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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (April 12, 2000)
Page A2 April 12, 2000 ÿknUauô (ßheeruer Portiani) (Obstruer Police News/Vancouver Statement by Mayor Vera Katz • Regarding Escort Service Ordinance U.S. Jets Bomb Iraqi Air Defense ISTANBUL, Turkey - U.S. warplanes bombed Iraq’s air defense system in response to anti-aircraft fireoverthe northern no-fly zone. U.S. and British planes have been patrolling no- fly zones in north and south Iraq, set up in the aftermath o f the 1991 PersianGulfW arto protect Kurdish and Shiite populations from the forcesoflraqi President Saddam Hussein. Russia Will Stay Course in Chechnya MOSCOW - Russia says it will continue to battle rebels in Chechnya despite a decision to su sp e n d M o sc o w ’s v o tin g rights in theCouncil of Europe’s parliamentary assembly. The assembly suspended Russia’s voting rights and proposed the suspension o f its membership if it does not meet several demands on C h e c h n y a , in c lu d in g immediate talks with the rebels. Assembly members have been c ritic a l o f w h at they call excessive use o f force and civilian suffering in the Russian cam paign ag ain st C hechen separatists. Company Sequences Human Genome W ASHINGTON - A private company striving to map the human genetic code reported that it has completed a major step in the project - sequencing the genome. Celera Genomics o f R ockville, M d., said it has finished the sequencing phase o f one person’s genetic code and will now begin to assemble the genetic fragments into their proper order. The human genome is a biological map lay i ng out the exact sequence o f the estimated 3.5 billion pairs o f chemicals that make up the DN A in each human cell. Greenspan Defends Rate Hikes W A SH IN G T O N - F ed eral R e se rv e C h a irm a n A lan Greenspan defended the central bank’s five interest rate increases over the past 10 m onths as necessary to keep inflation at bay. W hileexpressing optimism th at th e re c e n t u p su rg e in productivity gains could be maintained, Greenspan said the central bank still needed to move to keep the strong economy from triggering rising cost pressures. Judge considers punishm ent for M icrosoft WASHINGTON - The judge who ruled that Microsoft illegally competed by taking advantage o f its monopoly power set a schedule to consider what kind o f punishment to impose on the softw are giant. U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson is scheduled to begin holding hearings on the case on May 24, sources said. He gave attorneys for the Justice Department and the 19 states suing Microsoft until April 30 to submit their proposed rem edies. Jackson gave Microsoft two weeks to respond to that proposal, and the government another week for a rebuttal. “Sex escort services operating in the Portland area now number in the hundreds. The Portland Police Bureau has documented that prostitution is associated with escort businesses approximately 80 percent of the time. Just weeks ago, Portland Police arrested an escort service owner for prostitution in the Dunthorpe neighborhood. “Prostitution is not a victimless crime and it is not a trivial offense. Closely linked to prostitution activities are crimes involving drugs, rape, molestation, kidnapping, child abuse, and other criminal conduct with a devastating impact on women and children. Prostitution and the operation o f escort and lingerie services have significant negative impacts on the livability of our city and the safety o f our citizens. “The personal escort/modeling ordinance passed by City Council in September was an attempt to establish some regulatory tools which would help identify and stop those people who persist in violating the criminal laws. Development o f the escort ordinance was a long and arduous process. The legal issues are complicated and the standards for regulating sexually oriented businesses under the Oregon constitution are unique in the country. The City took pains to refine the definition o f regulated activities to narrowly cover only those persons or entities which sell a product which has or would reasonably be perceived as having a purpose o f arousing or gratifying the sexual desire of a patron. “The ordinance was challenged in court immediately followine Council approval. In court, the city introduced substantial evidence linking the sex escort industry with criminal prostitution activities. Nonetheless, the trial judge, a seasoned former prosecutor, ruled that the ordinance was invalid under the Oregon state constitution. “The City Attorney has carefully studied the judge’s decision and reviewed the options with me. 1 am disappointed to report we found the judge’s opinion leaves no room for effective civil regulation o f the escort industry, and that an appeal would be futile given the courts; interpretation o f the Oregon constitution. “Instead, Police Chief Mark Kroeker will be looking at ways we can make additional resources available to increase criminal investigations