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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (July 5, 2000)
■ i See Focus Da Brat makes a triumphant return Volume XXX. Number 26 Committed to Cultural Diversity Established in 1970 www.portlandobserver.com Bulk Rate U.S. Postage PAID Portland, OR Permit No. 1610 Wednesday 50* July 5, 2000 Metro launches charter reform - council looks S.C. confederate flag comes down to public for ideas AIDS L ikely to D evastate Teen Population GENEVA-The AIDS epidemic is expected to wipe out about half of current population o f teenagers in the worst-hit African nations, devastating econom ies and shattering societies, the United States predicted. Among other findings in its 135-page report, UNAIDS estimates that the virus has killed 19 million people worldwide, infected 34 million, and caused 13 million children to be orphaned. M etro regional center Britain Deploys 2,000 Extra Troops to Belfast BELFAST, N orthern-A bout 2,000 extra British troops will be sent to Northern Ireland to boost security during the volatile summer season o f Protestant parades, the military announced. Five new battalions will be in place when the Protestant Orange Order makes its annual marchm Portadown, 30miles from Belfast. The group has been ordered not to march through a Catholic neighborhood. (Please see 'M etro ' page 6) The Charter reform public hearings are scheduled for: Parliam ent Accepts Assad Nomination DAMASCUS, SYRIA - Only a July 10 referendum whose result is a foregone conclusion stands between former eye doctor Bashar Assad and the Syrian presidency after the parliament approved his nomination. The astonishingly fast and trouble-free rise oflate President Hafez A ssad’s son is officially attributed to the “democratic institutions” founded by his father during 30 years in power in this A. ab nation o f 17 million. to look forsomething that functions better,” said Metro Presiding Officer David Bragdon. “A change could bring us less conflict and more efficiency while at the same time creating a structure that provides more accountability to the citizens." Metro districts must be re-apportioned following the 2000 U.S. Census, and the current executive officer is serving his last term under term limits. The council will have to vote by mid-August whether to refer charter amendments to the November2000 ballot. The main proposal on the table is to eliminate the executive officer position. What Metro needs to know - and is asking the public for Business leaders, community activists, citizens and elected officials from throughout the region will be coming together during the next few weeks to kick off a charter reform drive for Metro. Specifically, the agency is looking at whether it should streamline its internal governing structure to improve efficiency and accountability. Right now, Metro has an elected seven-member council that makes all policy decisions for the government. The council is headed by a presiding officer chosen from among the seven every year. Metro also has an elected executive officer whose authority is limited to managing the agency. ’’The region has been working under this system for a number ofyears now, but it is time Wednesday, July 5 3:30p.m. Metro Regional Center 600 NE Grand Ave., Portland Wednesday, July 19 3:30p.m. Gresham City Hall 1333 NW Eastman Pkwy., Gresham Thursday, July 27 2 p.m. Cornelius City Hall 1355N. Barlow St. Thursday, Aug. 3 2 p.m. Metro Regional Center 600 NE Grand Ave., Portland Thursday, Aug. 10 2p.m. West Linn City Hall 22825 Willamette Drive Northeast portland youth clean up the town ‘Big Browser’ Would Let U.K. Spy on Net LONDON - The British government is seeking expansive powers to eavesdrop on Internet traffic through a controversial measure known as “Big Browser.” The proposal would, among other things, allow the government to require people to surrender the text o f electronic messages or the “key” needed to decode them; those who refuse or are unable to comply face up to two years in jail. If successful, the initiative also might affect net privacy debates in the USA and elsewhere in Europe, analysts say. Policeman sues city, mayor, police chief Rocky Balada, who was demoted from Portland police sergeant to officer after he was identified as a ringleader o f overtime abuses at Central Precinct, has filed a $22 million federal lawsuit against the city, Police Chief Mark Kroeker and Mayor Vera Katz, accusing them ofdefaming him and violating his civil rights. In the suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Portland, Balada alleges that the Portland Police Bureau demoted him without just cause or due process and that allegations he received overtime pay he was not entitled to are false. FO&lHkEQIlILANttQBSÍKS IK Northeast and southeast Portland families and youth participated this months in the annual SOLV Make TheTown