Committed to Cultural Diversity
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www.portlandobserver.com
November 1, 2000
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Health Conference
O regon’s first lady and a popular TV
star, Ann Jillian will join hundreds o f women
in the Portland-area who will be taking a
day for themselves at the fourth annual A
Day fo r You event. The all-day conference
uses humor, hope and health to nurture the
needs o f women as they journey through
the various stages o f life. The conference
is8:30a.m .to4p.m . on Saturday, Nov. 4 at
the Hilton Hotel, 921 SW 6lh in Portland.
Cost is $25 per person or $20 for Providence
Health Plan members. Lunch will be pro
vided.
It’s Hoop Time!
W ant to dribble and shoot? Montavilla
Community Center is the place to start!
Take the ball to the hoop with Basketball
for L il’ Dribblers (ages 4-6) on Mondays,
Nov. 13-Dec. 1 l,from4-4:30p.m.,$10,and
Basketball for Junior Hoopers (ages 7-9) on
Mondays, Nov. 13-Dec. 1 l,4:30-5:15p.m.,
$ 10 (City o f Portland residents). Call 503/
823-4101 o r v isit th e ir w e b site at
www.PortlandParks.org.
Solutions March
The Juneteenth Association NW. will
be having a Solutions March on Saturday,
Nov. 18 from 1 -5 p.m. as aprevention against
violence. The march starts at Alberta park
and ends at Unthank Park at SEI. An open
mike and forum is planned. Additionally,
the Juneteenth Association NW is plan
ning a meeting for Saturday, Nov. 5 from 10
a.m. - 1 p.m. at Self Enhancement Inc.
People with event experience needed. Call
503/281-8472.
Antique and Collectibles
Experience nostalgia and sophistication
this Nov. 18 and 19 at the Oregon Conven
tion Center Antique & Collectible Show,
located at the Oregon Convention Center.
It will feature over 700 upscale booths
along with exhibitors, nationally renowned
appraisers and restoration experts. Collec
tors can leam about family antiques or their
favorite collectibles from Harry Rinker,
nationally renowned antique and col
lectibles consultant. Call 503/282-0877 or
visit www.palmerwirfs.com.
Gun Control Group Rallies
Handgun Control President Brings “Bush And Guns Truth Tour” To Oregon
O regon religious leaders, gun control
activists and local victims o f gun violence
join ed M ichael Barnes, president o f H and
gun Control, the nation’s largest gun con
trol advocacy organization, to discuss
Texas G overnor G eorge B ush’s record on
guns.
A news conference was held Thursday
in the South Park Blocks in front o f the F irst
C ongregational Church.
The “ Bush and Guns Truth T our" has
traveled across the county exposing Bush’s
record o f catering to the gun lobby, espe
cially the law he signed allow ing Texans to
carry loaded, concealed handguns into
ch u rches, synagogues other places o f
w orship, hospitals and am usem ent parks.
The Nation Rifle A ssociation strongly
supports G overnor Bush and has even
bragged that if Bush wins, “W e’ll have a
president where we work out o f their of
fice.”
Gun control advocates say restrictions
on ow ning and using firearm s will be loos
ened if Bush is elected president, putting
A m erican lives in danger.
“ I ’m very concerned about B u sh ’s
record. All the things h e ’s said are not
represented by his tenure in T exas,” said
Rebecca Lynn, w hose 18-year-old daugh
ter Betina was shot three tim es in a 1998
shooting at T hurston H igh School in
Springfield.
Betina Lynn is still recovering from the
incident. Her m other has becom e a pas
sionate advocate o f tighter gun control
m easures.
“Our family has been through quite a bit
o f traum a,” she said. “ I c a n 't even tell you
what it’s been like.”
In 1995, Bush signed a law w hich al
lowed Texans to carry concealed weapons,
repealing a 125-year ban on concealed
w eapons in that state.
Speaking out fo r tougher gun laws in Portland are David Bernstein o f the national group Handgun Control, with support from the
Rev. Mark Knutson o f Portland's Augustana Lutheran Church and Rebecca Lynn, mother o f Thurston High School shooting victim
Betina Lynn.
(P hoto by M ark W ashington )
Two years later. Bush approved expand
ing the law to allow concealed weapons in
churches, am usem ent parks and hospitals.
