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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 20, 2000)
M H H M M H See Page B3 Bulk Rate U.S. Postage LPGA Stars Team Up For Health PAID Portland, OR Permit No. 1610 (Ebe 'fJortlanh (Oh s e University of Oregon Knight Library Newspaper Section Eugene OR 9740? Volume XXX. Number 37 H I M M Wednesday Committed to Cultural Diversity Established in 1970 www.portlandobserver.com September 20, 2000 50* HMMMHHMH H H INS Director Retires Over PDX Flap Official's Strict Policies Put Portland on World Map as 'Deportland' Hijacked Cuban Plane Down in Water MI A M I - A sea plane carrying between 14 and 18 people was hijacked after taking o ff from C uba and w ent dow n in interna tional w aters o ff K ey W est, aviation offi cials said. T he R ussian-m ade A n-2 Colt w ent dow n about 20 m iles w est o f Key W est, Fla., Coast Guard officials said. There is no w ord on the passengers. $ Fuel Protests Continue STO C K H O LM , Sweden - Angry truck ers and farm ers in Sw eden and Spain blocked transit to harbors, rail term inals and fuel depots to protest high fuel prices, w hile Spanish fisherm en called o ff a pro test that had blocked the entrance to the port o f B arcelona for a day. Protests are expected to intensify in Spain, w ith dem onstrations in 34 provinces o f the country, including a tractor strike through M adrid, w hich could paralyze the Spanish capital. Fujimoro Paves Way for New Elections LIMA, Peru President Alberto Fujimori, dragged dow n by a bribery scandal in volving his feared intelligence chief, met w ith his C abinet to pave the w ay for new elections and plan his exit from power. Peruvians took to the streets and flooded radio stations to voice their jo y or sorrow. H ealth M inister A ljandro A guinaga said * that the new elections w ould be held in six to seven months. Cambodia Flood Death Toll Hits 100 PH N O M PEN H , Cam bodia - The death toll in C am b o d ia’s w orst flooding in seven decades has surpassed 100 and fears o f fo o d s h o rta g e s h av e in c re a s e d , th e co u n try ’s top re lie f official said. Peou Sarny, secretary-general o f the National C om m ittee for Disaster Relief, said 12 more people w ere reported killed in recent days in the southeastern province o f Kompong C ham , raising the nationw ide death toll since July to 109. Scams are After Black Elderly Identity Theft (Portland-A P)— The director ofth e Immi gration and N aturalization S ervice’s Portland district w ill retire O ctober 3rd after being criticized for the w ay his em ployees treat foreign visitors. The retirem ent o f D avid Beebe was an nounced by Johnny W illiam s, w estern re gional director o f the federal I m m igration and N aturalization Service. W illiam s said Beebe decided on his ow n to retire and believes this is the best thing he can do. U n d er B e e b e ’s w atc h , P o rtla n d w as dubbed “ D eportland” by som e A sians b e cause o f reports o f unfair treatm ent o f Japa nese and other travelers at Portland Interna tional A irport. A C hinese businessw om an filed a federal claim for 500-thousand dollars after being jailed and strip-searched by im m igration offi cials. Meanwhile, an 1-N-S report says the agency’s Portland office lacks flexibility and needs to put ers by INS inspectors at the airport had brought a loud cry for B eebe’s resignation from state and local governm ent officials. B eebe’s office has received heavy criti cism because o f a disproportionally large num ber o f foreign travelers, mostly Asians, w ho have been deported - and som e tim es jailed - upon arrival because o f paper w ork deem ed questionable. Pressure for B eeb e’s rem oval cam e to a head last m onth w hen the INS strip-searched and jailed a C hinese business w om an, Guo Lim ing, on the m istaken b elief that she had a bogus passport. She was held two days in jail in The D alles before her passport was found to be valid. Business Targets Drivers, Not Owners Car Share Program Finds Niche M ore and m ore people are getting b e hind the w heel o f a car they d o n ’t own. C arSharing o f Portland, Inc. has grown to 21 vehicles, stationed at 19 locations across the inner city neighborhoods o f Portland. “ People love the alternative to ow ning a car,” said M aren Souders, spokesperson for the business group. C arSharing is targeted to people in town w ho d o n ’t need to drive on a regular basis. M em bers have access to the vehicles through a reservation system , 24-hours a day, seven days a week. D avid B rook o f north east P ortland started the environm entally friendly busi ness in 1998. It w as the first car-sharing program in the United States, and its appeal is grow ing fast. A bout 325 people are now enrolled, with the com pany adding about one car a m onth to its fleet. The latest vehicle is the T oyota Pirus, w hich runs on both gasoline and electric pow er, allow ing it to achieve the impres- Maren Sauders shows o ff the latest edition to its CarSharing fleet, the environmentally friendly Toyota Pirus, which runs on both gasoline and electric power. sive fuel econom y o f 52 m pg in the city. The 