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PAID
Portland, OR
Permit No. 1610
University of Oregon
Knight Library
Newspaper Section
Eugene OR 97403
Volume XXX.
Number 29
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Established in 197(1
www.portlandobserver.com
Wednesday
50*
July 19,2000
«M KM BW
‘T r e ’ d e s c e n d s fro m p e r c h
• Michael J. Scarpitti’s timber-sale protest staged
on a downtown office ledge ends
MLK Jr
Blvd. goes to
the pooches
L ee P erleman
qe
T he P ortland O bserver
A ssociated P ress
Russia, China Denounce
U.S. Missile Shield
BEIJING - The Russian and Chinese
presidents denounced U.S. plans to
build an anti-missile shield, saying such
a system poses “the most grave, adverse
conseq u en ces.” C hinese President
Jiang Zemin and Russian Presdient
Vladimir Putin issued joint remarks after
a three-hour meeting behind closed
doors. They said that the 28-year-old
Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty prohibiting
missile defense shields should not be
changed.
Spaniards Hold Rallies to
Protest Violence
M A L A G A , Spain - H undreds o f
thousands ofpeople marched in Malaga
and other Spanish cities to protest a
string o f attacks blamed on Basque
separatists, including the slaying o f a
politician. By far the biggest rally was in
Malaga, the southern city where town
councilor Jose Maria Martin Carpena
was shot dead recently. His death was
the sixth blamed on ETA since the
group ended a 14-month truce in
December.
OPEC Signals It May
Boost Production
V IENNA, Austria - O PEC’s president
has advised members o f the group to be
ready to implement their part o f a
5 0 0 ,0 0 0 -b a rre l-a -d a y p ro d u c tio n
increase by the end o f July, the official
OPEC news service said. Under OPEC's
so-called “price-band” mechanism, the
producers are to raise output targets by
500,000 barrels per day ifthe price o f the
reference basket o f OPEC crudes
remains above $28 per barrel for 20
consecutive trading days.
Plane Crash in India kills
Nearly 60
PATNA, In d ia- A jet smashed into two
hom es ju s t o v er a m ile from its
destination, killing nearly 60 people on
board and on the ground and leaving
w eeping relatives digging through
flaming wreckage in search ofsurvivors.
The Alliance Air plane crashed while
making a second attempt to land at an
airport in Patna, an eastern Indian city.
What was left o f the plane came to rest
against a brick house, smashing the
house’s ceiling and wall.
Bashar Assad Sworn in
as Syria’s President
DAMASCUS, Syria Bashar Assad
took over Syria's presidency from his
late father, quickly rejecting Western-
style democracy and saying his father's
strategy has “proved a great success
until this very day.” Just as Hafez Assad
had planned, his son became Syria’s
16th head o f state, beginning a seven-
year term with a swearing-in ceremony
and aR inaugural address.
Legacy of AIDS: Millions
of orphans
DURBAN, South Africa -By2OIO,the
total orphan population in Africa. Asia
and Latin America will reach44 million,
creating a child-care crisis never seen in
a war, famine or tragedy o f any kind,
says a report out Thursday. Two-thirds
ofthose children (about 29 million) will
have lost either one or both parents to
AIDS, says the report, sponsored by
the U.S. A gency for International
Development (USAID).
After blowing kisses at U.S. Forest Service
employees from the 9-inch-wide, third-story
ledge he’s called home for 11 days, the man
who called him self Tre Arrow rappelled 30
feet down the agency’s regional office
Monday and into the arms o f his supporters.
Chalk slogans on the sidewalk and smudges
on a window were all that remained o f the
dramatic occupation that began July 7 in
dow ntow n P o rtlan d and focu sed new
attention on a controversial timber sale in the
Mount Hood National Forest.
“This is not over by a long shot,” said Arrow,
whom police identified as Michael J. Scarpitti,
26.
In the final moments he spent on the ledge
before the television cameras and cheering
supporters, Scarpitti urged others to climb
buildings or sit in trees to protest logging.
“ I ’m not going to have tim e to sign
autographs,” Scarpitti said after he packed a
roll o f toilet paper into acloth bag and dropped
it to his support team.
Although he appeared to enjoy the attention,
he told a crowd that filled the sidewalk and
spilled into the street that this was never
about “a guy on a ledge.”
“We are destroying our land. It’s time we
realize we can no longer take the slaughter o f
our rights, the slaughter o f our health, the
slaughter o f our planet in the name o f greed,”
he said, speaking through a bullhorn, which
was among the last items he sent down.
Scarpitti had vowed to remain on the brick
ledge until the Forest Service reversed its
decision to allow logging on 1,030 acres that
include century-old trees in a watershed that
drains into the Clackamas River. The river
provides drinking water formore than 185,000
people. About 40 percent o f the sale has been
lo g g e d by the c o n tra c to r, V an p o rt
Manufacturing o f Boring. Protests have halted
further cutting.
Last week, the building’s ow ners fil«t
trespassing complaints, and a judge ordered
Scarpitti o ff the ledge. His lawyer, Greg
Kafoury, said M onday that negotiations
during the weekend ended in a deal allowing
Scarpitti to descend on his own and surrender
to police.
Scarpitti was booked on contempt o f court
and two counts o f trespassing. Kafoury said
he expected Scarpitti to be released Monday
night on his own recognizance. He is to be
-■ i>«
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J
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arraigned today.
