®lje Jìortlanò (ßbseruer
August 06. 2003
Page AS
First Out of the Gate
Bug Wiped From Windshield Forever
( AP) — The last Volkswagen Beetle has rolled
o ff the assembly line, 70 years after A dolf Hitler's
government introduced Germans to a two-door
passenger car that became an icon around the
globe.
Competition from newer compacts and a Mexi
can government decision to phase out two-door
taxis led Volkswagen to shut down its only remain
ing “bug” production line at its plant in Puebla, 65
miles southeast o f Mexico City.
Workers painstakingly crafted the final car: a
baby blue version marked No. 21,529,464 that will go
to a museum in Wolfsburg, Germany, home ofV W
headquarters. Adorned with a Mexican flag made o f
flowers, the car was serenaded by a mariachi band
playing "El Rey,” or “The King.”
“You didn’t just participate in the construction
o f a car. but in the creation o f a legend,” Reinhard
Jung, president o f the executive committee o f
Volkswagen Mexico, told workers and executives.
Last w eek’s ceremony at the factory was closed
to outsiders but transmitted around the world on a
satellite television feed.
The very last VW beetle is decorated with a wreath o f roses and a message on its
windscreen which reads “Volkswagen of Mexico last Sedan in the World. 30th July
2 0 0 3 ’ as it rolls o ff the production line at VW's Puebla plant. (AP Photo)
RMMNMMNNMI
photo by T ony
Life Saving
Youth Videos Earn High Reviews
Drugs Become
Northwest Film Center and Oregon
“I have no doubt that this project
Young Latinos Council
for II ispanic Advancement. has had a profound impact on these
a Trade Issue
Forty-nine Latino youth, ages students. We see them discover
share their
(A P) — Poor nations like
14 to 19, worked with Northwest more about themselves, celebrate
M exico that w ant to use low cost
Film Center faculty to document and embrace the Latino contribu
hopes and
copies o f patented drugs to treat
their lives and communities and to tions to this country, and acknowl
d iseases like H IV /A ID S and
share their hopes and aspirations edge that education is clearly the
aspirations
m alaria are m oving tow ard an
gateway to opportunity,” said State
agreem ent that w ould keep the
drugs from being smuggled back
to rich countries.
The issue o f how to ensure
essential drugs are available in
the poorest nations has been a
m a jo r s tu m b lin g b lo c k to
progress in the W orld Trade
O rganization’s negotiations on
a new global treaty to cut barri
ers to international trade.
WTO rules already allow coun
tries facing public health crises to
override patents and order their
drugs frdrn Cheaper, generic sup
pliers. But they can order only
from dom estic manufacturers,
which is o f no use for the majority
o f poor nations that have no phar
maceuticals industries.
For too long the
rich history o f
Latino families in
this state has
received little notice.
What is it like to be young and
Latino in Oregon today? Accord
ing to top educators and leaders,
one o f the best ways to find out is
by w atching N u estra V ision,
Nuestro Futuro, a new video series
being distributed free o f charge to
schools, libraries and community
groups by the Portland Art Mu
seum Northwest Film Center.
The two 30-minute compilations
lend themselves to classroom use,
public presentations and discus
sion groups and are appropriate for
English and Spanish-speaking gen
eral audiences o f all ages.
The series was created through
the Oregon Latino Youth Video
Project, a three-year statewide m e
dia arts education initiative o f the
- Serena Cruz, M u ltn om ah
County Commissioner
on video. “We are showing the
positive things our people are do
ing in the community, how we have
impacted thecommunity,"expl»i ns
Adam Martinez o f Ontario, one o f
the students who worked on the
project.
Some o f Oregon ’ s top educators
and leaders are impressed.
Superintendent o f Public Instruc
tion Susan Castillo.
“For too long the rich history o f
Latino families in this state has re
ceived little notice,” said Serena
Cruz, Multnomah County Commis
sioner.” These young people share
important moments in their lives
with us; moments that all ages and
backgrounds can relate to— the joy
o f love, family and friendship, the
pain o f loss, the struggle to endure
in this country, and the triumph o f
achievement.”
■i The videos can be ordered free
onlineatwww.nwfilm.org.
W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver
Portland City Commissioner Jim Francesconi in his Office at
City Hall.
continued
only city to close the achievement
gap-”
He said after-school programs
work to keep latchkey kids out o f
trouble and assist working parents.
The first person to declare his
candidacy, Francesconi currently
from Front
the Portland Organizing Project.
He created the Youth Employment
and Em pow erm ent C oalition,
through which he worked to con
vince business owners to hire kids
< The Fire Department *is not where
it needs to be, but it s a lot more
diverse than the Police Department.
— Mayoral C andidate Jim Francesconi
with a history o f gang involve
ment.
Francesconi said he’s commit
ted to improving education and
employment for all.
