^RSwKW Jim Bloshf ield
Vol. 1, No. 4 ^ W Winter 1979 THE CLINTON ST. QUARTERLY C » O » N » T » E « N » T « S The C-Section Scam by Steve Cahill. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Packwood’s Boo-Boo by Rick M itchell........................................ 7 Under the Gun in Albina by Joe U ris............................................ 8 Portland’s Housing Crisis by Lenny D e e...................................... 10 Super Nukes by John Bartells........................................................ 12 The Mayor of Berkeley by Micheale Williams.............................. 16 See Teddy Run by Sidney B lumenthal.......................................... 20 Comix! Jim Blashfield.................................................................... 24 Comix! Tom Cassidy and Bennett Narrbo.................................... 26 Comix! David Celsi.......................................................................... 28 Comix! Lynch & W h itney....................... 29 The Queen of Acrofad by Richard Morgan.................................. 30 The Arts in P-town by Harry Too.................................................. 32 Apocalypse Now by Denis Chericone............................................ 34 The Metropolis by Walt C u r tis...................................................... 36 Park Ave. Records by Ed Casey.................................................... 38 Reggae Riot! by Michael O ’Brien.................................................. 40 Reggae Greed! by Kevin Mulligan.................................................. 41 An American Indian Legend by Rick R u b in................................ 42 Marjorie in Kathmandu by M arjorie............................................ 44 Dreck! by Robert W ard.................................................................. 46 Plus Zippy! Clovius and his friends, Nuke Notes and other zingers from the CSQ crowd! The Clinton St. Quarterly is published free to the public by Clinton St. Center for the Arts, Inc., 2522 S.E. Clinton St., Portland, OR 97202. © Clinton St.' Quarterly 1979. CSQ staff Co-Editors: Contributing Artists: Lenny Dee Jim Blashfield Barry Curtis Joe Uris Henk Pander Bob Gardiner Isaac Shamsud-Din Tad Leflar Design and Production: Rick Rubin David Weintraub Joel Weinstein Steve Sandstrom David Celsi with Enrico Martignoni Phred Jerry Kruger Tomas Cassidy A d Sales: Bennet Norrbo Copy Reader: David Milholland Bill Dodge Steve Cackley EDITORIAL The recent action of Iran in seizing the U.S. Embassy and the holding of American hostages has inflamed the American press and citizenry. While in now way agreeing with such hopeless tactics, The Clinton St. Quarterly feels that few in the United States understand the causes of this act. It was the United States’ CIA that led the ouster of the duly elected Iranian government of Prime Minister Mossadegh in 1954 after Mossadegh had nationalized the Iranian oil industry. It was American money, weapons and support that kept the Shah and his torturers of the Savak in power. Now the chickens have come home to roost. And because David Rockefeller and Henry Kissiner asked it, Carter has let the Shah into the U.S. for surgery that could have been done anywhere by a surgeon who is a German living in Canada. If anything is to be learned from this tragedy, it is that time and history cannot be denied. The evil done in our name lives on and will live on until we disavow ourselves of the crimes of our past. Not one American life is worthy of the Shah. Fifty is a tragedy. J.S.U. CSQ says: Thank you to the fine folks who advertise on these pages. Our readers support the paper by shopping at these businesses and telling them you saw it in the Clinton Street Quarterly. Cover Art: Jim Blashfield 3
Drawing from slide provided by Prepared Childbirth Association.
The alarming trend in ceasarean sections: "From the Womb, Untimely Ripped" By Steven Cahill The rate of Caesarean births performed in the U.S. over the last ten years has nearly tripled, according to official estimates, and the increase has sparked controversy nationwide. A recent study conducted by The Clinton St. Quarterly indicates that Portland-area hospitals may have an even higher Caesarean section rate than national estimates. Caesarean section (C-section), the removal of the fetus through surgical incision in the abdominal and uterine walls, was once a rare lifesaving procedure. Twenty years ago, C-sections accounted for an estimated two to four percent of all births. But by 1971, the approximate rate of C-sectipns in the U.S. was5.7%. By 1978, according to the National Center for Health Statistics, the estimated rate of C-sections nationally had jumped to 15.2%. The average total C-section rate reported by Portland area hospitals thus far in 1979 is 19.7%, according to the Quarterly's survey. For some, the increasing C-section rate is cause for serious concern. “There’s an alarming increase in the number of C-sections being performed locally,” says Hazel Woodward. a Portland midwife who has delivered over 250 babies. “A lot of them are unnecessary.” “ Instead of taking the time and care to facilitate a long or difficult vaginal birth, often doctors will just go ahead and operate,” she adds. Most physicians interviewed who perform C-sections, however, generally agree with Dr. L.S. Caspersen, a Portland obstetrician. “ It’s no therapeutic triumph to pull out a kid with a banged-up head just so someone can say it was a natural birth." His stated opinion is that “ few if any" C-sections performed by Portland area doctors are unnecessary. According to the recent Quarterly survey, Portland-area hospitals report the following total C-section rates: One of the highest rates of C-section births in Portland is found in the Medicaid population. According to the Professional Standards Review Organization, the C-section rate for mothers between the ages of 15 and 44 who delivered under the Medicaid program in 1978 was 29.7%. “Frankly we're surprised by the high rates and cannot comment at this time." admits Susan Dietsche, proHospital Times Period Total Births Percentage Caesarean Dwyer Jan-Sept., 1979 1970 320 29% 383 7.8% Eastmoreland Jan.-Aug., 1979 1970 168 13.1% 393 3% Emanuel Jan.