July 13, 2016
Page 3
INSIDE
The
Week in Review
This page
Sponsored by:
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L OCAL N EWS
pages 6-7
O PINION
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S PORTS
Photo by C lifford K ing
Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, two black men killed by police in Minnesota and Louisiana, are
remembered during a protest Thursday in downtown Portland.
Protests and Vigils
M ETRO
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Community and
police respond
to shootings
C ervante P oPe
t he P ortland o bserver
Portland joined protests and
vigils all around the country in
the wake of last week’s apparent
revenge shooting of five police
officers in Dallas, Texas, and the
deaths of two black men at the
hands of police a few days earlier
in Minnesota and Louisiana.
A sweeping march in down-
town Portland on Thursday took
by
place after the officer-involved
shootings, but before the Dallas
violence. The protest temporarily
closed the Morrison Bridge as an
estimated 1,000 people gathered
to demand police reforms. Activ-
ist groups Black Lives Matter and
Don’t Shoot Portland were at the
forefront of the demonstration.
In an attempt to keep the peace
between the police and the com-
munity, Portland Mayor Charlie
Hales issued a statement that the
Portland Police Bureau would re-
spond with as little force as pos-
sible. He also pledged to continue
city investment in young people
and work to keep guns out of the
hands of young people by lobby-
ing the Legislature and Congress
for stricter gun control.
The protest was somewhat in-
terrupted by a videographer, Mi-
chael Strickland, who was caught
brandishing a Glock handgun
during a dispute with protesters.
Police arrested him on charges of
disorderly conduct and menacing.
Marches to demand police re-
forms in the wake of officer-in-
volved shootings continued all
weekend across the country. Po-
lice departments across the nation
also held gatherings in honor of
C ontinued on P age 5
Lead Worries Grow with Testing
Arts &
pages
10-14
Jefferson tests
finds highest
levels yet
ENTERTAINMENT
C LASSIFIEDS
C ALENDAR
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F OOD
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page 14
A problem with water faucets
containing lead continues to grow
as testing increasingly is finding
harmful levels of lead at Port-
land’s public schools, city parks
and other public buildings.
Tests released this week for
Jefferson High School in north
Portland, for example, show 198
water fixtures with elevated lead
levels, including two drinking
fountains with lead levels 22
higher than the Environment Pro-
tection Agency’s action level.
A sink faucet at Jefferson was
tested at 9070 ppb, the highest
result found in a public water
system in Oregon, according to
Kari Salis, a technical services
manager for the Oregon Health
Authority. New tests also show
elevated lead levels at Beach,
Creston and Sunnyside elemen-
tary schools.
In addition, Portland Public
Schools has now reported dan-
gerous lead paint debris on the
playground at Alameda Elemen-
tary in northeast Portland, show-
ing the district has failed to rem-
edy a problem in lead dust from
paint found in 2013.
The school district sealed off
a portion of the Alameda play-
ground Monday to prevent ex-
posure and issued a statement to
families saying a firm will clean
up the contaminated areas as
soon as possible.
Health authorities say there is
no safe level of lead in the blood
for kids. The Multnomah County
Health Department will contin-
ue providing free lead screening
clinics all summer.