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About Street roots. (Portland, OR) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (June 6, 2014)
2 street roots iOJJl iftOi Keeping City Hall and our progress in perspective JuALr* M w P* b «JRL* i T Marriage equality another block to a strong foundation n this month of Gay Pride, we have seen real I progress that all of us can celebrate. State by state, the scales of discrimination against gay men and lesbians are falling away. In M ay, a federal judge struck down Oregon’s ban on marriage for same-sex couples, declaring the exclusion unconstitutional. On June 4, th e U.S. Supreme Court shot down an attempt by the National Organization for " Marriage, the leading proponents of the marriage discrimination policy, to prompt a stay against weddings in Oregon. While these are major steps toward equality - arguably among in the a most significant Equality —whether In terms of gender, race or generation - there remains a long journey social class — will ahead. always be on the In this edition, we horizon as long as see where the prejudice and personal battles ignorance are left continue to be fought unchecked in our op a national stage. neighborhoods. : Mia Macy had to first win the right to sue, forcing the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to recognize that, as a transgender woman, she was entitled to protection under the constitution just as any other American citizen. She then won her case to protect the rights of all people facing workplace discrimination because of their gender identity. 1 - jjjSI Israel Bayer is the executive director o f Street Roots. You can reach him at israel@streetroots.org or follow him on Twitter @israelbayer. WHAT DO YOU THINK? Send letters to the editor to the Street Roots office, 211 NW Davis St., Portland, OR 97209, or e-mail to joanne® streetroots.org C o u rt cases, legal decisions, actions and reactions: .a£e.,lhe,.fnnndat.inn in Yet th e goal is still in th e m aking. E q u ality —w h eth er in te rm s of gender, race o r social class — will always be on th e horizon as long as prejudice and ignorance are left unchecked in our neighborhoods. It will always be a struggle as long as the next generation is taught the same disconnect between “us” and “them,” regardless of who “they” may be. They may be queer, they may be poor, they may be brown, black or white. They may be us. It’s true, the famous quote from Edmund Burke, that “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” The people opposed to marriage equality are still fighting in the courts. They will likely never stop. But the story of our friends and neighbors, our family and the people we love, cannot be reduced to legal briefs and judicial decisions. Lawyers alone didn’t overturn decades of discrimination against gay and lesbian couples. The community - of every stripe - came together to not only demand equality, but also work tirelessly until it was achieved. Only 19 states in the nation recognize gay marriage; fewer than half. We are a part of the foundation. Let’s build on it. Our missiMi t ó creates income opportunities fo r ' producing a newspaper and other media that are ’ cataiysts for individual and sodaf change. ' Street Roots publishes every two weeks, launching on Fridays, and.s available exclusively through our street vendors or by subscription. We are proud members of the International Network o f Streek Papers. Staff Executive D ire c to r Israel Bayer Managing Editor Joanne Zuhl joanne@streetfoGts.org Vendor Doortiinator Cole Merkel coletstreetroots.org Operations Director Sarah Beecroft Program Assistant Grace Badik, Jesuit Volunteer, grace@streetroots.org Development Director Sarah Cloud Office Assistant Amber Bielman Street Roots 211 NW Davis St Portland, OR 97209 503-228-5657 Fax: 503-227-3117 streetroots.org newSiStreetroots.org June 6, 2014 Reporters Jake Thomas, Alex Zielinski, Nathan Gilles, Sue Zalokar, Ann-Derrick Galliot Photographers Kristina Wright, Christopher Onstott, Adrienne Burkett * Hales and Amanda Fritz’s work to stand by Portland’s Right 2 Dream Too, one of Portland’s two te n t cities. Talk about political risk. Name me another mayor and a city council in the United States supporting homeless people in their effort to purchase ¿heir own land and I’ll eat my words. Saying that, nothing is black and white when it comes to equality. That’s why housing advocates, who on one hand work with the city, will also be protesting laws targeting people experiencing homelessness this weekend during the Rose Festival. Homeless people will soon be swept out of Waterfront Park for the month of June during the festival. Homeless folks in turn, will reclaim the streets for a day during the parade. Then there’s the Airbnb and the short-term rental debate. Some believe that expanding the short-term rental industry will further spur