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July 24, 2019
Juvenile Justice Reform Made Good
Governor signs
law sponsored by
late Sen. Winters
by d anny P eterson
t he P ortland o bserver
New sentencing requirements
for young offenders meant to miti-
gate long held systemic racial and
ethnic disparities in Oregon’s cor-
rections system was signed into
law by Gov. Kate Brown Monday
in what advocates are calling the
most significant juvenile justice
reform bill in the past quarter cen-
tury.
It means that a series of man-
datory minimum sentences origi-
nally adopted as part of Measure
11 in 1994 will be reversed. The
former law has been a sore spot
for minority communities most
impacted by an overrepresentation
of persons of color in the criminal
Gov. Kate Brown signed juvenile justice reform legislation Monday mitigating the long held systemic
racial and ethnic disparities from Measure 11, the tough -on-crime sentencing requirements adopted
in Oregon almost 25 years ago.
5010 NE 9th Ave
Portland, Or 97211
Phone: 503 284-2989
We specialize in a variety of cuts for men and
women, hot towel razor shaves, braiding, hair
extension, Shampoo, blow dryer and Platinum fade.
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Established 1970
justice system.
In the case of serious crimes
like murder and assault, youth of-
fenders aged 15, 16, and 17-years-
old will no longer be automatical-
ly prosecuted as adults. Moreover,
a process will be established
where all youth who are convicted
in adult court will eventually be
afforded a “second look,” halfway
through their sentence, by a judge,
and life without parole sentences
have been eliminated for those un-
der 18.
After a decade of pushing simi-
lar legislation—including a failed
push of juvenile sentencing re-
forms in 2013—lawmakers finally
succeeded this year. That’s in large
part due to the added number of
Democrats in the Legislature and
the late state Sen. Jackie Winters,
a black Republican, championing
the measure. Winters was able
to rally support from colleagues
within her party while battling
lung cancer for the past two years.
During Monday’s bill singing,
remembrances from colleagues
and friends touted Winters as a
criminal justice reform champion.
Pam McClain, Winters’ daugh-
ter-in-law and chief-of staff, said
in a tearful speech the bill was a
long sought item to check off on
the 82-year-old’s list of accom-
plishments before her passing in
May, which occurred just days af-
ter Senate Bill 1008 was passed by
the Oregon Legislature.
“She wanted that second look
for juveniles, she wanted to make
sure we gave them hope,” she
Massive Food Stamps Cut
The
nomination
last
week in the Out-
standing
Com-
mercial category.
Created by the
Portland-based
firm Wieden+Ken-
nedy, the ad fea-
tures the former
San
Francisco
49ers quarterback delivering the
tagline “Believe in something.
Even if it means sacrificing every-
thing.” Kaepernick has been the
target of President Trump for pro-
testing issues of racial injustice.
C ontinued on P age 11
USPS 959 680
4747 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., Portland, OR 97211
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The Trump administration is mov-
ing to end food stamp benefits for
3 million people siding with Re-
publicans who wanted to curtail the
leeway of states to automatically
enroll residents who receive welfare
benefits. Agriculture Secretary Son-
ny Perdue said state governments
“have misused this flexibility.”
Week
in
Review
are not confirming any of them are
connected, but they say the meth-
ods sure seem similar. A suspect
or suspects used guest passes to
infiltrate an LA Fitness on North-
west Northrup Street. Once inside,
locks on lockers were cut and wal-
lets were stolen.
A Welcome Homecoming
‘Poppa Funk’ Neville Dies at 81 Congresswom-
Art Neville, a member of a storied
New Orleans musical family who
performed with his siblings in The
Neville Brothers band and found-
ed the groundbreaking funk group
The Meters, died Monday. The
artist nicknamed “Poppa Funk”
was 81. He shared in Grammy
awards with The Neville Brothers
for “Healing Chant;” with a group
of musicians on the Stevie Ray
Vaughn tribute SRV Shuffle; and
with The Meters when they got a
lifetime achievement.
an Ilhan Omar, a
target of Donald
Trump’s racism,
was warmly and
enthusiastical-
ly greeted by
crowds shouting
“welcome home Ilhan” when she
returned home to Minnesota last
week. Faith leaders in her home
district stood firmly behind her.
One rabbi called chants of “send
her home” at a rally the president
held a night earlier in North Caro-
lina, “terrifying.”
Most Admired Woman
The results of an online poll have
found former first lady Michelle
Obama to be the world’s most
admired wom-
an. The 2019
YouGov survey
found that the
lawyer,
writer
and wife of the
44th president
has recently tak-
en the place of
actress, filmmaker and human-
itarian Angelina Jolie for most
String of Gym Thefts
admired woman. Talk show host
A string of thefts have hit gyms all Kaepernick Ad Nominated
and philanthropist Oprah Win-
around the Portland area. Police A 2018 Nike ad featuring Colin frey took second place in the poll,
agencies investigating the thefts Kaepernick received an Emmy while Jolie fell to third place.