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Right 2 Dream Too Fined $12,592
Activists say
it’s about
human rights,
not money
The City o f Portland sent a
$12,592 bill last week to Right 2
Dream Too, the organization that
provides sleeping space for people
w ithout housing at N orthw est
Fourth Avenue and Burnside Street.
The invoice accounts for viola
tions of city codes related to recre
ational camping.
Right 2 D ream Too leaders say
this is the first time they have
received a bill from the city. Previ
ous notices have been sent to the
private landow ners who donated
the space for use as a refuge for
the hom eless, Michael W right and
Dan Cossette.
A ctivists at the site continue to
m aintain that the conflict with the
city is a hum an rights issue, not a
zoning code dispute.
“W e are not a recreational
cam pground. We have provided
urgently needed shelter for 60 to
90 people every night since we
PHOTO BY CARI H a CHMANN/T h E PORTLAND OBSERVER
opened in O ctober 2011,” says A sign advocates fo r the rights o f people w ith o u t h o using a t the R ight 2 Dream Too encam pm ent.
Ibrahim M ubarak, who helped lo c a te d on a vacant gravel lo t a t N orthw est Fourth Avenue an d B urnside S treet.
start Right 2 Dream Too.
“The fines should be waived
and the city should work with us
not against us. In the m eantim e,
with tem peratures dipping below
freezing at night, R2DToo will
co n tin u e to p ro v id e e sse n tia l
housing services at no cost to the
taxpayer,” M ubarak said.
In the past six weeks, there has
been renewed attention focused on
the site, a gravel lot filled with tents.
The Grove Hotel across the street is
slated for conversion to a youth
hostel with the help of millions of
dollars of public money.
Late last year, G rove Hotel
owner and developer, David Gold,
initiated a public cam paign aim ed
at gathering com plaints against
Right 2 Dream Too.
In early Decem ber, Portland
B usiness A lliance published a
le tte r to C ity C o m m is sio n e r
Saltzm an that called on him to in
crease pressure on the Right 2
Dream Too advocates. On Dec.
10, Human Rights Day, the activ
ists and landow ners filed suit
against the city.
On Saturday, supporters in the
20th annual Sisters o f the Road
M artin Luther King Day M arch
included a stop at Right 2 Dream
Too.
School Shooting Spurs Action on Guns
Obama issues
orders and pro
poses new laws
(AP) - Braced forafight, President
Barack Obama last week unveiled the
most sweeping proposals for curb
ing gun violence in two decades,
pressing a reluctant Congress to pass
universal background checks and
bans on military-style assault weap
ons and high-capacity ammunition
magazines like the ones used in the
Newtown, Conn., school shooting.
A month after that horrific massa
cre, Obama also used his presidential
powers to enact 23 measures that
don’t require the backing of lawmak
ers. The president's executive actions
include ordering federal agencies to
make more data available for back
ground checks, appointing a director
of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, n i l l „ a ¿ v u ju n , o {r r o m ie n > , la e ja n uoooe, 1 0 , Julia S tokes. 1 1 . a n d G rant Fritz, 8. children who
Firearms and Explosives, and direct- w rote le tte rs to P resident B arack Obama a b o u t the sch o o l s h o o tin g in Newtown. Conn., w atch as
ing the Centers for Disease Control to P resid ent Obam a signs executive orders la s t w eek a t the W hite H ouse o u tlin in g p ro p o sa ls to
research gun violence.
reduce g u n violence. (AP p h oto )
But the president, speaking a
White House ceremony, focused hi
attention on the divided Congress
saying only lawmakers could enac
the most effective measures for pre
venting more mass shootings.
"To make a real and lasting differ
ence, Congress must act," Obam<
said. "And Congress must act soon.'
The president vowed to use "what
ever weight this office holds" to pres:
lawmakers into action on his $50(
million plan. He is also calling foi
improvements in school safety, in
cluding putting 1,000 police officers
in schools and bolstering mental
health care by training more health
professionals to deal with young
people who may be at risk.
Acknowledging the tough fight
ahead, Obama said there will be
pundits, politicians and special in
terest groups that will seek to "gin
up fear" that the White House wants
to take away the right to own a gun.
"Behind the scenes, they’ll do
continued
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