Volume X X X . Number 10 Committed to Cultural Diversity w w vs.portlandobserver.com Children looking for a home See Focus Garth Fagan's dance March 8, 2000 See The Metro Jefferson High School crowd shows support in win over Dallas See E l O b s e rv a d o r Bulk Rate U.S. Postage PAID Portland, OR Permit No. 1610 University of Knighl Library Newspaper S e e « » Eugene OR Historical library to reopen March 2 1 US Govt able to buy back some public debt tUMRlflLTEDSItlRV ton T he P ortland O bserver T he next chapter in the history o f M ultnom ah C ounty’s North Portland Branch Library will begin M arch 21 w hen the 87-year-old building at 512 N orth K illingsw orth Street reopens after a year-long restoration. T he bu ild in g ’s original vaulted ceilings have been uncovered again and the original w oodw ork has been refurbished. N ew light fixtures and fu rn ish in g s faith fu lly reflect the b uilding’s historic nature. A new elevator carries people to the renovated 85-seat m eeting room , w hich will also house a new m obile com puter training center. D ow nstairs, four new com puters that ru n e d u c a tio n a l s o f tw a r e a re dedicated for the use o f children, w hile another 14 new com puters will allow visitors o f all ages to locate books and connect to the Internet. P lu m b in g u p g rad e s su p p o rt additional public restroom s. “T he renovation has returned this historically significant library building to its original splendor,” says G innie C ooper, d irec to r o f libraries for M ultnom ah County. “The m odem im p r o v e m e n ts a re ta s te f u lly incorporated and enable the library to p r o v id e th e N o rth P o rtla n d community with excel lent information services in the 21” century.” N orth P ortland has serv ed its com m unity for alm ost a century with b o o k s, m a g a z in e s, n e w sp a p e rs, lectures, storytim es and more. W hen the branch reopens, many new books, m usic CD s, cassette tapes, videos, magazines, newspapers and CD-Rom products w ill be on the shelves. The library will also offer new D V Ds and spoken CDs, and the Black Resources A ssociated P ress W elcom e to the brave new world ofbulging governm ent surpluses. For the first tim e in 70 years, the U.S. Treasury is buying back a part o f the national debt — $1 billion on Thursday. W hile the buyback will represent ju st a tiny drop o f the $5.7 trillion national debt, the repurchases — lim ited to 30-year bonds sold between 1985 and 1990 — will let the U.S. Treasury D epartm ent do a test run o f its new procedures. The announcem ent T hursday o f the initial $ 1 billion buyback effort was expected to be follow ed later this month with another $ 1 billion repurchase. A ny investors w ho ow n 30-year b o n d s, w h ich are to m a tu re betw een 2015 and 2020, can offer to unload them through a process know n as a “reverse auction,” in w hich the governm ent w ill select o ffers on a co m p etitiv e basis based on the low est prices. The governm ent is hoping to save in financing costs by redeem ing the bonds, w hich carry coupon interest rates as high as 11.25 percent. T reasu ry S ecre tary L aw ren ce Sum m ers announced in January that the governm ent hoped to buy back up to $30 billion o f the $5.7 trillion national debt this year. The adm inistration’s budget projects P iiotobv M ark W asnington /T iik P ortland O bserver C enter will return from its tem porary q u arte rs at P o rtlan d C om m u n ity C o lleg e’s C ascade campus. A lso returning are North P ortland’s w ell-attended library program s such as storytim es for babies, toddlers and p r e s c h o o le r s ; h o m e w o rk h e lp students; and cultural events for all a g e s. V o te rs a p p ro v e d g e n e ra l obligation bond funding to finance M ultnom ah County Library’s branch r e n o v a tio n p r o je c t in 1996, responding to problem s caused by lo n g -d e fe rre d m ain ten an ce, new seism ic codes, new Am ericans With Disabil ities A ct (AD A ) standards and the need for electronic infrastructure to support new technology. The multi year project, expected to be completed in 2002, includes im provem ents to eight libraries and the replacem ent o f th e W o o d s to c k , H o lly w o o d , Sellw ood-M oreland and H illsdale branch libraries. T h e 9 ,5 0 0 -s q u a re -fo o t N o rth Portland Branch Library building o r ig in a lly o p en e d its d o o rs on February 20, 1913. The branch had started in 1909 as the N orth A lbina Reading Room in a house on A lbina Street and then operated as the North Albina Library at 1131 AlbinaAvenue. In 1912, the Carnegie C orporation o f New York donated funds to construct a new library building, and gifts from com m unity members purchased land for the new Jacobethan-sty le building at the com er o f K illingsw orth Street an d C o m m e rc ia l A v e n u e . T h e building was renovated in 1961 and closed briefly in 1991 to receive new carpet and paint. Located at 512 N orth K illingsw orth Street, North Portland Branch Library will be open every Sunday from 1-5,; Tuesday-Thursday from 10 a.m. - 9 p.m.; and Friday and Saturday from 1 0 a .m .