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Jan uary 02,2002
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USPS 959-680
Established 1970
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E d it o r
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P u b l is h e r
C harles H. W ashington
E d i T o R
Larry J. Jackson, Sr.
B u s in e s s
M anager
G ary A nn Taylor
A sst . P ublisher
E d it o r
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Jo y R am os
C r e a t iv e
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Elect School Board Members by Zones
F orty com m unity leaders a n d elected officials,
led by the R ainbow Coalition, recently sent a letter
to the P ortland school board asking that it change
election rules so that only voters in specific zones
elect school boa rd m em bers, instead o f by voters in
the district a t large. A ccording to the coalition, the
current system is unfair to low a n d m oderate-in­
com e candidates. B oard m em bers L olenzo Poe a n d
D erry Jackson are sa id to support the change.
B elow is the letter:
D ear Board M em bers:
W e, the undersigned, representing a cross-sec­
tion o f Portland voters, urge that the Board o f E du­
cation o f the Portland Public Schools change the
system o f voting for school board m em bers to elec­
tion from zones.
Currently, all seven board m em bers are elected at-
large, by the entire city, even though they are each
required to live in a different zone. W e believe that,
in the interests o f dem ocracy and fair representation,
only the voters from that zone should elect the board
m em ber from their zo n e.
O ur city is m ade up o f diverse neighborhoods and
populations, m any o f w hich are not currently rep re­
sented on the board. It is com m on know ledge that
cityw ide nam e recognition and substantial funds are
necessary to run for school board under the present
system. Election from zones would require m uch less
m oney, allow for m ore grass-roots cam paigns, and
provide neighborhood and local school activists a
chance to w in a board seat.
Y our authority to change the present system is
spelled out in “O RS 332.126 Election from zones. (1)
If a m ajority o f the district school board o f a zoned
com m on school district or a zoned union high school
district so decides, the board may provide that direc­
tors o f the district school board w ho are nom inated
from zones also shall be elected from the zones from
w hich they are nom inated... (The decision may be
rescinded at any tim e).”
As the Portland Public Schools m ove tow ard more
local school decision-m aking, it seem s only logical
that the B oard itself should be more representative o f
those local school clusters. Thank you for your
consideration.
C arrie A dam s, Education Crisis Team ; JoA nn
Bowm an, p a st state representative; R o b ert Boyer,
King N eighborhood Facility, director; D ana Brown,
C om m unity A llia n ce o f Tenants, director; Kate
Brown, state senator; W illie Brown, N o rth ea st C oa­
lition o f Neighborhoods, chair; R ex Burkholder,
M etro councilor; M argaret Butler, Jo b s with J u s­
tice, director; M argaret Carter, U rban League,
director; Serena Cruz, M ultnom ah C ounty co m m is­
sioner; M ichael D em brow, P C C F aculty F edera­
tion, president; G eorge Eighm ey, p a st state repre­
sentative; Dan Gardner, state representative; A vel
Gordly, state senator; Rev. L eroy H aines, A llen
Tem ple CM E; G ary H ansen, state representative;
O.B. Hill, R eflections Bookstore, ow ner; Linda
H unter, N eighborhood M ediation Center, d irec­
tor; R oy Jay, A frican A m erican C ham ber o f C om ­
m erce; Tom Kelly, N e il K elly Co., ow n er; S y
K om brodt, M ultnom ah Education Service D istrict,
director; Fr. R obert Krueger, S t A n d rew C atholic
Church; A llyson Linfoot, W oodlawn ACO RN, chair;
R ichard Luccetti, H ispanic P arents A ssoc., chair;
JanM ihara, O regonA ction; Clara Padilla Andrews,
E l H ispanic News, publisher; M acceo Pettis, O r­
egon U niting; Jam es Posey, B lack C ham ber o f
Com m erce, president; A. H alim Rahsaan, Coalition
o f Black M en, vice chair; Jim Robison, M ultnom ah
Co. D em ocratic Party, chair; D iane Rosenbaum ,
state representative; B everly Stein, p a st M ultnom ah
C ounty chair; Erik Sten, P ortland city com m is­
sioner; Lucinda Tate, P ortland N ew Party, chair;
B etty Thompson, N egro W o m en ’s Club, president;
G rant Walter, Service Em ployees lnt. Union 140,
president; G eri W ashington, M ultnom ah E duca­
tion Service D istrict, director; a n d Jerry W atson,
R ainbow Coalition.
Alcohol Problems Rise After Sept. 11
M ichael Leighton
C opy
Opinion articles do not necessarily reflect or represent the views
Don’t drink and drive message is more important with more people looking for distractions from current events
Talk to your children about the ef­
B arbara C imaglio
fects o f alcohol consum ption and the
A s a nation, w e’ve seen m any
law s pertaining to m inors. M ake sure
changes since Sept. 11. Som e are good
you know w here they are and that the
like openly dem onstrating concern for
parties they are attending are alcohol-
one another. O thers are not so good.
free and supervised by adults.
