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Paga 4 Section I Portland Observer, April 27.196 3 Q uorum o f One EDITORIAL/OPINION bv Creg Wasson City o f Portland changes course The City o f Portland made a definite change in policy and priority with its budget decisions last week. The Bureau of Police came out with a $2.8 million increase in funds while other bu reaus and agencies that are im portant in the everyday lives of the people of Portland, such as the Park Bureau, were severely cut. The change fits well with the philosophy o f our Mayor, who has achieved national fame for his attention to “ skid row bums,** vagrancy and foul language while crimes of violence increase. The Park Bureau, the Organization of Neigh borhood Associations, (marked for destruction but saved by a public outcry), and the Metropol itan Human Relations Commission are among the City agencies that play an important role in making citizens* lives more satisfying, communi cating with City officials, and alleviating the af fects of racism and poverty. These are the pro grams and agencies that prevent the serious crimes of violence and home burglary and rob bery. Our M ayor is afflicted with overkill and un fortunately he is joined by two o f his peers. Commissioner M ildred Schwab fought for the Police Bureau funding because she always fights for her bureaus. I f you want a program to sur vive, give it to Schwab. Margaret Strachan’s role is more evasive; what did she achieve by sup porting the M a y o r except the destruction o f MHRC? I f you see a tank come rolling down Broad way, don’t be alarmed. It ’s just M ayor Ivancie with his friends, beefing up his police bureau to take care of those loitering on the Mall. A rou n d 8 p .m . on Feb. 3. 1946. Andy Dennis sal down to a dinner of fried oysters. Not unusual in itself, except it was the last dinner A ndy ever ate. After the dishes were cleared away, he was led from his cell in the Oregon Stale Penitentiary to the gas ch am ber. A t 8 :4 1 , cyanide pellets dropped into the metal comportment. One minute and forty-eight seconds later. Andy Dennis was dead. Since then, Oregon's death penalty has been an o n -a g a in , o ff-a g a in proposition. The people turned it o ff in 1964 after the legislature placed the repeal on the ballot, then turned it back on in 1978 after a successful petition drive. T he state suprem e co u rt e x tin guished it again on January 20th, 1981, ruling that (he 1978 law allowed judges too much discretion in decid ing when a convict should be execut ed. The fact that there is no current death p en alty bothers G o v . Vic Atiyeh. According to the governor, the legislature ought to at least give Reagan asks war escalation While Ronald Reagan implored Congress to support his m ilitary conquest o f “ democracy and peace” in Central America, his real effort was to regain his influence over Congress in the matter o f foreign policy. Reagan’s tough-man policies have not paid o ff in Central America, his Mid-East policy is going nowhere, European opposition to his nuclear missile deployment is growing. Reagan’s military budget faces serious oppo sition in Congress and passage o f a nuclear freeze resolution is a real possibility. Many Con gressmen doubt Administration-provided infor mation on El Salvador and are m iffed by the Administration’s non-adherence to the Boland Amendment that outlaws U .S. efforts to over throw the government of Nicaragua. By appealing directly to the American people via television, Reagan is passing the ball to Con gress. Choose between a “ communist takeover” and a jungle war that could lead to a nuclear ho locaust, he told them. So, no matter how badly his foreign policy fails, Congress can take the blame. Unfortunately, Reagan's address was fraught with m isinform ation and lies. His talk about great progress toward democracy— free elections and land reform— in El Salvador, adoption of a democratic government in Honduras and a step in that direction by the brutal Guatemalan re gime will not fool the rest o f the world. W ill it fool the American people? Reagan’s cry that we will not save the Nicara guan government from its own people cannot justify the arming and supporting o f insurgents to kill Nicaraguan people and attempt to over throw their government. Reagan's offer for negotiation is new for him hut the government o f Nicaragua has been o f fering to negotiate (to get foreign troops out of their country), and the guerrillas o f El Salvador have been asking to negotiate. So have the na tions o f M exico, C o lo m b ia , Venezuela, and Panam a. Does Reagan mean negotiation, or does he mean the imposition o f U.S. terms? 