Page A5
January 19, 2000
(Ehe Ipprihutò ffihôeruer
Ilio rt In nò
(Observer
Business
IMAX lightrail renewal approaches UPS scales up recruiting drive
C om m unity organizations m obilize
the grassroots
W ith 250 volunteers completing 2,500
surveys in a m assive door-to-door
sw eep ,
c o m m u n ity - b a s e d
organizations are reaching out to
N orth Portland residents im pacted
by proposed urban renewal.
O n Saturday, January 15, groups
s u c h a s th e U rb a n L e a g u e ,
Environm ental Justice Action Group,
C o a litio n fo r a L iv a b le F uture,
C om m unity A lliance o f T enants,
P o rtland N ew Party, JO B S w ith
Q uarter and the Expo C enter. An
U rban Renew al A rea is proposed
along Interstate, possibly stretching
up to W illiams Avenue in some places,
and taking in som e industrial districts
such as Swan Island. Tri Met estimates
that $350 m illion dollars will be
invested around the construction o f
the new M A X line, and an Urban
Renewal A rea could add an additional
$100 m illion dollars for housing,
business and livability developm ent
projects.
T he surveys will ask residents to
p rio ritiz e sp en d in g in six areas:
housing, jo b s, transportation, parks
and environm ental clean-up, historic
preservation, and public services. The
survey w as developed in cooperation
w ith th e C ity o f P o rtla n d and
c o m m u n ity
g r o u p s w ill b e
com pensated at two dol lars per survey
com pleted.
H ousing and Jobs for W hom ?
In the past, urban renew al projects
b u s in e s s e s g o in g u n d e r. M an y
residents and com m unity groups near
the I MAX corridor fear the sam e with
this new project.
“ We can prevent the type o f “urban
rem oval” this district has suffered in
the past. But w e m ust organize and
fight for w h at’s right,” says M argaret
C arter, acting director o f the Urban
League and candidate for State Senate
in the district. “W e can m ake sure that
the jo b s created go to neighborhood
people, pay living w ages, increase
skill levels, and create a safe and
healthy environm ent. W e can m ake
sure the housing built and rem odeled
is affordable and goes to low and
m oderate-incom e residents. W e can
m a k e su re th a t lo c a lly o w n ed ,
m inority, and sm all businesses are
the ones w ho get a boost.”
Survey volunteers will be meeting at
th e office o f O A M E at 4134 N.
V ancouver for a 9 am breakfast and
training, canvassing from 10 am to 2
JUSTICE and others will mobilize their
m em ber in neighborhoods near the
route o f the IM AX.
T he new light rail will run up
Interstate A venue, betw een the Rose
(the C oliseum area, the Emmanuel
H ospital area, the 1-5 corridor) have
resulted in m assive displacem ent o f
poor and m inority residents, jobs
g o in g to o u ts id e r s , a n d sm a ll
pm and returning for pizza and a quick
count. Forfurther information,contact
th e U rban L eag u e, 2 8 0 -2 6 0 0 or
coalition for a L ivable Future, 294-
2889.
Community
organizations
mobilize the
grassroots
fob T he P obtland O bsibvc «
W ith O regon’s unem ploym ent rate
at an all tim e low these days, who
provides the most com petitive jo b s
in the state?
United Parcel Service, in a m ove to
retain its most prom ising student
em p lo y e e s, is u n v e ilin g a new
p ro g ra m th a t v ir tu a lly p a y s a
student’s tuition and school fees.
Earn & Learn, as the program is called,
has O re g o n ia n s ju m p in g at th e
chance to get a free education.
Decidedly, the Portland-m etro area
UPS facilities are glad they were
selected to participate in the pilot
program. “W e em ploy, people in
north Portland alone. N eedless to
say, this is a trem endous benefit to
our current and future em ployees. In
fact, it is unm atched by any other
em ployer,” says w orkforce planning
m anager Dave Hebner.
A ssociated P ress
T w o think tanks report the boom ing
stock m arket is w idening the incom e
gap betw een the poorest and richest
U.S. families. T he earnings for the
poorest fi fth o f American families rose
less than 1 percent betw een 1988 and
1998 but jum ped 15 percent for the
richest fifth, the C enter on Budget
and Policy Priorities and the Economic
Policy Institute said in a report issued
T uesday.
Incom e for the poorest families —
defined as tw oorm ore relatives living
together — rose $110 to $12,990
during the 10-year period. For the
ric h e st fa m ilie s it in c re ase d by
$ 17,870, to $ 137,480, m ore than 10
tim es that o f the poorest sector, the
report found.
