Scooter
Rentals Begin
SNAP Saved
at Farmers
Markets
Food Bank
connects low
income shoppers
‘City
of
Roses’
Motorized
electronic scooters
hit Portland
See Local News, page 3
See Metro, page 9
Volume XLVII • Number 30
Established in 1970
www.portlandobserver.com
Wednesday • August 1, 2018
Committed to Cultural Diversity
photo by D anny p eterson /t he p ortlanD o bserver
Rev. E.D. Mondainé, president of the Portland NAACP, pastor of the Celebration Tabernacle in north Portland, and primary spokesman for a ballot measure this
November that would require big businesses in Portland to apply a 1 percent surcharge on their sales to a Clean Energy Fund. The measure would fund environmental
projects and provide job training and new business assistance for low income populations impacted by pollution.
A Business Tax for Climate Justice
Advocates say ballot measure supports communities of color
b everly C orbell
t he p ortlanD o bserver
It’s high time big business does
its part to support communities of
color. And that means backing a
proposed Clean Energy Fund to
combat global warming and pro-
vide job training and help forming
new businesses for the diverse and
low-income populations impacted
by
by pollution and changes in the
economy.
That’s the message of Rev.
E.D. Mondainé (pronounced
MON-de-nay), president of the
Portland chapter of the NAACP,
pastor of the Celebration Taberna-
cle in north Portland, and primary
spokesman for the Portland Just
Energy Transition Initiative or
PDX04.
Poised for placement on the
ballot this November, the mea-
sure would require big businesses
in Portland to apply a 1 percent
surcharge on their sales in the
city if the business has at least
$1 billion in annual revenue and
at least $500,000 of that revenue
from within the city limits. Most
groceries and medicine would be
exempt.
The Clean Energy Fund would
be used to encourage and promote
eco-friendly measures such as
weatherproofing and solar instal-
lations, and to train low-income
people to do the work and eventu-
ally open their own businesses and
create even more green jobs.
“We plan to raise about $30 mil-
lion dollars (annually) which will
help us do better weatherization,
create jobs for energy efficiency,
solar power, etc., and to make the
heavy load of home utility bills a
lot lighter,” Mondainé said.
He said the revenue would off-
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