-Sept., 1979 Jan.-Sept., 1970 1873 19% 2719 9% Forest Grove Jan.-Sept., 1979 1970 330 15.7% 153 7.8% Good Samaritan Jan.-June, 1979 1970 1184 20.8% 2269 10% Kaiser Jan.-June, 1979 1970 1866 18% 2623 6.9% Portland Adventist Jan.-Sept., 1979 1970 1556 19.9% 1040 6.3% St. Vincent Jan.-Sep t., 1979 1971 978 13.1% 1174 / 4.5% Tuality Jan.-Sept., 1979 1970 477 16.5% 642 8.4% UOHSC University Hospital Sept.-June,. 1979 1971 2200 17.3% 1668 16% Willamette Falls Jan.-Sept., 1979 670 19.1% Woodland Park Jan.-Sep t., 1979 1970 562 34.8% 893 5% gram director for the Regional Office of Adult and Family Services. “ It's viewed as a serious statistic and we’ll be looking into it." While there is dispute among various members of the local birthing community as to how many C-sections are actually necessary, there is general agreement that the surgeries are accompanied by greater risks. According to an 11-year Brown University study published in 1978, women who deliver by means of C-section face a risk of death 26 times greater than those who deliver vaginally. "We're concerned that in our enthusiasm to do well by the baby, we may be losing perspective and fail to do well by the mother." comments Dr. John R. Evrard, co-author of the study, which appeared in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology. Common C-section risks for the mother include complications relating to infection, hemorrhaging, anesthesia, and gastro-intestinal problems. Psychological distress can also present serious difficulties, experts say. Risks for the baby include respiratory distress, wet lung (fluid left in the lungs), premature removal, and the possibility that anesthetics and other medication may enter the baby’s system. In addition, some argue that bonding — the process of establishing a close, loving relationship between parent and child by early physical closeness — may be interrupted. Indications commonly listed as reasons for C-sections are cephalo- pelvic disproportion (baby too large to Looking for a special Christmas present for a special person? Try ANTIQUES + FUNK 3734 S.E. Haw thorne, Portland M onday through Saturday 11 am to 6 pm GREAT OLD PICTURES AND PRINTS • COLLECTIBLES ART DECO • ART NOUVEAU JEWELERY • FURNITURE • RUGS • MANY UNIQUE ITEMS 20% - 25% discount on most merchandise with this ad “Invest in your Christmas presents 5
safely pass through pelvis), abnormal (breech) positions of baby, previous C-sections, prolonged labors, fetal distress, postmaturity (baby overdue), placenta previa, hemorrhaging, multiple gestation, advanced maternal age, and maternal diseases such as disabetes, hypertension, toxemia, heart disease, herpes simplex, RH disease, and obesity. In all of these cases, however, a C-section need not be automatic, some doctors say. “C-sections have become protocol in cases where there exist alternative ways of dealing with birth problems,” contends Dr. Allan Hedges, director of the Portland Naturopathic Clinic. “For instance, I’ve had good success turning babies from breech to correct positions by taking the time to facilitate. Many times doctors will just go ahead and operate in these situations.” Hedges, a naturopathic doctor who has delivered “around 80” babies, also notes evidence suggesting that C-sections may not be necessary with herpes virus infections. “ In the secondary active lesion situation, the antiseptic Batidine apparently kills the virus if used properly. Also, after the primary infection, the mother builds antibodies which are passed on to the baby,” he adds. Dr. Kenneth Burry, associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Oregon Hospital, comments that “doctors here are becoming more receptive to giving mothers who have had previous C-sections or those who face frank (buttocks first) breeches a chance to deliver vaginally if all other indications are good." “The manpower and time commitments are very great in these situations.” he continues. "We are delivering more repeat C-sections and frank breeches vaginally than we used to.” confirms Dr. Leon Speroff, professor and chairman of the department of obstetrics and gynecology for the University of Oregon Health Sciences Center. Despite a high risk patient population. the University of Oregon has posted C-section rates lower than many Portland community hospitals. “High C-section rates in community hospitals is currently a very sensitive issue,” comments Dr. Speroff. “There is concern on the part of the hospital as to why our C-section rates are so high,” offers Dr. R.T. Gustafson, chief of staff for Woodland Park Hospital. “We’re looking into the statistics to see what’s going on.” Spokespersons for Woodland Park and Dwyer Hospitals say that both hospitals have a high number of C-section repeats, a factor that inflates the total C-section rate, “As long as you’re getting healthy mothers and babies, the number of C-sections doesn’t make a damn bit of difference," states Dr. C.W. Cotterell, an obstetrician who performs surgeries at Woodland Park. “ In general, and for good reasons, doctors are intervening earlier than they used to and performing C-sections.” Reasons for the rate increase of C-sections are variously speculated. Doctors say they are not doing complicated forcept deliveries as they have in the past, and agree that more breech births are being delivered C-section. “Once a C-section, always a C-section” remains the rule, even though some doctors will deliver subsequent pregnancies vaginally. Babies are being taken by C-section sooner in cases of prolonged labor, doctors say. Fetal monitoring devises, electronic devises that measure fetal distress, have been used more in the last ten years, and many doctors suggest the devises have prompted more C- sections. Most doctors interviewed say they use fetal monitoring devises and speculate that this kind of extended electronic capability can help avoid tragic results. However, a study conducted at the Denver General Hospital in Colorado found that while electronic monitoring did not improve neonatal outcomes, it did increase markedly the rate of C-sections. The study was published in the American Journal o f Obstetrics and Gynecology in 1979. Those interviewed cite another reason