WWW . ThESKANNEr . COM
J ANuAry 18, 2012
P OrTLAND , O rEGON
V OLuME XXXIV, N O . 3
25
CENTS
i nSide
Postal Service
page 2
Movie Openings
page 4
Cuba Gooding Jr.
C hallenging P eoPle to S haPe a B etter F uture n ow
Free
Diabetes
Tests
page 5
investing
National Expo travels
to Portland with info,
activities, services
By Bruce Poinsette
Special To The Skanner News
PHOTO BY Jdan leif
T
he American Diabetes Association
holds an Expo at the Oregon
Convention Center, which will offer
hearing screenings, lifestyle demonstra-
tions, a speaker series and other resources to
attendees, Feb. 11 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
“It’s all free,” says Associate Manager
Danielle Yoder.
Yoder says the goal of the event is to raise
awareness of the relationship between dia-
betes and hearing loss.
According to a 2008 study funded by the
National Institute of Health (NIH), hearing
loss is twice as common in adults with dia-
betes as it is for those that don’t have it. The
study also says that adults with pre-diabetes,
which is characterized by high blood glu-
cose that isn’t high enough for a diabetes
diagnosis, are 30 percent more likely to suf-
fer from hearing loss than those with normal
blood sugar.
Researchers suggest that diabetes leads to
hearing loss by damaging nerves and blood
vessels in the inner ear.
According to the American Diabetes
Association, diabetes affects nearly 26 mil-
lion people in the United States. In addition,
NIH says pre-diabetes affects 54 million.
Up to 95 percent of diabetes cases in the US
are Type 2; 313,703 Oregonians are living
with diabetes and 592,000 have pre-dia-
betes.
The disease has a disproportionate effect
on the Black community.
According to the American Diabetes
Association, 3.7 million or 14.7 percent of
all blacks aged 20 years or older have dia-
betes.
“African-Americans are 1.6 times more
likely than non Hispanic whites to have
Type 2 diabetes,” says Yoder.
Overall, Blacks are 1.8 times as likely to
have diabetes as non Hispanic whites. 25
percent of blacks between the ages of 65
In his address, keynote speaker Mike Green announced the formation of a new group to explore what can be done
in Portland: the Portland urban Innovation roundtable.
Locked Out? Then Make a Key
The Skanner Foundation’s 26th Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast
By Helen Silvis
Of The Skanner News
B
lack Americans need
and deserve real eco-
nomic change. And the
way forward must be through
investment in entrepreneur-
ship and technology. That was
part of the powerful message
delivered Jan 16, by Mike
Green, the Keynote speaker at
The Skanner Foundation’s
26th Annual Martin Luther
King Jr. Breakfast.
“Dr. King envisioned a time
when America would invest in
Americans of all races,”
Green said. “When all races
would be empowered to work
together to create a strong
nation that is not only eco-
nomically strong, but also
strong in its character, exem-
plified in the dignity it extend-
ed to all its citizens.”
In his address, Green
announced the formation of a
new group to explore what
can be done in Portland: the
Portland Urban Innovation
Roundtable. And he called for
leaders to take on that chal-
lenge.
“The Portland UIR needs
committed leaders across the
spectrum of the established
economic ecosystem and
those from the economically
disconnected sectors, to work
together and with The
America21 Project to create a
culture of urban innovation
that produces exponential
economic impact in discon-
nected communities across
Portland.”
About 1000 diverse Port -
land ers packed into the
Oregon Ballroom in the
Convention Center to cele-
brate Dr. King’s life and
achievements, and to hear
Green speak in his honor
about wealth creation.
Bobbie Foster, the
Skanner’s executive editor
was the emcee for the event.
Les Femmes, the Urban
league’s Young Professionals
and many others volunteered
to make the event a success.
See evenT on page 3
See diaBeTeS on page 3
indeX
News ................2,3,6,8
A & E ......................4,5
Opinion .....................7
Bids/Classifieds ..........7
Washington Moves Ahead on Pot Plan
Olympia plans a hearing this week on medical marijuana future
By Jonathan Martin
The Seattle Times
SeaTTle (AP) — Chris Cody tries to be
a good neighbor in White Center, joining in
a Christmas toy drive and local art walks,
and keeping the window of his medical-
marijuana dispensary as discreet as possi-
ble.
He maintains a low profile in part because
his shop, Herban Legends, is a block outside
the marijuana-friendly Seattle city limits.
Inside Seattle, marijuana dispensaries flour-
ish. Outside Seattle, there is no protective
regulation.
“It’s definitely tricky, causing for more
than a little anxiety,’’ said Cody, a 31-year-
old carpenter.
Eight months after Gov. Chris Gregoire
gutted the state medical-marijuana law with
a partial veto, dispensaries have feasted or
starved based on the real-estate axiom: loca-
tion, location, location.
Seattle, Tacoma and a handful of other
cities recognize storefront shops as
resources for medical-marijuana patients.
Most don’t, though, citing a muddled state
law or the federal marijuana prohibition.
See POT on page 3