“Why, for heaven’s sake, would we want
to make the possession o f handguns legal
in public places like churches or syna-
g o g u es,” said R abbi D aniel Isaak o f
P ortland’s Neveh Shalom synagogue.
David Bernstein, spokesm an for the
W ashington, D .C.-based group Handgun
Control, said the goal o f T hursday’s anti
gun rally was to present facts to Oregon
voters and not to endorse D emocratic can
didate A1 Gore.
“We feel once people learn about B ush’s
extrem e record on the issue o f guns, they
may be inclined to vote for somebody else,”
he said.
Bank of America Earns Good Report, Others Don’t
Dance! Dance! Dance!
Every Monday, Nov. 1 3-D ec. 11, little
dancers can increase motor skills, balance
and coordination with Dance Creatively
(age 3-4) at 2:30 p.m. and Towards Ballet
(age4-5),at3 p.m. $ 12 foreitherclass. Older
dancers will leam the basics ofballet, jazz,
and tap with our combo classes: Ballet &
Jazz Combo for age 6-9 at 3"45-4”45 p.m.
and Jazz & Tap Combo for age 8-13 at 5-6
p.m. $ 2 4 foreitherclass. Call 823-3661 or
visit www.PortlandParks.org.
Stress-Free Living
A one-day class on stress-free living
through self-empowerment will be held on
Sunday, Nov. 19 at the Subud Center, lo
cated at 3185 NE Regents Dr. from 1 - 5
p.m. You will leam to invoke a deep state o f
relaxation and instill positive suggestions
into your unconscious mind. Also, you will
be taken on a journey o f self-empowerment
as well as gain the experience that will
enable you to bring relaxation into your
daily life. Call 503/224-5959.
Raphael House Benefit
Raphael House will host their 18,h annual
dinner and auction, “A Home for All Sea
sons" on Saturday, Nov. 4. Proceeds will
go to support the organization's em er
gency shelter, transitional housing, edu
cation outreach, and programs for the care
and support o f women and children escap
ing domestic violence. The evening in
cludes a silent auction, live auction, raffle
drawing and gourmet dinner. The event
will be located at the Oregon Ballroom o f
the Portland Marriott, 1401 SW Naito Park
way. Call 503/222-6507.
Museum Family Sunday
Museum Family Sunday on Nov. 5 offers
families the chance to experience the many
treasures o f Russian Avant-Garde painter
Malevich, Radinsky and others in the splendid
current special exhibition Painting Revolution:
Radinsky, Malevicha nd the Russian Avant-
Garde and the preeminent American landscape
painter in the exhibition In Search ofthe Prom
ised land: Paintingsby Frederic Edwin Church.
The N AACP is urging con
sum ers to avoid som e o f the
n a tio n ’s leading banks, sa y
in g th e y a re n o t g iv in g
e n o u g h o p p o r t u n i t i e s to
b lack w o rkers, a d v e rtisin g
agencies or sm all businesses.
N A A C P P re s id e n t R w e isi
Mfume last week im plored the
o r g a n i z a t i o n ’s
1 ,7 0 0
branches and o th er groups
to stop doing bu sin ess w ith
banks that earned poor or fail
ing grades in the civil rights
o rg a n iz a tio n ’s first annual
B a n k in g I n d u s tr y R e p o rt
Card.
The report grades banks in
five categories: employm ent,
com m unity reinvestm ent, ad
vertising and m arketing, busi
ness developm ent, and chari
table giving. The surveyed
banks received an overall grade
o f C-minus for their involve
ment in the black community.
"T his w as a dam ning re
port on the banking and fi
A Portland resident uses the automatic teller machine at nancial se rv ic e s in d u stry ."
the Bank o f America on Northeast Martin Luther King M fum e said. “ We never like
Jr. Bank o f America is the only bank the NAACP gives a to use econom ic pow er that
goes w ith b o y co tts and c o n
B grade or better fo r involvement in the black
community.
(P hoto by M ark \V ashington ) sum er decisions but, in this
instance, we think it’s impera-
tive we have the atten tio n o f this indus
try, w hich is so pow erful in this co u n
try ."
