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General Election Nov. 4
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^com m unity service
‘City of Roses’
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Thc Review
Freightliner Plant to Close
D a im le r T ru c k s o f N o rth
America, formerly known as
Freightliner, announced T ues
day that it is closing its 39-
year-old Portland m anufactur
ing plant in June 2010, elim i
nating about 1,000 jobs. See
story, page A9
ACORN Defends Voter Drive
T h e a c tiv is t o rg a n iz a tio n
known as ACORN on T ues
day defended its voter regis
tration practices am id new al
legations o f voter fraud and a
call from Republican law m ak
ers to investigate irregulari
ties. See story, page A9.
VOTE
bseruer
www.portlandobserver.com
Established in 1970
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Volume XXXVIII. Number 40
★ ★ ★★★
Wednesday • October 15. 2008
Sentencing Measures Opposed
Ch.urch leaders say more prisons not the answer
by L aura M eehan
T he P ortland O bserver
After voters approved Mea
sure 11 in 1994, many people felt
the imposition of mandatory mini
mum prison sentences for violent
criminals was discriminatory or
ineffective. Now two more mea
sures to increase prison terms for
other crimes will appear on the
November ballot.
A long w ith the en o rm o u s
cost to build prisons. Measures
57 and 61 are bringing some of
the same objections over fair
ness versus the need to bring
justice to victim s and enhance
public safety.
says the group of black church
Worried about citi
leaders is against
zen-proposed M ea
both measures.
sure 61’s affects on
"We are thank
the community, the
ful
for
the
legislature came up
L e g isla tu re 's a t
w ith M easure 57,
tem p t to o ffse t
w hich su p p o sed ly
| M easure 6 1 1 in
only incarcerates re
terms of the rehab
peat offenders, incar
and e v e ry th in g ,
cerates fewer women
but we do not be
and includes a fund
lieve that the solu
for addiction treat
tion is more pris
ment.
ons, when we are
Rev. LeRoy Haynes
H ow ever, Rev.
already straddled
Leroy Haynes, vice president of with high taxes,” Haynes said.
the Albina Ministerial Alliance,
“We must get to the root cause
of crime, which is economic: illit
eracy. the lack of education and
job opportunities. Instead of put
ting the money into prisons, we
should put it in education and
creating job opportunities,” he
said.
Haynes believes discretion on
se n te n c e s sh o u ld be in the
hands of the judges, who must
be allowed to determine the need
for rehabilitation as well as the
presence of any mitigating fac
tors.
Since m andatory-sentencing
laws such as Measure 11 became
more common in the m id-1980s,
prison
p o p u la tio n s
have
boom ed, though crim e levels
have not declined with the same
intensity.
In the U.S., more than 2.3 mil
lion, or one in 100 adults, are in
jail, and since 91 percent of those
are in local or state prisons, it
costs state governm ents more
than $50 billion annually.
O regon’s prison population
increased by 80 percent after the
passage of Measure 11, and now
Oregon is one of five states that
spend as much or more on pris
ons than it does on higher edu
cation.
It is also well-known that our
*
corrections system is racially bi-
continued
on pane A2
Obama Makes
Play for Gamers
D em ocratic presidential can
didate Barack Obam a has made
a play for online videogamers,
placing cam paign advertise
ments in a series o f popular
titles from videogam e giant
Electronic Arts.
Lewis Warns of Hateful Tone
il
U
Rep. John Lewis, a Georgia
D emocrat and veteran o f the
c iv il rig h ts
K
c a m p a ig n ,
saying it rem inds him o f the
hateful atm osphere that segre
gationist Gov. G eorge W allace
fostered in A labam a in the
1960s.
photo by M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver
Philip Johnson and Cynthia Thomas (right) are the directors o f New Decision, the first certified African-American foster care agency in the state. They work
with members o f the juvenile justice system, including counselors Daryl E. Winchester (from left), Dave Riley and Leslie Taylor to serve at-risk youth.
Couple Makes a Difference
Runs foster care agency for youth of color
M ichael L eighton
T he P orti . and O bserver
A northeast Portland couple
is making a major difference in
by
King Children in Court
the lives of young people as di competent treatment services to
rectors of the first certified Afri local youth.
Philip Johnson and Cynthia
can-American foster care agency
in the state providing culturally- Thomas and their New Decision
Treatment Foster Care agency is
a minority and women-owned
business established as part of
an ongoing effort to decrease the
number of minorities in the juve
nile justice system.
Johnson has over 15 years ex
perience working with gang-af
fected youth for the Portland
House of Umoja, Janus Youth
Homes, Services for Human
ity, and Central City Concern.
He serves as a board member
for the M iracles Recovery
Club, Just Men in Recovery
and serves middle and high
continued
on pane A2
The children o f C oretta Scot
King and the Rev. Martin Luthei
King Jr. faced o ff in an Atlanta
courtroom Tuesday in a dis
pute over their mother's per
sonal papers that could derail i
lucrative book deal.
Inmate Loses
Death Row Appeal
The Suprem e Court cleared tht
w ay T uesday for a G eorgii
man to be put to death foi
killing a police officer, despite
calls from his supporters tc
reco n sid er the case because
seven o f nine key witnesse*
against the African Americar
man have recanted their testi
m ony.
Winds Whip California Fires
Ferocious desert w inds pusher
one o f three m ajor wildfire*
burning across Southern Cali
fom ia to nearly double its size
o v e rn ig h t, fire fig h te rs saie
Tuesday, the third day of blaze*
that destroyed dozens of home*
and forced thousands to flee.
Gay Couples Rush to Wed
Gay couples from around Cali
fom ia and the country are fe
verishly tying the knot ahead o
Election Day to avoid missing
out if California voters approve
a ballot initiative aimed at ban
ning same-sex marriage.
11/maculate comes to Berbati's on
Wednesday, Oct. 22.
Large Professor performs Thursday.
Oct. 2 3 at the Someday Lounge.
Mistah F.A.B. performs Friday, Oct. 24 at
Berbati's.
One Be Lo performs Saturday.
Oct. 25 at The Ash Street.
Portland Hip Hop Festival Turns 10
Four nights of
entertainment set
Terrance Scott, also known as Cool Nutz, is reaching
out to bring word about the upcoming Portland. Or
egon Hip-Hop Festival (POH-HOP), scheduled for
Wednesday, Oct. 22 through Sunday, ( k t. 25 at mul
tiple venues.
"We have some amazing shows and the event should
be great," Scott said.
POH-HOP was a monumental and historic event when
it was created in 1995. Scott, along with David Parks
and Steven Spyryt had a vision to create an event that
gave local hip-hop artists an outlet to expose their art
to the masses.
With the support of the community and some o f the
cities music industry luminaries, the festival exploded
on the scene and was successful even beyond the ex
pectations of its creators and supporters.
Over the past 10 years. POH-Hop has featured some
of the most talented local artists, as well as national
stars like The Luniz. Spearhead. Mac Dre. Ras Kass.
Andre Nickatina. and more.
This year POH-HOP 10 spans over four nights, and
features appearances from some of the regions hottest
talents, as well as headliners lllmaeulatet World Battle
Rap Champion), Large Professor! Main Source). Mistah
FA B(Snoop Dogg and T hizz E nt.), and O ne Be
Lo(Binary Star and Fat Beats).
POII HOP is the epitome of independent music and has
set a standard lot supporting true independent art. The fes
tival has become a staple in the Northwest music scene.
I