Portland observer., February 02, 2000, Page 6, Image 6

February 2, 2000
Page A6
(Etje Portiani* (ßbaertter
Business
JÜurtlanù
B la c k
Employer group wins national award
k ih
r lit
P our
and Q g s t m LR
The Oregon Employer Council has
been recognized as the outstanding
state employer counci 1 i n the country.
The National Employer Council
selected the Oregon group over
nominations from most every state.
The Oregon Employer Council (OEC)
c o n sists o f 20 lo cal c o u n c ils
throughout the state. Members o f
OEC are private-sector employers
who act as an advisory group to the
Oregon Employment Department. In
a d d itio n , m any local em ployer
councils sponsor low-cost seminars
for employers on topics o f importance
to business and are involved in many
c o m m u n ity -o rie n te d e v e n ts to
promote work force development.
“Employers pay payroll taxes, and
“We created opportunities, helping
people get work by providing such
things as scholarships, training, and
training vouchers,” Harvey said. “The
Oregon EmployerCouncil really is a
unique opportunity for business
people to have a voice, to influence,
to be facilitators o f change in the
work force development system.”
In addition to the recognition for OEC,
the National EmployerCouncil named
the D ouglas C ounty E m ployer
Council as the outstanding local
em p lo y e r co u n cil in a sm all
community.
This is the second consecutive year
an employer council from Oregon has
received national honors. The South
Coast Employer Council from Coos
Bay was named council ofthe year in
1999 by the National Employer
Council.
th ey w o u ld lik e som e b e tte r
understanding of what happens with
those tax dollars,” saidGwyn Harvey
o f Integrated Measurement Systems,
state OEC president.
“So, by getting involved with the
Oregon EmployerCouncil they learn
what happens with their tax dollars.
And, if they feel they have other
needs than how those dollars are
being applied, they can influence
change there.”
Harvey said the OEC was cited by the
N ational E m ployer C ouncil for
c o n trib u tio n s to w ork fo rc e
development such as sponsoring
scholarships, providing mentoring
opportunities, employer seminars,
return to work programs, work with
veterans, and w orking w ith the
Oregon Employment Department to
stagejob fairs, among other activities.
PDC announces housing projects
chosen for $4.3 million in funding
T he P o rtla n d D e v e lo p m e n t
C o m m issio n ’s
H o u sin g
Department has announced the
projects that will receive funding
through the Com m ission’s fall
re q u e st-fo r-p ro p o sal pro cess.
Twice a year (spring and fall), PDC
solicits and receives proposals
from for-profit and non-profit
housing developers. A selection
committee comprised o f members
H o u sin g
and
C o m m u n ity
Development to seek innovative
ways to not only increase the number
o f rental units people can afford, but
develop ways to make more o f them
homeowners,” Katz added.
In the fall o f 1999 round o f funding,
12 projects were chosen fora funding
total of$4,381,215. The projects will
result in 623 new units o f housing
(both rental and ownership) all o f
which will be affordable to individuals
and families earning 0-60% o f area
median income.
o f the com m unity fam iliar with
housing issues weighs the proposals
against city-identified criteria in order
to award funds. Funds can be used
for c o n stru c tio n o f a ffo rd a b le
h o u sin g
and
m ix e d -u se
developments (for example, street
level b u sin e sse s w ith h o u sin g
above.) “ I am proud o f P D C ’s
continued commitment to bridging
the gap for thousands o f Portlanders
by building housing they can afford,”
said Mayor Vera Katz. “As we develop
my M ayor’s Proposed Budget of
istory
Louth
Low-interest bonds issued to stimulate
economy and expand affordable housing
A ssociai t p P ress
Oregon’s Private Activity Bond Committee, in an effort
to help stimulate the economy and provide more
affordable housing in Oregon, hasallocated $45 million
that will be issued as tax-exempt bonds to finance a
number o f needed projects throughout the state. The
two most notable projects are an ethanol production
facility and a rent-restricted housing complex for frail
and low-income seniors.
The Oregon Office o f Energy received $15 million from
the P AB Committee to help build the ethanol production
facility nearClatskanieinColumbia County. This will be
the first ethanol plant built in the state ofOregon. During
construction, which is expected to last 14 to 16 months,
the plant will generate 500 to 700 construction jobs.
After construction, the plant will employ 80 people and
produce an annual payroll o f about $3.7 million.
“This is an outstanding project, one that is not only
environmentally sound, but also one that will provide
much needed jobs for the people o f Columbia County,”
Gary Bruebaker, Deputy State Treasurer and member of
the PAB Committee, said. “The family-wage jobs that
this plant will generate will pay nearly 150 percent ofthe
average wage for Columbia County. I am excited to be
able to play a small part in this economic expansion for
the people in this part o f out state.”
The Housing Authority o f Portland received $22.5
million to fund affordable housing projects. The
Housing Authority will use $9.5 million to help construct
a rent-restricted housing complex in Gresham for frail
and low-income seniors. This project will alsainclude
an adult day health center, which will operated by
Providence Health Systems. The Housing Authority
will use its remaining $ 13 million to in part an affordable
housing development in Portland’s River District. This
project will contain 181 residential rental units.
