M ay 2, 2001
IJu rtlan ò
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Business
Page A5
(Ttje JJortlanò (O bsm ier-------------
■ ■ ■ M M M a M a B M M H M B H M M IM a M M M M M M I
Lawmaker Fights
Against Insurance
Discrimination
K el 1 ie T iem an n h ad h e r au to in su r
an ce p o lic y w ith S a fe c o fo r alm o st
five years. S h e a lw a y s p a id o n tim e
an d h ad no traffic v io la tio n s o r a c c i
dents. S he w as the id eal clien t. B u t in
A p ril, she re c e iv e d a le tte r o f “ n o n
re n e w a l” say in g th at h e r p o lic y w a s
b e in g term in ated . T h e o n ly e x p la n a
tio n o ffe re d w a s th a t sh e h ad “ a d
v erse in fo rm a tio n ” o n h e r c re d it r e
port.
“ I am c o n fu se d a n d o ffe n d e d by
S a fe c o ’s a c tio n s said T ie m a n n . “ I
d o n ’t k n o w w h y th e y c a n c e lle d m y
p o lic y — it w as o u t o f th e b lu e , an d
now I h a v e a b ad m ark a g a in s t m e.
T his is a b la ta n t fo rm o f fin an cial
d iscrim in atio n .”
R ep. C h arlie R in g o has in tro d u ced
le g islatio n in to sto p th is fo rm o f
insurance discrim in atio n so th at in su r
ance applicants are ju d g e d o n th eir
driving record, n o t th eir credit records.
“ I think it is b latan tly u n fair to d en y
coverage to so m eo n e for a financial
issue that has .no b earin g o n th eir
likelihood to file a claim w ith their insur
ance c o m p an y ,” said R ingo.
C red it reports are a relativ ely n ew
tool b eing u sed by in su ran ce c o m p a
nies to underw rite au to an d h o m e in-
L o ts o f m u se le p o w e r w as b eh in d
the SO L V IT Earth D ay C lean u p A pril
21 to strik e a b lo w a g a in st trash, d e
bris an d in v asiv e p la n t o v e rg ro w th at
several m etro area sites.
T hanks to 225 P G E em p lo y ees,
over 100 cu b ic yards o f trash along
1,5-m ile stre tc h o f the S p rin g w ater
c o m d o r alo n g the east bank o f the
W illam ette River. T he volunteers also
clea red o v e r o n e a cre o f in v asiv e ivy
at the O aks B ottom W ild life R efuge.
surance. B ased on credit reports, co m
p anies m ay raise insurance rates or
can celin g polic ies on O regonians w ith
lo w er cred it scores. H ow ever, insur
an ce ag en t believes that there is no
p ro v en co rrelatio n b etw een credit and
p o ten tial loss.
“ T his practice is predatory, and
eq u iv alen t to the redlining used by real
estate in dustry in the past seniors,
ethnic m inorities, young people and
low incom e groups are all victim s o f
this u n ethical practice,” said insur
Harvey Rice
Activist, Real
Estate Broker
Volunteers
sí *;
[
&
an ce ag en t D avid N icholson.
Rep. R in g o ’s pro p o sed legislation,
H B 2 9 7 4 , w o u ld pro h ib it this practice,
b u t the bill has been d enied a hearing
b y R ep T im K nopp (R -B end), the chair
o f the H o u se B usiness, L abor and
C o n su m er A ffairs com m ittee.
“ T he su p p o rt for this bill is o v er
w h elm in g , ranging from the C hristian
C oalition, the C om m ission on Hispanic
A ffairs, th e U nited Farm ers A gents
A ssociation, O SPIR G , as well as insur
an ce agents all o v e r the state. In spite
o f this, the bill has not been granted a
hearing. I am left w ondering ifth e Leg
islature is h ere to represent the citizens
o fO reg o n , o rto be the tool ofcorporate
in terests,” R ingo said.
Dumpster Diving Tip Pulled
A state welfare official has apolo
gized for a tip sheet that suggests
poorpeople might trypicking through
garbage to m ake ends meet, saying
the recom m endation w as insensitive
and inappropriate.
The sheet w as given to those
seeking welfare assistance at a bud
geting workshop last month in Spring-
Dumpsites Cleaned Up
field. A pplicants are required to take
the class.
The "check the dum p and residen-
tial business Dumpsters” tip w as on a
listexcerptedlrom abook,“ 1001 Ways
to Stretch a Dollar," and inc luded com
m on m oney-saving strategies such as
“ Shop at thrift stores,” “G o to garage/
yard sales,” and “B uy in bulk."
H arv ey R ice, co m m u n ity activ ist
and local real estate b ro k e r and ap
p raiser, has been ap p o in te d as a v o l
u nteer A m b assad o r fo r A A R P (fo r
m erly th e A m erican A sso ciatio n o f
R etired P ersons).
H is du ties include w o rk in g w ith
various groups and o rg a n izatio n s to
inform the co m m u n ity a b o u t A A R P
program s an d reso u rces as w ell as
rep resen tin g A A R P at selected func
tions.
PGE volunteers filled two dump trucks full of trash along this stretch of the Willamette River during the
SOLV It Earth Day Cleanup.
R ice w ill also be involved in A A R P
program s to help ag in g individuals
rem ain in th e ir ow n hom es.
Pacific Power Offers Rewards for Reduced Use
(A P )— PacifiCorp’s residential cus
tomers could earn credit this sum m er for
reducing electricity use b y 20 percent
under a plan submitted to regulators.
The credit would apply to households
thatcutpow eruseby20percentbetw een
June and September. Cutbacks w ould be
judged against energy use in the same
months in 2000. The system is designed
to rew ard conservation-minded custom
ers w ho cut electricity consum ption in a
region struggling under pow er short
ages and soaring w holesale electricity
prices. PacifiCorpofficialsacknowledge
a20percentreductionishigh,butsaidthe
threshold was set to push custom ers to
m ake cutbacks at all times o f the day.
“W e’re trying to help shave o ff the
peaks and reduce overall energy con
s u m p tio n ,” s a id Ju d i J o h a n s e n ,
PacifiC orp's executive vice president.
Industrial or comm ercial customers
would not be eligible. The proposal is
subject to PUC approval. Gov. John
Kitzhaber applauded the proposal, as did
som e consum er advocacy groups and
state regulators. “It’s a valuable plan
because it encourages preventative m ea
sures in terms ofkeeping costs down and
pow er flowing," Kitzhaber said. In the
summer.atypicalPacifie Powercustomer
pays $54 a m onth for 800 kilowatt hours
o f electncity.according to utility records.
A 20 percent reduction w ould pare 160
kilowatts from meter leadings and save
consumere $10.80 a month. “It’sachal-
lenge,” said Shannon Shoul, a PGE
spokeswoman. "Y ou can ’t just go away
for a weekend and achieve those sav
ings." PacifiCorpofficialsofferedahstof
energy-saving tips, from switching o ff
lights and turning off dishwashers dur
ing the “dry” cycle to drying laundry on
a clothesline.
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North Portland
Northminster Pres. Church
2823 N. Portland Blvd.
Wed.
Downstairs
4:45 P.M.
Legacy Emanuel Prof. Office Bldg.
2800 N. Vancouver Suite 105
Mon.
12:00 noon
Northeast Portland
Tillamook Park Building
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M oil
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Temple BaptistChurch
I319N.E.7th
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Fireside Room
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2510 N.E. Sandy Blvd.
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Conference Room
12:00 noon
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