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PORTLAND OR
PERMIT NO. 1610
Volume XXXI
N um ber 11
C om m itted to Cultural Diversity
Established in 1970
www.portlandobserver.com
Wednesday
March 14, 2001
Civil Rights Panel Finds
Fault in Florida Vote
Federal Commission finds evidence of inadequate
resources to handle voter turnout and at least one
unauthorized law enforcement checkpoint
S upported by approxim ately 30 hours o f
sw orn testim ony from som e 100 w itnesses, the
U .S. C om m ission on C ivil R ights determ ined
that the Florida presidential elections appear to
have been m arred by v o ter disenfranchise.
“ It is not a question o f recount o r ev en an
accurate count, but m ore
p o in te d ly th o se w h o se
exclusion from the right to
vote am ounted to a ‘N o
C o u n t,” c o n c lu d e d a
qualified electors to cast ballots an d have their
ballots counted.
“ It is o u r h ope that Florida, as w ell as o th er
jurisdictions, w o u ld p rom ptly address m ajo r
problem s these instead o f hoping that w ith the
passage o f tim e, the public w ill forget,” the
statem ent continued.
T he com m ission said
the evidence points to
an array o f problem s.
T h e s e r a n g e d fr o m
F lo rid a electio n o ffi­
c ials’ failure to pro v id e
adequate resources to
handle increased v o ter
turnout to at least one
u nauthorized law e n ­
fo rc e m e n t c h e c k o u t.
T h e C om m ission also
flagged the rem oval o f
n o n -fe lo n s fro m th e
v o terreg istratio n ro llso n th eb asiso fu n reh ab le
inform ation collected during a sw eeping, state-
‘Voting is the language o f
our democracy. And regretta­
bly, when it mattered most,
real people lost real opportu­
nities to speak truth to power
in the ballot box. This must
never occur again,
state­
ment by the U.S. Commis­
sion on Civil Rights
Tournament Final Goes to Churchill
Benson players congratulate the Churchill Lancers fo r their victory in the title game o f the Boys 4A State Basketball Tournament.
Benson beat No. I seed Jefferson to reach the final game. See story on tournam ent in Sports, Page B3.
___
(P hoto by D avid G iezyng /P ortland O bserver )
statem ent issued Friday
b y the C om m ission.
C o m m is s io n C h a ir
M ary F rances B erry said
she
hopes
th e
C o m m iss io n ’s findings
w ill hasten reform s.
“ In the final analysis,"
the statem ents said, “new
recounts o fo ld b a llo ts are
an academ ic exercise. V oting is the language o f
o u r dem ocracy. A nd regrettably, w hen it m at­
tered m ost, real people lost real opportunities
to speak truth to pow er in the ballot box. T his
m ust n ev er o ccur again.”
T he com m ission found that voting technol­
ogy reform s and recounting procedures alone
are insufficient to address the significant and
distressing issues and barriers that prevented
sponsored felony purge.
T he C om m ission cited o th er problem s in
Florida w hich prevented voters from exercising
th e n voting franchise, including the assign­
m ent o f m any A frican A m ericans to polling
S tory C ontinues O n P age A 3
Guns Change Hands on Portland Streets
(AP) — P ortland’s gun task force
has learned that ff^any o f the same
weapons are used in crim es throughout
the city, changing hands several times
on the streets.
The new study found that, mirroring
national trends, guns used in Portland
crimes surface on the street about five
years after they are first purchased in
stores.
“It gives you a picture o f the firearm
problem in the city,” said Sgt. Dave
Anderson, a supervisor o f Portland’s
gun task force. “The tracing informa-
S tory C ontinues O n P age A 5
Freeway Soundwall Rises Along 1-5
use the Hawthorne Bridge as a movie prop.
‘The Hunted’ to Close
Hawthorne Bridge
Tommy Lee Jones movie expected to
pump $22 million into the economy
M u ltn o m ah C o u n ty and th e C ity o fP o rtlan d
have signed o ffo n a p lan th at allo w s P aram o u n t
P ictures C orp, to film scen es fo r“ T h e H u n ted ”
on the H aw th o rn e B ridge.