for increased C-section rates: Fear of malpractice suits. “Obstetrics is one of the highest risk fields in medicine,” comments Dr. Speroff, “and fear of malpractice suits does contribute to higher C-section rates.” Dr. Donald Scott, a Portland obstetrician, agrees. “Threats of malpractice charges are causing more defensive medical practices,” he says, “and C-sections are one.” Dr. Scott estimates that his malpractice insurance rates have jumped from “about $700 to $13,000” over the last ten years. “ I’m sure the threat of malpractice charges do enter into the judgement of doctors,” comments Dr. Peter Bours, a Forest Grove family practitioner. “While I do deliver Some previous C-section and breech cases vaginally, I must require that the patients sign an informed consent paper. The “informed consent” establishes that the patient has been informed of risks, thereby diffusing any malpractice charges, he explains. “Even so," he adds, “ It seems to be to me that some doctors may be awfully quick to give C-sections.” Critics assert additional reasons for C-section rate increases. They say some doctors do not want to invest the time and attention necessary to monitor long or difficult deliveries. “Some doctors are just nervous and operate at the first sign of potential trouble,” says one critic. Others speculate that some doctors do more C-sections to make more money. “There’s no doubt about it,” comments Ms. Woodward, “Both doctors and hospitals do make more money with C-sections.” Although costs vary, the total expense for a C-section birth is usually more than double that of a vaginal birth. At Woodland Park Hospital, for example, the total cost estimate for a C-section is “ around $3,000” and “around $1,100” for a vaginal birth. Statistics do not support the notion that lives are being saved in the Portland area as a result of increased numbers of C-sections. According to Oregon State Health Division vital statistics, the infant mortality rates have remained stable over the last ten years in Multnomah County. The infant mortality rate (number of deaths out of every 1000 births) is listed as 15.2 in 1970 and as 15.0 in 1978. The number of maternal deaths has ranged from 0 to 3 per year from 1970 to 1978. “Death rates may not necessarily drop when C-section rates rise, but the important thing to consider is the quality of survival over a period of time,” cautions Dr. John Yount, a University of Oregon Hospital neo- natalogist. “C-sections do, most often, mean healthier babies.” In terms of emotion, doctors, natural childbirth practitioners, and parents agree that a C-section can be a frightening, heartbreaking, experience. A Caesarean support group formed to assist and educate parents has recently been established in Portland, in cooperation with the Prepared Childbirth Association. “Most Caesarean births are not anticipated,” says Susan Hunter, an educator and spokesperson for the support group. “Through education, our group tries to take away some of the fear associated with C-sections.” “Resentment, disappointment, repression, and guilt are emotions many Caesarean mothers have to deal with,” adds Patti Smith1 , also a support group member. “Our group feels that the more education and understanding a woman has, the more she’s able to know the joy of being a mother.” 50waysto belt your lover lor xmas Give your friends, relatives, or yourself, a gift that will delight for a lifetime.The Basic Belt, in a choice of 15 colors, goes for $7 to $12, complete with solid brass buckle. Plain or tooled, all Leatherworks belts are made of the finest top-grain French leather. 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<Japan A-Bomb Never Happened, Says Packwood By Rick Mitchell Ralph Sheridan Clapp of Hood River, Oregon, was sent into Nagasaki, Japan, along with about 1,000 other U.S. Marines six weeks after the Japanese surrender in WW II. The men were told to clean up the mess left by the explosion of the “Fat Boy” plutonium-fueled bomb that killed or injured 80,000 Japanese people. They were not told about the radioactive after-effects of nuclear weapons, or given any special protective equipment or clothing. At least 50 of the men have since filed for compensation benefits with the Veterans Administration for illnesses they claim were caused by exposure to residual,radiation. The illnesses include bone-marrow cancer, leukemia, chronic lung, stomach and testicle problems, and burning, running sores on the skin. The VA has denied all the claims, insisting that tests by a U.S. Army Intelligence learn indicated “that the rapid decay of radiation from the atomic bomb detonation.. .generally eliminated all hazards by the time U.S. forces arrived.” Some of the veterans have accused the government of covering up the radiation issue for fear of damaging the credibility of the nuclear power industry when they assure the public that there is no danger from low-level radioactivity emitted by nuclear power plants. Clapp first filed for health cost benefits four years ago. He had been suffering from chronic pulmonary obstruction, causing shortness of breath and coughing, since returning from Japan in 1946. When his claim and two subsequent appeals were rejected, Clapp sought to enlist politicians to help him in his cause. In March, 1978, he received this reply from Oregon Senator Robert “Bob” Packwood. When asked about this almost unbelievable bit of misinformation comRUUELL ■ . LONG, LA., CHAIRMAN HERMAN E. TALMADGE, OA. VANCE HARTKE, INO. ABRAHAM RIB1COFF, CONN. HARRY F. BYRD, JR., VA. GAYLORD NELSON, WIB. WALTER F. MONDALK, MINN. MIKE GRAVEL, ALASKA LLOYD BENTSEN, TEX. WILLIAM D. HATHAWAY, MAINE FLOYD K. HASKELL. COLO. CARL T. CURTIS, NEBR. FAUL J. FANNIN, ARIZ. CLIFFORD F. HANSEN, WYO. ROBERT J. DOLE, KANS. BOB FACKWOOD. OREG. WILLIAM V. ROTH, JR., DEL. BILL BROCK, TENN. MICHAEL STERN. STAFF DIRECTOR DONALD V. MOOREHEAD, CHIEF MINORITY COUNSEL Sheridan Clapp 3410 Avalon Drive Hood River, Oregon 97031 Dear Mr. Clapp: Thank you for your letter in reference to your breathing problems encountered in WWII in 1945, and your efforts to obtain assistance in the matter. F Unfortunately, no Atom bombs were used at that time in the Pacific area, or any other areas overseas. It is my understanding that there was no radiation caused by the bombs used at that time. I am sorry you have encountered problems with the toll free number 1-800-638-8300, which is in operation 24 hours a day. That telephone number is only for those individuals involved with the Nevada Blast through the Atomic Energy Commission, and would not be of any' bearing in your case. Sorry that I cannot be of assistance in this matter, but you fail to qualify due to the time element involving your service. Thanks for writing. Cordially, Bob Packwood ing from a U.S. Senator, a spokesperson for Packwood’s office admitted, “We made a boo-boo. We took the VA’s word on t h a t . . . . ” In December, 1978, doctors discovered that Clapp had a non-inherited lack of the blood coagulant “ factor 8 ,” a condition so rare that no more than P la t e a S e n a t e C O M M IT T E E O N F INANCE W A SH IN G TO N . D .C . 