(om m itted lo Cultural Diversity
Volume X X IX . Number 50
December 15, 1999
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WEEK
REVIEW
The Panama Canal
PANAMA CITY, PANAMA - Former
President Jimmy Carter, who agreed 22
years ago to hand over the Panama Canal
to Panama, represented the United States
at the symbolic turnover of the waterway.
Panama officially takes control o f the canal
on December 31. Although he didn’t attend
the ceremony, President Clinton expressed
a “continuing commitment" to the canal’s
security. The handover o f the canal will
end a relationship between Panama and
the United States that dates to Panama’s
birth as an independent country in 1903,
when it broke away from Colombia. The
U.S. government then took over the canal
project. It was finished in 1914.
Judges nix New York
transit strike
Judges granted two temporary restraining
orders blocking New York City transit
workers from going on strike just after
midnight. City officials said the restraining
orders would facilitate enforcement o f a
state law that bars strikes by public
employees. Meanwhile, transit officials
and union leaders say they are making
progress in trying to prevent a strike that
would disrupt subway and bus service for
some 3.5 million New Yorkers.
Nazi labor fund
BERLIN - U.S. and German negotiators
have agreed to establish a fund o f $5.2
billion for Nazi-era slave and forced laborers,
a German lawyer representing the victims.
The German government raised its offer to
$2.6 billion, equaling the amount already
pledged by German industry to compensate
those forced to work for H itler’s war
machine. In addition to the Nazi labor
compensation, the fund will also include
money from separate negotiations over
unpaid insurance claims from World War
___ __
WASHINGTON - America’s trade deficit
set a record for the third consecutive
quarter, widening to $89.95 billion in the
July-Septem ber period, the Com m erce
Department reported. The deficit in the
current account rose by ,1.2 percent in the
third quarter this year, up from $80.9 billion
in the second quarter. Through the first
nine m onths o f this year, the current
account deficit is running at an annual rate
o f $319 billion, 45 percent higher than last
year’s $220 billion imbalance.
.
- .f
____—
Every year, Santa shim m ies dow n chim neys
in Portland. But this year, a group o f area
youths d id n ’t w ait for Santa to m ake his
annual trek from the N orth Pole.
Instead, about 100 children clim bed aboard a
United A irlines 757 recently and headed to
the North Pole.
Really.
The trip to the N orth Pole was part o f United
Airlines Fifth A nnual Fantasy Flight program
during the C hristm as season. Each year,
children from Oregon Special Olympics, Make-
A -W ish, O regon Services to C hildren and
F am ilies and W ash in g to n ’s D ivision o f
C hildren and Fam ily Services are selected to
take the hour long trip to the N orth Pole.
Each child w as paired w ith a volunteer, who
w as a retired U nited Airlines em ployee such
as H erman H oek. “W e love to help these kids.
It’s great to see their faces,” said Hoek, who
retired from United Airlines 20 years ago after
w orking there for 33 years. “ It’s rew arding to
see the kids be so appreciative. C hristm as is
for kids and it’s about the s p in to f giving. W e
are here to give.”
A s th e c h ild r e n w a ite d at P o rtla n d
International A irport’s G ateE l fortheirflight,
they played G o-Fish, had their faces painted
and m ade friends w ith Rusty the Clow n as
—
J u s tin G riffin , 8, J o n a th o n G riffen . 6 a n d S h a n e D illin g h a m . 6. s o c ia liz e
w ith F r e d B e a r a n d S u p e r W ee vil a s th e y w a it to b o a r d a p la n e to th e N o rth
P o le .
well as popular store m ascots Red Robin,
Toys-R-Us Geoffrey the Giraffe, Fred M eyer’s
Fred B ear and K aiser Perm anente’s Super
Weevil.
All playing, talking, giggling and running,
ceased w hen the children heard over the
_kk system,
D “Boarding Clir»V»t
I "78 tz
intercom
Flight Q
9128
to ~» tHp
the
North Pole.” All the children got in line. The
mascots did, too. Geoffrey the Giraffe, however
could not go on the flight because he is too
tall.
T he plane’s crew , w earing antler ears and
R udolph red noses, greeted the children and
buckled them in their seats. O nce they
w atched the p lan e’s safety video ... at the
request o f Santa, they w ere on their way. As
the plane took o ff into the clear night sky, 100
c h ild r e n
s h r ille d
and
s h o u te d ,
“H ellllllooooooooooo Santaaaaaaaaaaaa! ”
O nce it was safe to m ove about the plane, Cpt.
