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About Street roots. (Portland, OR) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (April 1, 2009)
C E L E B R A T IN G A D E C A D E ^ M ^ ^ ^ 6 HOROSCOPE BY SOUP CAN SANI STAFF PSYCHIC A ries (M arch 21-April 19) The impulsive nature of Mars may lead your rash action early this month. Remember that while impulsiveness sometimes reaps rich rewards, questioning yourself along the way will enhance your overall achievement. Taurus (April 20-May 21) Some have called your stringent routine inflexible. Allow your ruling planet Venus to take over this spring. Any anxiety you might feel about change will dissipate as you ease into a peaceful season of renewed sociability. Gemini (May 22-June 22) What has been missing in your life is new knowledge and experiences. Let out your curious inner child these following weeks - with respect to the re-growth of the moon. Cancer (June 23-July 23) Your protective nature is to be commended, but enough is enough. If you are feeling overly sensitive, it is best to analyze your insecurities. Friends and loved ones can only be expected to be so patient. Leo (July 24-Aug. 23) April showers will have you feeling down this month, as the Sun sign in you yearns to be free. Nobody wants to hear you complain. Light shines over all of us equally, Leo, a street ro o tsjlB Education ♦ Dialogue ♦ Independence Popularity of ‘secret lists' takes hold BY LIV ABILITY has people on the run, with the police crediting the program for a decline in repeat brd is out that “the well is going arrests in the area. So successful, in fact, dry,” in terms of offenders in that maintaining the supply of tax money for downtown Spokane, after a series the program, and even procuring federal of sweeps by police officers there who want stimulus funds, means putting retreating to keep sweeping to the city limits. And offenders in new neighborhoods on the list maybe even beyond, if that’s what’s “It’s time to branch out,” said Sturm necessary to keep downtown Spokane Oondrang with the Community Lives Under livable. Selective Enforcement program. “It’s basic Under the Community Lives Under supply-and-demand principals at play, and Selective Enforcement program, based on a there are so many people who need to be strategic plan developed in Germany in the on the list We have to expand.” 1930s, people targeted by the police are put Police in Seattle, Seeing how well the list on a secret list, and when police arrest operation has worked in Spokane, have them, they are subject to harsher inquired about bringing the program to punishment in the courtsTand then downtown Seattle, where traditional channeled into social services. People methods and programs have left many placed on the secret list are not able to people still on the streets. Seattle is appeal their status. considering the Livability Ends Justify the The program has been controversial, and Liveliest Means program, which is expected civil rights lawyers charge that it’s to slide through the Seattle City Council at unconstitutional because police officers midnight sometime soon. decide the crime, who gets arrested and One concern Seattle might consider is where the list applies. The program has that Spokane’s list, subpeoned in the ACLU been around for several years and has taken challenge, includes the names of 24 African many different names as critics have Americans, out of a city population of 17. challenged its fairness and legality. The Oondrang said that the key is to have program is now facing a challenge in court complete trust in the police officers who by the American Civil Liberties Union on compile and manage the list, drawing names behalf of people on the list. off the city’s data bank. “After decades of To the surprise of no one, the policy’s being on the front lines of our society’s ills, firm approach - some have called it fascist - they’ve become expert social-service U N E M P L O Y E D W R ITE R W representatives.” Oondrang said. “They’re paid to look after us, and it’s our job to make sure they can do what they feel they need to do, because we all trust them to know b e st” Once arrested, people are ushered into addiction and housing programs, which are reserved with funding from the program’s $2 million budget “Being on the list means we care about you,” said Oondrang. “It means we see that you’re in need and the justice system wants to help.” Sam Waterways, who is experiencing homelessness in Spokane, says he’s been trying to get on the list for the past year. “I’ve tried to get into service programs and housing, but the waiting lists are so long,” Waterways said. “If I could get on the list, and get arrested, I know I’ll get inside sooner.” • Waterways admits that he actually may already be on the list, but doesn’t know for sure because it’s secret Police in Spokane say they are now considering starting a secret list of all people who ride bicycles in the city, in order to better serve cyclists’ needs after they are cited for rolling through stop signs. In related news, activists in San Francisco have started a secret list of police officers they hope to be arrested by. sense of entitlement only got the king beheaded. T Virgo (Aug. 24-Sept. 23) Mercury, at some point or another, may or may not be in retro-grade. Use this to hone your ability to express your own critical Libra (Sept. 24-Oet. 23) A coming planetary balance will suit your diplomatic personality. A friend may come to you with a question regarding compromise. Sometimes being a good leader means taking one for the. team. Scorpio (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) Mars will have you hopping mad this month. You need an outlet for all that energy. Try to find a new activity that encourages, a productive use for your built up emotions. Sagittarius (Nov. 23-Dec. 22) You react best to a proper diet. Lucky for you, previous kindness you have given others will be returned with fervid reciprocity. Capricorn (Dec. 23-Jan. 19) Obsession with . discipline and hardship can seem callous to the less stalwart. Remind yourself that healthy fun often lacks structure. Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) A wise astrological sage once noted, "Uranus is forward thinking and rebellious." Uranus is in control of you, push for innovative action in the coming weeks. Pisces (Feb. 20-March 20) Your sensitive emotions may spin out of control from time to time, but not these days. Stick to your opinions, even if others cannot comprehend the subtleties of your imagination, there’s a reason you feel the way you do. Business group lobbies for control of state justice system BY KA CHING U N E M P L O Y E D W R ITE R A West Coast Business Association ZA report paid for by the West Coast ^Business Association found that Portland and other communities throughout Oregon would save money if they handed over the entire criminal justice system to private companies the association represents. The report found that if the association were given the justice system it could appoint and pay for judges free of cost to taxpayers and move several district attorney offices throughout the state to newly refurbished office buildings created through the federal stimulus plan. “Like the federal government, cities and ■A- Street Roots strives for accuracy, but we’re human. So we also strive to correct errors in our paper whenever possible. Please report any errors to our managing editor, Joanne Zuhl, at 503-228-5657, or write to joanne@streetroots.org. M arch 20: In the correction for the story "Witnessing History," (Street Roots, Jan. 2,2009) we erred in correcting the court's verdict. Mr. Harcourt was found innocent of all charges, including that really nasty one. eww. counties around the United States are thinking smart about how to save money and boost the economy in a way that allows them to serve the general public,” said a representative from the association after declining to comment for most of the interview. “It’s something we really should be thinking about during hard times.” The report notes that during the past two decades, private companies nationwide have been able to purchase and maintain with dignity a large portion of state and federal prisons throughout the United States. The report states that if the program was duplicated at a local level through the entire criminal justice system, the cities and counties would save millions. The association currently pays for a portion of community courts that have created programs to work with low-level offenders in communities throughout the West The association also supports the court through lobbying efforts and writing thoroughly crafted legislation for many of tiie laws targeting offenders who drink beer in the park and urinate in public after restrooms are closed to the public. “We’re confident things will continue on schedule,” a spokesman for the association told Street Roots. “Sometimes having a safe community means making concessions. And m this case, that means handing the criminal justice system over to us. It’s the price we have to pay to live in a safe world.”
