^Jortlanù (ßbscruer P age A 4 March 23. 2005 Opinion articles do not necessarily reflect or represent the views of The Portland Observer O pinion Death and Carnage Attorney General is silent on guns B y J udge G reg M athis In tw o days this month, gun violence killed over a dozen people inside tw o o f our most sacred and safest institutions, the courthouse and the church. E v ery d ay , nine y o u th s are killed by gunfire in America. W ith such death and ca r nage occurring as a result o f gun vio lence, why hav en 't w e heard from the United States Attorney General Gonzales, the highest-ranking law enforcem ent o f ficer in the country? He is ultim ately responsible for enforcing federal laws and im plem enting policies to prevent crime. Attorney General Gonzales has only recently replaced John Ashcroft, and per haps he needs more time to gather a strat egy. As such, maybe he is open to some advice from taxpaying Americans. My suggestion is that he convene a national conference on gun violence allowing in put from every sector of our country. The public and private sector should come together with religious groups, com munity organizations, law enforcement, gun dealers and m edia owners who pro duce violent content in movies and video games. The conference should focus on PUBLIC SERYiCE AMERICAN STYLE how we can end the culture o f violence in this country that has Am erica standing as the w orld 's leader in deaths by gunfire am ong all industrialized countries. A s you can im agine, one o f the prim ary solutions suggested at such a conference w ould be to cu rb the availability o f guns. T hat is th e o n ly s o lu tio n th a t has w orked in C an ad a and oth er co u n tries w here death by gun violence is a rare occasion. As such, three pow erful w ords w ould probably prevent such a conference from even taking place. T hose w ords are N ational Ritle A ssociation. It is w ell know n to anyone w ho fol lows public policy that the N R A has a choke hold on state and federal officials w ho dare not advocate m ore gun regula tion. The pow erful association is so ad a mant about gun rights that they are even against prohibiting people on the terror ist w atch lists from buying guns. T hat is precisely w hy we have a ridiculous policy that bars those on the g o v ern m e n t’s terrorist list from boarding an airplane but perm its them to purchase guns. N ow that gun violence is occurring inside the courtroom and the church, m aybe we can revisit the issue. Judge M athis is chairm an o f the R ain bow PU SH -Excel Board and a national board m em ber o f the Southern C hristian L eadership Conference. - - « i z SSRWJYS , P IG L IO ,/ .T o 7WC . X BÍ6 FbllVTERS CCKPóWÁTfOldC \ Local Schools Left Behind: Small savings will be offset by future losses B u t c lo s in g n e ig h b o r h o o d room . W e urge you to consider the an d to h elp raise m o n ey . A ny o f Portland Public S chool’s favoring an d p riv ate sc h o o ls and loss o f th e s e c o s t - c u t t i n g m e a s u r e s follow ing cost-saving m easures: fro m the N eighborhood Schools focus options o ver neighborhood co m m u n ity g o o d w ill an d v o ter sc h o o ls sh o u ld be a last reso rt. w o u ld d e m o n stra te to S alem and A sk PPS adm inistrators to w ork A lliance to P ortland School B oard program s, by closures w ithout ad su p p o rt fo r PPS, d ue to a hasty A t a tim e w h en PPS d esp erate ly to P o rtlan d ta x p a y e rs y o u r o n g o 10 d a y s w ith o u t pay, as te ac h ers m em bers. S u p erin te n d en t Vicki equate com m unity input and by p ro ce ss th at has p u sh ed th ro u g h needs to retain fam ilies, w hy drive ing d ed ica tio n to c u ttin g co sts, have alre ad y d o n e R ed u ce PPS Phillips, M ayor Tom Potter, and recent pronouncem ents o f 350 to th ese p ro p o sals w ith o u t g en u in e aw ay y o u r b est c u sto m e rs? P ar w h ile a v o id in g sh o rt-sig h te d and cen tral o ffice a d m in istra to rs’ pay en ts a n d n o n -a d m in istra tiv e sta ff 450 students as an “o p tim al'' size co m m u n ity input. the P ortland com m unity: h asty c lo su re s o f o u r p rec io u s A d ata-d riv en p ro ce ss