OREGON'S LGBTO NEWSMAGAZINE
MAY 6, 2011
3
just out
Pay It Back?
Pay it forward? Just plan on paying.
VOL. 28. NO. 11
MAY 6. 2011
INSIDE
he unfortunate truth is that to quite a
:e
few there are as many reasons to vote
against the Portland Public Schools bond d
is
and levy, Measures 26-121 and 26-122, as
there are reasons to vote for them.
The combined measures will have a de
»-
cided impact on the average Portland ho
meowner. And Portland, for many voters, is
)f
still far away from approaching a state of
pre-recession fiscal well-being. For a city
y
with an unemployment rate hovering in the e
10 percent range, with water and sewer rates :s
:r
going through the roof and highest-ever
fuel costs on the immediate horizon, the e
additional $200-$300 per year in taxes will 11
be felt by many, painfully. Non-homeowners s
might think they’re off the hook but the fact :t
is that even renters will see higher costs as is
landlords simply raise rental rates to accom -
modate new and higher property taxes.
Other complaints about the measures s
focus on bloated administrative costs, un -
necessary staffing levels and excessive waste, :,
amid other hard-to-prove accusations. In n
many homes, complaining about waste in n
government has now replaced “Mommie”or r
“Daddy” as baby’s first words. W hen pressed d
for specifics, most voters would have a hard d
time, citing only the predictable seven road d
crew workers watching the one guy with a
shovel—said crew becoming the stereotype e
for government waste.
In our LGBTQcommunity, I most often l
hear or read the muttered complaint,“! don’t t
T
have children, why should I pay for schools?”
Well, if you’re reading this you likely went
to school, probably a public school, and you
know what? Someone paid for you to do so.
In the simplest of terms, it’s now time to pay
it back. You are also paying it forward. You’re
paying for the education of people who will
fill the jobs and provide the skills to keep the
city, the county, the state running efficiently
for many years to come. Education is the
key to a performing and skilled workforce.
A skilled and prepared workforce is key to
a vital and thriving economy. A vital and
thriving economy is key, as we have noted
in its recent absence, to some pretty basic
quality-of-life issues for a lot of people.
The fact is one way or another we are all
going to pay for the quality of education
produced by Portland public schools. We
can pay with our wallets, while demanding
accountability and standards of perfor-
mance, or we can pay with our apathy—and
get what we pay for that way.
There may be those who attempt to
equate lack of marriage equality with taxing
measures. Please don’t. Your current inability
to marry your same-sex partner in Portland
has nothing to do with earthquake safety in
the schools. Don’t punish the students of
today for the laws passed by their parents
and grandparents yesterday.
^ chools, students, youth and the gay
W and grey all have a place in this is
» FEATURE
18 IT GETS BETTER. GRANDPA
Gay &. Grey program raises awareness of
invisible generation
>» NEWS/EVENTS
6 NORTHWEST NEWS IN BRIEF
»> COMMUNITY.
14 THE Q MUST GO ON
sue of Just Out. Seldom are we able to
showcase such wide age diversity as we
are here. O ur feature story focuses on
Gay & Grey, and an increasingly visible
segment of our LG BTQcom m unity. Per
haps it’s time to consider adding another
color to our rainbow flag symbol, a glim
mering, shiny slice of silver glory. W e’re
here, we’re queer, we’re old! G et used to
it! Wouldn’t it be grand if Portland’s Pride
parade were led off by a full contingent of
gay-and-greys, followed immediately by
the youth of SMYRC? I’m seeing batons,
I’m seeing pom-poms, I’m seeing our his
tory lead our future through the streets of
Downtown Portland. We’ve got elders in
wheelchairs; we’ve got youth with energy
to spare. It all sounds like a perfect match
to me. I cannot tell you how much I would
like to see this happen.
Everyone should consider coming to the
Gay 6c Grey expo. It’s pretty simple—if
you’re not old(er) today, you will be soon.
It’s rare that I can speak with such certainty
about anything. Hope to see you there. »IM
JUST OUT RECOMMENDS A YES VOTE ON
THE PORTLAND PUBLIC SCHOOLS BOND
AND LOCAL OPTION LEVY RENEWAL
MEASURES 26-121 AND 26-122.
Anniversary Sale
May 14-M ay 31
15-25% off
Q_Center gears up for Pride season as search
for director continues
15 THE RIGHT WAY TO FIGHT
Community to discuss response to violence
at safety forum
16 A CAPSTONE YEAR
Community nonprofits 22nd annual
art auction exceeds expectations
17 MAKING IT BETTER
Queer youth do it for themselves at
annual summit
» ARTS & CULTURE
25 OUT & ABOUT
29 ON STAGE
36 MONKEY BUSINESS
100th Monkey Studio partners with
SMYRC for fifth annual art show
38 ANOTHER YEAR OLDER,
ANOTHER YEAR FIERCER
40 30 YEARS OF XXX
CC Slaughters rings in
anniversary all summer long
» COLUMNISTS
31
32
35
42
43
LIVING OUT LOUD
LADY ABOUT TOWN
SASSY GARDENER
PANDA SAY WHAT
REMEMBER TO BREATHE
» PHOTOS
50 RED DRESS
51 ROSA
Dianne Appleqate
1 1
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