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Summer Heat Brings Safety Tips
With a long stretch of warm
weather expected over the next
few d ay s, the M u ltn o m ah
County Aging and Disability
Services Division would like to
remind older adults and people
with heat sensitive disabilities
to take the following precau­
tions in hot weather.
♦Keep air circulating with
fans; take cool sponge baths.
♦Go to an air-conditioned
bu ild in g if p o ssib le. O ld er
adults can visit their local se­
nior center, library, or mall.
♦Wear loose-fitting, light­
weight clothing. If going out,
wear a hat.
♦Drink lots of water and don’t
wait to get “thirsty”.
♦Avoid alcohol.
♦Limit physical activity and
direct exposure to the sun.
♦Check with your health care
provider about how the warm
weather may affect your pre­
scription drugs.
♦Contact your health care
provider if you experience pro­
longed heat-related symptoms,
or if those symptoms signifi­
cantly affect the ability to care
for yourself.
Heat stroke and heat exhaus­
tion are the most common con­
ditions directly associated with
summer heat waves. However,
hot weather can also place a
dangerous strain on the heart,
exacerbate respiratory impair­
ments like asthma or emphy­
sema and a range of other medi­
cal conditions, and also affect Loaves and Fishes meal sites,
the ability to manage chronic community centers, libraries,
diseases like diabetes and hy­ shopping m alls and m ovie
pertension.
th e a tre s are good op tio n s.
Since air conditioning has Even a few hours a day out of
been found to be the single the heat can make a big dif­
most important factor in re­ ference.
ducing heat related risks, se­
This is also an opportunity
niors and people w ith d is­ for neighbors to check on their
a b ilitie s are en couraged to elderly or disabled friends and
visit air-conditioned b u ild ­ re la tiv e s d u rin g the hot
ings in their community if their weather. Since many people ex­
homes do not have air condi­ periencing heat-related symp­
tio n in g . S e n io r c e n te rs , toms may be unaware that they
Support Grows for Court Nominee
Committee to vote next week
(AP) - The Senate Judiciary Tuesday, July 28 and expressed
Committee put off its vote on confidence she would win con­
Supreme Court nominee Sonia firmation by a bipartisan vote
Sotomayor for one week amid of the full Senate in time for the
objections from the panel's con­ Supreme Court's earlier-than-
servative Republicans T ues­ usual first meeting Sept. 9.
His prediction came as Sen.
day, even as the judge's sup­
port among GOP moderates con­ Susan Collins of Maine became
the latest Republican to pub­
tinued to grow.
Sotomayor would be the first licly commit to voting for Presi­
Hispanic on the country’s high­ dent Barack Obama's first high
est court if she wins confirma­ court pick.
"I know that I will not agree
tion by the U.S. Senate.
Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., the w ith every d ecision Justice
Judiciary chairm an, said his S o to m a y o r re a c h e s on the
p an el
w o u ld
vote
on court, ju st as 1 disagree with
Sotom ayor's nom ination on some o f her previous d e c i­
Sens. Richard Lugar of Indi­
ana, Mel Martinez of Florida and
Olympia Snowe of Maine have
all announced they would vote
for the 55-year-old federal ap­
peals court judge, while some of
the most conservative Republi­
cans, including Minority Leader
Mitch McConnell of Kentucky,
have said they'll oppose her.
Sen. Jeff Sessions o f A la­
S o n ia S o to m a yo r
bama, the senior Republican on
sions," Collins said in a state­ the Ju d ic ia ry p anel, said
ment. However, she added that Sotomayor is still on track for a
she believes Sotomayor "un­ confirmation vote on a timetable
derstands the proper rule of a slightly quicker than the one
judge and is committed to ap­ Democrats followed for acting
plying the law impartially with­ on GOP-nominated Chief Jus­
tice John Roberts.
out bias or favoritism."
Police Call Arrest Regrettable
Scholar confronted
(AP) - Prosecutors dropped
a disorderly conduct charge
T uesday against p rom inent
black sc h o la r H enry L ouis
Gates Jr., who was arrested at
his home near Harvard Univer­
sity after a report of a break-in.