“Providing safe, affordable housing is a critical issue
for many Oregonians,” Bruebaker said. “As we finance
these and other housing projects throughout the state,
we not only give people safety and shelter, we also
provide an economie stimulus from the family-wage
jobs created.”
The Private Activity Bond Committee, which Bruebaker
has served on for the past seven years, approves the
issuance o f private activity bonds. These bonds are
tax-exempt and designed to provide maximum economic
benefit to the citizens o f Oregon. They are typically
used to fund econom ic developm ent, housing,
education, public works, energy, waste management
and transportation projects; the tax-exempt feature
helps provide low-cost financing for these projects.
Each year the state ofOregon has $ 150 million ofprivate
activity bonds to allocate.
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Crash from page 1
“From his observation it was nose
first,” Smith said.
Tony Alfieri, owner o f a squid fishing
boat, told the Los Angeles Times that
he and his crew “heard a big boom
and we saw a big splash, 1 mean like
200 feet in the a ir... We thought, ‘Oh
my God, this is not a good deal.’ “
There were 83 passengers and five
crew members aboard, Evans said.
T hirty-tw o w ere bound for San
Francisco, 47 for Seattle, three were
continuing on to Eugene, Ore., and
one to Fairbanks, Alaska. The two
pilots were based in Los Angeles and
the three fl ight attendants were based
in Seattle.
The passengers included three airl ine
employees, four employees o f sister
airline Horizon and 23 relatives or
friends o f the employees.
Near the entrance o f Port Hueneme,
where the search effort was based, a
7-foot wooden cross festooned with
flowers was erected today. A white
plastic angel sat at the base with a
candle blowing in a jar.
Some local residents bowed their
heads in prayer. From the site they
could see search aircraft patroling
offshore above the crash area.
“They just stand for a while with their
own thoughts. It’s tragic,” said Neal
Silverman, 47, who moved into his
beach house just a week ago.
Both pilots were Alaska Airlines
veterans. Capt. Ted Thompson, 53,
H M
was hired Aug. 16, 1982, and had
10,400 flying hours with the company.
First Officer William Tansky, 57, was
hired July 17, 1985, and had 8,047
flying hours with the Seattle-based
airline.
T he p la n e its e lf w as b u ilt by
McDonnell Douglas, now part of
Boeing, and delivered to Alaska
Airlines in 1992, said John Thom, a
spokesman for Boeing’s Douglas
aircraft unit.
Evans said the plane was serviced
Sunday, went through a low-level
maintenance check on Jan. 11 and
had a more thorough routine check
last January.
An FAA service difficulty report for
the plane includes 44 incidents dating
to 1992, most o f them dealing with
emergency lights and problems with
sliding windows not opening.
In 1995, an engine failed and the plane
landed without incident, the report
said. The engine was replaced.
Alaska Airlines, which has the image
o f an Eskimo painted on the tails o f its
planes, serves more than 40 cities in
Alaska, Canada, Mexico and five
Western states.
It had two fatal accidents in the 1970s,
both in Alaska.
The MD-80 series is a twin-jet version
o f the more widely known DC-9, with
a single aisle and an engine on each
side ofthe tail. It went into service in
1980 and o f the 1,167 series planes
delivered, Boeing reported last year,
only nine had been lost in accidents.
Alaska Airlines has been the subject
o f an Oakland, Calif., federal grand
jury investigation over maintenance
and repair records for some MD-80s
in the past year.
A Federal Aviation Administration
report found two MD-80s that made
840 flights in late 1998 and early 1999
on which records were falsified.
Because o f the altered records, the
aircraft were considered to be in
“ un airw o rth y c o n d itio n ,” FAA
documents said.
Federal prosecutors declined to
comment on the probe, citing grand
jury secrecy rules. Evans said at the
time that the airline was consistently
told by federal investigators that
airplane safety was not in question
and that the inquiries were limited to
record keeping.
Referring to that probe, John Kelly,
chairman and CEO of Alaska Airlines,
said today on CBS-TV’s “The Early
Show” that the plane involved in the
c ra sh “ w as the su b je c t o f no
investigation whatsoever.”
Before this week, the most recent
fatal crash in the United States
involving an MD-80 series jet was
last summer’s American Airlines
accident in Little Rock, Ark. Eleven
peoplediedand I lOwereinjuredwhen
an MD-82 trying to land in a storm ran
o ff a runway and caught fire.
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Report from page 1
S chool re p o rt c a rd s d e sc rib e
student’s performance on state test,
student attendance and dropout rates,
and student SAT scores and teacher
education.
District report cards also show how
different ethnic groups perform on
state test ands list adm inistrator
experience
Contact:
“ I am pleased to see many schools in
the top categories that are not
traditionally spotlighted for their
achievement,” said Bunn. “Teachers
and principals in these schools
deserve our congratulations.”
Schools received an overall rating of
exceptional, strong, satisfactory, low
or unacceptable. The percent o f
I
schools in each category is shown
below.
Exceptional schools: 3.8 percent (39
schools, including one high school)
Strong schools: 35.8 percent (372
schools). Satisfactory schools: 56.7
percent (589 schools) Low schools:
3.6 percent (36 schools) Unacceptable
schools: 0.3 percent (3 schools)
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