c
Still Singing After all these Years
Ira Hammon, Thurtis Channel, Sherman Davis,
James Tims, and Jeddy Beasley began singing
together at Jefferson High School, later to become
part of the seven man group, the “Beyons.”
‘City o f
Roses’
see story inside, page 8
rt Untó (Ob seroer
Established in 1970
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Volume XXXX, Number 28
Of
community service
w w w .p o rtla n d o b s e rv e r.c o m
Wednesday • July 14. 2010
In Oregon, Times Remain Hard
Funding for
services sapped
J ake T homas
T he P ortland O bserver
by
The economic news in Oregon continues
to be disappointing, if not outright grim.
On Tuesday, Employment Department
economists released figures showing that
Oregon’s unemployment rate was 10.5 per­
cent for June, with virtually little change from
the previous m onth’s 10.6 percent rate in
May. The state’s unemployment rate has
been stuck between 10.5 and 10.7 percent for
the last eight months.
N ationally, the unem ploym ent rate
dropped slightly in June from 9.7 percent to
9.5.
Numbers released by state economists
showed that Oregon lost 3,600 jobs, mostly
temporary positions with the Census. The
state also saw a decline o f jobs in profes­
sional and healthcare, business services,
government, and retail.
Trade, transportation, utilities, wholesale
trade, manufacturing and financial services
all added jobs, which offset loses in other
sectors.
photo by J ake
T homas /T he P ortland O bserver
Anke Studer stares intently at a computer at a WorkSource center in north Port-
land. Studer has been out o f work since early last year.
Overall, the numbers representan improve­
ment since a year ago. In June, 203,884 Or­
egonians were unemployed. A year ago, that
number was 229,471.
However, many individuals are still strug­
gling with the sagging economy.
More than 3,000 Oregonians saw their last
unemployment check last week jo in in g the
ranks o f 14,000 individuals who have com­
pletely exhausted all their unemployment
insurance.
During the 2010 legislative session, law­
makers instated Oregon Emergency Benefits
to keep unemployed workers afloat who had
exhausted all other extensions. It was in­
tended to help see them through until sum­
mer, when jobs usually pick up. Lawmakers
had put $ 19 million ofmoney from the Unem­
ployment Insurance Trust Fund for the pro­
gram.
With the program now ending, individu­
als who lose their job and qualify for unem­
ployment have up to 26 weeks o f benefits
and 20 weeks o f emergency benefits.
Efforts to extend unemployment for indi­
viduals who have exhausted their benefits
have been held up by Republican opposition
in the U.S. Senate.
Last month, it was repealed that the state
continued
on page 18
Rainy Weather Gives Rise to Mosquitoes
Officials: Bugs
more than a
nuisance
D rew D akessian
T he P ortland O bserver
by
There recently has been a mos­
quito outbreak in Portland, and quite
frankly, it bites.
An unusually wet spring and
rainy June, followed by last week’s
record high temperatures sped up
the life cycle o f the water-based
mosquito larvae, expediting their
maturation and enabling them to
breed th em se lv e s, said Steve
Kessler, Operations Manager for
Clark County Mosquito Control.
But mosquitoes are more than
Mosquito larva (left) grow in stagnant water, such as neglected containers and gutters (center). While all species o f full grown moi
quito are a nuisance, some also carry serious, even fatal deiseases.
mere nuisances. Portlanders should
be protecting themselves from the
vampire-like insects because they
to
are carriers o f an array o f diseases,
including the feared West Nile Vi­
rus, a flavivirus thought to be spread
when a mosquito bites an infected
bird and then bites a person.
Since it was first identified in
continued
on page 18