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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 27, 2000)
Carmen comes to the Portland Opera See Focus Inside Bulk Rate U.S. Postage PAID Portland, OR Permit No. 1610 ¡Tin' |Jort lattò (Olisi Volume XXX. Number 39 Wednesday Committed to Cultural Diversity Established in 1970 www.portlandobserver.eom University o f Oregon Knight Library Newspaper Section Eugene OR 97403 50e September 27, 2000 Ten-Digit Dialing Starts Sunday B e g in n in g S u n d a y , p e o p le in th e 503 a re a c o d e , in c lu d in g all o f th e P o rtla n d a re a , w ill n e e d to d ia l m o re n u m b e rs — e v e n b e fo re m a k in g a lo c a l ca ll. T h e re a re n o m o re n u m b e rs a v a ila b le Twelfth Case of West Nile Virus Reported N EW Y O R K - A 52-year-old Staten Island m an has becom e the 12th city resi dent this year to becom e infected with the W est N ile virus. T he m an, w hose identity w as not released, apparently becam e in fected in m id-A ugust but tried to fight off symptoms including fever, joint and muscle pain, and dizziness. T he m an rem ains le thargic but is listed in stable condition. N ew Y ork M ayor R udy G iuliani said. Castro Rallies Cubans Against U.S. Policies H A V A N A - T housands o f people an sw ered the com m unist governm ent’s call to crow d outside the U.S. m ission and protest im m igration policies it blam es for last w eek’s dram atic departure o f a group o f Cubans aboard a stolen plane. Presi dent Fidel C astro presided over the rally that had C ubans condem ning the “mur- derous” C uban A djustm ent AcL The 1966 law allow s C ubans w ho reach U.S. shores to apply for A m erican residency - an au tom atic right not granted to im m igrants o f any other nation. th e p o p u la rity o f c e ll p h o n es, p a g e rs, fa x e s and m odem s, hav e increased the d e m and for numbers. But the main reason there are no m ore num bers in the 503 area code is the grow th o f new phone com panies pop- Emergency 911 Won’t Change Ten-digit dialing w ill not change the procedure for calling 911. C alls to Portland and M ultnom ah C o u n ty ’s em ergency dispatch center w ill be answ ered as they always have, if people dial the 3-digit 911. The only change is that the dispatcher will ask for your area code, along w ith your phone num ber to confirm your call and location. Em ergency personnel w ill have to dial 10 digits to follow up calls. H ow ever, the dispatch center w as recently upgraded w ith faster equipm ent to speed the process up, according to 911 supervisorC olleen M cLaughlin. in the 503 a re a c o d e , so n o w th e r e ’s 97 1 . T h e n ew a r e a c o d e w ill b e m in g le d th ro u g h o u t th e e x is tin g 503 c o v e ra g e a re a a ro u n d P o rtla n d an d S alem . C la tso p an d T illa m o o k c o u n tie s on th e O re g o n C o a st w ill n o t b e a ffe c te d . T h e P u b lic U t i l i t i e s C o m m is s io n w a n te d p e o p le to s ta rt d ia lin g th e a re a c o d e at th e b e g in n in g o f th e y e a r, b u t ala rm c o m p a n ie s h a d to re p ro g ra m all th e ir sy ste m s. M o rriso n an d C o m p a n y , fo r e x a m p le , s till h as a b o u t 100 a la rm s to b rin g up to d a te . “ Y o u h a v e to s w itc h m a n p o w e r,” sa id R a lp h M o rriso n o f M o rriso n & C o. “ I t ’s tim e c o n s u m in g .” O re g o n ’s g ro w in g p o p u la tio n , p lu s ping across the state. W hen those com panies started business in O regon they were given phone num bers in blocks o f 10,000. Som e com panies now have up to 2 5 0 ,0 0 0 p h o n e n u m b ers. T h e P u b lic U tilite s C o m m issio n w ill g et a p ro g ra m n e x t y e a r th a t w ill e n a b le th e m to g et b ac k th o se u n u se d n u m b e rs. B u t th a t d o e s n ’t h e lp b u s in e s s o w n e rs lik e R a lp h M o rriso n . H e an d h is e m p lo y e e s are ra c in g to re p ro g ra m a ll th e ir c u s to m e r s ’ h o m e a la rm s. T h ey s till h av e a h u n d re d to go. PUC officials say th ey ’ve learned from this and now give out num bers in blocks o f a thousand. T hat m e a ns_.it w ill be another nine years before we get another area code. Central Eastside Streets To Get Face-Lift Thousands Flee Philippine Assault JO LO , Philippines - M ore than 36,000 villagers have fled their hom es to escape a heavy m ilitary assault on M uslim rebels holding 17 hostages on a sm all southern Philippine island, officials said. U ncon firm ed reports continued to grow o f civil ian casualties and heavy dam age to vil lages from the attack, w hich involved some 4,000 troops. Some traffic delays expected during construction Tension Rises as Yugoslavia Prepares to Vote PRISTIN A , Y ugoslavia - V oter here seem ready to oust President Slobodan M ilosevic, the central figure in the Kosovo conflict, in elections. But political observ ers fear that the m an w anted for w ar crimes by the U.S. and its allies may still com e out on top through vote-stealing or by stag ing a political crisis. Kraft Recalls Taco Shells W A SH IN G T O N - K raft Foods an nounced that it is recalling Taco Bell brand taco shells nationw ide after tests con firm ed the shells w ere m ade w ith geneti cally engineered com that isn ’t approved for hum an consum ption. The com , one o f the least grow n o f several biotech variet ies, is approved for use only in animal feed because o f questions about w hether it could cause allergic reactions in people. Ronald's Going to Be Serving