C ause for concern to all o f us is in­
Be aw are o f your b o d y ’s lim it for
creasin g alcohol co n su m p tio n and
alcoholic drinks, including beer and
m ore people driving w hile under the
w ine. The effects o f drinking vary
influence.
greatly based on a p erso n ’s alcohol
State traffic safety experts confirm
absorption rate into the blood, body
that drunk driving has been on the rise
w eight and the am ount o f food in the
in Oregon since mid-September. This
stom ach. F or m ost people, even one
danger is heightened during the holi­ Barbara Cimaglio
drink can affect driving skills.
day season when drunk driving histori­
Pre-assign a designated driver or arrange for o ut­
cally increases.
side transportation such as a cab o r local transpor­
T h at’s w hy the “d o n ’t drink and drive” m essage
is especially im portant now. T he increasing num ber
tation service. If you are a host, serve non-salty food
and offer non-alcoholic beverages throughout the
o f people looking for distractions from current events
party. Stop serving alcoholic beverages at least one
will be able to find liquor at holiday parties. This might
be okay for socially responsible drinkers, but deadly
hour before the end o f the event and consider serving
dessert instead. Contrary to popular belief, coffee
for those w ho a re n ’t.
will not dilute alcohol. Only tim e, and lots o f it, w orks
A lcohol and driving ju st d o n ’t mix. Every 33
to “sober up” som eone w ho has been drinking.
m inutes, som eone in the U.S. is killed in an alcohol-
Take the car keys aw ay from anyone w ho is about
related crash. A nd, som eone is injured every two
to drive drunk. The N ational H ighw ay T raffic Safety
m inutes. But, fortunately, here in O regon, we can
A dm inistration provides great tips on how to do this:
help one another from becom ing statistics.
by
D ir e c t o r
P aul N eufeldt
4 7 4 7 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.
Portland, OR 97211
503-288-0033
Fax 503-288-0015
e-mail
news@portlandobserver. com
subscription@portlandobserver.com
ads@portlandobserver. com
P ostmaster :
Send address changes to
W ith close friends, use a soft, calm approach at
first. Suggest that th ey ’ve had too m uch to drink and
it would be better if som eone else drove or if they took
a cab.
Be calm . Joke about it. M ake light o f it.
If possible, avoid em barrassing the person and
avoid being confrontational. T his m akes them ap­
pear vulnerable to alcohol and its effects.
Try to m ake it sound like you are doing them a
favor.
If it’s som eone you d o n ’t know w ell, speak to his
or her friends about getting the keys.
If it’s a good friend, spouse, or significant other,
say you w o n ’t go w ith them if they insist on driving.
S uggest you w ill call som eone else for a ride or even
walk.
T ake their keys w hile they are preoccupied. M ost
likely, they w ill think th ey ’ve lost them and w ill be
forced to find another m ode o f transportation.
Finally, if you encounter a drink driver, report it to
the Oregon State Police toll free at 800-24DRUNK. By
preventing or stopping som eone from driving drunk,
you may be giving som eone the greatest gift o f all.
Barbara C im aglio is special assista n t f o r child
a n d a dolescent health services in the O regon D e­
p a rtm en t o f H um an Services.
Portland Observer
PO Box 3 1 3 7
Portland, OR 9 7 2 0 8
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Focus On Promoting Safe and Stable Families
by M arian W right E dei . man
Every 11 seconds a child is reported as abused or
neglected in America; 127,000children are in foster care
waiting for adoptive families; almost 20,000 youths
leave foster care at the age o f 18 each year with no place
to go and very few resources. Imagine as an adult being
put out on the street to fend for yourself. N ow try it as
a young person with no money, housing, or real world
experience, and without family support or an education
that prepares you to get a decent job.
D uring his cam paign, President B ush acknow l­
edged the need for increased funding to help these
defenseless children and adolescents. A s President,
he included a guaranteed five-year funding increase
in the 2002 C ongressional B udget as part o f the
Prom oting Safe and Stable Fam ilies Program . B ipar­
tisan bills introduced in the H ouse and S enate g uar­
anteed funds to protect abused and neglected ch il­
dren, prom ote adoption, support crisis services, and
offer education and training vouchers to old er youths
leaving foster care.
Finally, it seem ed that help w as on the w ay for our
nation’s m ost vulnerable children w ho face daily
uncertainty, loneliness, and terror. T hen, suddenly,
these children w ere left behind in a tangle o f political
m achinations. The House W ays and M eans C om m it­
tee said it could not afford the guaranteed increases
and rejected the P resident’s proposal to ensure a
little over a billion dollar increase o ver five years.
T his is intolerable. O u r children are not ju st
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A
another com m odity to be w ritten o ff or squandered.
T he H ouse o f R epresentatives’ actions m ake the
w ords “Leave N o C hild B ehind” ring hollow as the
urgent needs o f abused and neglected children re ­
main unmet.
It is tim e for our political leaders to get their
priorities straight and for citizens to hold them ac­
countable for w hat they do and w hat they say they
will do. N o m ore big tax breaks should be given to the
w ealthy until the needs o f abused and neglected
children are met. N o group o f children in A m erica is
m ore in need o f adult protection.
M arian W right E delm an is p re sid en t o f J he
C h ild ren 's D efense Fund, which coordinates the
B lack C om m unity Crusade f o r Children.
For more information about the law, contact:
www.healthoregon.org/tobacco or call toll-free 1-866-621-6107
i
t
W hen I read about the INS rounding up
Farhad T oussi, a man who has lived in the U.S.
for o ver 20 years, and 30 im m igrant Portland
airport w orkers being detained, charged, fired
and likely deported, 1 thought I was in a 1940s film
about fascist persecution.
T oday, being from the M iddle E ast or an
im m igrant o f color m arks you as a target for
A ttorney G eneral John A shcroft and his goon
squad ju st as surely as a yellow star m arked my
forebears for the N azis.
In another echo o f the T hird R eich, w e are
being dragged into a sinister w ar that scape­
goats people o f color as terrorists, guilty by
ethnicity.
W e m ust stop this erosion o f our C onstitution
and our lives. Rem em ber, first they cam e for the
im m igrants. Speak up now.
Adrienne Weller, Jews fo r Global Justice
North Portland
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