tTliv
Page A2
|Jnrtlanh (Observer
O cto b er 25. 2 0 0 6
Disconnect Found in Katrina Settlements
Poor, minority homeowners
get less for hurricane repairs
( A P ) — T h o u g h p o o r and m in o r ity
n e ig h b o rh o o d s in L o u is ia n a s u ffe re d
ity n e ig h b o rh o o d s to in fo r m
th e m o f
o p tio n s .
But th e ir ad appeals on local ra d io d id
little to in fo rm the thousands o f m o stly
a p p o in te d w ith the o u tc o m e . T h e n , th e ir
black residents w h o were displaced to
paths d iv e rg e d .
the b ru n t o f K a trin a 's fu r y , reside nts
liv in g
fo rts — even in the m id s t o f K a trin a 's
chaos — to reach o u t to p o o r and m in o r ­
H ouston. A n d g iv in g a to ll free nu m be r fo r
R ic h a rd and C in d y L ittle , a w h ite
help d id n 't help p o or m in o ritie s w h o stayed
in w h ite n e ig h b o rh o o d s have
c o u p le liv in g in a p re d o m in a n tly w h ite
been three tim es as lik e ly as hom eow ners
behind w ith no telephone o r c e ll service.
n e ig h b o rh o o d , file d a c o m p la in t w ith
O ffic ia ls a c k n o w le d g e v ic tim s slip p e d
throu gh the cracks.
in b la ck n e ig h b o rh o o d s to seek state
the L o u is ia n a D e p a rtm e n t o f Insurance.
h e lp m re s o lv in g in su ra n ce d isp u te s,
E v e n tu a lly , th e y w o n f u ll re im b u rs e ­
a c c o rd in g to an A ss o c ia te d Press c o m ­
m ent fo r th e ir re p a irs.
p u te r a n a lysis.
M o re than a y e a r a fte r the e p ic h u r r i­
cane la id waste to m uch o f the G u lf C oast,
D o re th a and R oy K itc h e n s , a b la ck
T h e a n a ly s is o f L o u is ia n a 's in s u r­
c o u p le liv in g in N e w O rle a n s' o v e r ­
ance c o m p la in ts settle d in the firs , yea r
w h e lm in g ly b la c k L o w e r N in th W a rd ,
a fte r K a trin a h ig h lig h ts a c o ld , hard
s im p ly gave up and to o k w h at th e ir
tru th exp ose d by the h u rric a n e 's w in d s
in s u re r ga ve th e m . T h e y d id n 't k n o w
and w aters: People o f c o lo r and m odest
the y c o u ld appeal to the state.
m eans, w h o o fte n need the m ost he lp
K a trin a in G u lf C o a st states and to date,
o n ly $ 14.9 b illio n o u t o f $ 2 5 .3 b illio n in
in su re d losses have been p a id , the na ­
the y g o t tir e d ." said D o re th a K itc h e n s ,
fro m the g o v e rn m e n t in s titu tio n s that
58, w h o re c a lls nu m e ro u s phone c a lls to
can p ro v id e it, o r d is tr u s tfu l o f those in
he r in s u re r tha t o fte n ended w ith he r
p o w e r.
b e in g put on h o ld . U ltim a te ly , she a c ­
ce p te d
$ 3 4 ,0 0 0 f o r dam ages that a c tu a lly to ta l
th e ir hom es. B o th fa m ilie s w a ite d pa ­
m ore than $ 1 2 0 ,(MM).
tie n tly fo r a n insurance a d ju s te rto s e ttle
The
tio n a l ris k m o d e lin g f ir m IS O e stim a te s.
In Lo uisian a, ne arly 75 percent o f the
settled cases were file d by residents c u r­
re n tly liv in g in p re d o m in a n tly w h ite ne ig h ­
borhoods. Just 25 percent were tile d by
h e r in s u re r's o f f e r o f a b o u t
h e lp le s s ly as H u rrica n e K a trin a battered
th e ir losses. A n d both w e re s o re ly d is ­
M o re than 7 0 0 ,0 0 0 in su ra n ce c la im s
w e re file d f o r dam age re s u ltin g fro m
"T h e b la c k s d id n 't c o m p la in 'cause
a fte r a m a jo r d isaster, are d isco n n e cte d
I he L ittle s and the K itc h e n s w a tch ed
fru s tra tio n and an g e r s t ill sim m e r.
in s u ra n c e in d u s tr y and state
re g u la to rs say th e y m ade sp e cia l e f-
households in m a jo rity -b la c k z ip codes,
Doretha Kitchens, 58, walks out the front door o f her homes in the Lower
Ninth Ward section o f New Orleans. More than a year after Hurricane
Katrina. Kitchens says insurance payments have fallen far short of what's
needed to repair damage to the home.
