Oakland Tribune from Oakland, California • 3

Monday October 5, 1992 A-3 j. 8 ETTA (EDYY OF Oakland Tribune Bwuty EvatngnUtin Laura Morales, left, assists a student at the 1-Stop Education and Immigration Crater In Fruitvale. Fruitvale district: ripe for small business By Emmanuel C. Aloab absheb aaiiaiEGiiaases I K4 1 do not plan to give up Tommy Hubbard is a rare Dueling agendas Not too many yean ago, government agenda in the UA. teemed to than passenger rail service like they would avoid the plague.

These days, the dtles of Oakland and Emeryville are not only throwing-out the welcome mats, they are going to the mat with each other over their plans to woo train riders with new sta-. tions. Emeryville has jut approved building a $6.1 million interior Am-trak station near the Emery Bay Pub-' lie Market by July IMS, although its no secret city leaden want this to be a permanent station. The Port of Oakland has plans dating back to IMS to build a showcase $16 million station just 6 miles down the track at Jack London Square, proceeded by an interim station also to open by July 199S. Oakland officials an worried that Emeryvilles station will steal away the thunder and passengers from their station, which is seen as vital to revitalising Oaklands ecomomy.

So worried, in fact, that Oakland Mayor Elihu Harris flew to Washington, D.C., last week to talk up his citys station with Amtrak President W. Graham Claytor Jr. BOTH STATIONS an supposed to replace Oaklands present rundown, quake-cracked Amtrak Station at 16th and Wood streets, which is making way for the new Cypress freeway. The disagreement boils down to this: Emeryville believes there will be plenty of commuter rail passengers eventually to make both stations successful. Oakland believes there wont be enough business for two so close together, at least not in the near future, and that would spell doom for the Jack London station.

Its hard to say if there is a right and a wrong, said Rick Wiederbom, the Port of Oaklands planning manager. Obviously we believe we are right Im somewhat baffled by the opposition coming from the Port of Oakland on this, said Kofi Bonner, Emeryvilles director of economic development and housing. Oakland has a lot riding on its plans. The Jack London station, heavily backed by city business leaders, would serve 450,000 to 500,000 passengers per year that ride Amtrak's long'd is tan ce trains from places such as Chicago and Seattle. Theoretically, many of the passengers, and people picking them up, would stay, shop or eat in Oakland.

And beyond just dollars and cents, Oakland officials want to boost the nations perception of the city as the past and future transportation hub of the Bay Area. A destination" point, a railroad version of an airline hub city. That has a lot of benefit beyond what the train station does, Wieder-horn said. However, with the Emeryville station so close and offering the same services, Jack. Londons passenger count would get knocked down to an atimated $75,000 to $00,000, he said.

One reason: riders headed to San Francisco would get off at the closest station Emeryville. Emeryville, which only began exploring the pa wants those But the citys also envisions the station in a more local light as a key mass transit alternative to the automobile. The station could serve shorter distance East Bay commuter trains, such as those Southern Pacific Lina is pitching. Bonner said he sea no problem with having a stop so close to Jack London Square. Commuter trains would serve some of the $0,000 people working within a square mile area, he said.

The freeways are awful, Bonner said. SP clearly has seen there is a future in commuter rail. If you dont ive get back in their On that point, the cities agree If they (Emeryville officials) are right, that would be good, Wlederhorn said. There are a lot of advantaga in getting people out of their cars. HE PORT OF OAKLAND is now "reviewing our options, some legal, some political, he said.

Plans for the interim Oakland station are still on track, but there is a question of whether to scale back the permanent station. Beany Evangellata'a Street Talk cohuna appears every Monday la the Metre aectkrn. Have a commeat? Write to Beany at tie Oakland Tribune, O. Box U3M, Oeklaad 94433, or las him a note at MS-1771, LBERTO OBREGON left Mexico City decade ago, searching for the American Dream. He settled in a the Fruitvale district and has pursued VA his dream by working as a dishwasher, a cook and a laborer.

He has not found paradise yet People think it is easy to make a lot of money in America but soon learn it is difficult he said. Obregon is among a wave of immigrants, from all over the world, who live in one of Oaklands most diverse districts. Many of them, including Obregon, study English at the 1-Stop Immigration and Education Center on East 14th Street They are hoping to improve their language skills to help secure well-paying jobs. Frultvale's residents claim the districts cultural diversity makes it a choice place to live and raise children a place where neighborhood groups, schools, clinics, churches and service centers work together. But economic disparity among its residents is almost as pronounced as its ethnic-mix.

