March 25, 2009
PageA2
Brouhaha in the Legislature Over Beer Tax
by J ake T homas
T he P ortland O bserver
M entioning the w ord "O r
egon" conjures up im ages o f
p r is tin e b e a c h e s , o rg a n ic
veggies, bike lanes, and high-
quality beer.
This last item has been spar
ingly taxed for decades. But
with state revenue in a slump,
legislators are putting this in
d u stry in its sig h t as a new
source o f funding for ad d ic
tions treatm ent- a chronically
under-funded service. But the
beer industry isn ’t giving up
w ithout a fight.
House Bill 2461 would slap a
$49.61 tax on each 31 gallon
barrel, up from $2.60. The tax
applies to Oregon-m ade as well
as national brand beers. Money
raised from it w ould be e a r
m arked for alcohol treatm ent
services and prevention.
The tax hasn't been raised in
nearly 32 years, and has re
m ained as one of the low est in
the county.
It's not clear how m uch con
sum ers w ill have to pay if it
p a s s e s . F ifte e n c e n ts to a
couple of bucks per glass are
num bers that have been thrown
around as possible amounts.
A d v o ca tes fo r the tax say
that it will fund O regon’s hor
ren d o u sly ig n o red a d d ictio n
treatm ent services.
"1 th in k this bill is a very
good idea," said G ina N ikkei,
the ex e cu tiv e d irecto r o f the
A sso ciatio n o f O reg o n C o m
m u n ity M e n tal H ea lth P ro
gram s. She ex p lain e d th at so
ciety as a w hole has to pay
for the ad d ictio n s o f oth ers.
C h ild ren from broken hom es
h av e to go in to fo ste r care,
and addicts that do n 't receiv e
tre a tm e n t en d up p riso n . It
m akes m ore sense, acco rd in g
to N ikkei, to pay for treatm ent
early on.
A rep o rt from the O reg o n
D e p a rtm e n t o f H u m an S e r
vices sug g ests that the state
loses billions o f d o llars each
y e a r in p r o d u c t i v i t y a n d
spending on health care co sts
d u e to u n tre a te d s u b s ta n c e
problem s. T he rep o rt re c o m
m ends that m illio n s m ore be
spent on trea tm e n t an d p re
ven tio n .
However, the bill is not w ith
out its critics.
"It's a bad road to go down,"
Oregon lawmakers are considering the first increase in
the beer tax in three decades to pay for addiction treat
ment programs.
said Steve Buckstein, a senior
policy analyst at the free-m ar
ket-oriented Cascade Policy In
stitute. He argued that any tax
in crease sh o u ld be b ro ad so
that the state do esn 't becom e
too dependant on it. He is also
critical o f how supporters o f the
tax claim that they are targeting
the beer industry, but, in fact,
consum ers are the ones that will
bear the burden.
P o in te d o p p o s i t i o n h a s
com e, unsurprisingly, from the
b eer industry.
A cc o rd in g to in fo rm a tio n
from the O regon G overnm ent
Ethics Com m ission the O regon
B eer an d W ine D istrib u to rs
Association shelled out $75,600
last year alone to retain a lob
bying firm , the Rom ain G roup,
to m aintain its clout in the leg
islature. T he firm , headed by
Paul Rom ain, is know n for b e
ing aggressive and effective.
R om ain argues that tax in g
b eer pro d u cers is a bad idea
because m iddlem en will raise
the price significantly before it
reaches the consumer.
“ It co u ld be d e v a sta tin g ,”
said Paul G atza, the director o f
the B rew er’s association.
However, C huck Sheketoff,
the ex ecu tiv e d irecto r o f the
Oregon Center for Public Policy,
said it's about tim e for a beer
tax increase. He argued that the
idea that m iddle m en will drive
up the price o f m icro-brew s up
so high that they’ll be drinking
m ore hum ble brew s is "just bi
zarre." He points to increases
in the gas tax as an exam ple,
sa y in g th a t the m id d le m en
haven't added additional costs.
He also argued that if the beers
are that good, people will pay a
bit m ore for them.
A re c e n tly issu ed p o ll by
M oore Inform ation, Inc. states
that 61 percent o f O regonians
w ould support paying 15 cents
m ore for a glass o f beer.
W hen asked about the influ
e n c e o f th e b e e r lo b b y ,
S heketoff points to the fact that
the beer tax hasn't risen in 32
years as p ro o f o f the lo b b y ’s
su ccess.
T h e bill is cu rren tly in the
h o u se R e v e n u e C o m m itte e
an d is not sch ed u led to com e
up befo re the H o u se c o n s id
e rs o th e r re v e n u e b o o ste rs ,
lik e in creasin g the co rp o rate
m inim um tax.
Mixed Results for Charter School Success
Portland Public Schools ap
proved its first charter school
in 1999. Almost 10 years later, a
perform ance audit finds that
P o r tla n d ’s se v e n c h a r te r
sc h o o ls have a m ix e d track
record in im pro v in g student
achievem ent and education in
novation, but highly satisfied
parents, staff and students.
The school district audit re
viewed student assessm ent re
sults, financial data, enrollm ent
records and other inform ation.
In 2 0 00-01,PPS had only 66
charter school students, attend
ing the M cCoy A cadem y (since
closed). Today, 1,080 students
attend one o f seven PPS char
ter schools: A rthur Academ y,
Emerson, LEP High, Opal, Port
land Village, SEI A cadem y and
Trillium public charter schools.
A uditor Richard Tracy found
Soul Train Host gets Probation
(A P) - D on C ornelius has
been sentenced to three years'
p ro b atio n a fte r p le ad in g no
contest to m isdem eanor spou
sal battery.
