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Volume XXX.
Number 37
H I
M M
Wednesday
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Established in 1970
www.portlandobserver.com
September 20, 2000
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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.