o f the local sex escort industry. We need to address the abuse o f women and children and degradation o f our community with the tools that the courts allow us to employ. I am committed to using the tools that are available in the most aggressive way possible and to continuing to look for creative ways to maintain and improve the livability o f our City.” Vancouver issues annual report On Thursday, April 6, the City o f Vancouver issued its 1999 Annual report. The 20-page docum ent highlights the accomplishments o f the past year by various City services and outlines plans for the current year. Similartotherecentcommunity Survey, the Annual Report is part of the city's efforts to communicate with residents as it embarks on a process to update the C ity’s Strategic Plan. “The Annual report is one way to inform citizens about how we are doing, how we hold ourselves accountable and our future plan,” says City Manager Veron Stoner. The report identifies many positive results and challenges facing City services. In the area o f public safety, both police and fire services met their goals for how quickly they respond to life threatening emergencies. New park and trail development projects are continuing at a steady pace and sev eral eco n o m ic development projects were approved that will bring more residents and jobs to the downtown area. As noted in the Community Survey, solving transportation infrastructure need s and tra ffic c o n g e stio n continues to be a challenge. To address these issues, the City will be involving citizens to identify option as it develops a new cityw ide transportation system plan this year. “It is impossible to adequately cover all o f what w e’ve done or plan to do in a single document,” Stoner adds. “This report is part o f our continuous conversation with the community. We hope the Public finds the report to be a useful reference as well as a way to hold the City accountable for what we plan to do in the year 2000.” Copies of the report can be obtained by calling (360) 696-9821 or visit the C ity ’s w eb site at www.ci.Vancouver.wa.us Learn How to Integrate Diversity into Your Strategic Business Plan Attend 2000 Diversity Summit: A One-Day Conference on Workplace Diversity Issues Wednesday, April 26, 2000 Featured Keynote Speaker: Television Personality Les Brown Oregon Convention Center 777 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Portland, Oregon 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. You m u s t register ($99 per person) by A p ril 21, 2000. For a registration packet, call (503) 464-2333. This is a "m ust-do" conference for those who want to unleash the power o f a diverse, creative workforce within their organization. Recruit, develop and retain high-potential minority and women employees. It’s all part of 2000 Diversity Summit set for April 26. Featured are leading national and international speakers on diversity- related issues. Sponsored by Portland General Electric C o n n e c t in g P e o p l e , P o w er a n d P o s s ib il it ie s Vandals shoot out power line insulators • BPA offers up to $1,000 fo r information T he B o n n e v ille Pow er Administration is offering up to $ 1,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction o f individuals who caused damage to a power line located about five miles west o f Snohomish. The damage to the pole and potential loss or revenue due to the outage is estimated at $ 15,000. Vandals shot out insulators on BPA’s Snohomish-Beverly Park 115,000-volt line on April 1, causing high-voltage transmission line to fall into another, resulting in a significant power outage on th e a ffe c te d lin e . B P A ’s transmission line maintenance crews repaired several insulators, Service was lost to Beverly Park Substation, which is operated by Puget Sound Energy, due to the vandalism. “Not only are these senseless acts o f vandalism costly, but they are also dangerous,” reported Mike Berg, security specialist for BPA, “Anyone foolish enough to shoot at power lines is taking a huge risk. Downed lines can cause ground voltages that can kill or seriously injure the vandals themselves.” Vandalism accounts for millions of dollars in damage to the Northwest power system each year. These costs get passed on to customers and ratepayers. Above and beyond these monetary costs and inconveniences are the p o ssib le disruption o f essential services - for departments, police and ambulance - that depend on reliable service. Since 1994, BPA’s Crime Witness Program has generated hundreds of tips resulting in dozens of arrests and thousands o f dollars o f recovered property, and most importantly, deterrence o f future crime. In 1999, a total o f 202 insulator units were replaced, representing an 88 percent decrease from the historic average of 1,723 units replaced each year priorto the institution o f the program. Cumulative saving since the program began totals more than $2,000,000. Informants can call toll free 1-800- 437-2744. The identity of informants is kept strictly confidential. a »