McCafe Coffee C om ing soon to a M cD onald’s near you: gourm et coffee. A fter years o f serv ing fancy coffee in 50 A ustralian stores, M cD onald’s will begin to open M cCafe co ffee shops in the U SA next year, M cD onald’s C E O says. T he fallout could be huge. Starbucks ow ns about h alf o fth e n a tio n ’s 7 ,000 g ourm et brew stores. M cD onald's has 13,500 fast-food restau rants in the USA. CIA Reveals Deep lies to Seedy Side of Chile WASH ING TO N - The CI A is admitting for the first tim e the extent o f its deep involvem ent in C hile, where it dealt with coup-plotters, false propagandists and assassin s. Dialing a phone in the Portland area will require dialing an area code starting Sunday. < Photo by Micheál I.eighton/Portiand Observer) Workers are adding Portlands historic street lights to east hurnside. (Photoby Micheál I.eighton/Portiand Observer) Kitzhaber, Sizemore Debate Measure 91 KOIN-TV to Provide Live Coverage KOIN-TV. in partnership w ith the League o f W om en V oters o f O regon, is pleased to announce it will host and televise the only debate this election season betw een Oregon Government John Kitzhaber and Oregon Tax payers United Executive Director Bill Sizemore. The Participants will square o ff over Oregon Ballot M easure #91 If passed, the m easure w ould allow s tax payers to fully deduct their federal income taxes on their state returns. O pponents say it wil I have far-reaching negative repercussions. K O IN -TV will broadcast the Kitzhaber- Sizem ore debate on Tuesday, O ct 10. from 7- 8 p.m ., originating live from K O IN -TV stu dios. Because o f the im portance o f this issue K OIN-TV will m ake the debate available by satellite w ithout cost to all O regon television and cable outlets outside o f the Portland area that wish to carry the debate live or tape- delayed The debate will also be stream ed in its entirety on K O IN .com . KOIN 6 News anchor JeffG ianola will serve as moderator. E ast B u rn sid e S tre e t fro m 6 lh A v e n u e to 12lh A v en u e w ill so o n be g e t tin g a lo n g -a w a ite d fa c e -lift. B e g in n in g S e p te m b e r 18 new ca st iro n o r n a m e n ta l s tre e tlig h ts w ill b e in s ta lle d at th e in te rs e c tio n an d s te e l-b a s e d “ C o b r a " s tre e tlig h ts w ill be in s ta lle d m id b lo c k . In a d d itio n , n ew s tr e e t tre e s w ill b e p la n te d ; e x is tin g tre e s w ill be p ru n e d an d sh a p ed an d s id e w a lk s w ill b e re p a ire d . S im ila r w ork w ill tak e p la c e o n M a r tin L u th e r K in g , Jr. B lv d . a n d G ra n d A v e n u e s b e tw e e n M o rriso n an d M ain S treets. C urb ex te n sio n s w ill b e added to e n h a n ce th e p e d e s tria n e n v iro n m ent. D u rin g c o n s tr u c tio n , m o to r is ts s h o u ld ex p e ct so m e in te rm itte n t lane c lo s u re s and d e la y s S e p te m b e r 20 th ro u g h N o v e m b e r 30. T h e w o rk is p a rt o f th e P o rtla n d D e v e lo p m e n t C o m m is s io n ’s th re e - p h a s e d s tr e e ts c a p e im p r o v e m e n ts p ro je c t b eg u n in 1998. P h a se I w as c o m p le te d in 1999 P h ase II an d III (d e s c rib e d ab o v e ) w ill b e c o m p le te d th is fall. Messenger Senior Helping the Next Generation BvI j EF. P eri - man forthf . R dhti am >O b » . rver How does Betty Messenger spend her golden years? Helping those two or three g e n e ra tio n s y ounger get the message. As a foster g ra n d p a re n t v o lu n te e r, M essenger tu to rs c h il- drenatVemon School as part o f the School fo r S u ccess for All p ro grams. JTiere sh e w o rk s w ith se v en children in the first and sec ond grades. learn in g v o cab u lary , learn in g the w rit ing an d sou n d o f letters. “I spend 20 m in u tes a P e tty M e s s e n g e r a n d s tu d e n t W a yn e F o rth a n day with (Photoby Mark Washlngton/Portland Observer) each c h ild ," she says. “ T he ch ild ren are a ssessed to d e te rm in e w h ich re a d in g group th e y ’re assigned to. T hen, i f th e y ’re h av in g tro u b le, I give help. W e go in to also see you in the store, and it’s neat to be recognized ” W hen summer comes. M essenger works at the Providence Children's Center, work- I ing with different kids in a different way. “They have medical problem s Most can’t speak, and are fed through tubes. I read to them, wheel them around and give them a little TLC.” For this Messenger, and her fellow volunteers ofthe FosterGrandparent Program, arepaidS2.55 an hour, plus a stipend tor meals at their work site and transportation to it. In addition, they do group field trips places such as Lincoln City and Kah- Nee-Ta, and an annual picnic. The program is administered by Metropolitan Family Services. "It's an extremely viable and valuable pro gram, "says Ron I aster, a memberoftlicprogram s advisory board. Then? arc seniors on fixed in comes who have talents and skil Is available and it’s a perfect match. They also receive aw arls forparticularly meri torious service This year Messenger was so honored. A Portlander since 1943, she worked in the insurance business before retiring. She has been a foster grandparent for 15 years. “She is so skilled at being a foster grandpar ent," superv isor Turrella W oods says. “She is one ofthe few that we can put in ju st about any setting we need help with She’s made a huge difference in the reading levels o f the children she works with.” “We could use more people to do tutoring," Messenger says. "There are so many special needs." y
