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¡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.
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(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 ... (but
one questions) whether he truly
appreciated the history o f the civil
rights Struggle. -Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid
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O regon’s m inim um wage
workers will get a 25-cent raise
starting next year, increasing
hourly incomes from $7.25 to
$7.50. Currently, Oregon’s mini­
mum wage is second highest in
the nation, beneath Washington
State at $7.35 per hour. 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.