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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 11, 1999)
August I I, 1999 ( om m illed l o i u ltu ra l D i 'ci Mix Volume W I X , Num ber 31 Bulk Rate Check Out Who Is On Our Web Site One Of The Youngest College Head Coaches At 23 U.S. Postage PAID Portland, OR See Focus Page 8 See Metro Page See Page B4 Permit No. 1610 University o f Oregon (The S ecció n en E spañ ol WEEK IN © bêz—t Airport Max On Track REVIEW Ç Fewer Expelled for Guns Federal officials presented a new set o f figures showing a decline in the number o f students expelled for having firearm s. The number o f stu dents kicked out o f school for bring ing weapons dropped by nearly a third during the 1997-1998 school year, the Education Department said. It was reported that 3,930 students were expelled for firearm violations that year, down from 5,724 weap- ons-related expulsions in 1996-97. World Peace The people o f Nagasaki marked August 6 as the 54* anniversary o f the atomic bomb that killed more than 60,000 people and led to the end o f W orld W ar II. The m ayor o f Nagasaki said the bombing showed the world that “nuclear weapons can not be tolerated.” Many o f the sur viving victims from the bombing still suffer physically and emotionally. o n stru c tio n is moving forward on the 5.5-mile A irp o rt M AX extension from the Gateway Transit Center to the bag gage claim area at the PDX terminal. During construc tion, no auto traffic is inter rupted along 1-205. And when it opens in full 2001, it’ll take just 37 minutes to travel from downtown Port land to the aiiport. Part o f the A irport MAX project includes a 120-acre tran sit-o rien ted d ev elop ment that will bring hospi tality, retail, entertainm ent and office space located at the entrance o f the airport. Bechtel E nterprises is d e veloping this site, w here up to 10,800 new jobs will be created over the next 15 y e a rs. T his site , c a lle d C a sc a d e S ta tio n , w ill be JEFF WONG © T he A ssociated P ress Above: U.S. Department of T ransportation Deputy Secretary, Mort Downey, lauds Portland's financing creativity in creating “National Model" for building light rail. New Prime Minister For the fourth tim e in less than tw o years, R ussian President Boris Y eltsin again fired his Prim e M in iste r and C a b in e t. Y e ltsin has nam ed V ladim ir Putin, a form er KGB agent, as his acting Prim e M inister and hand-picked succes sor. The R ussian m edia speculated that Y eltsin m ade such radical d e cisions to delay elections and ex tend his term , set to end next July. Left: Illustration shows what the view will look like from Airport Way. served by tw o light rail stations. The A irport Max extension is the result o f an innovative public-private venture involving the Port o f Portland, Portland D evelopm ent C om m ission and Bechtel. $3 billion Mortgage Program A S3 billion m ortgage program for low -to-m oderate income bor rowers will be funded by Bank o f A merica and overseen by N eigh b o rh o o d A s s is ta n c e C o rp , o f A m erica. The plan prom ises no down paym ent, no application fee and no closing costs. An estim ated 100,000 borrow ers nationally may be affected by this program Computerized Postage T h e PC P o s ta g e w as ju s t launched by the Postal Service. This new stam p could be easily printed w ith an ordinary laser or inkjet printer. A barcode w ould be printed on each envelope to indi cate mail processing inform ation and postage paym ent. E-Stam p and Stam ps.com ju st began to offer the com puterized postage. MAX M akes Safety Changes TriM et set to make operating changes. The move comes after the latest victim, forty-five year old George Garrison, was struck and killed by a MAX train. TriMet has installed pe destrian stop signs at four stations on the west MAX line, and train opera tors are now required to give two long horn bursts, and slow to 15-miles-an- hour, when entering the stations. Five Shot at L.A. Jewish Center Help Shape Interstate Max Light Rail Participate in Interstate Avenue’s Future Look Tri-M et is hosting tw o m ini-con ferences to provide N orth Portland residents an opportunity to shape the future o f the Interstate Max proposal. The tw o evening events w ill be on W ed.,A ug. 18 an dT hurs., Aug. 1 9 ,at O ckley Green M iddle School, 6031 N. M ontana (T n-M et line 5). The ses sions are from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Engineers and architects are study ing how Interstate Avenue would look and function with MAX running down the center o f the street from the Rose Q uarter to Kenton. The Max line con tinues to the Expo Center. Participants can jo in discussion groups on these topics: Free childcare is available. All m eetings are accessible. Language in terpreters are available if notification is given by Friday, A ugust 13 at (503) 247-3958. TDD (503) 797-1804. A second round o f mini-conferences is scheduled for late Septem ber For further inform ation about the Interstate M AX project, try the fol low ing resources: • Drop by the Interstate MAX field office at 5101 N. Interstate A ve., be tw een 11 a m and 7 p.m. M ondays through T hursdays; or 11 a m. to 5 p.m. on Fridays. ■ Call the Interstate MAX com m u nity line at (503) 247-3958. • Visit our website at www tri - m et.org/interstateM A X 1 • N eighborhood, business or other organizations can arrange for their own meetings by calling (503) 247-3958. How to minimize traffic congestion? W hat can be done about traffic and parking on neighborhood »treats? W hat should be done for bicyclists? How could MAX stimulate economic activity In the area? Should a new urban renewal district be created ? LOS ANGELES (AP) - A man sprayed the lobby o f a Jew ish com munity center w ith gunfire T ues day, wounding five people, includ ing three little boys. A m anhunt was under way. As weeping parents gathered o u ts id e , p o lic e s e a r c h e d the grounds o f the N orth V alley Jew ish Com m unity C enter and the sub urban San Fernando V alley neigh borhood o f G ranada H ills, police Cmdr. Dave Kalish said. “ He burst into the lobby o f the com m unity center and began firing 20 to 30 shots from a 9 mm Uzi. He then walked down a hallw ay, left the building and left cam pus,” fire spokesm an Steve Ruda said. He said the shooter, described as a w hite m ale dressed in black shirt and gray pants, was in his teens. The m otive for the shooting was unknown. A uthorities said they had no idea if it was a hate crim e. Police helicopters crisscrossed over several square blocks sur rounding the campus. Two hours after the shooting, about two dozen m em bers o f a SW AT team in flak jackets and armed w ith rifles deployed outside the gates o f the evacuated campus. Tw enty-tw o other little children w ere taken from the center to a nearby tem ple after the 10:50 a.m. shooting. “T hey’re all very calm and very w ide-eyed as you can im agine,” Ruda said The children were attending a sum m er cam p at the center. A view from a televi sion helicopter show ed adults es corting groups o f sm all children, the youngsters lined up holding hands. Ruda said an 8-year-old boy was in very critical condition. The older woman, in her 50s or 60s, also was in critical condition. Two other boys, ages 8 and 6, were in stable condition A 16-year-old girl was in stable condition. Paramedics and police descended on the center in the initial confused moments after the gunfire. One w om an w as seen being treated on a sidewalk adjacent to the parking lot. A young boy was rushed out o f a rear building on a stretcher and put aboard a fire helicopter. Groups o f little children were led away by adults and officers. W orried parents gathered b e hind yellow police tape as officers w orked to assure them that their children were all right. Som e w ept as they clutched each other, w ait ing for word o f th eir children. “ H e ’s O K ! H e ’s O K !” one m other shouted w hen she heard about the fate o f her son. O ther parents spoke w ith school officials who tried to arrange ren dezvous point w ith th eir children elsew here in the area. CONTINUED ON PAGE A4 I' I