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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (July 9, 2003)
®I|F Jlnrtlanò CObserlier PaseA4 X X O pinion Opinion articles do not necessarily reflect or represent the views o f The Portland Observer D i * * c T o » Paul Neufeldt C * c t T i » e F. d i t o ! -i N -C H i e i . P v m s H r. * The Portland Observer S USPS 959-680 ] T A Established 1970 I 4 7 4 7 NE Martin Luther King. Jr. Blvd., F Portland, OR 97211 luiy 09.2003 Charles H. Washington E d it o O f * p ic e M a n a g e * Kathy Linder M ichael Leighton l i i s r i u i i r i o s \l < e * a c * M ark Washington P o s t m a s t c h : S e n d e d d re s s c h a n g e s to P o r t l a n d O b s e r v e r PO B o x 3 1 3 7 , P o r t la n d , OR 9 7 2 0 8 ____________ P e r i o d i c a l P o s t a g e p a i d In P o r t l a n d , OR ' S u b s c r i p t i o n s a r e $ 6 0 . 0 0 p e r y e a r _____________ 503-288-0033 • FAX50 3 -2 8 8 0 0 1 5 • EMAIL, news@portlandobsener.com subscription&portlandobsetver.com ads&pottlandobsener.com 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 o f the general manager, unless the client has purchased the composition o f such ad. < 1996 THE PORTLAND OBSERVER A l l RIGHTS RESERVED, REPRODUCTION IN W IIO LEO K IN PART W ITHOUT PERM ISSION IS PROHIBITED. The Portland O bserver-O regon's Oldest Multicultural Publication--is a member o f the National Newspaper Association-Founded in IK85, and The National Advertising Repre sentative Amalgamated Publishers, Inc, New York, NY, and The West Coast Black Publishers Association • Serving Portland and Vancouver. Deadly Dangers in Your Medicine Cabinet dose o f these medications, espec ial ly those c o ld re m e d ie s c o n ta in in g dextromethorphan, can cause elevated body temperature and heart rates, a rise in blood pressure, chemical imbalance, liver Guard children against overdose of over-the-counter drugs by can carry a box of cold medicine around openly, unlike alcohol and marijuana. When our children are young, we rou tinely safeguard our homes with numer ous locks and gates to block access and * For parents and other caretakers, keeping children safe from over-the- counter drug abuse may be even more challenging than preventing them from using alcohol or abusing other substance. B ob N ikkei . Foryears, w e’ve been bombarded with messages about how to keep our children safe: Lock up the liquor and gun cabinets and the cabinets with the cleaning sup plies and other household poisons. But what about the cabinet that holds a seemingly innocent arsenal o f remedies for the common cold or a cough? The contents o f the family medicine cabinet are proving to be dangerous. In recent months, at least seven Oregon youths have been hospitalized for over dosing on over-the-counter medicines. These children were not at a cIub or a rave or other social gathering. In one incident, they were in som eone’s home, alone and in the other, on a break near school. According to medical literature, an over- damage, impairedjudgment, tremors, sei zures and death. For parents and other caretakers, keep ing children safe from over-the-counter drug abuse may be even more challenging than preventing them from using alcohol or abusing other substances. The drugs our youth are turning to are readily available, cheap and legal. Teens entry. We can’t afford to assume that once our children are older, they will be safe from dangerous and deadly substances. Anything can be toxic if you misuse it. The availability o f over-the-counter medicines, whi le convenient for consum ers, is a challenge for parents. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, dextromethorphan is in more than 100 over the-counter remedies. As parents and caretakers o f young people, we must do everything we can to keep them safe. I encourage you to take inventory o f all h o u se h o ld m e d ic in e c a b in e ts and nightstands. Safeguard purses or other items where medications may be stored. Monitor the fam ily’s use o f over-the- counter medicine and dispense medica tion only as needed. You should also talk to your children about the dangers o f over-the-counter drugs. Know where yourchildren are, who they are with and what they are doing. This is a good practice to help reduce risk in many areas o f behavior. This is an issue with no quick parenting fixes or easy answers. But we can ’t afford to be silent. Schools are letting out for the summer. It’s time to start talking to our children about the danger just down the hall o f your home or in the aisles o f a nearby convenience store. BobNikkel, M.S.W., is the administra tor o f the Office o f Mental Health and Addiction Services in the Oregon De partm ent o f Human Services. Cheap Shot My Foot Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, re cently proposed an am endment to a bill requiring an audit o f all com munica tions between Vice President C heney’s office and the CIA regarding Iraq’s weapons o f mass destruction. The pro posal was hailed by one Republican representative, in a typical show o f righ teous GOP-style indignation, as the cheap shot am endment o f the year. Really? Not so very long ago we impeached a president because it ap peared he might have used his power and influence as president for sex. Now it appears as though a president and