Aprii 5, 2000
Page A2
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B Police News/Vancouver
Mayor Pollard accepts gift Smith and Wesson firearm agreement
from Matsuhita Kotobukl is good - but does not go far enough
Elian's Dad Gets
U.S. Visa
W A SH IN G T O N - C u b an
diplomats are preparing for the
arrival here o f Elian G onzalez’s
father as negotiators attempt to
work out the detai Is o f ho w he wi 11
be reunited with his son. The State
Department issued a visa to the
Juan Miguel Gonzalez. It was
unclear where or when the father
would meet his son, who has been
living with relatives in Miami since
he was rescued off the Florida
coast more than four months ago.
Officials said one possibility was
that Elian’s reunion with his father
would take place in Miami.
J a p a n ese
Volcano Emits
Ash and Smoke
H O K K A ID O , Ja p a n - T he
volcano o f Mt. Usu in Hokkaido,
northern Japan has been emitting
ash and smoke for several days
now. T housands o f residents
living near Mt. Usu have been
evacuated and transportation and
tourist facilities have been shut
down. Scientists warned o f the
possibility o f a violent eruption at
the 732-meter mountain.
Ugandan Cult
Deaths Rise to
924
KABUM BA,Uganda - Ugandan
police revised the num ber o f
deaths linked to a C hristian
doomsday sect to 924, surpassing
the 1978 Jonestown tragedy and
making it one o f the largest cult-
related killings in history. The
death toll rose after police re-
estimated the deaths in the March
17 church fire that first revealed
th e d ead ly a c tiv itie s o f the
Movement for the Restoration o f
the Ten Commandments o f God.
Authorities initially reported at
least 330 died in the blaze, but said
they had confirmed that at least
530 people perished in what was
believed to have been a gasoline-
fueled fire.
lUMHlHULUHUitt
eor T he P ortland O hseryer
On March 28,2000, Clark County ChairCraig Pridemore and City o f Vancouver
Mayor Royce Pollard, presented Matsushita Kotobuki Electronics Industries
o f American, Inc. (MKA) with the first o f six awards from the Business
Recycling Award Group( BRAG). In return, M KA’s Vancouver Plant President
Kenzo Hayashi, presented the City o f Vancouver with the first 27” TV/VCR/
DVD unit manufactured in Vancouver, WA. Mayor Pollard accepted the gift
on behalf o f the City. The set will be housed in City Hall and will be used for
a variety o f purposes including viewing the internal City training channel,
Clark-VancouverTelevision (C VTV), and training tapes.
MKA is located at 2001 Kotobuki Way, Vancouver, WA Established in 1986,
MKA manufactures combination TV/VCR and TV/VCR/DVD units for
M atsushita’s Panasonic and Quasar brands and employs 500 people locally.
MKA received the BRAG award after implementing an environmental
management system that resulted in a variety o f waste reduction practices
throughout the facility. Most notably, MKA reduced the amount o f waste
material per unit from one pound to less than one-half pound for a total
reduction o f over 50 percent. The reduction translates to almost two million
pounds o f waste diverted per year and savings o f nearly $65,000. MKA
achieved the reductions by including em ployees with environm ental
performance standard improvements.
“Rarely does a business show such commitment to waste reductions to the
community and I thank them for the generous gift they presented to the City
ofV ancouver.”
For more information regarding waste reduction, visit the City web site at
http://www.ci.vancouver.wa.us/solaswaste/index.html
CONTRIBUTED STORY
Kweisi Mfume, President & CEO o f the National
Association for the Advancement o f Colored People
(N AACP) today said firearm manufacturer Smith and
W esson’s settlement agreement with the Clinton
Administration is encouraging, but does not go far
enough to reduce illegal trafficking in m any
communities.
The U.S. D epartm ent o f H ousing and Urban
Development (HUD) reached the agreement, the
Department ofTreasury and several cities with pending
litigation against the industry.
About half o f the 30 cities that have lawsuits against
the gun industry have refused to sign an agreement
dropping their claims against Smith & Wesson.