2 0 5 1 0 March 24, 1978 100 cases have been reported worldwide in the past three decades, according to hematologist Dr. Scott Goodnight at the Oregon Health Sciences. Center. Four months later, on May 28, 1979, Clapp died. He told reporter Norman Solomon from his hospital bed shortly before his death, “ It’s kind of ironic to go through a war like that, hell in a half-acre, and then wind up like this." Clapp’s widow, Delores, plans to continue to try and justify her husband's claim. “ It's the principle of the matter.” she says. “ I'm so bitter that they could send somebody in to do a job and then not stand by the consequences of their decision. These claims would have been settled long ago were it not for the issue of radiation, but they can't go on denying it with as much proof as we have." There is a growing nation-wide call by the surviving vets and their families, newspaper editorialists, politicians such as Colorado’s Rep. Pat Schroeder and concerned citizens for the government to mount a special investigation into the conditions that existed at Nagasaki and Hiroshima, and to study health histories of all the men who served there. In Portland, a Committee for U.S. Veterans of Hiroshima and Nagasaki has been formed to help the veterans contact each other and to help press their claims for compensation. The committee, funded by a grant from the Eugene-based McKenzie River Foundation, has an office at 834 SE Ash St. and also can be reached at P.O. Box 14424. Portland 97214. Who's sorry now, Bob? Ralph Clapp [r] and war buddies. | ORGANIC GRILL i HAMBURGERMARY’S AHO S.W. PARK 223*0900 Wilde Oscar's 318 SW Third Avenue , Po rtland, O regon 97204 223-8620 English Pork Pies Cornish Beef Pasties M e llow and Earnest Happy Hour 5-7 p.m Monday - Friday 7
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Under the Gun By Joe Uris In less than ten years, ten men have died from police bullets in Portland. And although less than 10 percent of Portland’s population is black, six, or 60 percent, of those killed were black. In recent weeks, the Black United Front has begun the process of documenting incidents of alleged police brutality. The Portland Observer, a newspaper serving Portland’s black community, has given space to a number of incidents of alleged police misconduct toward members of the black community. Incidents noted in the Observer include: An elderly black woman was stopped by police while driving. In the course of her contact with the police, the contents of her purse were spilled on the street and she was made to pick them up while the cops made no gesture to help or apologize. A respected member of the black community, whose home is in Beaverton and whose credentials include leadership in several service organizations and employment as a professional for the state’s Children’s Services Division, while searching for his runaway daughter, was jumped upon by two policemen and, without being allowed a word of explanation, severely restrained and handcuffed and arrested. A young black man, arrested for attempting to evade police after an alleged traffic violation, reports that he was beaten twice while under arrest and in custody. His wounds required medical attention. Beginning in 1969, a Portland black family has found that each male child in the family has experienced intense police attention. This unusual concern on the part of the police stems, according to one Portland attorney, apparently from the family’s legal actions against the police following a warrantless entry into the family home back in the summer of 1969, during a violent confrontation with police and members of the black community. One major result of police actions against the black community over ten years ago was a consent decree filed in U.S. District Court in 1971. The decree in essence is an agreement by the police not to use weighted clubs, shot- filled gloves, searches without search warrants, or hidden badges, name tags and badge numbers in the course of police action. In the spring of this year, attorney Charles Merten sent a letter to Police Chief Baker, members of the city council, and the city attorney charging that all city records regarding the 1971 consent decree have been destroyed or disappeared and that the police deny knowledge of the decree’s terms and that there have been several incidents of young black men being subjected to racial slurs and beatings. Some of these beatings, Merten alleges, have resulted in the victims ending up in the hospital. Police spokesperson Dan Noelle, in responding to accusations made earlier in this article, asserted that the police department makes every effort to remove racist officers from situations in which such officers will be in contact with minority people. Noelle further pointed out that of the 549 complaints made against the Portland Police, police in-house investigations sustained only 28 of these but yet could only dismiss 301 complaints as totally baseless. Noelle stated, “ I hope no one is trying to build a political football” out of these accusations. There is no explanation for the high percentage of black deaths at police hands, however. In a situation of inequality, where racist fear, guilt and alienation flourish, such deaths, intended or not. seem inevitable. All official denials to 'the contrary, for the black community, or for anyone outside the establishment, for that matter, the problem of police violence is very real and very threatening. Continental Breakfast MELISA'S KITCHEN 239-4121 3553 S.E. HAWTHORNE Unique International Gourmet Cooking Savory Nigerian Style Smoked Chicken and BBQ Ribs Home Baked Breads and Pastries Authentic Nigerian delights — Suya, Chinchin, Akara and more. Mon.-Sat. 9-5 Let us cater your next dinner or party. A ll our foods are made with the finest natural ingredients. 9
