rters o f the b ill say the co u rse co u ld h elp save lives. Light Rail Goes to Airport Another expansion o f the light rail sys­ tem in the metro Portland area has been approved. The Federal Aviation Adminis­ tration has O -K ’s plans by the Port o f Portland to use passenger facility charges to help pay for the five-mile extension ol the light rail from the Gateway district to the airport terminal The money will be used to pay for bonds sold for the project. I Oregon O utreach s tu d en ts w ere honorary pages at the legislature in May. They were able to spend som e quality tim e w ith Governor Kitzhaber during the day. This was the same day that the Governor agreed to sign the Charter School bill. Participants ( from left to right) are JJ Villanueva, Isaias V a len clan o , Gov. John K itzh a b er, Mario Molino, Gabe G onzalez, and Denise Ward. For m ore on C h arter School, see Focus. accessible to the handicapped. Paricing for vehicles with disabled parking permits has been reserved in two areas. The east side parking location is in the Convention Center Parking Lot for a S5.00 charge for passenger cars and vans. I^arger vehicles will becharged more. (This parking lot is not limited to handicapped access only). The west side location is on S. W. Ninth between Stark and Oak, and can accommodate about 30 vehicles on a first-come, first-served basis. This is on-street parking that has been bagged and marked for handicapped vehic les. V olunteers from Luxury Towing will assist with the procurement and placement o f the benches for the M LK seating area. Volunteers from M eadows Group Realtors will assist with monitoring the seating area and assisting the special citizens seated in this special area. C om m issioner Francesconi urges people to com e early for the best viewing points.