March 18, 2020
Page 3
INSIDE L O C A L N E W S
The
Week in Review
page 2
page 6
M ETRO
PhoTo CourTesy
u.s. C ensus
2020 U.S. Census notices are going out to households everywhere.
Census Begins with Mail Notice
No citizenship
questions ease
concerns
b everly C orbell
T he P orTland o bserver
2020 Census notices are be-
ing mailed between now and the
end of the week on March 20 and
households are being asked to
complete a Census count online.
If requests are not followed up
there will be forms sent by and
door-to-door Census counts. The
results of the Census directly
affect what resources the feder-
al government provides to local
communities and determine the
number of representatives in
Congress.
According to the website
2020census.gov, for example,
the Census influences what is
by
Arts &
ENTERTAINMENT
pages 7-8
allocated from Congress to high-
way planning and construction
for states and municipalities
based on population, impact
grants for local public tran-
sit like TriMet, and determine
federal allocations for teachers
serving diverse populations, in-
cluding Head Start and special
education.
“The list goes on,” the Census
website states, “including pro-
grams to support rural areas, to
restore wildlife, to prevent child
abuse, to prepare for wildfires,
and to provide housing assis-
tance for older adults.”
Census data also helps com-
munities respond to natural di-
sasters and secure funding for
hospitals and fire departments,
libraries, nutrition programs and
as well as determining the num-
ber of members each state sends
to the House of Representatives.
Everyone is required by law
to respond to the census, which
is conducted every 10 years.
About 145 million households
will receive an initial invitation
by mail to complete the census
form. About 112 million house-
holds will receive either an in-
vitation to respond online or
by phone and about 31 million
households in areas with little or
no cell phone service or internet
access will also receive a paper
questionnaire.
Misty Slater, U.S. Census me-
dia specialist for Oregon, Ne-
vada and Idaho, said in a phone
interview with the Portland
Observer that people have sev-
eral options to respond to their
Census form. They can respond
via mail, phone or online at my-
2020census.gov.
C onTinued on P age 4
Prison Visits Stopped to Fight Virus Spread
O PINION
C LASSIFIED /B IDS
pages 9-10
pages 10
The Oregon Department of
Corrections has suspended all vis-
iting at all 14 state prisons as a re-
sponse to the Novel Coronavirus
(COVID-19) in Oregon. The re-
striction was imposed Friday fol-
lowing Gov. Kate Brown’s state
of emergency and will last for at
least 30 days to include non-con-
tact visits where people speak to
one another through glass.
“All of us at the Oregon De-
partment of Corrections value
visiting and especially the con-
nections that visiting affords to
family and friends. We know that
relationships reduce the risk of fu-
ture criminal behavior. However,
during this State of Emergency, it
is critical we take appropriate pre-
cautions necessary to protect our
employees and those in our care
and custody. This decision was not
made lightly, and we understand
the impact that this necessary ac-
tion will have on the people in our
custody and on their families. We
are working hand-in-hand with
our state and local partners to keep
our institutions as healthy as pos-
sible.”
Multnomah County Sherriff
Mike Reese also announced that,
as of Friday, the sheriff’s office is
no longer allowing “social visita-
tion” at the two jails in the county
in an effort to prevent the further
spread of the of the coronavirus.
“The outbreak of COVID-19
has far-reaching implications for
all of us in public safety,” said
Reese, “To be clear, there are no
presumptive cases of COVID-19
among our employees at the sher-
iff’s office or in our jail popula-
tion.”
The interim restrictions on jail
visits will not impact an inmate’s
ability to see their attorney, ac-
cording to Reese. Families and
loved ones can still access some-
one in custody through the jail’s
teleconferencing and video con-
ferencing kiosks.