Voting Laws Lock Out Millions
( A P ) - A lm o s t 4 m illio n A m e ri­
S ixte e n states have e xp an de d
disenfranchised felons are black - a
rate n e a rly fiv e tim e s tha t o f n o n ­
cans w h o have com p le te d th e ir
v o tin g access fo r e x -c o n v ic ts in
g e n e ra lly p ro -D e m o cra tic vo tin g
b la cks.
prison term s rem ain unable to vote
the past It) years, e n a b lin g m ore
bloc - and there has been some
In 36 states, felo ns on parole
because o f laws in most states that
than 6 0 0 ,0 0 0 p e op le to re g a in
debate o ve r w hether reform s w o u ld
cannot vote, w h ile 11 states have
prevent them fro m d o in g so, ac­
v o tin g rig h ts . In som e states, the
aid D e m ocratic candidates.
life tim e vo tin g bans that a ffe ct at
c o rd in g to a new report by the Sen­
de bate o v e r v o tin g
te n cin g P roject, a W a s h in g to n -
been c o m p lic a te d
based gro up sup po rting c rim in a l
s k irm is h in g .
ju s tic e reform .
Oregon Vote
by Mail Begins
rig h ts has
T h e re p o rt a lso said th a t in
least some felons. Rhode Island
by p a rtis a n
20 0 4 , r o u g h ly I in 12 A fr ic a n -
w ill vote on a measure N ov. 7 that
A m e ric a n s was d is e n fra n c h is e d
w o u ld a llo w felons to vote upon
A d ispro portio na te num ber o f
because o f a fe lo n y c o n v ic tio n , a
release fro m prison.
foes o f b a llo t measures have had
th e ir say on te le visio n and in the
headlines.
in to co u n ty elections o ffic ia ls .
86.5 percent o f registered O regon
T u rn o u t p ro b a b ly w o n 't to p
voters cast ballots.
2()O4's presidential e lectio n, when
In a g u b e rn a to ria l e le ctio n year,
But F riday, the state shipped out
both m a jo r parties considered O r­
th o u g h , tu rn o u t u s u a lly h o vers
c lo s e r to ab ou t 70 pe rce n t. H ig h -
m ore than 2 m illio n ballots to O r ­
egon a sw in g state and bom barded
( A P )— N o w , it's the voters'turn.
egon residents and the d yn a m ic o f
the state w ith advertisem ents and
p r o f ile
F or the past tw o m onths, the
t he 2( X )6 ca m pa i g n o 1 11 c i a 11 y sh i fted
visits fro m the candidates and th e ir
d r iv e tu rn o u t nu m b e rs, e le c tio n
various candidates and frien ds and
as com pleted ballots start tric k lin g
surrogates. T h e ir e ffo rts paid o ff:
o f f ic ia ls said.
b a llo t m ea sure s c o u ld
I couldn't
have done
it without
"I didn't
know who
the analysis found.
T h e fin d in g s s u rp ris e fe w on the fro n t
lin e s o f a d is a s te r th a t has rea w a ke n e d
issues o f ra c ia l e q u a lity .
October Worse for
U.S. Troops in Iraq
(AP) - On Tuesday, the
military announced the deaths
of four more U.S. troops in
Iraq, raising the month's toll to
91. At least 2,801 members of
the U.S. military have died since
the war started in March 2003,
according to an Associated
Press count.
Regardless, Gen. George
Casey said he would not hesi­
tate to ask for more troops if he
felt they were necessary.
He appeared at a rare joint
news conference with U.S.
Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad
in the heavily fortified Green
Zone in Baghdad. A power fail­
ure in the Green Zone briefly
cut off the broadcast of the
remarks.
"We are about 75 percent of
the way through a three-step
process in building those (Iraqi)
forces. It is going to take an­
other 12 to 18 months or so till
I believe the Iraqi security forces
are completely capable of tak­
ing over responsibility for their
own security that's still coupled
with some level of support from
us." Casey said.
With violence in Iraq at stag­
gering levels, the United States
is battling on both the military
and political fronts to tame grow-
ing chaos in regions where
Sunni insurgent violence now
is compounded by sectarian
killing.
African American Alliance
for Homeownership
(AAAH)
Presents
7th Annual
African American
Home Buying Fair
I was
anymore..."
“ / f ’s Within Your Reach"
Pi»'
t I--
t..
&
r
. . .. jiP
■ H
*1
> 1 s
Saturday, Oct. 28, 2006
10 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
FR EE TO THE PUBLIC
Emanuel Hospital Atrium
501 North Graham
• Visit With Over 40 Home Buying Professionals
• Attend Free Home-buying Workshops
Check our website for schedule of workshops
• Mask making, chess gam es & other activities for Youth.
Enter to win great prizes...$ 5 ,0 0 0 In Down Payment
Grants, SW Airline Tickets and more!
(Rules will apply. Drawings will be held at 2 p.m.
You are not alone. If you need someone to talk to about your
gambling, there is help. It's free, confidential and it works.
Call 1-877-2-STOP-NOW
• Warning Signs
Or visit www.oregonlofteryhelp.org for
• Treatment Centers • How to Get Help
• Reaching Out
Must be present to win)
For more information call (5 0 3 ) 5 9 5 -3 5 1 7
Sponsors include: Bureau of Housing & Community Development.
OnPoint Community Credit Union. Legacy Emanuel Hospital & Health
Center. The Skanner News Group, Multnomah County, Albina Commu­
nity Bank, Washington Mutual, Oregon Department of Veteran Affairs,
Northwest Natural. Safeway Inc., Lamar Transit Advertising, HomeStreet
Bank, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage. Bank of America, Portland
Development Commission, Community Partner: Housing & Urban
Development (HUD)