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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (March 13, 2002)
Page A3 March 13, 2002 School Custodians, Minorities Fight for Jobs Geri Washington of Jobs With Justice testifies before the Portland School Board to support the district's custodians and janitors whose jobs could be eliminated under proposed budget cuts. The union representing 486 full time workers in Portland schools, and many more part-time employees, says about 25 percent o f the school workforce are minorities. photo by C ustodians in the Portland public schools have a plan to help save the district money while sav ing their own jobs. The workforce, represented by the Service Employees Interna tional union, has offered to forgo pay increases for the next year. They would also pay a portion o f their health care benefits and work for 9 days without pay. Portland Public Schools has D an S hea 486 full-time workers and many more part-time employees doing janitor and custodial work. Ac cording to the union, about 25 percent o f that workforce is a mi nority employee. The Portland School Board will vote Monday, March 18 on a pro posal to hire private contractors to replace its janitorial workforce. District officials say the move would save money. Walgreen’s Proposes Killingsworth Store A W algreen’s drug and variety store may soon be bui|d adjacent to the New Seasons M arket at N orth east 33rd and Killingsworth. Irm a F e rc h a u d of N icholson D evelopm ent o f Everett, W ash., ow ner o f the property, says that her com pany has subm itted a design review application for a 1 5 ,0 0 0 s q u a re fo o t W algreen’s at the northw est com er o f the property. It w ould share the park ing lot now used by the New Seasons market at the south end o f the property, the Rib Express on the w est side, and Figueroa’s Pizza and a liquor store on the north. N icholson originally pro posed to build a Rite-Aid drug store on the site, for merly the Wi lshire Park Sen try M arket. To win com m u nity support for this, the com pany said it would seek a grocery store as co-occu- pant. The Rite-Aid deal even tually fell through, but in the m ean tim e N ich o lso n re cruited New Seasons which opened in the fall. New Vote-by-mail Rules Ordered ( A P )— Citing the tumultuous 2000 presidential vote in Florida, Oregon Secretary o f State Bill B radbury set new standards Thursday for counting punch card votes and notifying people when their mail ballots aren’t counted. Bradbury’s directive defines in greater detail what constitutes a vote in punch card counties. It gives county elections officials guidance on what to do about “hanging chads” by including pictures and clear directions on how to determine voter intent in each case. One o f the key elements in the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to end the 2000 Florida recount was the fact that Florida counties didn ’t have uniform standards for what constitutes a punch card vote. “Approximately one-third o f Oregon voters sbll vote using punch cards, an g our directive will ensure that every county in Oregon uses the same standards to d e te rm in e v o te r in te n t,” Bradbury said. The secretary o f state’s direc tive also contains provisions re quiring counties to prepare a se curity plan and file it with the Elections Division. It must include measures to ensure the security o f ballots during transportation and processing and the security o f vote tally systems and com puter records PATTON HOM E Service-Enriched Affordable Housing Patton Home has contributed to the Albina neighborhood fo r over 100 years, providing independence, dignity, and choice to low-income elders and people with disabilities. Among the services offered by Patton Home are: • • • • • 3 home-cooked meals a day, plus snacks Housekeeping, maintenance, and laundry Transportation coordination Help with medications & routine nursing tasks Assistance with bathing, dressing, eating, and grooming • • • • • Health and wellness classes Social & cultural opportunities Support groups Activities, outings, and events Educational classes & seminars Stop by and say hello to one o f your oldest neighbors! Patton Home 4619 N. Michigan Portland, OR. 97217 (503)281-1844 A nonprofit, licensed residential care facility owned by Ecumenical Ministries o f Oregon. N EW S E A S O N S M A R K E T WHAT’S THE benM-êHS ON corti&f (rwf\ 2 F IN D O U T T H IS W E E K E N D SATURDAY & SU N DAY 1 1 :O O A M -5 :O O P M $5 G R IL L E D N E W S E A S O N S ^ HOM EM ADE SAUSAGE