M fum e said the banks need to em ploy
m ore blacks in h ig h -lev el po sitio n s and
b e tte r serve the in ner city. “ O ver the
last 15 to 20 years, i t ’s as if the banks
w ere like the Lone R anger- th e y ’ve left
behind a cloud o f dust and a m ighty *Hi-
yo, S ilv e r ’ and an A TM m a c h in e ,”
M fum e said. “ Y ou c a n 't get counseling
from an A TM m ac h in e ," he said. “ You
c a n ’t get a loan from an ATM m achine.”
The N atio n al A sso c ia tio n for the A d
vancem ent o f C olored P eople w ill urge
the 55 civil rights and m inority organiza
tions w ho co sp o n so red the report, re li
gious o rg an izatio n s and even cu sto m
ers e n te rin g banks to b o y c o tt those
banks that received p o o r grades. N a
tional City Corp, received a D -plus; U S.
B ancorp. M ellon Bank, F leet B oston F i
nancial, R ey C o r p , C itig ro u p /C itib a n k
and W ells Fargo each rec e iv e d a D.
“ We are puzzled and d isa p p o in te d by
the N A A C P ’s su rp risin g ly low ranking,
w hich we do not feel is w arran ted by the
fa c ts,” M ellon Bank said in a w ritten
statem ent, noting the c o m p a n y ’s c o r
porate giving, sp o n so rsh ip o f the arts
and loans for low- and m oderate-incom e
individuals.
Suntrust received an F, the low est
grade p o ssib le, for not p a rtic ip a tin g in
the survey.
But spokesm an Barry R oling said that
o ccurred because o f the b a n k ’s re o rg a
n ization. O ther banks, such as W ells
F argo and U SB ancorp. also said th eir
po o r grades resulted from not having
the requested inform ation available.
The report did acknow ledge som e
signs o f success. The industry as a
w hole received a B for rein v estin g in
c o m m u n itie s through p ro g ra m m in g .
B ank o f A m erica received the highest
grade - B. “ I t’s like w inning the gold
m e d a l,” said H enry H icks, a B ank o f
A m erica vice president.
“ W e w ant to serve people from all
w alks o f life ." M fum e said the N A A CP
and Bank o f A m erica’s $6 m illion agree
m ent in July to increase home ow nership
in poor areas and aid sm all businesses in
urban areas did not influence the b a n k ’s
ranking.
T he report is the o rg a n iz a tio n 's third
in its ongoing Economic R eciprocity Ini
tia tiv e to inform consum ers about where
to sp en d their dollars.
T he o rg an izatio n released reports on
the lo dging industry last m onth and on
the cab le industry this spring - both
co n clu d in g that those industries need to
im prove their treatment o f blacks. The
N A A CP expects to release a report on the
telecom m unications industry by the end
o f the year.
Motorists Asked to Consider Alternatives to Studded Tires
drivers to co n sid er o ther types o f tra c
he w inter d riv in g season is ju st
tion or chains because o f the highw ay
around the corner and som e driv
ers are startin g to think about w hen dam
to age caused by studde'd tires
“ O D O T spends about $11 m illion a
put on th e ir tractio n tires and carry
ch ain s in the trunk
year fixing studded tire dam age on our
highways," said Tom l ulay, ODOT Ex
M otorists in O regon m ay use stu d
ecutive Deputy D irector.
ded tires on th eir v eh icles from Nov. 1
“ A nything drivers can do to reduce
to A pril 1. But O regon D epartm ent o f
T ra n sp o rta tio n o ffic ia ls e n c o u ra g e
that am ount is m oney we can spend
T
elsew here on the highw ay sy ste m ,”
he noted.
Lulay says th at o ther types o f tires
are available to d riv ers to use instead
o f studded tire w hen chains o r tra c
tion tires are required in O regon's snow
zones.
These traction tire m eet the R ubber
M anufacturers A ssociation definition
as su itab le for use in severe snow c o n
d itio n s and carry a special sym bol on
the tire sid ew all show ing a three-
peaked m ountain and snow flake.
G o to the “ w inter tra v e l" heading at
w w w .tnpcheck.com . O D O T ’s travel in
form ation W ebsite to find additional
inform ation about chain law s, traction j
tires and m inim um chain requirem ents.
t