Clean litter and graffiti removal event, cleaning a 24-block grid o f downtown Portland in less than two hours. All members o f the Church o f Scientology, fam ilies and youth from NE Portland participated as part o f a church team to clean up downtown in preparation for Rose Festival guests. Splitting into three groups, the team ended up cleaning both sides o f the street from SW Salmon to Market, and SW 14th to I Oth amassing more than 10 bags o f litter and debris. “It was really interesting to watch people watch us,” said 13 year-old Tim Burke from Clackamas. “They'd start to throw their cigarette butt down in the ground, then look at us, then change their mind. So that felt good to make a difference in peoples’ attitude.” While picking up peoples’ litter is certainly not the most pleasant o f ways to spend a Saturday morning, all of the boys felt it was time well spent and will be back next year to do it again. “It was gross!"exclaimedone boy, 9 year-old Joshua Swalley, adding quickly that it was also kind o f fun and he was glad his mother brought him, along. Similar sentiments were noted with Joshua’s 13-vear old brother John, who said doing the clean up made him more aware o f litter on the streets and how wrong it is throw your trash on the ground. He committed to stopping him self and friends littering from in the future and hopes people watching the clean up had the same realization. “Adults need to know about kids doing work like this,” stated Church coordinator, Angie DeRouchie. “These teenagers had an awful lot o f other choices of what to do with their time that Saturday, but chose to paticiapate in this project with the church, making a difference m their environment." Derouchie went on to describe other church v o lu n te e r p ro je c ts the fa m ilie s have participated in, including volunteering at The Bite the Oregon Food Bank's Blues Festival, the Oregon spec lal Olympics Citra fund raiser, and dozens o f others. All will be recognized in the Fall when the Church ofScientology W omen's League will host its first ever volunteer recognition celebration, acknowledging all o f the members o f the Church who do so much work in the community in Portland I The Confederate soldiers monument is shown in front o f the South Carolina Statehouse while the Confederate fla g flies in the background Friday, June 30, in Columbia, S.C. The fla g came down from the dome Saturday. AsSQClAIEJlPRtSS The Confederate flag, for some a symbol o f slavery and others a tribute to their Southern heritage, was removed Saturday from the South Carolina Statehouse dome where it had flown for 38 years. In an elaborate ceremony, the flag was rem o v ed by Citadel cadets — one white, one black — amid cheering f 1 g s u p p o rte rs and je e rin g a n t i - Confederate flag demonstrators. A smaller, square version was raised moments later on 30-foot flag pole by Civil War re-enactors in front o f Confederate soldier’s monument on Statehouse grounds, part o f the compromise reached by the Legislature in May. Shortly after the ceremonies, which took about 10 minutes, shouting matches broke out between Confederate flag supporters and those against the compromise, who held up yellow signs that said “Shame.” Confederate flag supporters responded with “O ff the dome and in your face.” Police stepped between the groups. One man was arrested for assault, said state Public Safety Department spokesman Sid Gaulden. South Carolina was the last state to fly the Confederate flag from its Capitol dome. Raised over the Statehouse in 1962, many thought the flag was a symbol o f Southern heritage. Others said it is a defiant sign against the civil rights movement. Prior to the ceremony, about 750 people, dressed in white, marched silently through downtown Columbia as part o f the National Association for the Advancement ofColored People’s protest. “This flag should not go in front o f the Statehouse," Rep. Joe Neal, D-Hopkins, said Saturday morning. The NAACP led a boycott against South Carolina in an effort to get the flag removed from the atop Statehouse. They plan to continue the boycott despite the compromise, maintaining that the flag has no place on state grounds. Besides NAACP protesters, about 500 people were at the Statehouse for the flag’s removal. Some were sad to see it go. “It’s just history going down the tubes," said Phil Long, a flag supporter. The flag was also removed from the state Senate chambers Friday and sent to the State Museum The House did the same earlier Saturday. Gov. Jim Hodges, the only top official taking part in Saturday’s flag relocation ceremony, said most South Carolinians support the compromise that plants the flag at the most visible spot on the Capitol grounds. “At the end of the day, what has happened is the flag will be removed from the dome," Hodges said. “That, I think, is a significant step for our state.”