7 But in reality^ I have my doubts.^)/ Historically, this MTt* demonstrates that they always prefer to talk in "Morse Code". R ff-T W -T A T -rA T -T A r-W - TAT-TAT-GKT-TAT-rAr POLIDECTO Barricada: Nicaragua the people another chance to vote on the death penalty. “ W hy have the citizens go to the trouble, and the expense, o f putting something on the ballot which they so c le a rly fa v o r. T h e leg islatu re should offer voters the choice, regard less of how they (the legislators) feel about the issue.” Sen Margie Hendriksen. D-Eugene. disagrees. Hendriksen, a member o f the Senate Judiciary Committee, says the death penalty is wrong and legis lators ought to oppose it in every way they can. “ It's hard to go against a popular, inflamed sentiment. But, I think it’s a responsibility o f those people that hold public office to speak out from their conscience. The voters have the ultim ate right to replace us i f they don't agree, and unless you’re willing to speak out and chance being re placed, then yo u ’ re not w orthy o f public office.” In 1981, the lawmakers showed a willingness to take that chance where the death penalty is concerned. After the 1981 Suprem e C o u rt ru lin g , which voided a law approved by the people almost 2 to I, there was an in tense effort to get legislative referral o f a death penalty measure that met co n stitu tio n a l concerns. T h e la w makers refused. Somewhat surprisingly, an ensuing in itia tiv e drive failed to gather the needed signatures, and capital punish ment is still outlawed in this state. It ’s u n likely that the 1983 L eg islature will do anything to change that. Friday’s brutal execution o f John Louis Evans I I I in A labam a — ac cording to news reports it took 10 minutes and three separate electric charges to k ill Evans — seems to endorse that position. In the marble above the main pas sageway leading fro m the rotunda o f the O regon C a p ito l B u ild ing is carved a saying that starts, “ In the hearts o f its citizens will be found the likeness o f the state.” I f the government engages in vio lence and murder, can the people be expected to do any less? Legal lynchings bv M anning M arable Part II H o w does the vicious assault against racial equality committed by Reagamtes at the national level affect the courts and local law enforcement agencies and (h eir re la tio n s w ith black working class and poor people? In brief, it sends an unambiguous and chilling message: repression is the order o f (he day. A ccording to re search com pleted by the A tla n ta - based publication Racially Motivated Random Violence, a clear pattern o f escalating police b ru ta lity against n onw hites continues across the country, unchecked and indeed en couraged by those sworn to uphold “ law and order.” Two brief examples from the pub lication are typ ical o f the general pattern o f illegal b ru tality . O n N o vember 21, 1981, an Ind ian ap o lis black m an, James E. G rim es, J r., was shot by a policeman during an argument over Grimes' parking near a busy downtown intersection. The FBI and the U.S. Justice Department were called in to investigate the case. Predictably, both agencies concluded that there was “ insufficient evidence to d eterm in e the use o f excessive deadly force” by the o fficer. E igh teen months ago, five white officials in Bessemer, Alabama — the public safety commissioner, (he state alco holic beverage comm issioner, and three w hite police o fficers — were indicted for systematically torturing black prisoners in the city ja il with cattle prods. An all-white jury found the five not guilty in A p r il, 1982, despite strong evidence warranting a conviction. Probably the most provocative ex- to -riot m isdem eanor.” Days later, Zinzun discovers that the case is in the p urview o f the Los Angeles C ounty District A tto rn e y ’ s O ffic e , and that the charge against him is a felony, a violation o f California State Penal Code 69. T his obscure 1 11- year old law makes it a crime to use “ threats or violence to deter