According to the Rev. Armando Lopez, assist-, ant pastor at St Elizabeths Catholic Church, the economic strata of the Fruitvale can be classified according to race. Lopez said unemployment remains high among Latinos, and those who work earn low incomes and are not able to buy homes. The economic situation is so harsh for new immigrants, some are opting to return home, Lopez said. Yet in the past 10 years, Mg factories and warehouses have moved out of the district, while small businesses have begun to proliferate, said Rum Bryant, owner of Modern Classic Motors.

Small businesses owned by Latina are nattered along Fruitvale Avenue and East 14th Street Other residents sell their warm on the streets. With the help of the mayors office, Bryant hopra to designate areas around $9th Street and Fruitvale as a commercial district Bryant said the special district may lure businos from surrounding counties by offering them tax incentives. See FRUITVALE, Page A-4 Finding acceptance As one of only a few Native-American children growing up in West Oakland, Maria Spencer said her childhood was a nightmare. Spencer said he was often accosted, hair pulled and her lunch money taken away from her by other kids because she was different In the streets and playgrounds, Spencer said she would watch other children play but no one would play with her. She said life was so tough, she took kung fu and earned a black belt to protect herself.

In 1980, she moved to Fruitvale. I felt welcomed and at home because I could be an Indian, share my culture and enjoy other peoples food, dance, art and religion, said the mother of five. Spencer thinks her children are luckier they are enjoying and learning what she missed as a child; their Native-American culture. But Spencer said it would help society grow if the Oakland school system would introduce courses that would teach children cultural diversity. Spencer, an outreach worker at the Native American Health Center on East 14th Street, said the United States would be a promised land if everyone ured for and shared their culture as Fruitvale residents do.

breed in the Fruitvale district a young African-American business owner. It is hard for a black to make it in business, but I do. not plan to give up, said Hubbard, who runs an upholstery shop on Foothill Boulevard. When he came to Oakland from Alabama in 1976, Hubbard took a job with St. Vincent DePaul, a charity that accepts used furniture from people for resale, where he learned his craft When I realized I an do the job, Hubbard said, I bought a saw machine and started (doing) private jobs and built a customer, base.

He aid it has taken more than 10 yean of devotion to bring his business to where it is now acquiring equipment and building a clientele. Hubbard, who lives in his Fruitvale Avenue shop, Mid he has to Mcrifice in Oder to allow his business to He thinks Fruitvale is a great place to live and do business because people care for each other. Hubbard Hid he would like to see the city crack down on people who drink and hang out on the streets because they hurt business. Family, UC chancellor remember slain student mrnrn wf nmrj niniv life, but ha strength, ha langhta, ha intelligent and ha deep commitment to ha family, friends and society. Ha warm spirit will always inspire us.

Asuncions dath, he told the 70 family members and friends present, will remind us of the importance of crating a society where each one liva fra of feu where we are unafraid to pursue our dreams. At the ceremony were Asuncions parents, Ed and Alda Asuncion, of Agoura Hills in Southern California, ha brotha, Mark, ha sista, Danielle, and ha grand-motha, Dona tilo Rualo. They left birthday cards in the trees branches. Ed Asuncion Mid the family was grateful, knowing we have your support. See GRACE, Page A-4 BERKELEY Grace Rualo Asuncion would have been $1 today, a time of joyous expectation for the aspiring doctor who thrived on making Other peoples liva bet- Instead, there was a somber ceremony in her memory yesterday a time for tears and sorrow.

The occasion was the planting of a young chary tree in her memory next to Esheunan lull on the University of California campus. It was in a fifth-floor office of the Pillpino American Alliance where Asuncion, a junior at the university, was stabbed to dath Feb. 7 by an attacker still being sought, UC Chancellor Chang-Lin Tied said the tree commemorates not only Graces JLImvVMUmT father Ed JgT MmtmBW From left: Roommate Charity Cfemaddojrftu VUlaueva, cion. Chancellor Chang-Lln lira, brotha Mark, sista Aida and grandmother Danatllo Rualo. f.

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