Roger Parsons, w ho was the pilot, pointed
out Santa’s w orkshop, w hich looked a lot like
Timberline Lodge. He also invited the children
into the cockpit. Brothers Jonathan and Justin
o f W ashington w ere am ong the first to visit
the pilot. “This is the best thing in the w orld,”
Justin said as he peeked out the window.
1 " O fficer Larry Stone listened to the children
and began to smile. “ It’s ju st incredible,” he
said. “All o f their joy. It’s a m a z in g .. . . ”
As the hourlong plane ride continued. Parsons
announced that a strange object had been
sighted. A sleigh and nine reindeer.
(Please see 'S a n ta ' p ag e 2)
Former L.A. cop will lead Portland police
Mark Kroeker, 55, beats
out other candidates in
his bid to be Portland’s
police chief
CONTRIBL1EDSTORÌ
for T he
P ortland O b s l r m r
M ayor V era Katz announced M onday that
M ark K roeker, a 32-year Los A ngeles police
veteran, w ill becom e the city ’s new police
ch ief at the start o f the new year.
The selection w as finalized W ednesday after
Katz consulted with city commissioners about
raising the c h ie f s salary to $ 130,000.
Former C hief Charles M oose, who resigned in
July to becom e ch ief in M ontgom ery C ounty,
M d., left at the top c h ie f sp ay o f$ 1 0 6 ,1 6 3 . In
the national search for his successor, Katz
m ade the c h ie f s salary negotiable.
K roeker, 55, becom es the first ch ief to be
tapped from outside the Portland police ranks
in 25 years. A lthough observers agree that
the selection carries im portant im plications
for the Police B ureau’s future, it also m arks a
political test for Katz, who is up for re-election
in 2000.
Katz announced the appointm ent at a news
conference M oday at the Justice Center.
The m ayor’s staff was m aking arrangem ents
for K roeker, w ho w as in Los A ngeles on
W ednesday night, to attend.
The nam ing o f a new chiefcom es two m onths
after the city hired Shannon A ssociates, a
California-based firm, to conduct a nationwide
search along w ith the P olice E xecutive
Research Forum, based in W ashington, D.C.
A 19-member citizens’ selection com m ittee
appointed by Katz w hittled a field o f 37
candidates dow n to eight sem ifinalists and
recom m ended their top choices to the mayor
after interview s last month. K roeker and
Ronald C. M onroe, a 20-year veteran o f the
Metropolitan Police Department in the District
o f Colum bia, w ere the two finalists.
M onroe, who becam e an assistant chief in
1998, said Katz phoned him about 3 p.m. PST
W ednesday.
“ She told me she ju st felt the bureau would be
better handled by ChiefKroeker, and I thanked
her for the opportunity to be considered,"
M onroe said.
“ M ark has a few m ore years o f experience
than I do. I congratulate him. H e’s a well-
qualified professional.”
Kroeker, a native ofD allas, Ore. who grew up
in A frica, France and California as the son o f
m issionary parents, retired in 1997 as one o f
L os A n g e le s’ m o st w ell-resp ected and
popular deputy chiefs.
M ark K roeker
King trial verdict predictable
Traditional stores
back web taxes
U.S. Trade Deficit hit
record high
— ——
Portland youths fly to North Pole to visit Santa
n.
SAN FRANCISCO - An advisory panel
begins a tw o-day session to exam ine
proposals on whether consumers should
pay sales taxes on Internet purchases. The
Clinton administration opposes an outright
ban on Internet sales taxes but says it is too
soon to begin imposing a new tax system
A group called E-Faimess Coalition, which
includes major national chains such as
W al-M art and Radio Shack, says the
government has a “duty” to collect taxes
from online shoppers. Sales taxes are the
single largest source o f revenue for most
states and local governments, amounting
to $147 billion in 1997.
—
DliASSUCLMtoPlULhii
The jury that found a widespread governm ent
conspiracy responsible for the assassination
o f the Rev. M artin Luther King Jr. had little
choice but to reach such a verdict.
D uring the four-w eek civil trial, w hich ended
W ednesday, jurors heard no evidence to the
contrary, even from the law yer representing
the m an w ho K ing’s fam ily nam ed in its
w rongful death lawsuit.