sh o u ld m ust b e in c lu d ed in a tru ly c o l by 5 p erc en t. T h e N e ig h b o rh o o d S c h o o ls for elem entary schools. n e ig h b o rh o o d sc h o o ls. E lim in a te o r re d u c e an u n W e urge the B o ard to v o te p ro v id e such b asic in fo rm atio n la b o ra tiv e p ro ce ss, o r th e se a c A llia n ce is a new co alitio n o f p a r C o m m u n ity c o n ta c ts in th e n eed ed e x tra lay er o f a d m in istra e n ts, te a c h e rs an d c o m m u n ity “ N o" on the c u rren t p ro p o sals as a c o st and b en e fit an a ly sis o f tio n s w ill resu lt in the total failure N e ig h b o rh o o d S c h o o l A llia n c e to rs: th e D ire c to rs o f S tu d en t o f th is urban sch o o l d istric t. W e m e m b ers. T h is is the first tim e and to p o stp o n e any d e c isio n to clo su re s. If cu ts m ust b e m ade, are N ancy Sm ith o f north P ortland A c h ie v em en t. p eo p le from m any sc h o o ls and all clo se/co n so lid ate n eig h b o rh o o d an n o u n c e them in O cto b e r so th a t are at a tu rn in g p o in t w ith PPS, at 503-285-0500; D arian F uller A ccelerate the planning process are as o f th e city have o rg an iz ed schools and p u t 7lh an d 8lh g ra d th e re is tim e to bu ild su p p o rt fo r and true c o m m u n ity input is a key o f northeast P ortland a t 503-5 /6 - for renti ng or sell i ng PPS headquar n ew ly fo rm e d sch o o ls, an d p a r c o m p o n e n t o f an y so lu tio n . to g e th e r on b e h a lf o f n e ig h b o r ers at Jefferso n . 5152; A n n e Trudeau o f southeast ters; relo c ate a d m in istra to rs in W e believe that equivalent if not W e believe the relativ ely sm all en ts can m ake in fo rm ed ch o ice s hood scho o ls. P o rtla n d a t 503-2 2 8 -6 384; and g r e a te r c o s t s a v in g s c a n be schools with excess space W e believe our neighborhood potential cost sa v in g s w ill be o ff by the tra n sfe r d ead lin e. Ruth A tkins o f so u th w est P ortland W e are w illin g to w o rk w ith W e re c o g n ize th at PPS is fa c achieved through cuts to ad m in is schools, the “crow n je w e ls” o f set by a loss o f e n ro llm e n t to at 503-358-1376. PPS to w ard ad d itio n a l so lu tio n s Portland, are gravely threatened by ch a rter schools, h o m e -sc h o o lin g , ing en o rm o u s fu n d in g p ro b lem s. tration, rather than in the class- The fo llo w in g is an open letter SAFEWAY Our Easter Best To You! Butcher's Cut Shank Half or W hole Hickory Smoked Ham Visit Safeway's Web site at www.safeway.com Fresh California Strawberries 16-oz. container. . Card Price: $1.50 ea. Bone-in. Natural juices. While supplies last. SAVE up to $4.98 on 2 SAVE up to $1.20 lb. Available at iButt Half Ham Unlike Smoked Portion Hams, Our Butcher's Cut Super Trimmed Smoked Hams are Full H a lf Hams with No Center Slices Removed, gm n g yo u a Better Value! Safeway: Ybban Natur,Jh DktaffeirvrtCtl PRICES EFFECTIVE MARCH 2005 Mon Sun Tue Wed Thur Fn Sai 24 25 26 23 28 27 _ _ _ lb Coffee Extravaganza SAVE up to $4.90 ft Muth 2 _ Safeway Club Price Safeway Club Price 34.5 to 39-oz. O r 24 to 26-oz. Decaffeinated. Selected vaneties 29 _ < "J 19 Hickory Smoked............. ^JL ts^ to MftMi.N 2005 weyei G rand Jet Cream m i f t i1 Dreyer's Grand J |^ ( yycéyers Grand AU MAtVftAi »VA*0** EQUAL OR LESSER VALUE FREE naW udona Sale» m rata« ouentrt.ee only Quantifies ot some Item» may ba fitmted and subied to avaSebiWy Not responsible lor typographical or Safeway Club Price CBO Q O ") Oder» customer must purchase the first item to receive the second item tree SAVE up to $5.98 on 2 BUY ONE GET ONE S aiaw ay sloraa N o «ala« to dealara. restaurants or printed errors O n Buy O na, G al O na fr e e 1.75-qt. Selected varieties. Ire imam Item« A pneas m this ad «re available « your local pKional errors W e reserve the n^rt to c o n e d a« IceCream FREE Safeway Club Price B O O O offers era nos 1/2 price sates It only » s m ^ e sem purchased the regular pnoa app*«« M anulad urars' coupons m ay ba used on purchased itema only — not on tree name 0 2 0 0 6 Sataw ay Sloraa. Inc c S hop A t H ome . W e D eliver . S afeway . com ALL LIMITS ARE PER HOUSEHOLD PER DAY!