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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 23, 2011)
www . tHESkaNNER . COm F EBRUaRy 23, 2011 SEattLE V OLUmE XXXIII, N O . 18 25 CENtS I nsIde 25th Infantry History page 2 Democratic Revolt page 4 Labour Unions Fight C hallenging P eoPle to S haPe a B etter F uture n ow page 5 BroaDBanD Surprising Prison Report AP finds statewide prison population is Whiter, more violent By nicholas K. Geranios The Associated Press President Obama visited the Portland Intel factory last week to promote education, job growth and increased access to high speed internet as a means to expand the United States economy. Region Looks to Expand Broadband Why everyone must have access to high-speed Internet By Helen silvis of The Skanner News I n his State of the Union speech, President Obama stressed the importance of high-speed Internet access for all, pointing out that America’s top engineers give our current broadband infra- structure a miserable D grade. To compete internationally, Obama said, we need to have both a strong national network and a technologically trained workforce. “Within the next five years, we’ll make it possible for businesses to deploy the next generation of high-speed wire- less coverage to 98 percent of all Americans,” he promised. “This isn’t just about faster Internet or fewer dropped calls. It’s about connecting every part of America to the digital age. It’s about a rural community in Iowa or Alabama where farmers and small business owners will be able to sell their products all over the world. It’s about a firefighter who can download the design of a burning build- ing onto a handheld device; a student who can take classes with a digital textbook; or a patient who can have face-to- face video chats with her doc- tor.” Being wired for speedy Internet access is crucial for the U.S. national economy and for our state and local econo- my. But 100 million Americans still don’t have access to broadband connec- tions at home. So last year, the FCC laid out a national broadband strat- egy that includes major invest- ments in broadband and urges government at all levels to push for robust competition. portland’s newest effort That’s why the City of Portland launched a new Broadband Strategic Planning effort Jan. 28, which seeks to deliver affordable high-speed Internet to every home and spoKAne, Wash. (AP) — Washington state’s prison population has become Whiter and older in the past decade, and more of them are violent offenders, an Associated Press review of Department of Corrections records has found. And while running the prison system eats up 5 percent of the state budget, there appear to be few places that funding can be cut without resorting to releasing inmates early, as some states have done. “The main way to save money is to close a facility and lay off staff,” said Tom McBride, a spokesman for the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys, whose members are concerned the state is running out of prison beds. “When you look at our prison population, it’s hard to find anybody who doesn’t deserve to be there.” Indeed, reforms started in the 1980s have dramatically changed the prison system’s population. While Washington has a rela- tively small prison population — about 17,000 for a state of 6.6 million people — the percentage of inmates serving time for violent crimes is greater than the national average. The idea of releasing some inmates early to help reduce the projected $4.6 billion deficit in the next two year state budget is being discussed in Olympia, officials say, although no bill has been introduced. “We have taken no position on that,” said John Lane, of Gov. Chris Gregoire’s policy office. At a legislative hearing on Wednesday, Steve Aos of the Washington State Institute for Public Policy estimated that cutting 60 days off the sentence of low and moderate risk offenders could save the state $4.6 mil- lion a year, with just a 15 percent probabili- ty that crime would rise as a result. The Corrections Department cannot release inmates early without authorization see Internet on page 3 see report on page 3 Index News .....................2,3,8 Calendar ....................2 Opinion ....................4,5 Bids/Classifieds.........6-7 Start-Up Looks to Compete with Big Shots Nyxio Technologies stakes claim on smart TVs, tablet computers By Lisa Loving of The Skanner News W ith big-screen smart TVs, hand- sized tablet PCs — and space-age video eyewear straight out of Star Trek, for watching movies, playing games or reading e-books — the Nyxio Technologies showroom in the Lloyd Center District looks like the annual Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show. Here you can test the company’s flagship product, the big-screen VioSphere, which combines an HDTV with a personal com- puter and Windows Media Center Edition technology –meaning you can surf the web, play DVDs, stream music and Skype your mom in Chicago. And then you just might decide to watch your favorite TV show. Engineer Giorgio Johnson, founder and CEO of Nyxio, is a native Portlander whose education and work experience has translat- ed into the perfect mix of design, develop- ment and production of forward-thinking media hardware. “This is a Portland company, it’s an Oregon company,” he says. “What we do here could put us on the map in regards to see nyxIo on page 3