an ex ecutive officer from performing any duty imposed on him by law .” Penal Code 69 is so rare that at Z in z u n ’s hearing on September 10, 1982, the presiding judge himself was complete ly ignorant o f it. Los Angeles muni cipal judge Terry Smerling recently termed the law “ a rch aic,” adding ample o f the coordination between police violence and crim inal justice maneuvering is found in the case o f Michael Zinzun. During the night of February 13, 1982, tw o Pasadena, California, police officers went into an apartment building near Zinzun’s residence, in search o f a reported "m an with a gun.” Subsequently the report turned out to be false; never theless the police did seize two young m ale suspects. A crow d gathered when one o f the young men arrested was being beaten. Police demanded that the residents disperse, and threatened mass arrests. A t this point Zinzun stepped forw ard, telling his neighbors that they had “ a right to stay and witness the officer’s actions.” that “ most prosecutors have said the statute, as w ritte n , im p erm issib ly interferes w ith freedom o f expres sion.” Yet prosecutors are demand ing a twelve year prison sentence for Zinzun. A t the e a rly stages o f the c iv il rights era, the basic assumption o f many black and white progressives was that racism could be fought by the enactment o f liberal reforms and a ffirm a tiv e action legislation. It is now apparent that the racist Right is using the apparatuses o f desegrega tion and political reform , as well as the crim inal justice system, to crush the collective life from the freedom m ovem ent. The courts, the police, and the legal agencies o f biracial re fo rm such as E E O C are being o r chestrated into a complex yet unerr ing w eapon to preserve w h ite su premacy, the hegemony o f corporate capital over the black, L atin o and wl ite working class, and to n u llify the modest legislative gains o f past decades. Z in z u n was no stranger to the local police. As co -fo un der o f the C oalition Against Police Abuse, he had been a leader in the b a ttle to create a Los Angeles Citizen's Police Review Board. For fifteen years, he has been involved in community free b rea kfa st p ro gram s, em ergency medical and first-aid programs, and has helped to organize public protests against p olice b ru ta lity . T h e Los Angeles Police Department's Public Disorder Intelligence Division (i.e .. Red Squad) has, over (he years col lected 400 pages o f evidence on Zinzun and his activities. After years of trying to silence “ the community’s pre-eminent police critic ," as media sources describe Z in zu n, the police and Los Angeles prosecutors found a means to commit a legal lynching. Five days a fte r the F eb ru ary 13 in c id e n t. Z in z u n was arrested by Pasadena police on an “ incitement- C O R R E C T IO N We encourage each and every person to speak out against overt and subtle racism as and wherever it occurs in vour daily life. Black United Front, Citizens Party, The Portland Observer, The CRIB, Debonaire Productions, Albina Ministerial Alliance, Portland Committee for Unemployment Action, Black Lesbians and Gays United, King Improvement Association, National Lawyers Guild, P.O.I.C., Committee to Support the BUF, Anti-Kian Network, American Muslim Mission, Governor's Commission on Black Affairs, Rep. Wally Priestley, Jeri, Tina, Edward and Cassandra Abrams, Patrick Clancy, Sunnyside Neighborhood Association. Oaadllna for articles and for calendar svants la M onday at 5:00 p.m . Calendar item a moat ba m ailed or delivered to the office. Oregon New ■ ■ P u b lis h e r s » Assoi ijtion The Obaarvsr welcom ea Lettera to thè Editor. All lettera muat contaln thè w ritar'a name and addraaa. Wa reservs thè rlght to adit for langth. Rep. C arl Hosticka (D-Eugene), not Rep. Ed Leek (D -P o rtla n d ), is the p rim a ry sponsor o f (he b ill. Hosticka wrote the bill, has done the major work on the bill, and carried the bill on the House floor. Housing (Continued fro m page ! column 3} Ironically, none o f the participants or speakers commented on the re cently released report by the U .S . Civil Rights Commission on govern ment housing policies. The report, which received front page coverage in the Oregonian just the day before, noted that the bulk o f government housing assistance has benefited w hite m