December 25, 2002
(Ehe ^ortlaith (ßbseruer
Page A 4
O pinion
Opinion articles do not necessarily reflect or represent the
views o f The Portland Observer
3
E o i T o
The Portland Observer
S
USPS 9 5 9 -6 8 0
T
Established 1970
A
4 7 4 7 NE M a rtin Lu ther King, Jr. Blvd.,
F
F
Portland. OR 9 7 2 1 1
k
- i n - C h i c
f
, P
C K E
u b l is h e r
A T I V E
E
d it o
A
»
s s o c ia t e
M 4
n
E
d it o
»
Wynde Dyer
Michael Leighton
D is T iim r itu i
The Portland Observer welcomes freelance submissions. Manuscripts and photographs
should be clearly labeled and will be returned if accompanied by a self addressed envelope.
All created design display ads become the sole property of the newspaper and cannot be used
in other publications or personal usage without the written consent of the general manager,
unless the client has purchased the composition of such ad. © 1996 THE PORTLAND
OBSERVER ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART
W ITHOUT PERM ISSION IS PROHIBITED.
D I » E C T O K
Paul Neufeldt
Charles H. Washington
W » IT E K ,
4 c f. *
P H O TO G R A P H E »
David Plechl
Mark Washington
The Portland Observer-Oregon’s Oldest Multicultural Publication--is a member of the
National Newspaper Association-Founded in 1885, and The National Advertising Repre
sentative Amalgamated Publishers, Inc, New York, NY, and The West Coast Black Publishers
Association • Serving Portland and Vancouver.
P osthastcr : Send address changes to Portland Observer PO Box 3 1 3 7 , Portland, OR 9 7 2 0 8
__________P e rio d ic a l Postage paid In P o rtla n d , OR 1 S u b scrip tio n s are $ 6 0 .0 0 p e ry e a r__________
5 0 8 2 8 8 0 0 3 3 • FAX 5 0 8 2 8 8 0 0 1 5 • EMAIL: news@poitlandobserver.com subscriDtion@Dortlandobsenrer.com ads@eQrtlandQbsbiVbr.CQm
R e s o lv e to b e a M e n to r
F ig h tin g H igh
A u to In su ra n ce
Pay as you
drive plan
could low er
rates for m any
by C hristine
H agerbaumer
Share what you know with the next generation
T om N elson
W hen you were grow ing up,
was there som eone— a fam ily
m em ber, teacher, coach, clergy,
or neighbor— who encouraged
you, showed you the ropes, and
helped you become who you are
today?
You can share what you know
w ith the n ex t g e n e ra tio n by
m entoring a young person. W hat
better way to start the New Year?
If you’ve previously considered
volunteering as a m entor, why not
kick o ff 2003 by taking the step?
With so many Oregon families
under economic stress, we need
everyone’s help to prepare all of our
children for productive and fulfilling
lives.
To those o f you who already
by
nies could offer similar payment options.
A single working mother who takes her
children to daycare, does the grocery
shopping, and lugs her clothes to the
laundromat has a tough decision. She can
try to make do without a car or she can buy
a clunker and risk driving it uninsured
because coverage is expensive. The pay-
as-you-drive option would make insur
ance more affordable for her.
A pay-as-you-drive option would also
reward people for doing the right thing.
Driving less reduces accidents, cuts pol
lution, and diminishes the need for expen
sive new road capacity.
Anyone driving less than the Oregon
average of 12,000 miles per car per year
might save money with mileage-based
insurance. Drivers in a usage-based pilot
program offered by Progressive Insur
ance in Texas saved an average o f 25
percent on their premiums. Even heavy
drivers might consider cutting miles if
they reaped greater
The average household spends more
than $ 1,000 annually on auto insurance.
Many lower-income households find
this high price tag unaffordable, forcing
them to forego owning an automobile
altogether, drive uninsured or shift scarce
dollars away other important needs, like
housing and food.
A new insurance concept - pay-as-
you-drive insurance - could help increase
insurance affordability. Many lower-in-
come Oregonians simply don’t put a lot of
miles on their cars.
