August 8,2001
Page A3
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Study Says Early Americans From Japan
(A P) - The first people to
cross a land bridge from Asia
and settle in the A m ericas may
have been descendants o f an
ancient group w ho once lived
in Japan, according to a new
stu d y .
R esearchers exam ining and
m easuring the bone structure
o f nearly 10,000 ancient hu­
m an s k u lls c o lle c te d fro m
around the w orld say the first
A m ericans w ere m ost closely
related to the Jom on, a preh is­
toric people w ho lived in Japan
thousands o f years ago, and to
a later group, the Ainu.
C. L oring B race o f the M u­
seum o f A nthropology at the
U niversity of M ichigan said the
skull m easurem ents and other
evidence suggest the m em bers
o f th e J o m o n - A in u g ro u p
crossed w hat is now the Bering
S traits and m igrated through­
out the A m ericas, from A laska
to the tip o f South A m erica.
“T hese w ere not the people
w ho now live in Japan,” said
Brace, lead author o f a study.
“T hose people m igrated to Ja ­
pan later from Asia, but you
c a n s till fin d tra c e s o f the
Jom on am ong the Japanese.”
Brace said the Jom on had
som e characteristics o f E uro­
peans, along w ith A sian influ­
e n c e s.
At the tim e o f the first m i­
gration, 15,000 years ago, ice
covered much of the northern
world, causing the worldw ide
sea level to drop by hundreds o f
feet. The Bering Strait, w hich
is not m uch deep er than 60
feet in m ost places, was not
there. Instead, there was a dry
land bridge from A laska to Si­
beria.
Brace said characteristics of
the first migrants are now clearly
seen in many of the American
In d ia n trib e s, in c lu d in g the
Blackfoot, Sioux and Cherokee.
Comment Sought on Health Plan Changes
The Oregon Health Plan pro­
ew legislation will
vides
coverage for people on
add up to 50,000
Oregonians to the public assistance. It also pro­
coverage for about 93,000
Oregon Health Plan, vides
but re­
people
who are not in a tradi­
duce coverage to pay for more
people using the insurance
plan.
As a result, community
forum s are scheduled
statewide to learn how
people would prefer ben­
efits to change. Two pub­
lic meetings will be held in
the Portland area, starting
»
with a session on Wednes­
day, Aug. 8 at Tuality
Hospital in Hillsboro, fol­
lowing by a meeting Tues­
day, A ug. 28 at the
Adventist Medical Cen­
ter, 10123 S.E. Market St.
Both sessions will run from
6 p.m. to 8 p.m..
“We will ask per,pie how
they rank various benefits
such as physician services,
dental care and prescrip­
tion drugs,” said Dr. John
Santa, administrator of the
state Office for Oregon
Health Plan Policy and Re­
search, which staffs the
state commission. “We
also want to hear opinions
about costs such as higher
premiums, deductibles and
co-pays.”
N
tional Medicaid category or who
earn too much for assistance
but whose household incomes
are still below the federal pov­
erty level ($ 1,179 a month for a
family of 3).
That expanded coverage,
now in its eighth year, would
grow to cover Oregonians with
a household income of up to
185 percent of the federal pov­
erty level ($2,181 a month for a
family of 3).
Expanding the number of
people covered, which is ex­
pected by late 2002, will be
financed by a combination of
reducing the benefit package
and seeking federal matching
funds.
A C T IO N
s
y
Abdullah
Takes Job
Promoting
Health
<;■ «
________
Shareefah Abdullah
Southw est W ashington
H ealth D istrict has hired
S h a re e fa h A b d u lla h o f
V ancouver as its first com ­
m unications specialist.
A form er media relations
m anager for the Am erican
H e a rt
A s s o c ia tio n ,
A bdullah will handle inter­
nal and external com m uni­
cations.
“W e’re pleased to add
Shareefah to the health dis­
trict team,” executive direc­
tor Kay Koontz said.
Abdullah holds a law de­
gree from N o rthw estern
School o f Law of Lewis and
C lark C ollege in Portland
and a bachelor’s degree in
political science from the
Univ. of Massachusetts at
Boston. She wrote neighbor­
hood and business news for
the Colombian in Vancouver,
before joining the American
Heart Association.
She is a member of the
Public Relations Society of
America and former president
of the Portland Association
of Black Journalists.
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o r any o t h e r pro fessio n al s p o rts le a g u e o r o r g a n is a tio n .
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O d d s v a ry by th e n u m b e r o f e v e n ts p la y e d
E stim ated Payout • 40 V