The city of Cambridge, Mass,
issued a statement saying the
arrest "was regrettable and un­
fortunate" and police and Gates
agreed that dropping the charge
was a just resolution.
"This incident should not be
viewed as one that demeans the
"tw o black m ales
character and repu­
with backpacks on
tation of professor
the porch," with one
Gates or the charac­
"wedging his shoul­
ter o f the C a m ­
der into the door as
bridge Police D e­
if he was trying to
p artm en t,"
the
force entry," accord­
statement said.
ing to a police report.
S u p p o rters say
Gates' lawyer, fel­
Gates — the direc­
low Harvard scholar
to r o f H a rv a rd 's
Henry Louis Gates Jr.
C h a rle s O g le tre e ,
W.E.B. Du Bois In­
stitute for African and African said the professor had returned
American Research — was the from a trip overseas with a
driver, found his front-door
victim of racial profiling.
O fficers responded to the jammed and had to force it open.
home Gates rents from Harvard He was already inside, calling
after a woman reported seeing the company that manages the
Finding ways to cool down
property, when police arrived.
Police said the 58-year-old
Gates was arrested after he yelled
at an officer, accused him of ra­
cial bias and refused to calm
down after the officer demanded
Gates show him identification to
prove he lived in the home.
Ogletree said Gates showed
his driver's license and Harvard
ID — both with his photos —
and repeatedly asked for the
name and badge number of the
officer, who refused. He fol­
lowed the officer as he left his
house onto his front porch,
where he was arrested.
are having a problem, it is criti­
cal to check on elderly and dis­
abled folks living alone or who
are socially isolated.
For more information about
services for the elderly and dis­
abled, including a list of air con­
ditioned locations, transporta­
tion services, and 24-hour cri­
sis
in te rv e n tio n ,
ca ll
M ultnom ah C ounty’s Aging
and D isa b ility S e rv ic e s
Helpline at 503-988-3646 or TTY
at 503-988-3683.
in Growing Despair
continued ^ ^ J ro n t Front
state, which went toward af­
fordable housing programs.
However, advocates argue
that these efforts h av en ’t
gone far enough.
“The HUD report paints the
picture o f the grow ing
struggles of low-income fami­
lies in Oregon,” said Elisa
Aguilera, co-director of the
Community Alliance of Ten­
ants, in a statement. “Orego­
nians cannot keep waiting for
real and meaningful invest­
ments in affordable housing.”
“W e're going to keep do­
ing what w e’ve been doing,”
said Commissioner Nick Fish,
who heads Portland’s Hous­
ing Bureau.
Fish points out that Port­
land is doing better than the
rest of the state, which he
says is evidence that the
c ity ’s e ffo rts to com bat
homelessness are paying off.
In January, M ultnom ah
County conducted its own
S treet C ount, w hich sent
w orkers out to do a
h e a d c o u n t o f how m any
people lacked a hom e. It
found 1,591 homeless people
in the county, seventy eight
of which had children.
The number of homeless
people in O regon has
steadily sw elled over the
years. In 2007 the state was
ranked fourth in the nation,
and fifth the year before.
As the econom y has fal­
tered, O regon has hem o r­
rhaged jobs at an alarm ing
pace, and the unemployment
rate has soared to over 12 per­
cent, the second highest rate
in the country. Oregon also
ranks third in hunger.
“It’s a trifecta,” said Fish.
The report also noted alarm­
ing trends. The num ber of
homeless families rose nine
percent. There was also a nine
p ercen t
in crease
in
hom elessness in suburban
and rural areas.
Inform ation in the report
may not fully reflect the scope
of the problems since its date
was collected in September
2008, just as the economy was
beginning to teeter.
While sitting on the side­
walk outside Powell’s City of
Books on Burnside Street,
Davenport gently asks people
if they can spare any change
as they rush in and out of the
store. Many walk right past,
without uttering a word or ac­
knowledging her.
D avenport h a d n ’t heard
about the report, but said that
she's seen more people on the
street in recent months.
“It doesn’t surprise m e,”
she said.
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