iddle-class hom eowners. Governm ent subsidized mortgages and property tax credits have been much more important in shaping the housing m arket than direct co n struction o f housing for low-income people. The study noted that such policies have been im plem ented under both Democratic and Repub lican adm inistrations since W orld W a r ll. Portland Observer ■ fl e The P o u l t m t O b t r r t /t r IU S P S 959 6801 <• published every Thurtdey by Eaie Publishing Company. Inc 2201 North Killings worth. Portland. Oregon 97217 Post Office Boa 3137 Portland Oregon 97208 Second class postage paid at Portland Oregon c« . i - I . , «a*-owe. *z 'S MetM’l* k ß fh ' C a ’.. The P o rtltn d O to rrv rr was established m 1970 MEMBER NêWAL PER Association - Founded (BBS Subscriptions * t0 00 per year in the Tri County area Post m a s te r Send address changes to the P a n le titl Observer P O Bos 3137 Portland Oregon 97208 A lfre d L. Henderson. Editor/Publisher A ! Williams. Advertising Manager 283 2486 N atio n a l A dvertising R ep resentative A m a lg am a te d Publishers Inc N a w Vorh Salem Scene by Rep. Wally Priestlev The a rriv a l o f spring, and the n atu ral beauty it b ring s, is a l ways a w elcom e sight in O reg o n . Spring also brings relief in the form . o f lower utility bills as heating needs decline. But one p ro blem that re mains year-round is the problem o f u tility sh u t-o ffs and large u tility deposits. T o help address this p ro b lem , Oregon Fair Share and the Washing ton County Energy C oalition asked I I legislators, including myself, to introduce House Bill 2327. The in tent o f this bill is to lighten up loop holes in existing shut-off protection law. The cu rren t law , passed by the 1979 Oregon Legislature, required the Public U tility Commissioner to establish rules to p ro h ib it electric and n atu ral gas s h u t-o ffs in the winter when a customer's health is in danger. A dditionally, the law re quired the Com m issioner to adopt rules o utlining certain procedures (n otices, paym ent plans) u tilitie s must follow before they could ter minate service. While the rules the Commissioner initially adopted seemed adequate, problems have developed. HB 2327 addresses 4 specific areas where increased protection is need ed. First, and probably most im por tan t, it broadens the d e fin itio n o f custom er to include people who move from one residence to another. C urrently some utilities, including Portland General Electric, classify people who have moved as applicants rather than customers. Applicants do not have the same rights as cus tomers do. Second, H B 2327 changes shut o f f protection from w inter-only to year-round. T h ird , H B 2327 sets into law the re q u ire m en t that u tilitie s give customers 15 day and 72 hour written notices o f proposed termination and make a good faith effort to personal ly notify customers before actually terminating service. Fourth, H B 2527 sets rules regard ing payment schedules for and size o f deposits. Utilities are now charg ing, in some cases, deposits larger than a customer’s previous bill. By setting these provisions in to law , this b ill w ou ld e lim in a te the ability o f the Public Utility Commis sioner or the utilities to circumvent the intent o f the o rig in al s h u t-o ff p rotection law . These protections are needed now more than ever. P o rtla n d G en eral E le c tric has ju s tifie d its 'get to u g h ' p o licy on shut-offs and deposits because o f an increase in its write-offs o f bad debt fro m $1.5 m illio n in 1979 to $3.4 m illion in 1982. W hile unpaid bills are a problem, these figures need to be put into perspective. In 1979, P G E 's revenues were $330 million; in 1982, their revenues were $572 million. T hat’s an increase o f 6 3 % . Even m ore im p o rta n t, profits increased fro m t4 5 million in 1979 to over ¡1 2 4 m illio n in 1982. an increase o f over 175%. In other words, from 1979 to 1982, P G E ’s profits increased almost three times as fast as th eir revenues. I f you consider the fact that these figures come during a recession and a time o f increased unemployment, you begin to understand the true pow er that the u tilitie s have over our lives. H B 2527 is an a tte m p t to lim it that power. It is very important that this bill pass. 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