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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (March 4, 2016)
OPINION 4A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2016 6WUHHW5RRWVWDEORLGJLYHVKRPHOHVV YHQGRUVVHOIFRQ¿GHQFHDQGVHOIZRUWK S treet Roots’ vendors are homeless people. When I see them in Portland, I buy their paper. The tabloid they sell has a decidedly different perspective. “People think of us as the homeless paper, says, Israel Bayer, the newspaper’s executive director. “They open it up and are impressed. ³2XU¿UVWJRDODQGPLVVLRQLVWRSURYLGHDORZEDUULHU LQFRPHRSSRUWXQLW\WRSHRSOHH[SHULHQFLQJKRPHOHVVQHVV and poverty. The income is a key aspect of what we do. The human FRQQHFWLYLW\ DQG WKH UHODWLRQ VKLSEHWZHHQWKHYHQGRUWKHEXVL ness and the reader becomes a real FRPPXQLW\ ,W JLYHV WKH YHQGRU VHOIFRQ¿GHQFHDQGVHOIZRUWK´ 7KH SDSHU¶V FRQWHQW LV W\SL cally the stuff of social activism. In the issue I recently purchased is D FRYHU SLHFH RQ ZKDW LPPLJUDQW forest restoration workers face. An Steve editorial in the issue proclaims: Forrester “Many (forest workers) have been H[SORLWHGLQWLPLGDWHGDQGVXEMHFWHGWRGDQJHURXVZRUN LQJFRQGLWLRQVEXWZLGHVSUHDGIHDURIUHWDOLDWLRQNHHSV WKHLUSOLJKWODUJHO\LQWKHVKDGRZV´ RU DOO RI RXU YDXQWHG FRQQHFWLYLW\ WKURXJK VRFLDO media, the widespread habit is to reduce social and SROLWLFDO IDFWLRQV WR WZRGLPHQVLRQDO FDUGERDUG FXW RXWV7KDWLVHVSHFLDOO\VRIRUKRZZHYLHZVWUHHWSHR ple. Street Roots puts a face on these people in two ways. 7KH\DUHRQWKHVWUHHWVHOOLQJWKHSDSHU$QGLQSR there LVDYHQGRUSUR¿OHZKLFKWHOOVWKHVWRU\RIWKHLU¿QDQ FLDOVWUXJJOH %D\HU GHVFULEHV WKH YHQGRUEX\HU H[FKDQJH ³)RU WKHUHDGHULW¶VDVDIHVSDFHWRHQJDJHZLWKSHRSOHWKH\ ZRXOGQ¶WKDYHHQJDJHGZLWK´ 7KH3RUWODQGQHZVSDSHULVDQRQSUR¿WFRPSDQ\,W has 160 vendors. It is part of the Street Paper Movement that can be found in 120 newspapers in 40 countries. These papers have been around since the 1990s. They have a shared news wire. The quality of the street papers varies considerably. :KHQ,SXUFKDVHGWKH6DQ)UDQFLVFRYHUVLRQ,ZDVGLV DSSRLQWHG ZLWK LWV WKLQ FRQWHQW %D\HU VD\V WKDW 3RUW land, Seattle and Vancouver, British Columbia, are in ³WKHXSSHUHFKHORQRIPDUU\LQJTXDOLW\MRXUQDOLVPZLWK WKHVRFLDOFRPSRQHQW´ F oanne Zuhl, Street Roots’ PDQDJLQJ HGLWRU FDPH from the Appleton, Wisconsin, newspaper. She started as a volunteer at another property in the Street Paper Movement in 2002. ³:HGHFLGHGDORQJWLPHDJRZHZHUHQ¶WJRLQJWR EHDVWHUHRW\SLFDOKRPHOHVVSDSHU´VD\V=XKO³:KLOH ZHGRKDYHWKDWWRSLFRUJDQLFDOO\UXQQLQJWKURXJKRXU SDJHVZHORRNDWWKHODUJHUWKHPHRILQMXVWLFHDQGHFR QRPLFLVVXHV´=XKOZURWH³7LPEHU¶VIDOOHQ´WKHWKUHH SDUWVHULHVDERXWLPPLJUDQWIRUHVWU\ZRUNHUV ,QWKHLVVXH,PRVWUHFHQWO\SXUFKDVHGWKHDFWRU,DQ0F.HO len talks about Shakespeare, That interview came from the street paper wire. J HYHUODFNV\PSDWK\ZLWKWKHSRRU´ZURWH-RVHSK3XOLW zer in The New York World on May 10, 1883. Pulitzer’s DGPRQLWLRQVSHDNVORXGO\WRGD\,QIDFW%D\HUQRWHVKRZKRPH lessness has become more of a mainstream topic in Portland, ZKHUH0D\RU&KDUOLH+DOHVKDVGHFODUHGDKRPHOHVVHPHUJHQF\ “Street Roots KDV RZQHG WKH FRQYHUVDWLRQ DURXQG KRPHOHVV QHVV´VD\V%D\HU³EXWQRZRWKHUPHGLDDUHLQWKHEHDW´ Zuhl describes how Street Roots PRYHV3RUWODQG¶VFLYLFGLV course. “Our readers are WKH SHRSOH JRLQJ WR ZRUN ‘We decided a GRZQWRZQ DQG FRPPXW 3HRSOH ZKR EX\ LW DUH long time ago LQJ the movers and shakers of 3RUWODQG´ ‘N we weren’t going to be a stereotypical homeless paper.’ I like the unconventional aspect of Bayer’s paper. 3URYLGLQJ LQFRPH RSSRU tunity and a voice for the dispossessed is at least two WKLQJV,WLVRQHRIWKHQHZ ZD\V RI GRLQJ EXVLQHVV LQ our new century. It also KHDUNHQVEDFNWRWKHQRWLRQRID³FUXVDGLQJQHZVSDSHU´DWHUP WKDWZDVPRUHFRPPRQLQWKHHUDRI3XOLW]HUDQG:LOOLDP5DQ dolph Hearst. ,I\RXUHDGWKHQDWLRQDOEXVLQHVVSUHVV¶KHDGOLQHV\RXPLJKW HDVLO\EHOLHYHWKDWWHFKQRORJ\LVWKHRQO\EXVLQHVVWKDWPDWWHUV $QGLI\RXDUHOHVVWKDQHQRUPRXVO\SUR¿WDEOH\RXDUHQ¶WZRU thy of attention from the national business press. :HOOEHQHDWKWKHOHYHORIKXJHSXEOLFO\WUDGHGFRUSRUDWLRQV WKHUHDUHPLGVL]HGDQGVPDOOEXVLQHVVHVWKDWSRSXODWHDOOFLWLHV and towns. The perspective of these smaller companies is much different than what you read about in national newspapers and EXVLQHVVPDJD]LQHV2XUSUR¿WPDUJLQVDUHPXFKVPDOOHU7KH QRWLRQRIKLWWLQJDERQDQ]DLVIDUIHWFKHG — S.A.F. ‘Our fi rst goal and mission is to provide a low - barrier income opportunity to people experiencing homelessness and poverty. The income is a key aspect of what we do.’ Israel Bayer executive editor of Street Roots Open forum Undeserving RZKDWLVZURQJZLWKSHRSOHWRGD\ZKHQWKH\ DUH ZLOOLQJ WR DGRSW WKH SHUVRQD RI GHVWLWXWH homeless individuals so they can panhandle on the VWUHHWVQHDU)UHG0H\HUDQG6DIHZD\WRPDNHD OLYLQJ" 7KH UHJXODUV HVSHFLDOO\ DW WKH :DUUHQWRQ )UHG0H\HUORFDWLRQDUHQRWRQO\QRWKRPHOHVV I am told, but they have their automobile parked around the corner to drive home in, and have been RIIHUHGVHYHUDOMREV6RWKH\FRXOGHDUQDSURGXF WLYHOLYLQJ\HWWKH\FKRRVHWREHJIRUPRQH\RQ S WKHFRUQHUPDNLQJRWKHUZLVHJDLQIXOO\HPSOR\HG FLWL]HQVVXSSRUWWKHP,JXHVVLWLVNLQGRIOLNH the current political administration; perhaps that LVZKHUHWKH\JRWWKHLGHD )RUP\SDUW,ZRXOGEHPRUHZLOOLQJWRSD\ WKHVHLQGLYLGXDOVZDJHVE\GRQDWLQJWRWKHLUMDU ZKHQHYHU,DPVKRSSLQJLIWKHLUVLJQVDLG³7KLV LVKRZ,PDNHDOLYLQJVRSOHDVHPDNHDGRQDWLRQ 7KDQN \RX´$W OHDVW , ZRXOG NQRZ ZKDW , ZDV SD\LQJIRUDQGZRXOGEHPRUHLQFOLQHGWRGRVR :KHQWKHVHSRVHUVVWDQGWKHUHRQO\LQJRRG ZHDWKHU PLQG \RX SXUSRUWLQJ WR EH GHVWLWXWH %HFDXVH RI VR PXFK QHJDWLYH SUHVV DERXW other police departments, I think it’s important to support our local police department. A way to do this is to attend the Astoria City Council PHHWLQJVZKLFKPHHWWKH¿UVWDQGWKLUG0RQ days of each month at 7 p.m., on the second ÀRRULQ&LW\+DOO7KHFLW\ZHEVLWHZZZDVWR ULDRUXVKDVWKHPHHWLQJDJHQGDDQGPLQXWHV Support police I think we need several more police around DWWHQGHGWKH)HE&RIIHHZLWKD&RSDW3HWHU WRZQ'RHVDQ\RQHHOVHDJUHH" MARY WALTHER 3DQ0DUNHW,WZDVJUHDWWRPHHWZLWKVHYHUDO Astoria of our Astoria Police Department personnel. and homeless when they are not, they are only FDVWLQJ DVSHUVLRQV RQ WKRVH LQ UHDO QHHG DQG PDNLQJLWKDUGHUIRUWKRVHLQGLYLGXDOVWRJHWWKH help they deserve. -XVWDWKRXJKW,FRXOGEHZURQJ DAVID GRAVES Astoria I STEPHEN A. FORRESTER, Editor & Publisher • LAURA SELLERS, Managing Editor BETTY SMITH, Advertising Manager • CARL EARL, Systems Manager JOHN D. BRUIJN, Production Manager • DEBRA BLOOM, Business Manager HEATHER RAMSDELL, Circulation Manager Founded in 1873