“T he benefits o f this (econom ic)
g ro w th h a v e n o t b e e n e v e n ly
d is t r ib u t e d ,”
s a id
E liz a b e th
M c N ic h o l, o n e o f th e s tu d y ’s
authors. “T he incom es o f the poor
and m iddle class have fallen or
sta g n ated .”
M cNichol attributed the w idening
gap to W all S treet’s long-running
bull m arket, w hich favors w ealthy
investors; low er-paying service jobs
replacing m anufacturing jo b s; and
the largely stagnant m inim um wage.
The gap betw een rich and poor was
w idest in N ew York, with the poorest
fifth earning $ 10,770, dow n $ 1,970,
w hile the w ealthiest group earned
$152,350, up $19,680. Incom e was
m ost evenly distributed in U tah,
w h ere th e p o o re st fam ilies had
incom es o f $ 18,170 and the richest
$125,930.
The income gap narrowed injust three
states — A lask a, L o u isian a and
T ennessee.
Stephen M oore, director o f social
policy for the C ato Institute, said the
study contorted data to put a negative
face on a “spectacular econom y.”
“T he rich are getting richer but the
poor are getting richer too in this
expansion,” said Moore.
T he C enter on Budget and Policy
Priorities and the Econom ic Policy
Institute are nonprofit, nonpartisan
organizations pushing for changes
in tax laws and other federal policies
to benefit low -and m oderate-incom e
families.
T he study used before-tax data from
the U.S. C ensus Bureau. The figures
w ere adjusted for inflation.
Approximately one-third ofO regon’s
part-tim e UPS m anagem ent crew is a
college student.
"N ot only do I get to put the UPS
stam p o f excellence on my own
resume, but also the m oney I make
here doesn’t go right back out the
door to school,” says Ron Swan, a
Portland State U niversity student
who works in part-tim e management.
“It’s really like getting paid tw ice.”
UPS has a 92-year history o f proven
interest in em ployee and com m unity
development, as well as acommitment
to educating the future workforce.
From the Oregon independent College
Fund and local child development
grants to college credit for internal
training, UPS has gained notoriety as
the best part-tim e jo b in America for
students (Y our M oney magazine).
For more information about part-time
UPS jobs, please call the UPS Jobline
at (503) 286-7298 or visit us at
www.ups.com.
Community budget forums set forPortland
CONTRIBCTEDSTORV
TOR T he P oK I LA>D OBSERVER
Income gap widens for U. S. families
W ith Earn & Learn, a part-tim e
package handler can receive $, per
year in assistance (up to $15,000),
paid directly to his or her college per
year in C'onSem educational loans
(for four years), and UPS will forgive
the entire loan principal after three to
fo u r
y ea rs
o f c o n s e c u tiv e
employment.
According to UPS recruiting manager
Lenroe H aw thorne, “Each facet o f
our tuition reim bursem ent program s
is unbelievable. Iju st wish w e ’d had
them w hen I was a student w orking
part-tim e here.”
Tuition assistance for UPS people in
part-tim e m anagem ent com es in an
even larger sum.
P a r t-tim e
s u p e r v is o r s
g a in
unparalleled m anagem ent experience
and are eligible for $4,000 per year
to w ard sc h o o l e x p e n se s (u p to
$20,000). UPS people are encouraged
to pursue higher education in order
to b e e lig ib le f o r p ro m o tio n .
The City o f Portland has planned a
series o f activities designed to give
citizens a voice in developing the
2000-02 city bu d g et. T elep h o n e
surveys are currently underw ay to
determ ine com m unity priorities for
city services, a series o f com m unity
budget forum s will be held between
January 31 and February 10, and a
web site allow ing city residents to fill
out an online survey and w eigh in on
th e d e v e lo p in g b u d g e t w ill b e
available from F eb ru ary through
April.
T he public is encouraged to attend
any o f five citizen forum s upcom ing
acro ss th e city. T h e forum s are
designed so citizens will have an
opportunity to talk about com m unity
priorities for the budget directly with
City Council members and City Bureau
Directors. At each forum, participants
will review the results o f city-w ide
and neighborhood surveys about
b u d g e t p r io r itie s an d c itiz e n
satisfaction w ith city services. Small
g ro u p d is c u s s io n s w ith C ity
Com missioners and Bureau Directors
wi 11 focus on how the City can respond
to com m unity priorities during the
developm ent o fth e 2000-02 biennial
budget.
