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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 28, 2002)
(Ehr ÿlnrtlanb (Observer Page A6 August 28, 2002 Forum to Address Police Interaction Public input is wanted for policy recom m endations to the Portland Police Bureau for im proving services and com m unity partnerships. P o rtlan d ’s Independent Police Review com m ittee is sponsoring tw o public fo rum s on “C itizen-Police In teraction after 12 years o f Community Policing.” The forum s are sched uled on T hursday, Sept. 12 at K a ise r P e rm a n e n te ’s Tow n Hall E ducation and Conference Center, 3704 N. Interstate A ve., from 6 p.m . to 9 p.m. and on W ednesday, Sept. 18 at the M ultnom ah C enter, 7688 S.W . C apitol H w y., from 7 p.m . to 9 p.m . W hile the C R C w elcom es hearing about the concerns and issues o f community m em bers, they w ould particularly invite the public to consider the follow ing general q u es tions to guide the discussion: W hat role do the police have in your com m unity? If there w as one change you could m ake in how the P ortland. Police interact w ith m em bers o f your com m unity, w hat w ould it be? All m em bers o f the com munity interested in com m u nity policing efforts and citi zen-police interaction are in vited and encouraged to a t tend. For more information, visit th e IP R w e b s ite at: www.ci.portland.Qr.us/ auditor/ipr or contact C’ itizen Review Com m ittee m em ber T.J. B row ning at 503-231 - 1319. Northeast Portland's Neighborhood Mediation Center draws support from Bob Boyer (from left), director of the King Facility; Sumner Sharpe, a local resident; Lucinda Tate, a Mediation Center volunteer and representative of the Rainbow Coalition; Elaine Walsh, a mediation center advisory commissioner; Margaret Strachan, a former member of the Portland City Council; and Eddie Collins, acting Mediation Center director. photo by M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver Embattled Mediation Center Draws Support B y L ee P erlman T he P ortland O bserver About 100 people repre senting a dozen com m unity organizations rallied Saturday at the King N eighborhood Facility in northeast Portland in support o f the embattled N e ig h b o rh o o d M e d ia tio n C enter. The group is fighting ef forts by the Portland Office o f N eighborhood Involve m ent, the parent agency o f the m ediation program, under th e d ire c tio n o f Jim Francesconi, to have the ser vices o f the 21 -year-old pro gram contracted out to a pri vate agency. City officials have stated that the Portland center is not cost- effective and does not make good use o f volunteers, com- pared to comparable programs in other cities. Supporters of the mediation center counter that these as se rtio n s have nev er been proven. They argue that the current system keeps media tion services free to the public, unlike our legal system where people with the most money often get the greatest benefits. Consultant and mediation supporter Sumner Sharpe ac cused the city o f “comparing apples and oranges and calling them all pears.” Sharpe called the current action “a solution in search o f a problem.” Representatives o f the Rain bow Coalition, the NAACP and the A. Phillip Randolph Insti tute, as well as City Council Candidate Nick Fish, spoke to the value o f the current pro gram. Another supporter, Holly Wells, criticized the city’s ar guments and procedures for putting mediation services out to bid. Sharpe and others also ac cused Francesconi of failing to keep a promise to speak with them again before issuing the bid. The move to contract out m ediation services has a l ready been passed by the Portland City Council as part o f the city budget process. But M ayor Vera Katz has said that she has not made up her mind on the contracting proposal. Commissioner Erik Sten is also studying the issue, accord ing to an aide. County Alert for West Nile Virus Multnomah County is participat ing in a mosquito monitoring system to detect West Nile virus, a disease sp reading across A m erica since an outbreak three years ago on the East Coast. V ecto r control pro gram s in the Portland area and across the s ta te w ill use f ie ld - c a p tu r e d mosquitoes and chicken blood samples to te st for West Nile virus, as well as St. Louis and W estern Equine Encephalitis. West Nile virus, closely related to St. Louis Encephalitis, first appeared in the United States in 1999. To date, the virus has been detected in 33 states, as far west as North Dakota and Texas and has the poten tial to spread west. Wild birds are the prin ciple reservoirs o f mos quito-borne encephalitic vi ruses. Mosquitoes feed on infected birds and then transmit the virus to hu mans and animals. Lillian M. Shirley, director of the M ultnom ah County Health De partment, said county commissioners recog- n ized early on that the West Nile virus was a public health issue o f high importance and allocated resources to aid in prevention efforts. “To date, \yc have not found West Nile Virus in the region’s mosquitoes and will continue our vigilant and coordinated approach,” Shirley said. African Americans arc dying at higher rates than whites from heart disease. which him ks Ihc blond vessels to cause heart aiiacks, strokes, oi high blood pressure, ranks as Private School Requires Laptops Catlin Gabel, a private school in south west Portland, announced that beginning this fall, all upper school students will be required to own a laptop com puter. The independent school said financial aid pay m ent plans are available to all o f its students. “ By requiring all upper school students to own a laptop, Catlin Gabel will level the playing field for students, w hether they live in high tech households with m ultiple computers or households with little or no com puter equipm ent,” said Catlin G abel’s Emily Jones, The school sees laptops as m ore than mobile word processors. Students will use the m achines in ev ery classroom , between classes and at home to access the software and the c o m p u te r p la tfo rm s u se d in a rt, science, language, English and technol ogy classes. «ru* have to... Prevention works. Get screened. Ask your doctor about cardiovascular disease today. < It’s our right. African American Health Coalition, Inc. Advertise with diversity in ît!' |Jort lañó (Pbseruer ™ call 503.288.0033 (»I email ailsiu poillniulobsci'vci emu » 2800 N. Vancouver A venue-S uite 100 Portland, Oregon 97227 Phone: 503-413-1850 www.aahc-portland.org CtVH Made potiibie by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 1
