www . tHESkANNER . COM
J ANUARy 12, 2011
P ORtLANd & S EAttLE
V OLUME XXXIII, N O . 12
25
CENtS
Please join The Skanner News
for its 25th Annual
Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast
8:30 to 10:30 a.m. Monday Jan. 17
The Oregon Convention Center
C hallenging P eoPle to S haPe a B etter F uture n ow
Union
Hiring
Goals
sworn in
Carpenters Union
crafts diversity goals,
but will others agree?
by Helen Silvis
of The Skanner News
PHoTo bY briaN STimSoN
P
lans are underway for a raft of major
public construction projects that will
bring millions of federal dollars into
Oregon’s struggling economy. Projects set
to go forward include:
• the $330 million Sellwood Bridge;
• the $140 million Oregon Health and
Sciences University Sustainability Center;
• the $39 million expansion of Portland
Community College’s Southeast center;
• a new $60 million FBI building at
Cascade Center;
• and the Columbia River Crossing, pro-
jected to cost at least $3.87 billion.
“These projects offer a great opportunity
to create jobs in our community and also to
train people to get well-paid jobs in the
future, ” says Maurice Rahming, President
of O’Neill Electric and of the Oregon
branch of the National Association of
Minority Contractors. “What many people
don’t realize is that skilled construction
industry jobs are very well paid, and offer a
pathway to financial security.”
Now a new initiative from the Carpenters
Union and the Operating Engineers, Local
701, could open up opportunities to minori-
ties, women and disadvantaged small busi-
nesses.
“This can have such a tremendous impact
on Portland and the Greater Portland area,
increasing diversity among business people
and the construction workforce,” says Doug
Tweedie, executive secretary, treasurer and
CEO of the Pacific Northwest Regional
Council of Carpenters. “The opportunities
are huge, absolutely huge.”
What the carpenters have done is to draft
a model Community Benefits Agreement
that could become standard for Oregon’s
public works contracts – if other construc-
tion unions sign on. It piggybacks on previ-
ous work done by the National Association
of Minority Contractors, which for decades
Judge Adrienne Nelson swears in Multnomah County Commissioner Loretta Smith in a ceremony and celebration
that was held Jan. 7 at Portland Community College Cascade Campus.
Political Violence Has Long History in Portland
Legal precedents reflect national debate over heated rhetoric
lisa loving
of The Skanner News
I
t is a strange coincidence
that two of the biggest civil
cases in America against vir-
ulent conservative rhetoric –
incidents that involved political-
ly-motivated murders – were
tried in Portland courtrooms.
In 2002, anti-choice activists
who had created a “wanted”
poster-style website listing
abortion providers with gun
sights over their faces were
found liable for damages
See jobS on page 3
iNDEX
News ..............2,3,9,12
Opinion ..................4,5
A & E .........................7
Food..........................8
Bids/Classifieds ...10,11
because the site constituted “a
true threat,” and not protected
First Amendment speech.
And in 1988, White suprema-
cist leader Tom Metzger and his
son, John, were found guilty of
“organizing” and inciting the
fatal skinhead beating of
Portland resident Mulugeta
Seraw.
The Metzgers, sued by
Seraw’s family who were repre-
sented free of charge by the
Southern Poverty Law Center
and
the Anti-Defamation
League of B’nai B’rith, were
handed a $12.5 million fine,
which effectively bankrupted
their organization, White Aryan
Resistance (WAR).
The American Coalition of
Life Activists, sued by Planned
Parenthood, collected and post-
ed to the Internet information
including the home addresses of
dozens of abortion providers –
three of whose names were
crossed off the website’s list
after they were fatally shot.
The ACLA was fined $108.5
million in damages in 1999,
which was eventually whittled
down to about $17 million, and
the website was finally shut
down.
‘Who’s responsible?’
The parallels between these
incidents and the Tucson shoot-
ings are striking in light of the
bitter current debate on “who’s
responsible” for last weekend’s
devastating rampage.
Since the news broke
Saturday morning, the Internet
and cable news programs have
boiled over with arguments over
See violENcE on page 3
Reel Music Film Festival Continues
From African Beethoven to Gospel, films speak to Black experience
by brian Stimson
of The Skanner News
T
hroughout the year, Bill Foster keeps
an eye out for the best films about
music. Now in its 28th year, the
NorthWest Film Center’s Reel Music
Festival is a showcase for 25 to 30 of some
of the world’s most interesting, most under-
appreciated films about musicians, perform-
ances and the world around them.
This year, the festival is featuring several
films that speak to the Black experience,
both African and American, including “Ray
Charles America,” “Kinshasa Symphony,”
“In My Mind” and “Rejoice and Shout.”
Foster’s journey to find these films never
ends. Throughout the year Foster keeps a
running tally of the best, mostly under-
watched, musical films. He keeps an eye out
for local filmmakers, films that may never
get widely released.
“We’re trying to find alternative things
that you wouldn’t normally find,” he told
the Skanner news.
Take the film, “Rejoice and Shout,” says
Foster, a film chronicling and celebrating
200 year musical history of African
See film on page 7