4-door Pirus sedan is stationed in the parking lot o f the L loyd C enter T ow er building at Northeast 7th *"d M ultnom ah. It also serves as part o f an innovative part nership betw een CarSharing Portland and the L loyd District Transportation M an agem ent A ssociation. W orkers in the inner-northeast Port land neighborhood are eligible for a sub- LITTLE RO CK - Hoax letters have been m ailed to elderly black people across the South ov er the past three w eeks, telling them they m ay be eligible for $5,000 in slave reparations or Social Security reim bursem ents. The letters, w hich include requests for Social Security num bers, are apparently part o f a scam aim ed at stealing p eo p le’s identities and running up credit bills under their nam es, A rkansas A ttor ney G eneral M ark P ryor said. stantial discount on CarSharing m em ber ship if their em ployers also participate in the T ri-M et PASSport transportation sub sidy. C arShariung enables w orkers to com m ute to their jo b s via public transit, cy cling, carpooling o r w alking, w hile still hav ing a car available for use by the hour during the day. It gives people the ability to run m id day errands such as doctors’ appoint m ents or m eetings, Souders said. A full m e m b e rsh ip w ith o u t p u b lic su b sid y ru n s $ 10 a m o n th o r $ 1 0 0 p er y ear. A $250 re fu n d a b le s e c u rity d e p o s it, an d a $25 a p p lic a tio n fee to v a lid a te c red it and driv ing h is to rie s is a lso req u ired . F o r m o re in fo rm a tio n , c o n ta c t CarSharing Portland at 872-9882. North MAX Funds Win Federal Approval Note: Related story on Westside MAX ridership on page 16, inside. Africa Gets $500M in Credits to Battle AIDS W ASH INGTON - The W orld Bank has approved $500 m illion in credits to help A fricacom bat the AIDS epidem ic and will propose an additional $85 m illion to $ 100 m illion in Ioans for countries in the C arib bean. The bank said the first two African countries to benefit w ill be E thiopia and Kenya, w hich will receive $59.7 million and $50 m illion respectively. Explorers Find New Evidence of Great Flood W A S H IN G T O N - A rtifacts found at the bottom o f the Black Sea provide new evidence that hum ans faced a great flood, perhaps that o f the biblical N oah, thou sands o f years ago, the discoverers say. moreemphasisoncommunityrelations.customer service and employee training. W illiam s also said a team o f experts has identified “a num ber o f areas” w here INS operations w ithin the ag en cy ’s Portland dis trict needs to be im proved. The team has recom m ended im proved cus to m e r s e rv ic e , e m p lo y e e tra in in g an d com m um nity relations, W illiam s said. “W e have an opportunity here to reinvent o u r selves,” W illiam s said in a faxed statem ent. He said he will “ w ork closely w ith the new leadership in Portland and the com m unity to ensure that w e take full advantage o f that o p p o rtunity.” Com plaints about the treatm ent o f foreign- Adela Valdes (from left). Kristina Bird and Pastor Max Garza are enjoying the 'neighborhood' at the Alberta Street Fair. See additional coverage. Metro section inside. (Photo by Mark Washington) i Hie U.S. D epartm ent o f Transportation will signaftill-FundingG rant Agreement with T ri-M et for the design and construction o f Portland's Interstate Max Light Rail Project in North Portland. The announcem ent was m ade M onday by Senator G ordan Sm ith. Senator Ron W yden. R epresentative Earl Blum enauer. Represen tative Peter DeFazio, R epresentative G reg W alden, and Representative D avid Wu. “The agreem ent represents another m ile stone in the revitalization o f North Portland. It show s national confidence in the hard work and persistence o f our citizens. A fter years o f supporting other projects in the region, it is now North P ortland's turn.” Congressm an B lum enauer said “ The M AX alignm ent is the next step in transform ing P ortland's light rail system into a transportation netw ork worthy o f a first- class city," said Sm ith “ The project rose out o f a com m unity-based, citizen-led effort and k I w ill continue my efforts to obtain the needed federal funding to com plete this project," Senator Sm ith said. “ This funding is a w elcom e shot in the arm for the people o f North Portland." Senator W yden said. "A fter years o f hard work, now com m unities all along Interstate Avenue will be connected. This addition, along with the Airport MAX extension, will turn the Bantield W estside lines intoa true light rail system for the 21” century." “ We are extrem ely lucky to have a delega tion and region that set transportation goals and work together to accom plish them. I- M AX is a wonderful project and it is going to do w onders for the renewal o f the North Portland area." Congressw om an H ooley said. “ This is one more step in the process o f addressing O regon transportation challenges with com m on sense solutions I look forward to jo in in g the delegation on the first I-M AX run,” C ongressm an W u said. The full funding grant is the last step necessary to com m it Federal funds to a light rail project.