‘We hpve to focus on how not
to be divided by race äh<J class,”
he said. “I want Portland to be the
runs unopposed. Mayor Vera Katz
had decided to retire at the end of
her term in 2004.
Earl Blumenauer, a Democratic
congressman from Portland and
City Commissioner Erik Sten are
both rumored to throw in their hats
for the position post-Labor Day.
M M aa N M M N M M N M M M N M M M M
Hispanic Voters Share Opinions
(AP) — Hispanics tend to iden
tify more with Democrats and gen
erally favor them on domestic is
sues, but many haven’t decided
what they think o f President Bush
and lean toward his position on tax
cuts and school vouchers, says a
new poll.
The CBS-New York Times poll
suggested Hispanics tilt toward a
Democratic candidate in the 2004
presidential race, but many remain
undecided.
When Hispanic registered vot
ers were asked whether they would
vote for Bush or a Democratic can
didate forpresident, 21 percent said
Bush, 31 percent said a Democrat
and 45 percent were undecided.
Hispanics were more likely than
non-Hispanics to prefer tax cutting
to reducing the size o f the deficit.
And they were more inclined to
support tax-supported vouchers to
send children to private schools.
And on social issues like abor
tion and gay relations, the poll
showed Hispanics tend to be more
conservative than non-H ispan
ics.
But by almost a 2 -1 margin, His
panics were inclined to say the
Democratic Party comes closer to
representing their values. Asked
which party cares more about the
needs o f H ispan ics, 50 percent said
Democrats, and 19 percent said
Republicans. One in five said they
didn’t know.
BEEN FAKED OUT BY
INMNNMMMNNNM
PCC Begins High-Tech Training
Non-native English speakers
may soon have a workforce advan
tage in high-tech jobs, thanks to a
training program from Portland
Community College.
PCC and a consortium o f circuit
board manufacturers in Washing
ton County are offering the entry-
level high-tech skills training pro
gram for those entering the high-
tech field for the first time. The
program primarily focuses on non
native English speakers in Wash
ington County.
Consortium members include
Merix Corporation, Vanguard EMS
and Matsushita Electronic Materi
als, Inc. The business consortium
plans to hire from the pool o f stu
dents completing the training. Job
search assistance will also be of
fered.
This six-week training is free and
offered at PCC Capital Career Cen
ter, 18624 N.W. Walker Rd. in
Beaverton. The training will be held
from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday
through Friday from Sept. 15
through Oct. 24
Contact Eduardo Garnica, PCC
career specialist, with any ques
tio n s at 5 0 3 -5 3 3 -2 8 1 9 or
egamica@ pcc.edu.
Mexico Connections Fine-Ttined at PDX
Mexicana Airlines will add non
stop service on Mondays between
Portland International Airport and
Guadalajara and eliminate existing
service on Fridays to better meet
the needs o f customers.
With this enhancement, the non
stop flights between Portland and
Guadalajara will operate on Mon
days, Thursdays and Saturdays.
The flights offer continuing ser-
vice betw een G uadalajara and
Mexico City and connecting ser
vice to Morelia.
“W e’re fine tuning our sched
ules to best meet the needs o f our
customers,” said V irginia Barclay,
M exicana m arketing director.
“W e’re hearing that this change
will work out better for both leisure
and business travelers.”
Mexicana launched the fast.
convenient, new nonstop service
May I at PDX. The flights use
M exicana's new Airbus A319 air
craft with a capacity o f 120 passen
gers. The flights arrive in Portland
at 12:10p.m. and depart Portlandat
1:20 p.m. Elapsed flying time be
tween Portland and Guadalajara is
4 hours 30minutes. Travel to Mexico
City or Morelia is just a short hop
from Guadalajara.
FREE CHECKING?
WE CAN HELP
T R U LY
F R E E
C H E C K IN G
You may be getting duped and not know it. A lot of banks claim
n
to offer free checking, then nail you with monthly fees. But not
Washington Mutual's truly Free Checking account. It has no
charge to talk to a teller or telephone banker, no monthly fee no
matter what your balance, no direct deposit requirement and no
IO IIRECT IEP0SIT «EQIIREBERT
per-check charges. That's no hidden fees, period. Reject fakery.
N FER-6REGI CURIES
Go to any Washington Mutual Financial Center or call
TISI* CRECI CMC
W ITI N M I I U FEE
Advertise with diversity in
call 503.388.0033 or email: ads@portlandobservcr.com
I
TELEMME IMKER
aa B a r m t fee
10 BITTE« WRIT r o i l IILIRC E
1-800-788-7000 and switch to truly Free Checking today.
ïliC ^erttan if (OhsrrUcr
fee r a tu « ra « teiu «
OR
|Q Washington Mutual
MORE HUMAN INTEREST;