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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 12, 2016)
October 12, 2016 The Skanner Page 3 News cont’d from pg 1 “Hopefully it is not lost on anyone that the right to have a voice is why this great country exists in the irst place,” wrote Walker, who set the dead- line at 5 p.m. on Oct. 18. Powerful Hurricane Matthew didn’t make landfall in Florida but caused at least nine deaths there. Over a two- ‘Hopefully it is not lost on anyone that the right to have a voice is why this great coun- try exists in the irst place’ day period it knocked out power to more than 1 mil- lion people and caused looding and beach ero- sion. Democrats late last week asked Republican Gov. Rick Scott to extend the deadline, but Scott turned down the request and said people have had enough time to register. Scott brushed aside ques- tions on whether his de- cision was related to his staunch support of GOP nominee Donald Trump. In court, however, at- torneys for both Scott and the state’s chief top elections oicial ofered no defense of the exist- ing deadline and did not object to an extension. Most of the hour-long hearing before Walker was spent discussing how long to extend voter registration. Walker said he did not believe that Scott had au- thority to use his emer- gency powers to waive the deadline. But he also pointed out that Florida law already allows the governor to suspend or delay an election if there is an emergency. “There is a gap in Flor- ida law that renders (the deadline) constitution- ally untenable,” Walker Streat process in the Sunshine State,” Tant said. Voting rights groups, including the League of Women Voters of Flori- da, joined the legal battle and pointed out that they had cancelled voter reg- istration drives because of the storm. Their legal brief cited statistics that showed nearly 160,000 voters had registered in the inal nine days before the 2012 deadline. They also noted that the threat of Hurricane Matthew had prompted federal authorities to postpone naturalization ceremonies scheduled in south Florida until ater the Oct. 11 deadline. They cited the example of one Coral Gables resident who would not be al- lowed to register to vote until this weekend. Unlike other states, Florida does not allow residents to register to vote online. They must ill out a form on paper and either deliver it in person or mail to their local elections oice. Federal law does not allow states to shut down registration more than 30 days before an elec- tion. Florida’s current 29-day deadline has been in place for decades. History Makers Dinner The Oregon Historical Society hosted its annual History Makers Dinner Sunday. Pictured here are Oregon Historical Society executive director Kerry Tymchuk; a representative from Nike, accepting an award on behalf of Phil Knight; Oregon State University environmental scientist Dr. Jane Lubchenco; photographer David Hume Kennerly; a representative from Hofman Construction; and a representative from the Oregon Historical Society. Police cont’d from pg 3 misionner Steve Novick voted against it and Commissioner Dan Saltzman was absent, in observa- tion of Yom Kippur. The vote took place in a con- ference room outside council chambers, moving away from a public audience and locking out protesters, who have demon- strated against the acceptance of the new contract for more than a week. Wednesday morning local media reported activists from Don’t Shoot Portland were block- ing traic in front of City Hall. Last Wednesday protesters crowded council chambers to testify on the new contract. On Thursday activists reacted by attending an unrelated hearing scheduled that aternoon – relat- ed to the city’s possible purchase of a bridge crane – to testify. Portland Copwatch leader Dan Handelman, Don’t Shoot Port- land organizer Teressa Raiford and activist Malcolm Craddock all ofered pointed testimony that mentioned the bridge crane but discussed public safety concerns in great detail. The tentative contract elimi- nates the controversial 48-hour rule – a clause in previous union “ and had asked the council to post- pone voting on the contract until next year. Hales has said he want- ed to expedite the vote in order to hire more oicers. The proposed contract also raises new oicers’ Activists say the clause gives too much leeway to oicers involved in use of force incidents contracts that gave oicers 48 hours before they were required to give statements on incidents involving use of force. But its pol- icy on body-worn cameras allows oicers “a reasonable opportu- nity” to review the body camera audio/video before writing up reports for use of force incidents other than use of deadly force or in-custody deaths. Activists say the clause gives too much leeway to oicers in- volved in use of force incidents, but they also noted the current contract doesn’t expire until 2017, starting pay from $49,837 to $60,840 and delivers pay increas- es to experienced oicers. Following the Wednesday morning vote, protesters were pepper sprayed and forcibly re- moved from City Hall by police. Protests were still ongoing ear- ly Wednesday aternoon as The Skanner went to press. Wednesday morning, writer and activist Shaun King called on Black Lives Matter activists across the country to boycott the city of Portland if oicials accept- ed the police contract. cont’d from pg 1 son said. She received her irst national rec- ognition at 18 for a painting called “A Priest,” which won an honorable men- tion at the Harmon Foundation exhibit in New York City. Jackson said Streat’s career really took of when she moved to California to work in the Bay Area and Los Angeles. An investigation by the public broad- casting show “History Detectives” found that Streat created works of art for the Federal Art Project of the Works Progress Administration. Streat pro- duced ive textile pieces as part of the massive New Deal public works pro- gram. One of these pieces, a tapestry titled “Monstro the Whale,” went to the Portland Art Museum. Streat assisted the artist Diego Rivera on his famed Pan American Unity mu- ral, a WPA project created during the Arts in Action exhibition at the Gold- en Gate International Exposition from 1939-40. Although Rivera had many assistants, Streat was one of the few he trusted to assist in painting the mural. Rivera praised Streat’s work in a letter to Gal- ka Scheyer, a German art dealer living in Los Angeles. “The work of Thelma Johnson Streat is in my opinion one of the most in- teresting manifestations in this coun- “ as Native American culture when she lived in Canada. Ater the end of World War II, there was a rise in lynchings, especially of Black soldiers who were returning home. Streat painted a work protest- ing these lynchings called “Death of a Black Sailor.” The controversial paint- ing sparked outcry and threats from ‘The work of Thelma Johnson Streat is in my opinion one of the most interesting manifesta- tions in this country at the present’ try at the present,” Rivera wrote. “It is extremely evolved and sophisticated enough to reconquer the grace and pu- rity of African and American art.” Jackson said Streat’s art was very di- verse with some works taking a politi- cal tone and others had the raw creative expression of an explorer of the world. Streat would oten create works that relected the world around her such the Ku Klux Klan. “She got a threatening letter from the Ku Klux Klan that told her that she better take that painting down or else. She did not take it down and the gallery didn’t make her take it down,” Jackson said. “They stood their ground, which was wonderful.” Read the full story at TheSkanner.com THELMA JOHNSON STREAT / STREAT DANCER/CC-BY-SA-3.0 “ said. Allison Tant, chair- woman of the Florida Democratic Party, hailed Walker’s decision. “While we wish it had not taken a lawsuit to get the Scott administration to do the right thing, to- day’s ruling is a major victory for all Floridians and for the democratic PHOTO BY BERNIE FOSTER Voters This self pportrait of American artist Thelma Johnson Streat was taken in 1945.