gentrification. , Companies such as Airbnb and VRBO help facilitate renting thousands of homes, or dwellings to visitors for 30 days or less. Many of those rentals are for very short periods of time, like an extended weekend. Street Roots and a growing coalition of folks think any lodging tax collected from the short-term rentals should go right back into affordable housing. It’s complicated. Concerning the street fee - well, we have until November to figure it o u t Like i t or not, I think we can. Aren’t you for better streetlights, sid ^ ^ & a n d ^ a ^ coadsLI a m ^ h g e world is,a complicated place. Of course, you;don’t need me to tell you th a t On my way home from work this week I stopped and talked to an elderly woman sleeping on the streets in Old Town. “Besides my aching back all I really need is a long, hot bath and a nice quiet place to read,” the woman told me. “I really don’t need a, By Israel Bayer lot.” Her attitude, all things considered, was still optimistic. Nothing about her life was simple. ^Nothing ever is,” she told me. “This storm will pass.” There’s been a storm brewing in Portland over the recent proposed transportation street fee. The fee, proposed by transportation commissioner Steve Novick and Mayor Charlie Hales, has been met with some fierce resistance among both the business community and poverty advocates, including Street Roots. There’s been a great deal of civic debate. There’s also been a lot of mudslinging. It’s a complicated debate and easy •to get caught up in the rhetoric. Saying that, it’s also important to put things into perspective. It was only a couple of weeks ago that this city council worked together to pass a balanced budget that supports Portland’s community, / including allocating an additional $2.2 million toward our most vulnerable citizens. Novick, yes, that Steve DESK Novick, th e on e you think d o esn ’t care about Portlanders right now because he wants to pass the street fee, has been leading a committee for th e past year charged with advising City Hall about how to implement its socially responsible investment principles. What does that mean? It means rolling back the city’s investments in businesses such as Wal-Mart, and other socially irresponsible corporations.«The committee is specifically looking at health and environmental concerns, abusive labor practices, corrupt corporate ethic and governance, among others. The City of Portland’s entire investment portfolio currently ranges from $940 million to $1.29 billion and averages about $1.08 billion during the year. We’re not talking about a commissioner that isn’t thinking in very sm art ways on how to improve the lives of poor and working Oregonians. We’re talking about an elected official working to create real social change. We also can’t forget both Charlie devilW ill and' 2 ?w e come together as a community we can get there. After that Portland, it’s easy breezy. All we have to do is get the Feds to adequately fund local governments, to challenge Oregon legislatures to take on real tax reform, raise the minimum wage, adequately fund our mental health and housing system, end childhood poverty, reform our drug laws and immigration policy, create real police oversight and tackle that thing called climate change. Did I mention equity for all, as in everyone? I’m sure I missed something, or someone. My point is, both Portland residents and elected officials are working to make our city the best it can be. Do we always get it right? Of course not, but who among us has a track record of always getting things right? Like our friend on the street says, Nothing is simple, nothing ever is. This storm will pass. Board of Directors Bruce Anderson (Chairman), Michael Anderson (Vice- chairman), Heather Stadick (Treas.), Eddy Barbosa (Sec.), . Rich Rodgers, Brad Taylor, Leo Rhodes. Nora Coon, Darren Alexander, Amber Bielman . - - Volunteers Vendors Street Roots vendors buy the newspapers for 25 cents each and sell them for $1, keeping the 75 cents, in our vendors, we receive additional support from donations and in-kirid contributions. Jan Bayer, Elizabeth Tierney, Rob Shryock, Anri- Derrick Gaillot, Stacey Heath, Vinnie Kinsella, Michelle Breslau, Paula Cracas, John Barker, Mary Locke, Lucas Manfield, Jessie Carver, Cherie Vedal, Sam Bouman, Isaac Hastings Hauss, Emily Green, Tom Ray, Sarah ‘ Hansell, Alana Kansaku-Sarmiento, Kyle Craven, Audrey Benison Street Boots Bose City Resource Street Roots publishes the Rose City Resource, a comprehensive booklet of services for people experiencing homelessness and poverty. To inquire about getting guides, call 503-228-5657. Resources are online at www.rosecityresource.org. 7 5 c goes directly to the vendor who sold you the i 2 5 ; goes toward printing costs Vendor orientations are at 1 p.m. every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at the Street Roots office.
