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lune 13. 2007
el
Page B3
O bservador
Wyden
Votes for
English
Explorando el
Columbia Slough
Saturday festival at
Whitaker Ponds
(AP) — D em ocratic Sen. Ron W yden o f
Oregon joined nearly all Senate Republi­
cans to support English as the national
language o f the United States.
W yden and Republican Sens. G ordon
Smith o f O regon and Larry C raig and Mike
Crapo o f Idaho supported an am endm ent
on T hursday m aking
E nglish "the national
language." The am end­
m en t, sp o n so re d by
Sen. Jam es Inhofe, R-
O kla., was approved 64-
33, with 17 D em ocrats
joining 47 R epublicans
in support. Sen. Pete
Domenici,R-N.M ., was
Sen. Ron
the o nly R ep u b lican
Wyden, D-Ore.
voting no.
D em ocratic Sens. Patty M urray and
Maria Cantwell o f W ashington state voted
no.
Jennifer Hoelzer, a spokesw om an for
Wyden, said W yden's vote confirm ed the
longtime status o f English as the national
language.
"As A m ericans and im m igrants have
known for more than two centuries, English
is the national language. This vote con­
firms that," H oelzer said.
A rea residents are invited to join the
C olum bia Slough W atershed Council for the
sixth annual Explorando El Columbia Slough
on Saturday, June 16from 1p.m. to 5 p.m. at
W hitaker Ponds in northeast Portland.
Explorando is an afternoon of free family
fun and festivities celebrating the nature
and history o f the Colum bia Slough. The
event is targeted to the Hispanic com m u­
nity, with events and activities being offered
in both Spanish and English.
H ighlights will include free guided canoe
trips, live m usic, folk dancing, environm en­
tal g a m e s an d d is p la y s , b ilin g u a l
storytelling, live birds o f prey, guided nature
hikes, arts and crafts, refreshments and more.
G uests will also receive the Spanish rec­
reation guide to the C olum bia Slough, which
features outdoor locations for bicycle riding,
walking, paddling and picnicking within the
Slough W atershed.
T here will be food for purchase by La
Bonita. Festival participants also receive a
free t-shirt w hile supplies last.
Explorando will be held at W hitaker Ponds
Environm ental Learning Center, 7040 N.E.
47th Ave., 1/4 m ile north o f Northeast C o­
lumbia Boulevard. T o dow nload an event Family events targeted to the local Hispanic community will bring celebrants to Whitaker Ponds in northeast
flyer and map, visit colum biaslough.org.
Portland Saturday.
Divisions Stall Immigration Reforms
(AP) — Senate divisions derailed
a W hite House-backed immigration
bill and seem to m irror the U.S.
society's deep differences over the
issue, according to polling data,
law m akers and analysts. T hose
gaps will challenge any effort to get
the m easure back on track.
While most Senate Democrats
appeared to back the bill, several
liberal members said it did too little to
keep immigrant families together and
protect jobs for U.S.-bom workers.
The split in the Republican Party
was m ore obvious. The issue pitted
social conservatives, who insisted
th a t illeg al im m ig ran ts not be
granted "am nesty" for entering the
country unlaw fully, against busi­
ness groups hungry for w illing
w orkers in hotels, restaurants, con­
struction sites and other com para­
tively low -wage, low-skilled w ork­
places.
A bipartisan group o f senators 4 woman joins hundreds o f other immigrants during a rally in downtown Miami. (AP photo)
tried for weeks to bridge the chasms,
but fell glaringly short last week. leaders set aside the legislation until islation until a Senate bill is com ­ pass the m easure ev en tu ally . T he
pleted.
W hite H ouse argued the setback
N eeding 60 votes to end debate further notice.
House leaders, meanwhile, said
S en ate M ajority L ead er H arry w as not fatal for B ush's top d o ­
and schedule a final vote on the bill
itself, they won only 45. Senate they will not tackle immigration leg­ R eid, D -N ev., said he hoped to m estic priority.
Peninsula C hildren's C enter
SUMMER PROGRAMS 2007
June 18-September 4
Ages 5-12
a------------------------------ ——-------------------------------------- fi
Science, Music, Field Trips and Sports........
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C a s tr o A p p e a r s o n T V
First long look since he fell ill
Fidel C a stro has appeared on
C uban television, speaking slow ly
an d focusing on past m em ories
rath e r than his recovery and fu­
ture in his first lengthy a p p e a r­
an ce since he fell ill and gave up
p o w er last sum m er.
T he 8 0-year-old C astro 's now
g ray e r beard and hair w ere w ell-
trim m ed and he looked rested
an d alert — no longer the picture
o f a man on the verge o f death.
B ut he did not speak o f in te rn a­
tional issues and did not m ention
any plans to return to governing
C uba.
"I tell m y c o m p a trio ts . I'm
now d oing w hat 1 should be d o ­
ing," C astro said, d uring the June
5 in terview w ith R andy A lonso,
host o f the g o v ern m e n t’s nightly
"Round T able" program . "There
are no secrets."
But his co n d itio n and exact
ailm ent have rem ained state se­
crets since July 31, w hen C astro
a n n o u n c e d he had u n d e rg o n e
em erg en cy intestinal surgery and
w as stepping asid e in favor o f a
p ro visional g o vernm ent headed
by his 7 6-year-old brother R aul,
the defen se m inister.
C a stro has been recovering in
360-823-1441
1-888-849-0588
an undisclosed location and has
not been seen in public since that
announcem ent. Life on the island
has been little ch an g ed and top
officials have insisted for m onths
that C astro 's health is im proving.
T he interview w as taped one
day ea rlier and lasted about 50
m inutes. It w as im possible to tell
w h eth e r th e fo o tag e has been
edited.
C astro sounded co h eren t but
m e a n d e re d from o n e to p ic to
an o th er, m uch as he ty p ically
had done in speeches before he
fell ill. M ore than an y th in g he
said, the interview w as notable
f o r h o w m u c h s tr o n g e r a n d
h ealthier C astro looked.
222 N.E. Park Plaza Dr.. Suite 115
Vancouver. WA 98684
Missing and Exploited Children
1-800-THE-LOST ___
Endangered Missing
Cuban leader Fidel Castro is shown on television during an
interview last week from an undisclosed location in Cuba.
F ill Out. Clip I
&Usend/? I
Attn: Subscriptions, PO Box 3137. Portland OR 97208
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503-288-0033
s u b s c r ip tio n s ore j u s t $60 p e r y e a r
(please include cheek w ith this subscription fo rm )
A ddress :
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k
or
Luislzcuierdo-Olea
Current Age: 7
Nieves Izeuierdo-Olea
Current Age: 3
Date Missing: N ovem ber 1, 2(M)6
M issing Front: H illsboro,O R
Luis and Nieves were taken to M exico by their non-custodial
parent w ho has since returned to the United Stales. The w here­
abouts of the children is still unknown.
If you have any information please contact:
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
1 -800-1 HE-LOST ( 1 -800-843-5678)
T elephone :
N a m e :__
cntartin@honteloansource.com
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Charlotte Martin
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