C o u rt
r e c o rd s
sh o w
Cornelius' attorney entered the
plea M arch 18 on behalf o f the
creator and host o f the televi
sio n show "S o u l T ra in " on
W ednesday.
C o rn e liu s w as ch a rg ed in
Novem ber with spousal battery,
assault with a deadly w eapon
Don Cornelius
and dissuading a w itness from
making a police report, all m is
dem eanors.
The 72-year-old was arrested
a month earlier after police were
called to his H ollyw ood Hills
hom e follow ing a report o f do
m estic dispute.
R eco rd s in d icate the other
c h a r g e s w ere d is m is s e d as
p art o f C o rn eliu s' p lea a g re e
m ent. He w as o rd ered n ot to
u se th re a ts o r fo rc e a g a in st
a n y o n e , in c lu d in g h is w ife
V icto ria, an d m u st atten d a
y e a rlo n g d o m e stic v io le n c e
c o u rse .
that ch arter schools attracted
students who were, on average,
far less likely to be low -incom e
and m inority learners than the
PPS average.
W hile some charter schools
posted impressive academ ic re
sults (m easured by- state stan
o f one. Enroll and pay for “Word
2007, Level I,” and then take
‘W ord 2007, Level II” for free; or
pay fo r “ In tro d u ctio n to the
Internet and e-m a ilin g ,” and
bring a friend along for free.
Located at M HCC’s Maywood
Park Campus, 10100 N £ . Prescott
St., the skills center offers a num
ber o f c re d it-fre e self-p aced
classes. Register and begin the
course anytime throughout the
year. Knowledgeable instructors
are available in the com puter lab
to answer any questions.
To take advantage o f this of
fer, the flee class must be of equal
|NEW S E A S O N S.
dent achievement is difficult to
fully assess due to lack o f spe
cific, measurable charter contract
goals and insufficient annual re
porting." He also concluded that
a "lack of timely financial reports
inhibits assessm ent o f charter
school financial stability."
Spring Break Patrols Added
Portland Police have begun
a cityw ide enh an ced patrol
m ission during Spring Break.
This m ission, w hich will run
through Sunday, M arch 29, is
designed to provide a posi
tive and safe environm ent for
juveniles and im prove neigh
borhood livability by minimiz
ing juvenile-related crime.
T he P olice B ureau's five
precincts, school resource o f
ficers, traffic division, and the
transit police division are par
Discount Computer Classes at Mt. Hood
If you need to upgrade your
com puter skills or you leam bet
ter with a friend, the Mt. Hood
Community College Community
Skills Center has a deal for you.
During spring term, the center is
offering two classes for the price
dardized assessm ents), others
la g g e d b e h in d c o m p a r a b le
schools statewide. M ost ch ar
te r sc h o o l stu d e n ts sh o w e d
sm aller gains in read in g and
m ath ac h ie v e m e n t th an PPS
students in the sam e grades.
However, Tracy noted, "stu
or lesser value than the pur
chased class; enrollm ent for
both classes is required at time
o f registration; and registration
must be in person/
Fore more information, call
503-491-6100. For a complete list
o f classes offered at the Com
m u n ity S k ills C e n te r v isit
www.mhcc.edu/commskills.
•
M A R K E T
N O W D E L IV E R IN G
Y o u r fa v o r ite n e ig h b o r h o o d g r o c e r y s to r e n o w d e liv e r s
g r o c e r ie s r ig h t to y o u r h o m e o r o ffic e .
»
ticipating in curfew m issions,
tra n sit are a en h a n c e d p atro l
m issions and traffic m issions.
O fficers will concentrate on
areas in the city where juveniles
c o n s is te n tly c o n g r e g a te in
larg e g ro u p s o r w h ere th e re
have been ongoing problem s
w ith speed racing, vandalism ,
and property crim e.
E very year, the Portland P o
lice Bureau partners w ith the
O ffic e o f N eig h b o rh o o d In
volvement, Portland's Parks and
Recreation, Oregon Youth A u
thority, Youth G ang Outreach,
Police A ctivities League, the
B o y s an d G irls C lu b s and
other com m unity partners, to
o f fe r sa fe a lte rn a tiv e s fo r
youth during Spring Break.
A list o f som e o f the offer
ing, com piled by the Office of
Youth Violence Prevention, is
o n th e c i t y ’s w e b p a g e at
portlandonline.com .
PSU Hires
Assistant
B ran d o n S h elb y has b een
n a m e d th e n e w s e c o n d a ry
co ach fo r the P o rtlan d S tate
football program.
Shelby jo in s PSU after being
the defensive backs coach at
the U niversity o f San D iego in
2008 where the Toreros w ent 9-
2. He will take over as coach o f
th e V iking c o rn e rb a c k s and
safeties and begin w orking with
them during spring football.
Shelby is a 2004 graduate o f
the U n iv ersity o f O k lah o m a
with a degree in Business M an
a g e m e n t. H e a lso e a rn e d a
M asters degree in H um an R e
lations from O klahom a in 2005.
Shelby spent the 2006 sea
son as a defensive assistant at
Oklahoma. In
2007 he served as a graduate
assistant at the U niversity o f
Arizona.
Brandon Shelby
A d e fe n s iv e b a c k fo r the
S ooners, S helby w as a four-
year letterman from 2001-04. He
w as a tw o-tim e Academ ic All-
B ig 12 s e le c tio n a n d a lso
earn ed A ssociated Press All-
Big 12 honors.
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