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lanuary 2, 2 0 0 8
Former Convicts Look Beyond Barriers
con tin u ed
Marvelous Bats
fro m Front
Boston. C hicago, and San Francisco. G ov­
ernm ents nationw ide have developed laws
and resolutions to encourage private com ­
panies to reduce their harriers to hiring quali­
fied people with felony convictions, in what
a New York T im es editorial called “a step
forw ard in term s o f fairness for law-abiding
ex-offenders.”
In other steps for this population, thou­
sands in Oregon have expunged minor crim i­
nal convictions to gain drivers-license privi­
leges, em ploym ent and housing, thanks to
Roy Jay and the African American Cham ber
o f C om m erce. The groundbreaking Project
Clean Slate gained basic financial stability
during the past legislative session, but Jay
and Katz have argued that the fight for non-
discrim inatory crim inal justice continues
against the ravages o f m andatory-m inim um
sentencing.
O ver the n ext tw o years, O regon will
spend $1.3 b illio n on a correctional sys­
tem that houses A frican A m ericans at a
p ro p o rtio n m ore than five tim es that o f
C a u ca sia n s. T w o percen t o f O re g o n ’s
p op u latio n , A frican A m ericans m ake up
alm ost 10 percent or 1,293 out o f the 13,488
in the sta te ’s prisons, according the past
m o n th 's O regon D epartm ent o f C o rrec­
tio n s count.
‘‘We need to give judges back to jo b of
ju dging,” Katz says. “ I just want everybody
to have a fair chance.”
Sunday, Jan. 6 through T uesday, Jan. 8,
children ages 3-5 will have the opportu­
nity to learn the truth about the grinning
bats at the Oregon Zoo; for m ore infor­
mation visit oregonzoo.org or call 503-
; 220-2781.
Guitar Zero to Guitar Hero
Beginning W ednesday, Jan. 9, Mt. Hood
C om m unity College will offer guitar
classes for beginners; classes will be
held at Walt Morey Middle School, 2801
SW Lucas in Troutdale. The fee is $59.
For registration inform ation, call 503-
491-7572.
YWCA Cark County Volunteers
Do you want to make a difference in your
com m unity, becom e a volunteer? C ar­
ing individuals are encouraged to at­
tend an ‘Introduction to V olunteer Ser­
v ices’ to be held at the Y W CA, 3609
M ain St. in V ancouver on T uesday, Jan.
15, from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Call 360-696-
0167 to see how you can help.
Penguins, Penguins, Penguins
: Saturday, Jan. 5, from 10 a.m. to noon,
children ages 5-7 will learn all about
these unusual birds at the O regon Zoo
with adult accom panim ent; to learn more
visitoregonzoo.orgorcall 503-220-2781.
photo by R aymond R endleman /T he
P ortland O bserver
Paula Drake (left) and Patty Katz are spearheading a campaign to open up employment opportunities for ex­
offenders.
Fewer Oregon Families Earn Living Wage
“ A s industries start to create
jo b s, w e ’re looking to m ake
In v estig ato rs h av e fo u n d sure that these jo b s have living
that skyrocketing health-care w a g e s.”
W ashington dem an d s p ar­
co sts present the greatest b ar­
ticular
attention for "p eo p le o f
rier to living w age jo b s in O r­
co
lo
r
disproportio
n ately liv­
egon. T he su ccessful in itia­
ing
under
terrible
co
n d itio n s."
tive in 2002 to tie the sta te ’s
“ It’s tim e for decision m ak ­
m inim um w age to inflation,
raising 15 cents Jan. 1 to $7.95 ers to create race-based p o li­
an hour, has alm ost no im pact cies to help people o f color,
th e re b y a ffe c tin g e v e ry o n e
for health-care needs.
“ W e w ork ed really hard on positively,” W ash in g to n says.
the m inim um -w age increases, “T hen and only then can w e
b ut th a t’s only the start o f our lift the barriers to unionization
w o rk ,” G eri W ashington, an and to the o th e r w ay s that
o rg an iz er for O regon A ction, people can lift them selv es out
to ld the P ortlan d O bserver. o f poverty.”
continued
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/community
V al en d ar
Forum to Promote Living Wages
State Rep. Chip Shields, State Sen. Mar­
garet Carter, both of north and northeast
Portland, are inviting the community to a
Town Hall forum to map out an agenda for
bringing living-wage jobs to local residents.
The meeting will be W ednesday, Jan. 9
from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. at the Oregon Asso­
ciation o f M inority Entrepreneurs (OAME),
4134 N. Vancouver Ave. Special guests
will include Dan Gardner, Oregon Labor
Com m issioner; Connie Ashbrook, Execu­
tive Director of Oregon Tradeswomen Inc.;
and Roy Jay, President o f the African-
American Chamber of Commerce.
Shields cites his past role in developing
living-wage jobs by steering $20 million in
government assistance to jum pstart street­
car m anufacturing in the Portland area,
making it easier to form a union, and
funding a union apprenticeship pilot pro­
gram at Benson High School.
Shields also mentions legislative work for
a minority-business agenda and helping
people in recovery from addiction get their
lives back on track through the African-
American Chamber's Project Clean Slate.
FIx-lt Fair
Saturday,Jan. 12,from 8:30a.m .to2p.m .,
Lents School, 5105 S.E. 97th Ave., will
host a free city o f Portland sponsored fix
it fair, providing inform ation about top­
ics such as: gardening, hom e health and
safety and energy conservation. Free
childcare on site. For more inform ation,
visit portlandonline.com /osdorcall 503-
823-4309.
Wonders of the Winter Sky
M onday,Jan. 14, at 7 p.m. and 8 p.m., the
I Mt. Hood C om m unity C ollege Plan­
etarium Sky Theater, located under the
G resham cam pus library, D irector Doug
M cCarty host the fascinating look at
our beautiful w inter n ig h t’s sky; adm is­
sion is $ 1, seating is limited.
Advocates Needed
Volunteer advocates and investigators
arc needed to serve as ombudsm en for
residents o f nursing homes, residential
care facilities, assisted-living and adult
foster-care homes; training and certifica­
tion begins Thursday, Jan. 10. For more
information on how you can get involved
contact Kathy W alter at 800-522-2602.
Oregon's firs t biofuel station.
Made possible by Lottery funds
More and more Oregonians are choosing biodiesel, bioethanol and other bio-blended fuels
for their cars and trucks. So the people at SeQuential Biofuels had an idea. They wanted
to build the country's first all-biofuel filling station on a site in South Eugene. Thanks
to funding help from the Oregon Lottery ’, their idea became reality. Today, the station is
a showplace for clean, renewable, domestically-produced energy-not just for Oregon,
but for all of America. To find out more, visit ltDoesGoodThings.org.
lottery
IT D O E S G O O D T H IN G S .
Lottery games are based on chance and should be played for entertainm ent only
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