-6 p .m . ( Please see 'd e b t' p ag e 6) Super Tuesday shaping the presidential race A ssociated P ress Eight m onths to the day from the tic k et-sh a p in g v erd ic ts o f S u p er Tuesday, A m ericans will elect a new A P /H arry C abi . iick Texas waves at the Austin Gov. George W. Bush before entering his ear Texas state Capitol in on Tuesday, March 7. p r e s id e n t, c h o o s in g b e tw e e n Democrat Al G ore and, almost surely, Republican G eorge W. Bush to settle w hat will be the longest and costliest head-to-head W hite House campaign ever w aged. That, barring some incredible change, is the prospect, with the vice president piling on victories in a sw eep over D em ocratic challenger Bill Bradley, and the T exas governor capturing states Sen. John M cCain co u ld n ’t afford to lose. O hio was the first am ong them. B ush's landslide undercut M cC ain’s fading hope o f a com bination that would keep him going as a com petitor into m ajor state prim aries later in the spring. His ow n strategists said he couldn’t do it w ithout Ohio. Bush also w on in G eorgia, M issouri, M aryland and Maine. He said h e’d ta k e n a h u g e s te p to w a rd th e nom ination but did not consider it w on yet. Friday Weather Show ers 53°F/11°C Saturday Scattered Thursday Showers 40°F/4°C 1 56°F/13°C 39°F/4°C 55°F/12°C 39°F/4°C Through the weekend Today ¿¿Ht M cC ain captured C onnecticut — once the political hom e o f the Bush f a m ily — M a s s a c h u s e tts an d V erm ont. New England support that show ed first w hen he vaulted past Bush to start the season in New H am pshire, ju st five w eeks ago. M cCain ’ s victory there fueled a fierce Republican contest that turned harsh, personal and divisive, a split that could hurt the party unless it heals. “ I really do believe that it will com e back together,” said M ichigan Gov. John Engier, a Bush ally who suffered with him two weeks ago when McCain won the prim ary there, boosted by crossover D em ocratic voters. The G O P rivalry also w as expensive, draining m illions from the record treasury that once loom ed as a m ajor Bush advantage over G ore during the five m onths before the national party conventions. W hile their cash reserves may be about even now . Bush is going after Rain Sunday Show ers 54°F/12°C 39°F/4°C 57°F/13°C 39°F/4°C 4 $ 10 mil I ion more, and G ore sti 11 faces spending restrictions that do not apply to the governor because he d id n ’t ac ce p t fed e ra l ca m p a ig n subsidies. The candidates will start even after the conventions; each nom inee gets $67.6 m illion in federal funds for the general election cam paign. T h ere's also a wild card: the $12.5 m illion a v a ila b le to th e R efo rm P a rty nom inee, w ith ex-R epublican Pat B uchanan seeking that ro le and bankroll. Bush already was talking party unity, p raisin g M cC ain ’s cam paign for rec ru itin g w aves o f new voters. “C hange is com ing in politics in A m erica,” M cC ain said. But not enough to keep him com petitive. “G overnor Bush is a com petitor but he d o esn ’t take this personally.” said Karl Rove, his ch ief strategist, as the A ssociated P ress Vice President Al Gore tells Michael Wheeler at the Goody Goody Diner in St. Louis that he needs his vote in the Democratic presidential primary on Tuesday, March 7. (Please see '1 uesday' page 6) Inside-A Week in Review.................. ..2 Criniestoppers........................ .2 OH SU tests out out new open heart surgery technique........ 5 El Observador....................... ..5 Smarter baby milk formula sought.................................... 6 Metro-B Community Calendar................................... Jefferson High School flying high.......................................... Bectons divine predictions arrives in April....................... Classifieds/Bids.................. 4 1 This Week in History On March 8. 1917, Russia's February Revolution (so called because o f the Old Style calendar used by Russians at the time) began with noting and strikes in St. Petersburg On March 9, 1911 white firemen o f the Cincinnati, New Orleans and Texas Pacific Railroad struck to protest the hiring of Black firemen. On March 15, 1965. addressing a joint session of Congress. President Johnson called for new legislation to guarantee every American's right to vote.