) FAIR RENTS IN OUR FUTURE, OR IS IT ONLY CONDO WASTELANDT By Lenny Dee A housing emergency: the Department of Housing and Urban Development defines it as a rental vacancy rate below 5 percent. Here in Portland the rental vacancy rate hovers between 2 and 3 percent. And that’s not all. A recent study by the Northwest District Association shows that 44 percent of the people who move out of Northwest Portland do so because they can no longer afford the rents. Thirty-five hundred people in the city are on a waiting list for public housing. New construction in the metropolitan area is down 30 percent in the last year while interest rates for builders approach 20 percent and the price of a new house has increased 23 percent. We are in the throes of a crisis. Looking for a cause for the crisis is like trying to decipher the fate of Cambodia where a morass of factors— American bombing, the Vietnamese invasion, the cruelty of the country’s leadership—created the horrors we are now witnessing. Is Portland’s housing crisis the product of avaricious real estate speculators stoking the inflationary stove? Is it the result of the government's middle-class bias which denies that any problem exists? Or is it the fault of renters themselves who comprise 45 percent of the population and yet have never organized to any significant degree? Local government's role in the crisis is a curious one. There is some question about that role in the displacement of poor people on the city’s west side. The housing program manager for the Office of Planning and Development, Bruce Martin, callously describes this displacement as the natural play of market forces that has occurred throughout history as the rich have chosen the most desirable places to live. Others concerned with housing policy suggest that city government has abetted this “natural play” with a variation of redlining policy by which certain areas are open to middle-class development at the expense of other, poorer areas. One source claimed that the Office of Planning and Development used to feature a colored wall map of Portland. Shaded yellow were the Northwest, Corbett and Irvington, areas inundated with PDC money and in which $100,000 is now cheap for a used house. In orange were Sunnyside, Buckman and Richmond, areas which are targeted by the PDC for upgrading (with outrageous market values sure to follow). Finally there was a red portion: Albina, inner Northeast and Lents, all areas too poor to be helped to middle-class stability. The dream of home ownership is fading fast for a large portion of our population. Dick Kusick, of the Metropolitan Human Relations Committee, reports that only 5 percent of Portland’s 170,000 renters will be able to afford to move up to their own median-priced homes in 1979. Furthermore, there are fewer existing one- and two-person rental units than there are one- and two-person households. If you think that building more multifamily dwellings is a likely solution, you should talk to Burton Weast of the Home Builders Association. Mr. Weast pointed out that builders are unable to borrow money because of pressures on trad itional lending sources: savings banks. Because of the three-headed monster called inflation, people are no longer putting their money into savings accounts so banks have no money to loan. President Carter’s raising of the interest rates has put the cost of borrowing at close to 20 percent. Top this off with spiraling costs in all areas, and it is no wonder that new construction is off so much. Mr. Weast suggests that the government should subsidize loans to where builders are paying only 8 percent and would then find it advantageous to build low-income multifamily dwellings. The alternative, he predicts, is that ticky-tacky developments will be the wave of the future. No one knows the extent of the housing crisis better than renters. By federal standa rds, 21,153 renter households were “ in need”—paying over 25 percent of their incomes for housing—in 1978. Fifteen percent of Po r tland ’s housing stock —27,000 units—do not meet minimum housing codes. Public housing has a waiting list of over thirty-five hundred people and, while welfare runs a section eight program to subsidize families wishing to rent homes, the waiting list is open only two days a year. One significant step is being taken to alleviate the crisis, and it is being promoted by an organization of renters, the Portland Housing Coalition. Their idea for relief—for all concerned: renters, landlords and builders alike—is the Fair Rents Ordinance, which the Coalition would like to see included in Portland’s comprehensive planning. The Ordinance establishes a five-person board which would be appointed by the city council and would include two tenants, two landlords and an impartial third party. The duties of the board would be to oversee all rent increases and disputes over maintenance, evictions and any other landlord-tenant disagreements. Exempted from the Ordinance would be new construction, owner-occupied dwellings of three or less units, plus hotels, motels and dormitories. Basically, the Ordinance freezes rents on the day of its implementation. Increases cannot exceed one-half of the Consumer Price Index for the year, a reasonable amount since many of a landlord’s costs are fixed. Any increase in excess of this amount would be handled through the board after the landlord filed for an individual rental adjustment hearing. Tenants could contest an increase; however, the board would assess how fair the return on the landlord’s investment is, based on several factors: operating costs, property taxes, the condition of the property and so forth. Demolition of existing rental property