T he P or i land O bserver • S eptember 4 , 1996
P age A 3
Economic Development-Criminal Justice Style, Part I
by P rof .
M c K inley B urt
The conservative and widely - read
“Harpers" magazine reports the fol
lowing fascinating, kaleidoscopic
view of our paradoxical world." We
presume an ethnic pertinence to an
interesting aside which precedes the
four “fascinating" views cited.
“D ate on w hich the state of
Mississippi ratified the Thirteenth
Amendment to the U S. Constitu
tion, abolishing slavery: 3/21/95”
1. Mandatory minimum jail sen
tence, in years, for possession of five
grams of crack :5
2. Chances that an American sen
tenced for crack-related offenses is
white: lin 25
3. Mandatory minimum sentence
for possession of five grams of co
caine :0
4. Chances that an American sen
tenced for cocaine possession is
white: lin 3
So it is not surprising at alI that last
M onday's headlines saw the Justice
Department predicting that the num
ber of inmates in A m erica’s jails and
prisons would double in ten years
Nor should it be surprising, given the
four factiods cited above and the
racist nature of that “structured un
employment w e’ve been describing,
that it is expected that 40% of these
prisoners will be black men, women
and children (Blacks are 12% of total
population).
Incredibly, one in 167 Americans
were in prison or jail at the end of
1995 and the total number has risen
a shocking 113 percent since 1985.
In an international race to see who
will incarcerate the most of its citi
zens, the lead seesaws between the
United States and Russia with both
nations far outdistancing the rest of
the world. As of the end of 1995,
‘Justice’ reports there were 1,078,357
men and women in federal and state
prisons. They don’t give the cost.
W ouldn’t you think that would
throw our unemployment statistics
o ff-d o e sn ’t it strike you that there is
quite a lot of room for mischief here
in the allocation and application of
resources needed to ameliorate the
economic condition of large sections
of the population? Exactly how many
are there who are “a vai lable and look
ing for work?” Just here in the state
of Oregon, 8000 are said to be behind
bars, and Oregon Public Radio cites
the recent increases as the biggest in
the nation, percentage-wise.
Is it any wonder then that many of
America’s most inspired and imagi
native entrepreneurs are cashing in
on Americas biggest new cash cow in
decades. Those climbing aboard for
the 21 st-century "Y ukonGold Rush"
range from construction engineering
firms to respected social and aca
demic institutions, from manufactur
ers of corrections hardware ranging
all the way from cell blocks and
holding pens to handcuffs and other
restraining devices. And then, of
course there are the gun and ammu
nition makers who see a golden op
portunity tocom pensate for lost Pen-
tagon orders.
New “C ontract C o n fin em en t’
firms are springing up all over the
country and in inspired competition,
prison and jails temporarily under
capacity are in bidding wars to house
the overflow of over-crowded facili
ties in other parts of the nation—for
very lucrative fees. As equally in
spired as the confinement entrepre
neurs’ are the writers of advertising
copy for the big bold display ads for
these goods and services appearing
in the law enforcement journals.
And it seems that there will be no
lack of employment opportunities in
the area of criminal justice if one
lo o k s
at
m any
C a lifo rn ia ,
midwestern, eastern and southern
classified advertising sections of the
big daily newspapers; often entire
pages relevant in some way to law
enforcement. And the fall offerings
of the universities and community
colleges require expanded sections
to list the plethora of courses related
to the justice system.
It’s indicated that there will be a
need for hordes of new lawyers.
But some are asking questions
that may not be as facetious as they
might sound at first blush; for in
stance, has America enough black
people to support all this economic
development? And if so, on which
side of the bars? And the fateful
query, "is this what America-the-
beautiful' has come to after just a
brief two centuries?"
Continued next week.
More winning outdoor sculptures exhibited at Museum
Maryhill M useum of Art has se
lected tw o more artists as partici
pants in its first annual O utdoor
Sculpture Invitational W inners for
the second selection phase are Dan
K lennert and Brandon Zebold. The
com petition was open to artists liv
ing in W ashington, Oregon, Idaho
and M ontana.
Dan K lennert, based in Kent,
W ashington uses discarded and re
cycled steel to create stylized, whim
sical animal forms. He will exhibit
M aterial Vision, a life-sized mare
with colt, and Courting Birds, two
birds, each over 8' tall, standing face-
to-face. His sculptures have been
e x h ib ite d th ro u g h o u t w e ste rn
America, including in Arizona, New
M exico and the Northwest.
Seattle artist Brandon Zebold will
exhibit Portal #1, a 6' diam eter rib
bon o f steel with leafy cut-out pat
terns that seem decorative, but which
act a m etaphor for growth and the
decaying power of nature. Zebold
received a Bachelor of Fine Arts
from W estern W ashington U niver
sity, Bellingham, W ashington. His
sculptures have been included in nu
merous solo and group exhibit since
1988. He is represented by the Linda
Cannon Gallery in Seattle.
