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Permit No. 1610
d iv e rsity of Oregon
Knight Library
Newspaper Section
Eugene OR 97403
Volume XXX,
Number 33
www.portlandobserver.com
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Established in 1970
Wednesday
50*
August 16,2000
■M l
Margaret Carter selected to head Urban League
Margaret Carter has been selected to be Executive Director o f the
Urban League o f Portland, according to an announcement today
from Daniel Bemstine, Chair o f League’s Board o f Directors. He
said the Board’s decision to appoint Carter was unanimous.
“Margaret has done a truly outstanding job as interim directors for
the League over the past 9 months,” said Bemstine. “Her enthusiasm
and energy continue to inspire all ofus involved with the Leagues.”
Bemstine said that Carter and the board “Have been working hard
over the last year toward several goals. We are excited about what
has been accomplished and where we are headed.”
Two goals, which have recently been accomplished, according to
Bemstine, are resuming control o f the League’s financial affairs
and gaining approval from Multnomah County as a qualified
vendor.
“W hen the League ran into financial troubles last year, the
Volunteers o f America Stepped up to the plate and took over our
financial accounting,” Bemstine said.
Bemstine said the League” ... can now look to the future and focus
on our mission o f encouraging equal opportunity for African
Americans and other in our city.”
Prior to heading the Urban League, Margaret Carter served in the
Oregon House o f Representatives for seven terms and was a
counselor at Portland Community College where she established
the Skills Center at PCC’s Cascade Campus. Carter is currently a
Democratic candidate for the State Senate from District #8.
For further information, contact Margaret Carter at The Urban
LeagueofPortland(503)280-2525
Rescue Efforts Under Way
MOSCOW - An effort to evacuate the
116 sailors from a sunken Russian
submarine in the Barents Sea is under
w ay th an k s to e a sin g w e a th e r
conditions, according to a report by
CNN. Russian ships will attempt to lower
a subm ersible sphere, capab le o f
transporting 12 people at a time, that will
attach to the sub at its entry hole. The
submarine is trapped at a depth o f 354
feet.
Problem Tires Were Made
During Strike
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Many o f the 6.5
million Firestone tires being recalled were
made during a strike at the company’s
Decatur, 111., plant, Ford M otor said. O f
the recalled tires, the nu m b er o f
complaints was 10 times higher for the
15-inch ATX tires made in Decatur than
for the Wilderness tires. Whereas few
problems were reported with the ATX
tires in 1991, the number o f reported
problems with tread separation spiked
on tires made in Decatur in 1994. The
Washington Post reported that six former
D e c a tu r p la n t w o rk ers claim
questionable quality control procedures
were used at the plant in the m id-1990s.
Portland loses an old friend
Gas Prices Fall an Average
of 7 Vi Cents
CAMARILLO, Calif. - The average price
for a gallon o f gas fell 7 !6 cents over the
past three weqks to $ 1.53, continuing a
decline from record levels reaching in
June, says the latest Lundberg survey
o f 10,000 gas stations. Prices were down
17 cents in C hicago, 13 cents in
Cincinnati and 31 cents in Detroit since
the last survey, released several weeks
ago. The national average has fallen 18
cents since June 23, when it reached
$1.71.
Man in Hockey Fight Case
Indicted
WOBURN, Mass. - A man whose fatal
fight with another parent at their sons’
youth hockey game has been indicted
onamanslaughtercharge. Thomas Junta,
42, was indicted for the July 5 incident in
which Junta and Michael Costin fought
over rough play between their sons.
Costin, the 40-year-old father o f four
later died at an area hospital. The death
has become a national symbol ofparental
rage at youth sporting events.
NASA to Send Two
Landers to Mars in 2003
W A S H IN G T O N - N A S A , still
recovering from back-to-back Mars
mission failures, plans to double up on
a 2003 landing expedition by sending a
pair o f wheeled robots to search for
evidence o f water on the Red Planet.
Two spacecraft, each carrying identical
roving robots, will be launched in 2003
and then bounce, 18 days apart in
January 2004, to beach ball-like landings
on Mars, agency officials said.
A ssociated P iuss
The National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration has raised the number o f
deaths it believes are linked to Firestone
tires under recall to 62.
NHTSA spokeswoman Liz Neblett said
Tuesday the agency knew o f 100 injuries
related to the failures and has received
more than 750 complaints. Last week, the
agency said it was investigating 46
fatalities and 80 injuries related to the tires
and had received about 270 complaints.
Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. announced a
recall last week o f all P235/75R15 size
radial ATX and ATX II tires, and
Wilderness AT tires o f the same size
made in Decatur, 111. Mostofthe6.5 million
15-inch tires in question were installed on
Ford trucks, notably the Ford Explorer
sport utility vehicle.
Most o f the reports o f tire failure have
involved tread separating from the tire,
som etim es at high speed, causing
blo w o u ts and ro llovers. Ford and
Bridgestone/Firestone have not offered
a theory for the failures, but have said hot
weather plays a role.
John Lampe, executive vice president o f
Bridgestone/Firestone, said he couldn’t
comment on the numbers until he received
more information about their makeup. He
did say he was not surprised that NHTSA
had recorded a growing number ofclaims.
“Obviously as more media attention has
been played on this more claims will
become known,” he said.
Lampe said the com pany was still
investigating the cause o f the complaints.
Bridgestone/Firestone said Tuesday it
would reimburse customers who had their
tires replaced at Firestone dealers before
the recall was announced, going back to
Jan. 1.
Patients Pay for Growing
Drug Costs
Maybe you’ve seen your co-payment
for prescription drugs rise in the past
year, from, say $5 to $ 15 - or even up to
$25 per prescription. Get ready, because
you soon may pay even more. Faced
w ith ra p id ly risin g sp e n d in g on
prescription drugs, em ployers and
insurers are increasingly shifting the
cost to patients: More employers are
offering so-called “three-tier” insurance
plans, which charge patients higher co­
payments for expensive, brand-name
drugs.
62 deaths
said linked
to tires
Henry Weinhard and sta ff in the innaugural year o f operation.
by
L orhaine - M ichelle F alsi
The building complex were Blitz-Weinhard
was located was purchased by Gerding/Edlen,
the Portland development firm, in January
2000.
Gerding Edlen is about to take on the largest
development project in Portland's history,
including all five o f the city blocks once
owned by Blitz-Weinhard. The complex will
be redeveloped into office, retail and
re sid e n tia l buildings. The W einhard
Brewhouse (12th and Burnside) and the malt
and hop building ( 12,h and Couch) will be
p re se rv e d and re n o v a te d as h isto ric
buildings, along with the Portland Armory
(1 llh) and the Automotive Garage (12th and
Burnside).
German-bom, Henry Weinhard moved to the
Portland-Vancouver area in 1856. Blitz-
Weinhard began brewing in the northwest on
April 1, 1856. It was the W est’s longest
continuously operating brewery, until the
Bli tz-Weinhard brand was sold
to the M ille r B rew ing
Companyin 1999.
Millerwill continue to produce
Henry’s, but they have moved
production from downtown
P o rtlan d to the O lym pia
brewery in Tumwater, Wash.
Henry W einhard’s family ran
the business until 1979, when
it was sold to the Pabst Brewing
Company. The Weinhards
and W essingers, H e n ry ’s
son-in-law’s family name, were
very important businessmen
and philanthropists in the
Portland area. Theirbeerswere
most famous in the northwest.
During prohibition business
was hurt, but did not stop. It
was then that they began
b re w in g
n o n -a lc o h o lic
The administrative office building the day before demolition was scheduled to occur.
beverages, including near beer
and their famous root beer and
cream soda.
»
T he com pany also w ill reim burse
customers up to $ 100 per tire for customers
who had tires replaced at retailers other
than Firestone dealers between Aug. 9
and Aug. 16.
“We believe this is a simple and fair way
to make things right for our customers,”
John Lampe, Bridgestone/Firestone’s
executive vice president, said in a
statement.
The com pany also is running ads
W ednesday in m ore than 40 major
newspapers nationwide.
Safety advocates and attorneys on
Monday urged Ford and Bridgestone/
Firestone Inc. to broaden the tire recall,
saying the same problems that have been
reported with the 15-inch tires affect all
versions o f the three tire models.
Ford and Bridgestone/ Firestone said their
analysis o f claims data showed the recall
was sufficient.
As the government begins an
investigation of complaints about
failing Firestone truck tires, the
company announced a recall on
Wednesday at about 6.5 million tires
Tread
Radial body piles
Steel belts
Sidewall
Reports allege that the treads of
some Firestone tiree. similar in build
to the one drawn above, peel away
from Ihe fire s body
C alled hack
3.6 m illion
Firestone radial ATX and radial ATXII
size P 2 3 & 7 5 R 15 produced in North
America
2.7 m illion
Wilderness AT
size P 235/75R 15 produced at the
company's Decatur, IN . plant