An analysis by
financial benefits.
the Oregon Depart i Low-mileage drivers
A low-income in
ment of Transporta
often receive small
dividual who leaves
tion found that as
the car at home ends
incom e in creases, discounts for driving less,
up paying the same
driving increases. In hut these discounts don’t
as a heavy driver for
the Portland metro
politan area, for ev adequately account for the calendar-based in
surance. Why sock
ery
a d d itio n a l fact that low-mileage
it to light drivers who
$ 10,000 a household
drivers are less likely to he are not on the road at
earns each year, that
risk of an accident?
household drives, on in an accident.
That’s the question.
averag e, an a d d i — Christine Hagerbaumer,
A nd p a y -a s-y o u -
tional five miles per Oregon Environmental Council.
drive
insurance is the
day.
answer.
Low-mileage drivers often receive small
You can help bring pay-as-you-drive
discounts for driving less, but these dis
insurance to O regon. V isit the O regon
counts don’t adequately account for the
E nvironm ental C ouncil’s w ebsite at
fact that low-mileage drivers are less likely
w w w .o r c o u n c il.o r g /P o llu tio n /
to be in an accident. According to the
PA Y D .htm to learn more and pledge
Casualty Actuarial Society, reduced mile
your support. OEC is talking to the
age reduces crash risk, all else being equal.
insurance industry and will seek a tax
There’s an alternative.
credit for com panies that offer mileage-
Auto insurance companies could price
based insurance in the upcom ing legis
coverage in two ways - a yearly rate and
lative session.
a cents-per-mile option. Like long dis
Christine Hagerbaumer is the pro
tance telephone companies, which offer
gram director fo r the Oregon Environ
“unlim ited” calling plans and “per-
mental Council.
minute” calling plans, insurance com pa
are contributing your tim e, energy,
and talents to m entor or tutor a
child, thank you. Please keep up
your good work. And, one more
thing: encourage a friend to do the
sam e.
Mentoring doesn’ t require any spe
cial skills. Are you able to listen and
empathize? Are you willing to offer
friendship, guidance and encourage
ment to a kid? If so, then volunteering
with a mentoring program may be
right for you.
A cross the sta te , a g ro w in g
num ber o f co m p an ies are sp o n
soring program s in w hich em ploy
ees serve as m entors and m eet
reg u larly w ith young people. E n
c o u rag e your com pany to do the
sam e. L ikew ise, faith -b ased and
civ ic groups are m o b ilizin g their
m em bers to w ork w ith children
and all m entoring program s are
s e e k in g v o lu n te e rs from the
larg er com m unity as w ell.
Typically, mentoring programs
ask for a one-year commitment and
require an average of about an hour
a week. In choosing a program, be
sure to inquire about the amount of
training and ongoing support that
you will receive.
To become a mentor, or to learn
more about more than 125 mentoring
programs throughout Oregon, con
ta c t
O reg o n
M en to rs
at
w w w .o rm e n to rs .o rg . O r, call
tollfree, 1-866-450-4040.
And, by the way, who mentored
you?
Tom Nelson is the executive
director for Oregon Mentors
r--------------------------------------I
!
S u b sc rib e Fill ' out, Clip out & Send . to:
|
1
^lorf lanh (Ohseruer
[
I
|
I
Attn: Subscriptions
PO Box 3137, Portland OR 97208
!
s u b s c r ip tio n s are j u s t $ 6 0 p e r y e a r
,
(please include check with this subscription form)
‘
J
.
j NAME:------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - [
J ADDRESS: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
I TELEPHONE:------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ — I
-------------------- J
Advertise with diversity in
The Portland Observer
503.288.0033 • ads@portlandobserver.com • classifieds@portlandobserver.com
Christmas Hours:
_
SAFEWAY
»
Christmas Eve
Closing Early
at 6pm,
Closed Christmas Day,
Open Regular Hours
o n 12/26/02
—
Celebrate the Season »«¿Safeway . . g -
FESTIVE HOLIDAY GET TOGETHERS ARE MORE FUN AN D LESS WORRY WITH OUR DELI
Complete
Holiday Dinners
Place Your Order at the Deli Today!
Choose from
• Traditional Turkey
• Spiral Sliced Ham
• Prime Rib
Just heal & serve.
CALL YOUR HOLIDAY HOTLINE TODAY: 1-866-473-8209
6
I
I
I