“While the agreement contains certain key safety
provisions designed to greatly reduce the occurrence
o f child firearm injury and death, it lacks teeth with
regard to multiple gun sales which is attributed as a
leading source o f firearm in the underground market,”
said Mfume.
Last year, the NAACP initiated litigation against the
Police accountability D o
You
campaign files challenge
Have
tU.MRIBL ItasIQ R I
eor T he P p r t ia n d
O bserver
The Police Accountability Campaign
2000 (P AC 2000) filed a formal legal
challenge on March 14,2000, to the
ballot title language assigned their
in itiativ e by the P ortland C ity
A tto rn ey . A h e a rin g has been
scheduled before Circuit Court Judge
Marcus on April 13. The initiative,
which would appear on the Ballot this
November, would strengthen civilian
oversight o f the Portland Police. PAC
2000 representatives argue that the
City Attorney’s language is contusing
and misrepresents their initiative.
It’s totally misleading,’ said PAC 2000
V olunteer C oordinator Adrienne
Ratner. “The City Attorney overstates
the powers o f the current review
system, and that makes it nearly
impossible to understand the changes
w e’re proposing.”
PAC 2000 members charge that the
sum m ary overstates the current
board’spow erto review police policy.
Currently the review board cannot
carry out its own investigations o f
pol ice mi sconduct or take complaints
directly from the public, but the
suggested ballot language implies
that it does. The City Attorney’s
summary makes no mention that the
in itia tiv e w o u ld le a v e the
responsibility for discipline in the
hands o f the chief.
“W e’d like to have this settled as
soon as possible,” states Adrienne
Ratner, “We need 25,000 signatures
by July 7 so that the voters will have
a chance to decide this issue.” The
motion filed Friday by Attorney Paul
Loney was the first step toward
having the ballot language reviewed
by a judge. Once that happens, and
the final language is in place, PAC
2000 will begin gathering signatures
to place the initiative on the November
ballot.
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Cohen: Taiwan
Can Defend Itself
W A SH IN G T O N - D e fe n se
Secretary William Cohen said he
feels Taiwan could defend itself
against china should Beijing use
force as threatened to try to unify
the countries. China still claims
Tai wan as part o f its territory even
though they have been governed
separately since splitting 51 years
ago. However, Cohen would not
comment on a published report
that the Pentagon believes Taiwan
has a “host o f problems” that make
it vulnerable. The Washington
Post re p o rte d th at a h ig h ly
c la s s ifie d P e n ta g o n re p o rt
concludes Taiw an could have
trouble defending against air and
missile attack from China.
N o r w a y
C o o p e r a t in g
With
OPEC
Boost
OSLOW , Norway - Norway will
increase its oil production to help
control prices that soared after oil
p ro d u c in g n a tio n s re d u c e d
supplies. Norway, the w orld’s
second largest oil exporter, will
raise production by 100,000
barrels per day. The decision came
a fte r th e O rg a n iz a ito n o f
Petroleum Exporting Countries
p ro m ise d to in c re a se its
production by about 7 percent, or
1.7 million barrels aday.
»
firearm industry to address the negligent distribution o f
firearm and its disproportionate affect on minority
communities. Today’s agreement does not substantially
affect the pending litigation, which does not seek any
monetary award.
Mfume said: “ I would urge the public to be cautious in
viewing today’s agreement as a cure-all for this country’s
need for greater gun control. Much more must be done
to cut down the number of handguns in our society. With
that goal in mind, we intend to pursue down the number
o f handguns in our society. With that goal in mind, we
intend to pursue our litigation for more comprehensive
change. Hopefully, the other gun manufacturers will
follow Sm ith and W e sso n ’s lead in accepting
responsibility for their role in gun violence.”
Founded in 1909, The National Association for the
Advancement ofColored People(NAACP) is the nation’s
oldest and largest civil rights organization.
It’s half-million adult and youth members throughout the
United States and the world are he premier advocates for
civil rights in their communities, conducting voter
registration drives and monitoring equal opportunity in
the public and private sectors.
1
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You can fax or email your resume to (503) 248-0214 or
switt@district33 .com.
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