T h e film m ak in g sch ed u le calls for p artial o r
full closures o fth e b rid g e durin g off-p eak co m ­
m u te tim es b eg in n in g w ith prep aratio n w o rk
this w eek , w ith film ing o ccu rrin g thro u g h the
en d o f A pril. A s a co n tin g en cy , P aram o u n t has
also b een g iven p erm issio n to use the b rid g e on
the w eek en d s o f M ay 18-21 an d M ay 25-28 in
THEW
REVIEW
Traders Search for Tech
Bargains
N E W Y O R K — Bargain hunters pushed
technology stocks m oderately higher as Wall
Street struggled to recover from its w orst day
this year But the buying w as tentative and
<
c a s e o f film ing com plications.
P aram o u n t says that it w ill sp en d m ore than
$22 m illio n in P ortland during a four-m onth
stay. T h ey w ill use local actors, stunts and
extras an d local labor. T h ey w ill also p u rch ase
o r rent construction m aterials and related item s;
p ay for rentals, services, transportation and
hotels; and m eet m an y o f the expenditures o f
th e m o v ie cast an d crew .
■
Crews prepare the footings J or soundwalls just north oj Skidmore as part oj the Oregon Department o f Transportation'
1-5 Preservation Project. Crews are also relocating utility lines, forcing some closures in the streets adjacent to the
freeway. Restricted traffic is also in effeci on the Lombard and Portland Boulevard overpasses as crews work to raise the
structures to allow better clearance fo r freeway truck traffic.
(P hoto by M ark W ashington /P ortland O bserver )
“A t a tim e w h en o u r local eco n o m y is strug-
S tory C ontinues on P age A3
limited.refleeting investors’ fears that m ore bad
new s is ahead for the markets and the economy.
Japanese Worried But Calm
About Economy
T O K Y O — T he stock market is plunging to
16-year lows and there's talk o f deflationary
dangers, but signs o f econom ic crisis arc not
causing panic in Japan; m ost Japanese d o n 't
ow n stocks. In fact, low er prices are seen by
m any as good new s in a notoriously expensive
nation. That does not change the fact, however,
that the econom ic indicators are om inous for the
w orld’s second largest economy.
Diversity In USA Grows
A fast-growing generation o f multiracial
A m ericans is on the w ay, according to an
X
analysis o f new Census data. The percentage
o f children w ho w ere reported to be multiracial
is up to three times greater than that o f adults.
It w as triple in Pennsylvania and W isconsin
and m ore than double in Virginia and Indiana.
It is the first time that the C ensus Bureau has
collected detailed information on people in the
United States w ho consider themselves multi­
racial
Schools Fear Copycat
Violence
T w o days after a mass shooting at a high
school outside San Diego, threats o f copycat
violence unsettled schools across the nation.
In a San D iego courtroom, Charles “Andy”
Williams, 15. made his hist court appearance on
charges o f murder and attem pted murder in
shooting at Santana High School in Santee.
T w o students were killed, and 13 people were
injured.
Pennsylvania School Shooter
Injures One
W ILLIA M SPO R T. P a.— A shooting at a
R om an Catholic high school left one female
student injured and one in custody Police did
not immediately release more information on the
shooting at Bishop Neumann High School. The
injured student w ho was taken to W 111 lamsport
Hospital, w as still being evaluated.
Teenager Shot Outside Md.
High School
LARG O, M d.— A teenager was shot in front
ofM ary land high school after classes had been
dismissed, police said. The 17-year-old victim,
w ho w as not a student at L argo H igh S chool,
w as shot at about 5 p.m . outside the sc h o o l’s
m ain entrance. T he teenager, w h o w as not
identified by police, w as treated for non-life
threatening injuries at a local hospital.
Jackson to Update Tax
Return to Include Mistress
C H IC A G O — T he Rev. Jesse Jack so n
said he w ill am end the tax return o f o n e o fh is
nonprofit groups to reflect m o n ey p a id to a
staffer w ho w as his m istress. T h e staffer,
K arin Stanford, w as not included o n the 1999
tax return filed by the C itizen sh ip E d u catio n
F und O th e rsta ffm e m b e rs' nam es a lso w ere
om itted. Jackson called the o m issio n s in ad ­
vertent.