or its conversion to non-residentia) use would also come under the purview of the Ordinance. No property could be removed from the rental market unless the board certified that it was vacant and unhabitable, or that it would be replaced with similar units affordable by low- and moderateincome people. If a landlord wished to convert a controlled-rental unit to condominiums, a permit would be required from the board. In making its decision, the board would have to consider, among other things, the income of the tenants in the existing unit, the investment return to the landlord on the unit, and how the conversion would affect the supply of rental housing available in the city. Under such a plan, it is likely that the condo fever that has ravaged Seattle and San Francisco would bypass Portland. Portland’s housing crisis makes the implementation of a Fair Rents Ordinance imperative. It provides rent control protection, leaves room for adequate return on investment, and encourages new construction. Visionary leadership at City Hall would include such an ordinance in Portland’s twenty-year comprehensive plan or risk sacrificing the city to the “natural play” of the rich, the developers and their pals in city government. A pricy, tacky playland is the last thing Portlanders want their city to become. The growing clamor over Portland’s OPEN Weekdays 11-6 Saturday 1-6 AVALON ANTIQUES S.E. 37TH &HAWTHORNE 235-4896 CASH FOR RECORDS BIRD'S SUITE RECORDS 720 S.W. SALMON ST. 3736 S.E. HAWTHORNE 222-3086 235-6224 10
housing crisis comes at a time when the city is preparing a comprehensive plan to take us to the year 2000. The plan will have a direct effect on how the housing crisis is handled. Consequently, it would be wise to examine the city’s history and where it is likely to go. In 1961, Jane Jacobs wrote Death and Life o f American Cities, a watershed work in understanding what makes a city tick. Our city leaders like to take credit for carrying out many of Ms. Jacobs’ major ideas. For example, Angus Duncan, aide to former Mayor Neil Goldschmidt, says, “All those ideas about the city that people attribute to Neil are really standard formulas. You can find that thinking in Jane Jacobs and in cities all over the country. It’s just that Portland’s in a much better position to put those ideas to work, to get them institutionalized.” This self-serving pat on the back denies the reality that for the past twenty years the city fathers have ignored the major principles of Jane Jacobs’ work, putting Portland on a course that will lead to urban blight, spiritual decline and economic chaos prevalent in many of the older Eastern cities. According to Ms. Jacobs, “To understand cities, we have to deal outright with combinations or mixtures of uses, not separate uses, as the essential phenomena. . . . “A mixture of uses, if it is to be sufficiently complex to sustain city safety, public contact and cross-use, needs an enormous diversity of ingredients. . . . The Portland State University “campus” is a perfect example of the destruction of a vital neighborhood to serve the advantage of one primary function (higher education). PSU and the Portland Development Commission pursued a systematic course of knocking down the homes and apartments of students and non-students, and community businesses (Papa John’s, Montgomery Gardens, Montague’s Pizza Parlor, Green Spot Tavern, etc.) to create parking lots and empty lawns. The increased parking facilities encouraged more traffic and pollution as exemplified by the curtailment of a bus program that was bringing in 900 students a day from the Westgate Theatre, Zoo, and Coliseum parking lots. The final blow to the PSU “campus” was the conversion of the South Park Blocks into a split-level suburban mall that neatly separates everyone and prevents the kind of outdoor gatherings that were so prevalent in the ’60s and early ’70s. On non-school days it was quite common to see people catchin’ some rays, walking the dog, studying or just hanging out. Today it’s a rarity to find a soul around PSU except those going to and from classes. The South Auditorium area is plagued by similar problems, compounded by the creation of a living space affordable by only one class of people. These folks provide limited use of the area by day and none at night. Only when the Civic Auditorium has an event going does the area see any varied foot traffic, and that is usually very transitory since there are no interesting, accessible shops in the neighborhood. The proposed city government complex is going to extend this gray dullness even further downtown, without the slightest consideration being given to creating some kind of diversity. This is a far cry from the South Portland of yesteryear that mixed Jews, Italians, gypsies and bohemians in the city’s most colorful and dynamic neighborhood. The Portland Development Commission applied for aid from the federal government for the renewal project, citing incompatible mixtures of commercial and residential lots. The 4,500 people displaced by the projects (both South Auditorium and PSU) might tell quite a different tale. They would say that there was a great oppor- turnity for free enterprise right in the neighborhood. First and Second avenues—from about Hooker to Harrison—formed the hub of a thriving commercial world. Businesses, homes, schools, and houses of worship spilled over in every direction. Some would talk of Mosier’s bakery, reputed to be Portland’s finest. People from all over town and beyond trouped there to get bagels and black bread. Then there were the delis— Zusman’s and Korsun’s—and the Lighthouse Fish and Oyster Company. Others might wax nostalgically about the late Sam Wilderman, a Portland attorney and legislator who was famed for his portable feasts of Kosher corned beef that attracted legions — they will swear the Cafe Espresso with its two great white rooms in a Victorian storefront which, along with the cheap flats above Mosier’s, provided the center of Portland’s early bohemian scene. More might tell of Papa John’s, where you’d never go hungry no matter how much change you had in your pocket. City planners called this a “ seedy assortment of shops and stores hoping to attract