Scarpitti praised Portland Mayor Vera Katz
and the Police Bureau for resisting calls to
remove him from the ledge. In a letter last
(Please see 'C lim ber' page 6)
T he
N o rth -N o rth e a st
B u sin ess
Association is letting much o f Northeast
Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard go to the
dogs, in the hopes their owners will follow.
The association’s second annual Dog Days
o f Summer celebration. 10 a m. to 6 p.m.
July 29, will feature dog-related activities
at three locations along the boulevard.
Many others
will be holding sidewalk sales to showcase
the retail services MLK has to offer.
The activities are as follows:
*Beer Garden and Music Tent, with free
pet sitting by the Oregon Humane Society.
The funk and raggae group Melodious
Funk, and the marimba band Sharimba will
provide free entertainment. 10 a.m. to 6
p.m.. Stellar Coffee parking lot. Northeast
Ainsworth Street.
*Dog Wash. 11 a m . to 3 p.m. Volunteers
will give your dog a professional bath at,
the C hester D orsey set car w ash at
Northeast Fargo Street.
*Doggie Obstacle Course. Noon to 2 p.m.
See how fast your dog, w ith your
guideance, can run over, under, around
and through obstacles in a mini-olympics
o f speed, athleticism and intelligence.
Northeast Stanton Street.
*Pet Parlot. Noon to 3 p.m. A show-and-
tell for the pet care business - vets,
groomers, trainers and animal shelter
representatives. Northeast Fargo Street.
♦ Pet Tricks. 4 p.m. Anything goes! Funny,
c re a tiv e , w h atev er. S te lla r C offee,
Northeast Ainsworth Street.
*Dog/OwnerLook-AlikeContest. 4:30p.m.
Overall appearance, hair, nose, face,
movement all count here. You can also
give nature a hand with matching costumes.
Northeast Ainsworth Street.
’ Doggie Fashion Show. 5 p.m. A true
opportunity for puttin’ on the dog! Stellar
Coffee, Northeast Ainsworth Street.
Each entry for each activity costs $5.
Owners are asked to send checks in
advance to the North-Northeast Business
Association, P.O. Box 11565, Portland,
97211, and include the name, breed, age
and sex o f the dog(s). However, day of
event registrants will be welcome. In the
case o f the Doggie Wash, the proceeds
will benefit a local animal shelter.
N-NEBA president Phyllis Gaines hopes
this year's event will differ from last year's
in one respect: more people and dogs. “We
want to involve the whole community,"
she says.
Maggie Gibson Plaza provides affordable housing
VOMRlBLJfcUSIORÙ
IORXH£fORiLA>DO^tRYER
On Friday, July 14, Maggie Gibson Plaza was
opened to the Vernon neighborhood in
Northeast Portland, adding nine units o f
affordable rental housing and a 6,200 square
feet o f retail space to the area. Franciscan
Enterprise o f Oregon was the project's
developer.
The housing serves individuals and families
at or below 50 percent o f area median family
income. Providing a mix ofunit sizes, Maggie
Gibson Plaza features one studio, two one-
bedrooin units, five two-bedroom units and
one three-bedroom unit. In addition, the
project’s retail space contains the Maggie
Gibson Neighborhood Network Center, a
computer-based learning center that will offer
training to plaza and community residents.
“This is a signi ficant project for the Franciscan
Enterprise o f Oregon as it furthers our goal to
help those most in need,” said Gerald Uba,
Franciscan Enterprise Board Chair. “This
housing complex and training center should
improve the lives o f residents in the Vernon
n e ig h b o rh o o d
and
su rro u n d in g
communities."
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M aggie G ibson stands next to P o rtla n d City C o m m issio n e r C harlie H ale
•
I ocated at 1700N. E. Alberta Street, Maggie
Enterpnseoft fregon, Gerald Uba, Board Chair
Gibson Plaza’s grand opening began with
o f the Franciscan Enterprise, Commissioner
remarks at 11:00a.m. andan open house until
Erik Sten from the City o f Portland; Noell
1 p.m Featuredspeakersattheevcnt included
Web, Portland Development Commission;
Karen Voiss, Executive I Jirector for Franciscan
Roz Barnes, Oregon Housing and Community
Services Dept; and Maggie Gibson herself,
neighborhood advocate and Franciscan
Enterprise Board Member. Maggie Gibson
Plaza is a $ 1.2 million renovation ofthe former
Texas Lounge. After sitting vacant formany
years, this project recaptures the building to
bring new vibrancy to the neighborhood.
Project funding came from the Enterprise
Foundation, Wells Fargo Bank, Portland
D ev elo p m en t C o m m issio n , F ed eral
D ep artm en t o f H o using and U rban
Development. State Housing and Community
Services Department, The Network ofOregon
A tfordable Housing, City ofPortland Bureau
o f Housing and Community Development.
Federal Home Loan Bank and Key Bank.
Named for long-time Northeast neighborhood
resident and community advocate, Maggie
Gibson, the project promotes quality housing
and self-sufficiency through education and
training Gibson, a member o f the Franciscan
Enterprise Board, received the Distinguished
International Academy ofNobel Achievement
award for her exemplary community se n ice
last year 1 he completion o f Maggie Gibson
Plaza brings Franciscan Enterprise’s total
affordable housing portfolio in North and
Northeast Portland to 116 units.