These sculptures are being exhib
ited through November 15 in the
m useum ’s 26 acre parklands along
with those by artists RipCasw ell and
M ichele Van Slyke, who were se
lected in the first phase of the com
petition.
"The m useum ’s grounds present
a perfect showcase for these excit
ing works of art and we have re
ceived wonderful responses from the
more than 10,000 visitors we wel
com e each month," said Josie De
Falla, Director.
The museum inaugurated the O ut
d o o r S c u lp tu re In v ita tio n a l to
complem ent its extensive collection
o f famous Auguste Rodin sculptures.
Artists based in the Northwest may
submit slides of existing works or
proposals for site-specific at any
time. "Only sculptures that are com
pletely weather proof and capable of
withstanding strong winds will be
considered," said Special Projects
Toxins taint Oregon
Continued from front
▲
They identified reproductive tox
ins where the scientific literature is
strongest and which are tracked by
the Community Right to Know Act.
Speakers offered policy recom
mendations for addressing the threat
posed by reproductive toxins.
These recommendations focused
primarily on expanding the pub
lic’s right to know about chemicals
used in their communities and on
applying the precautionary princi
ple to the way we manage chemical
exposure, rather than assum ing
chemicals are safe unti I proven oth
erwise.
According to Bennett, North
Portland residents have complained
about emissions from Freightliner
and other Swan Island facilities,
and have urged the Department o f
Environmental Quality to deny air
discharge permits until more infor-
mation is available about the risks
associated with releases o f hazard
ous substances in the area.
“Knowing that Freightliner is re
leasing hundreds o f thousands o f
pounds o f reproductive toxins into the
environment practically in our back
yards doesn ’ t make it any easierforme
to sleep at night,” said Bennett.
“The growing evidence about the
effects o f these emissions makes the
need for information about pollu
tion in our neighborhoods more ur
gent than ever. It is also absolutely
essential, in lightofthereproductive
threats posed by industrial emissions,
that our environmental permitting
process put public health and safety
first,” Bennett added.
More than 70,000 synthetic chem
icals and metals are currently in com
mercial use nationwide. The toxici
ty o f most o f these chemicals is un
known or incompletely studied.
“Unfortunately, the date we are
releasing represent just the tip o f
the toxic iceberg,” said Tucker. “ We
have almost no information avail
able to us on 99 percent o f synthetic
chemicals released into the envi
ronment and even less information
on how much is actually being used
at industrial facilities.”
Efforts are underway to expand
the public’s right to know about
toxic chemical use and releases.
EPA recently proposed adding
seven new industries to the Right to
Know re p o rtin g re q u ire m e n ts.
Among these industries are several
major sources o f reproductive tox
ins, including incinerators, metal
mining, chemical wholesalers, and
electric utilities.
“We urge Congress to strength
en our nation’s toxic reporting laws
so that every American knows what
they and their children are exposed
to in their homes, workplaces and
communities," said Tucker.
Officer, Lee Musgrave.
Maryhill Museum of Art, a castle
like chateau overlooking the Co
lumbia Ri ver Gorge, is located about
KM) miles east o f Portland, Oregon
on W ashington Scenic Route 14 and
is open daily from 9-5 including
holidays. Cafe Maryhill serves gour
met coffees, European America bev
erages, deli food and special des
serts. A gift shop features original
Native American jew elry, books,
post cards, posters, t-shirts and
unique art gifts.
T h e past and future of science and technology
NANO
The FntBtotrtp Vene» d Nw'Hhi.i.gf
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In Nano: The Emerging Science of Nanotechnology
(Little, Brown), noted science writer Ed Regis
takes us inside an imminent scientific revolu
tion, nanotechnology. Profiling the visionary
scientists and engineers who may soon make
molecule-sized machines a reality, Regis
explores nano’s implications, from medicine and
manufacturing to computing and warfare. In
The Pinball Effect (Little, Brown), James Burke
takes readers on a fascinating
tour through history's most
gp
dramatic innovations-and
shows “how sometimes the
simplest act will have cosmic
repercussions a hundred years
later.” For example, he shows
how the solution to early
colonists' malaria ultimately led
to the development of better car
tires, and how clingwrap had its
origins in fake-lacquer furniture.
This is a journey through
knowledge with all the twists
and turns of a detective story.
available at
POW ELL’S C IT Y OF BOOKS
1 005 W Burnside, downtown Portland • 503-228-4651
POWELL’S BOOKS AT CASCADE PLAZA
8775 SW Cascade Avenue, Beaverton • 503-643-3131