neighboring inhabitants when they were in need of such things as clean shirts, soles and heels, groceries, furniture mending, haircuts, watch repair, and beer.” A good description of a vital neighborhood except for the middle-class cultural bias. This bias is at the core of what’s driving Portland to look like every other city from Atlanta to Phoenix. The old photos and stories of Portland clearly show a city that could have rivaled San Francisco as the gem of the West for looks and cultural diversity. * The city’s comprehensive plan talks about mass transit corridors and the need to build row houses and apartments along them. It would eliminate commercial activities that depend on drive-in trade (banks, Plaid Pantrys, McDonalds, etc., would be limited to parts of 82nd, Powell, Union, NE Broadway, Sandy Blvd., Macadam, Columbia, St. Helens Road, Foster Road and Marine Drive). Unfortunately, nowhere in the comprehensive plan is there talk of creating diversified, primary and secondary uses for these corridors. Five will get you ten that Division, Hawthorne, Belmont, Stark, Burnside, Fremont, and Prescott will continue to function basically as automobile corridors. As such, they would retain little or no foot traffic and substantially contribute to the pollution problem that, in summer, makes us look like a little L.A. If the city is to grow in a healthy direction, these areas must be given separate small-block identities and developed. Suburban traffic must be limited by making conditions less convenient for cars. One of the reasons NW 21st and 23rd avenues are so vibrant is that there is much less through traffic to the suburbs, making for narrow streets, wide sidewalks and much pedestrian use. A successful mass transit system will never work without a war of attrition on the auto, led by our fearless leaders. Without this commitment, light rail will join Tri-Met (which now spends $1.85 for each $1.00 it takes in) in being a deadly albatross around our city’s pocketbook, just as mass transit is all over the East. These corridors must be commercially built up, yet maintain a mixed- use concept. A huge, dense shopping mall like Lloyd Center has decimated inner Northeast. If all that business activity was diversified throughout the area, inner Northeast would be a much more vibrant place to live. The Hollywood district in Northeast retains vitality because of its narrow streets, mixed primary and secondary uses plus a good mixture of new and older buildings. Lloyd Center—a very profitable and highly praised enterprise in this city— has violated nearly every basic commandment for city diversification and interest. Driving through the area at night evokes a Twilight Zone serial after the A-bomb has struck. The passion for newness means that you will only see operations that are well established, high-turnover businesses that can afford the costs of new construction. As Jane Jacobs says, “Chain stores, chain restaurants and banks go into new construction. But neighborhood bars, foreign restaurants and pawn shops go into older buildings. Supermarkets and shoe stores often go into new buildings. Well-subsidized opera and art museums often go into new buildings. But the unformalized feeders of the arts—studios, galleries, stores for musical instruments and art supplies, backrooms where the low earning power of a seat and table can absorb uneconomic discussions —these go into old buildings. Perhaps more significant, hundreds of ordinary enterprises, necessary to the safety and public life of streets and neighborhoods, and appreciated for their convenience and personal quality, can make out successfully in old buildings, but are inexorably slain by the high overhead of new construction. “Even the enterprises that can support new construction in cities need old structures in their immediate vicinity. Otherwise they are part of a total attraction and total environment. Flourishing diversity anywhere in a city means the mingling o f high-yield, middling-yield, low-yield and no-yield enterprises. " As we have seen, Portland’s record in new construction does not leave much optimism for a healthy urban environment. While these projects have raised some needed tax dollars, a healthier way to raise the tax rate is to expand the city’s territorial quality of successful areas. Public and quasipublic bodies should establish themselves in areas that will help diversity. Moreover, the unchecked power of business and governmental finance must be curtailed to stop their cataclysmic effect on neighborhood development. As Jane Jacobs says, “When government and/or business decide that they are heavily going to invest in a district, they behave not like irrigation systems, bringing life-giving streams to feed steady, continual growth. Instead they behave like manifestations of malevolent climates beyond the control of man—affording either searing droughts or torrential, eroding floods.” Watching all this, we feel a bit helpless as Winchell’s puts its ugly mark on 23rd Avenue—or Plaid Pantry adds new abominations on 21st and Division and 30th and Belmont, when they already had eyesores on 26th and Division, and 27th and Belmont. Eventually this unchecked development, whether a Plaid Pantry or Lloyd Center, will grow old and stagnate and soon be ready for the next urban renewal project. Most importantly, Portland is an immense laboratory in city building and design. This is the laboratory in which our city planners should be learning, forming and testing their theories. Instead, the practitioners of this discipline have ignored the study of real life and are instead guided by an imagination that grinds out a tasteless gruel which will eventually put us in the same porridge pot as the Clevelands and New Yorks. We must all begin to act with the knowledge that we’re in this pot together. Our success or failure in grabbing the wheel of history and turning it in a more vital, imaginative direction will determine whether or not our love for our fellow Portlanders will be reflected in the neighborhoods and institutions of the Rose City. Casual, intimate, and family dining in the comfort of our bucket seats. Enjoy fine steaks, seafood, omelettes and sandwiches. Home-style cookin’ and lots of it at pre-gas-shortage prices. The Rolls Royce of Restaurants T H R E E - L I O N S ’ - B A K E R Y you b p This has got classiest potata ever. The HOTPOTATA C^fe 422 SW 13th Portland, Oregon 223-7573 FAMOUS FOR THE BEST AND ONLY BRIOCHES IN TOWN. WE'RE ALSO FILLING OUR PASTRIES WITH ALL KINDS OF WONDERFUL THINGS — LIKE PATE, WHIPPED CREAMS, CHOCOLATE, MARZIPAN, AND APPLE-RAISIN. 