“ Ifbo th sides present to the ju ry basically the
same facts, then what is that ju ry supposed to
do? T he ju ry is going to com e back w ith a
verdict th at’s supported by those positions,”
said John Cam pbell, a state prosecutor w ho
has investigated K ing’s m urder but was not
involved in the trial.
King biographer D avid J. G arrow told The
Com mercial Appeal ofM em phis the trial “ has
m ade the T ennessee state judiciary look like
a laughingstock." He said the verdict will
have “zero” im pact on history.
And the day after the verdict, the Justice
D e p a rtm e n t s a id its o w n 1 6 -m o n th
investigation is not likely to produce new
crim inal charges in the assassination despite
the latest trial.
The K ing fam ily filed the suit against Loyd
Jow ers, a retired M emphis businessm an who
claim ed on national television sin years ago
that he paid som eone other than Jam es Earl
Ray to kill K ing in M emphis in 1968. Jow ers
claim ed he becam e involved at the behest o f
a friend w ho w as w orking for a M afia boss in
N ew Orleans.
Ray confessed to the killing in 1969 but
recanted and spent the rest o f his life trying
to prove his innocence. He died in prison last
year.
A U.S. H ouse com m ittee concluded in 1978
that Ray killed King but m ay have had help
from a smal 1 group o f racists before or after the
murder. The com mittee found no government
involvement.
The ju ry found Jowers was liable in K ing's
death and that unnamed others, including
governm ent agencies, w ere involved. It
aw arded the King family $100 - the token
am ount requested in the suit.
A fter issuing the verdict, one ju ro r said it was
a “cut-and-dried” case.
And the King family said the verdict justified
its b elief that a conspiracy w as at the heart o f
the assassination.
“W e know w hat happened. This is the period
at the end o f the sentence," said D exter King,
one o f the Rev. K ing’s four children.
“S o p lease, after today, w e d o n ’t w ant
questions like * Do you believe James Earl Ray
killed your father?' I ’ve been hearing that all
m y life. No, I d o n ’t, and this is the end o f it.”
C am pbell said the verdict does not change
prosecutors’ b elief that Ray was the killer and
that if any conspiracy did exist it was a small-
scale one involving only a few people close
to him.
King murder probe said incomplete
àSSUUAirtt&tùS
T h e c o n g r e s s io n a l c o m m itte e th a t
investigated M artin Luther K ing Jr.’s death
in the 1970s failed to dig deep enough into
allegations o f a m urder co n sp iracy , a
com m ittee m em ber says.
W alter Fauntroy, a formercongressman from
th e D is tric t o f C o lu m b ia , g a v e th a t
assessment M onday at the trial o f a wrongful
death lawsuit filed by the King family.
“W e didn’t have the tim e to investigate
leads we had established but could not
follow ,” Fauntroy said.
T he Kings are suing Loyd Jow ers, a former
M em phis businessm an w ho told ABC in
1993 th a t h e p la y e d a p a r t in th e
assassination.
T he suit seeks unspecified dam ages from
J o w e rs a n d “ o th e r u n k n o w n co -
conspirators,” but w hat the K ings are really
after is having a trial jury hear allegations o f
a m urder conspiracy.
T he U.S. H ouse S elect C o m m ittee on
Assassinations concluded in 1978 that James
Earl Ray shot King. Ray confessed to the
m urder in 1969 but then spent the next three
decades trying to take it back. H e died last
year in prison.
His confession was upheld eight tim es by
state and federal courts.
Jow ers had said in 1993 that he hired K ing’s
killer, as a favor to a friend w ith underw orld
ties, and it w asn’t Ray.
The H ouse com m ittee also said Ray m ay
have had help from others before or after the
murder, but Fauntroy said the com m ittee did
not investigate allegations o f a widespread
conspiracy.
“W e asked the Justice D epartm ent to follow
u p ... and to see if there was m ore than ju st
a low -level conspiracy," Fauntroy said after
his testimony.
He said the com m ittee was unaw are o f the
extent o f the F B I’s efforts to spy on King and
discredit him. T he com m ittee also was
unaware o f allegations that U.S. Army agents
had King under survei llance at the tim e ofhis
death, Fauntroy said.
The House com m ittee concluded that Ray
may have hoped to cash in on a $50,000
bounty on King al legedly offered by a small
group o f racial bigots in St. Louis.
But Fauntroy said he rem ains unsure how
the m urder was carried out. “ I’m hopeful as
truth rises w e ’ II get a better picture,” he said.
The trial is expected to w rap up by the end
o f the week.