W hile no testim ony will be taken at
the com m unity budget forums, the
City provides several opportunities
for formal and inform al public input
on the City o f Portland budget. An
interactive w eb site will be online
following the forums. A proposed
budget will be posted online and
available from the O ffice o f Finance
and Administration in late April. And
b u d g e t h e a rin g s , in c lu d in g an
opportunity for public testimony, will
be conducted in M ay and June.
Every Child Deserves
Far-reaching Opportunities...
U S WEST’S commitment to a partnership with Oregon will mean $50 million over
the next two years to support the use of technology in K-12 public education.
• Every public school in the state not currently wired will
receive funds to be wired with a local computer network;
• Every public school facility will have funding for a
high-speed telecommunications connection;
• Every high school will be equipped with a two-way
distance education system; and
Urban from p a g e l
w orking in higher education w ith the
League. T he U niversity’s Institute
for N onprofit M anagem ent is already
w orking w ith the League.
Portland State University, a national ly
acclaim ed leader in com munity-based
learning, is located along the tree-
• Every school district will have additional money for
technology infrastructure.
lined South Park Blocks ofdow ntow n
Portland. T he U niversity’s position
in the heart o f O reg o n ’s econom ic
and cultural cen ter en ab les PSU
s tu d e n ts a n d f a c u lty to a p p ly
scholarly theory to the real-w orld
problem s ofbusiness and com m unity
organizations. Portland State offers
over 100 undergraduate, m aster’s, and
doctoral degrees, as well as graduate
certificates and continuing education
program s. PSU serves m ore students
and confers m ore m asters’ degrees
annually than any other university.
U S WEST is providing $25 million in 2000 and
$25 million in 2001 to the Connecting Oregon
Communities Fund which will be distributed by the
Oregon Department of Education. It's part of our
commitment under Senate Bill 622.
Oregon's classrooms are on the forefront of education...the Internet , and the future.
The 3,700 Oregonians who work for U S WEST think this is an investment well
worth making.
For more information about U S WEST, call 1-800 4ANSWER or visit
us online at www.uswest.com
Widows from page 5
acknow ledgem ent ofisolation, anger and fear that they
both w ent through. It w as during the lonely tim es in VA
hospitals w hen the A frican - A m erican couple relied
on their abiding love and friendship to carry them
through. N orm a rem em bers her determ ination to “be
th ere” for M ichael, and to help him as m uch as she
could. She recalls early in m arriage, his nightm ares and
flashbacks - and also jum ping out o f bed and going for
a gun if she woke him abruptly, an action he told her was
an “instinct” bred by the war.
She began asking him “20,000 questions,” w anting to
know w hat he w ent through and w hat the w ar w as like.
“ He needed to find peace inn som e kind o f w ay,” she
recalls. O nce she started questing, the horrifying details
o f the w ar began pouring out. “ I w as stunned when I
thought o f all the young men w ho had been in V ietnam,
doing things that, m orally and religiously, they knew
w ere w rong.”
W hen Barbara Sonnebom approached her to tell her
story - along with m any other w om en, both A m erican
<02000 U S WEST, Inc. All rights reserved
and V ietn am e se- in REGRET TO FORM , N orm a says, “ I had
no ideal that it would turn in to w hat it did.” W hen Barbara sent
her copy o f the com pleted film, N orm a d id n ’t look it for over
a year. T hen she was invited to a screening o f the film in
B erkeley, California, and she w atched it for the first tim e in a
theater filled w ith people. “ I was overw helm ed by the effect
this film had an audience,” she says. “E verything in the film
w as exactly as M ichael had described it to me. A fterw ards, an
A frican A m erican vet cam e up to m e and said he w as glad I
told my story. He said he w as in denial for the first 15 years
after the w ar, and for the next 15 he thought he w as crazy The
film validates the pain and insanity o fth e experience. It’s very
hum an, very effectively told, and I'm proud o f end result. I’m
glad I participated because it's a film about feeling and I no
longer have to feel asham ed or em barrasses.”
“T he m en are the soldiers,” says N orm a Banks, “but the
w idow s are the true warriors. I w as able to get M ichael to
forgive h im self and have the sem blance o f a norm al, happy
life. I m ade sure that M ichael's dream s w ere accom plished,
because I d id n ’t w ant it to seem that he died in vain.”
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