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The Invasion of The Super Nukes!! By John Bartels The fact that nuclear power is in trouble hardly needs belaboring. Only four reactors were ordered by utilities in 1977 and only two in 1978. There is a de facto nuclear power plant moratorium in California following the State Energy Commission’s opinion that the Sundesert plant cannot proceed unless a satisfactory method for disposal of high-level radioactive waste has been demonstrated.-Nuclear moratoriums have been voted in Montana and Hawaii, and many such proposals are sure to appear on the ballot in various states in the November. 1980, national elections. In November of this year, the people of Skagit Valley, Washington state, voted two to one against continued construction of two huge nuclear plants there, and the prime sponsor. Puget Sound Power & Light, has temporarily backed off of the projects. I have been told that a poll taken by a Washington daily newspaper about that election showed that the people voting were not voting against a nuclear power plant in their area, but against nuclear power itself. Despite similar situations in different parts of the country—like the decisions to convert the nearly completed Virginia Power Company reactors at North Anna to coal—the perspective of the federal government is quite different. Dr. Alvin Weinberg, “father of the pressurized water reactor,” wrote an article with two colleagues for the June 8. 1979, issue of Science magazine. This article outlines a plan to "fix up" nuclear power to make it acceptable so that another generation of nuke plants can be built. The authors argue that we will need more nukes for several reasons: concentrations of CO2 from coal plants will reach dangerous levels, solar energy will prove to be much more expensive than estimated, nuclear fusion will not be developed, and electricity will continue to encroach on other forms of energy. Then the authors jump into space saying, “ In the long run, we cannot rule out the possibility of a nuclear fission system in the United States consisting of about 1,000 large (one-million kilowatt) reactors by some t im e . . .in the 21st century.” As mad as this sounds, it is worth studying because it shows the federal strategy for accomplishing the siting of the next generation of Trojansize nuclear power plants. This is important because the two problems of siting and financing are what have the nuke program temporarily stalled. Weinberg says, “Our underlying assumption is that the nuclear system will be more acceptable if it is confined to fewer sites rather than dispersed to more sites.” The federal plan is to concentrate the next nukes at 100 existing nuclear power plant sites. By doing so, they hope to overcome environmental objections to siting new plants and the presently unsolved problems of storage of high-level radioactive waste and the decommissioning of plants which have become dangerously radioactive, or “hot.” First, federal laws would be amended so that new plant construction on existing sites would be exempt from the requirements that got the original plants sites. The same expedient approach would be used to deal with waste and “hot” plants. The nukes would keep their own waste on the site, and when the plants had to be shut down permanently, they would simply be abandoned. The federal plan is “an expedient strategy for achieving a nuclear system based on energy centers . . . the policy we propose adds reactors to existing sites one by one. The incremental approach allows the system to develop rather naturally with minimum Stress on existing institutional structures. It may therefore be a more practical approach for achieving a rational long-term siting policy than would one that attempts to legislate nuclear energy centers. . . . “ If the nuclear sites are perceived as enduring for a very long time,” the federal scenario continues, “ then at least the voluminous low-level wastes and the decommissioning reactors could remain on site for as long as the site endures. Such a strategy would reduce the handling and transfer of radioactivity, and would to this degree tend to enhance the acceptability of nuclear energy. Thus part of our study is aimed at elucidating the advantages of large permanent siting, and at estimating the degree to which the proposed policy would create large sites from smaller ones and confer on them a commitment of permanence.” Weinberg only mentions “on-site storage of spent fuel” once in this article, but in fact on-site storage has already been authorized “temporarily” at nuclear plants across the country. This is because the high-level radioactive waste reprocessing and storage facility promised by the federal government ten years ago for spent fuel rods from commercial nuclear electrical plants still doesn’t exist. Weinberg says. “We do conclude that if these wastes are handled for an extended period (that is decades) on site, the eventual requirement for waste transportation and geologic burial... becomes more manageable... and. to this extent an existing-site policy may help moderate the controversy surrounding nuclear waste management.” Having thus “solved" the problems of radioactive waste and decommissioning of radioactive power plants by ignoring them, this federal scenario blandly dismisses the effect of radiation, because of this program, on the . vast majority of Americans. “Most Americans, and 78 of the 100 largest cities, are already located within 50 miles of a nuclear power plant. In addition, many U.S. cities are typically of the order of 100 miles apart. Thus, establishment of new sites would not reduce the exposure of the general population by a large amount. “ It is expected that by 1988, 92 percent of the U.S. population will 12
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