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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 21, 2005)
_________ _ Page A2 ¡Jfîortlanii © b seru er_________ September 21, 2005 Top Democrat to Vote Against Bush Pick Civil rights record main concern ate floor. At the same time, two other Demo- crats. Sen. Max Baucus o f M on tana and Sen. Ben N elson o f N e braska edged tow ard expressions o f support for Roberts. T aken together, the d ev elo p ments indicate Roberts rem ains on (A P)— Senate Democratic leader course for confirm ation next week H arry Reid announced his opposi to succeed the late W illiam H. tion to C h ief Justice-nom inee John Rehnquist and becom e the nation s R o b e rts on T u e s d a y , v o ic in g 17th chief justice - but may draw doubts about R oberts’ com m itm ent significant Dem ocratic opposition. to civil rights and accusing the Bush R e id ’s d e c is io n p le a s e d adm inistration o f stonew alling re w om en’s groups and civil rights quests for docum ents that might organizations that had feared he shed light on his views. would support Roberts. “ I have reluctantly concluded “This is a very close question for that this nom inee has not satisfied me. But I must resolve my doubts in the high burden that would justify favor o f the American people whose m y voting for his confirm ation rights w ould be in jeopardy if John based on the current record,” the Roberts turned out to be the wrong N evada D em ocrat said on the Sen person for the jo b ,” he said. R eferring to publicly released m em os that date to R o b ert’s tenure as a Reagan adm inistration lawyer. Reid said they show ed the young attorney “played a significant role in shaping and advancing the Re publican agenda to roll back civil rights protections.” “ N o on e su g g e sts that John Roberts w as m otivated by bigotry or anim osity tow ard m inorities or w om en,” Reid added. “ But these m em os lead one to question w hether New Orleans Survivor’s Odyssey Ends New Hurricane Rita Grows Gulf Coast may get hit again (AP) - Rita strengthened rapidly to a C ategory 2 hurricane Tuesday as it raked the Florida Keys with flooding rain and sparked a flurry o f storm prepara tions across the G ull Coast. Thousands o f people were evacuated from the 73-year-old released from prison Keys and low -lying areas of northern Cuba. O n the far side o f the G ulf o f M exico in Texas, G alveston started evacuations and officials made plans to m ove refugees from H urricane Katrina w ho had been housed in the Houston area to Arkansas. After the sluggish governm ent response to Hur ricane Katrina along the northern G ulf Coast, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said more than 2,000 Florida National G uard troops and dozens of law enforcem ent officers were ready to deal with the storm ’s afterm ath. More Hurricane Katrina evacuees Jonathan Hunt, 5, left, Joshua Hunt, 7, center and Tierra, 11, are evacuated again Tuesday from a shelter at Reliant Arena in Hous for delivery to the Keys if needed and helicopters ton because o f a new hurricane approaching the Gulf Coast. (AP Photo) than 200 truckloads o f ice and w ater were prepared were in place for search and rescue, he said. For a limited time, get our EquiLine Home Equity Line of Credit and you'll get more than a great rate— you’ll get a rebate. We’ll give you back 10% of the interest you pay, for 3 years. Plus no closing costs, points or fees, and our Five Star Service Guarantee. Best of all, if rates increase, we’ll increase your reward. So hurry. Before we change our minds. Annual Rebate" 6.50& \ $292 P rim e + 0 % based on a $45,000 balance at usbank.com , visit a local branch, call 1 -8 8 8 -4 4 4 -B A N K (2265) e xt. 4100 (AP) - A 73-year-old dia betic grandm other and church elder who fled K atrina’s flood- waters for the safety o f a ho tel ended up in prison instead for more than two weeks - all over a bite of food. She was released last Friday. Police in K enner, La., a New O rleans suburb, arrested M erlene M aten the day after the hurricane on charges she took $63.50 in goods from a looted deli. Though never be fore in trouble with the law, her bail was set at a stiff $50,000 and she was shipped away to a state penitentiary. Family and eyewitnesses in sist M aten’s prison odyssey was unwarranted, claiming she only had gone to her car to get som e sausage to eat when officers cuffed her in frustra tion, unable to catch younger looters at a nearby store. Despite intervention from the n a tio n ’s larg est senior lobby, volunteer law yers from the Federal Em ergency M an agem ent Agency and even a private attorney, the family fought a battle for 16 days to get her freed. Then, hours after her plight was featured in an A ssoci ated Press story, a local judge on Thursday ordered Maten freed on her own reco g n i zance, setting up a sweet re- Merlene Maten, 73, is shown in this undated photo provided by the Maten family. u n io n w ith h e r d a u g h te r, grandchildren and 80-year-old husband. M aten must still face the looting charge at a court hear ing in October. But the fam ily, arm ed with several witnesses, in te n d s to p ro v e she w as wrongly arrested outside the hotel. “There were people looting, but she w asn’t one o f them. Instead o f chasing after people who were running, they (po lice) grabbed the old lady who was w alking,” said Short, who works in traffic enforcem ent for neighboring New Orleans police. Christine Bishop, the owner of the Check In Check Out deli that Maten was accused of looting, said that she was angry that her store was dam aged, but that she would not want anyone charged with a crim e if the person had simply tried to get food to survive. “ Especially not a 70-year- old w om an,” Bishop said. Minimum Wage Increase Workers receive 25 cents more per hour next year You heard us right, so come see us. As soon as you come to. d online m em os w ere not his own. D em ocrats have tried w ithout success to persuade the adm inis tration to release docum ents from R o b erts’ tenure as principal deputy solicitor general, a senior Justice D epartm ent jo b he held in the ad m inistration o f the first President Bush. W hite H ouse claim s to shield th e d o c u m e n ts a re “ u tte r ly unpersuasive,” Reid said, adding th at A tto rn ey G e n e ra l A lb erto he truly appreciated the history o f G onzales had refused to m eet with the civil rights struggle. He w rote Sen. Patrick Leahy, D -V t., to d is about discrim ination as an abstract cuss the papers. “T he failure o f the W hite H ouse concept, not as a flesh and blood reality for countless o f his fellow to produce relevant docum ents is reason enough for any senator to citizens.” Reid also said Roberts follow ed oppose this nom ination. T he ad a "disingenuous strategy” at last m inistration cannot treat the S en w eek’s confirm ation hearings o f ate w ith such disrespect w ithout suggesting that the view s in the som e consequences," Reid said. No one suggests that John Roberts was motivated by bigotry or animosity toward minorities or women ... 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The federal minimum wage, in con trast, has been stuck at $5.15 since 1997. “Past reports have found the ‘real’ cost of living in Oregon is rising twice as fast as overall inflation - for example more than 27 percent between 1999 and 2003 - while medium household income rose only 2.5 percent in the same period,” said Dan Gardner, Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor and Industries. “Unfortunately, that shows that many Oregonians are losing ground particularly due to the rising cost of energy. While rais ing the minimum wage will at least ensure that the lowest-paid Oregonians make up some ground against the rising costs of such items as gasoline, utilities and insurance, it has unfortunately not elevated them out of pov erty.” Employers will receive a poster reflecting the new rate in De cember to post it up for January 1, 2006. Posters will also be available for dow nload at www.boli.state.or.us.