his high-level advisors might have used their power and influence to create a war in which Americans have died. Yet, all we have is a closed-door review o f intelligence procedures. No wonder the few brave legislators left on the Hill have to resort to am end ing pending legislation in a desperate attempt to get some answers for the American people. Cheap shot my foot. ! I C y n d i C liffo rd Business Credits a Slap in the Face all, the new environmental regulations were a quarter-century old. Many questioned whether taxpayer should continue to pay businesses for simply doing what the law required. In 2001, Gov John Kitzhaber said the time had come to let this subsidy expire. But the leaders o f the Legislature wanted to extend it. In a rare spirit o f bipartisan ship, the two sides agreed to a com pro mise that called for higher standards and gradual phase-out o f this credit by 2007. 1 supported the compromise. T hat’s why 1 so strongly oppose the new measure that some House members forced through last week, without debate - a measure that would relax the environ mental standard and extend this expen sive tax break another 11 years to 2014. The fact that this bill passed the house before the legislature has addressed edu cation funding is a slap in the face to every Schools suffer as business credits prosper by O regon R ep . M ark H ass How is it the Oregon Legislature is passing tax breaks for Enron before pass ing out an education budget? Lets start at the beginning. In 1967, the Oregon Legislature passed a tax incentive designed to help timber, mills and other manufacturers comply with newly passed federal Clean Air Act and the Clean W ater Act. This incentive al lowed business to lower their state tax bill to compensate for costs o f the new equip ment these laws required. During the 1990s critics wondered whether taxpayers should continue pay ing for this ever-growing subsidy. After person in Oregon, Taxpayer should be alarmed for an other, even more compelling reason. We all know that Enron managed to escape Oregon taxes last year, paying only the minimum payment o f $10. What many people don’t know is that Enron received a tax break o f$ 1.1 million because o f Pol lution Control Tax Credit. Even worse, Enron has applied for $ 18 million is similar tax credits next year for work associated with the decommission ing o f the Trojan nuclear plant. In addition to pending the bottom line for huge multi-nationals like Enron, the Pollution Control Tax Credit enables indi viduals to take a credit for buying wood chippers. Wood Chippers? Yes. More than 500 state certificates last year went to people who bought wood chippers, be cause chipping wood creates less pollu tion than burning wood to dispose o f it. C1’e African American Health Coalition, Inc, ?• % September 6,2003 WWW Where Start and finish at Oawson Park, located at N. Vancouver and Stanton in Portland, OR. When Why The walk begins at 9:00 e.m. Other event activities begin at 1:00 a.m. For mere tnlormatton For mere information about participation or to volunteer contact the African American Health Coalition, Inc. at 503-413-1850, wbeamer@aahc-portland.org or mield@aahc-portland.org The purpose of the walk is to celebrate our community's health and sustain ongoing free physical activity classes for African Americans in the Portland metro area. Entry Entry fee is $15 per person. Wee i el 0 (thntc Approaches ta Community Meetth X ***.*IT>< EDITORIALS f o r The Portland Observer Do you have an opinion on current events ' th a t h a s n 't been discussed In o th e r I newspapers? If so, the Portland Observer i editorial staff would like to know. Please | fill our th is form and a tta c h a b rie f | description of your editorial. Title, Author & Outline of Editorial: Name: ____________________ ■ Phone: _________________ i Send your response to: The Portland Observer Editorial Staff, 4747 NE MLR Jr. Blvd., Portland, Or. 97211 or fax 503-288-0015. ¡_Email to news@portlandobserver.com (ï^ b seru er On'Web Isl Annual loin us for the 1st Annual Wellness Within REACH Walk Sat. September 6, 20031 Walk the 1.S or 4-mile coarse. That may be true but in most instances the law already prohibits open burning. Whether this is valid application o f the break misses the point: Does any one really believe that buying a wood chipper create new jobs in Oregon? Does anyone believe we should cut school days while subsidizing wood chippers? Oregon needs to be smart in crafting strategies for the new century. We need to build our economy on real products and services that pull their weight in the world’s market not on wood chippers and dis graced corporations like Enron. Let’s do what Oregonians do best when m an ag in g e n v iro n m e n ta l sta n d ard s against economics: Let’s recycle this 30- year-old law and turn it into something that actually helps us move forward. Democrat Mark Hass represents south west Portland and Beaverton in the Or egon Legislature. Vancouver w w w .p o r t la n d o b s e r v e r .c o m As it quickly becomes more and more an electronic world, The Portland Observer endeav ors to meet the needs o f our readers and advertisers by going online, filth the capabil ity o f the Internet, the Portland Ob server now reaches a broader audience, and thus sets your business in front o f a new generation. I V w w
