Volume X X X . Number 10
Committed to Cultural Diversity
w w vs.portlandobserver.com
Children
looking for a
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See Focus
Garth
Fagan's
dance
March 8, 2000
See The Metro
Jefferson High
School crowd
shows support in
win over Dallas
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University of
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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.