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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 29, 2012)
WWW . THESKANNER . COM F EBRUARY 29, 2012 P ORTLAND , O REGON V OLUME XXXIV, N O .9 25 CENTS For The Skanner news alerts Text "NEWS" to 503-715-0890 or scan this QR code C HALLENGING P EOPLE TO S HAPE A B ETTER F UTURE N OW The Truth About Jobs YOUTH SUMMIT Oregon report finds six looking for work for every vacancy By Helen Silvis Of The Skanner News PHOTO BY LISA LOVING T he ratio of out-of-work Oregonians to jobs is six to one. That’s according to the latest jobs report from Oregon Employment Department. The state jobs agency surveyed employers last fall and found 30,400 job vacancies in Oregon during October. About 176,400 Ore- gonians were looking for work that month, the agency estimates. The ratio is slightly better than in 2010, when 6.5 people were unemployed for every job vacancy. Nation- ally the figure is 4 people for every job vacancy. “In 2010 we found just over 30,000 job vacancies and in 2009 we found 18,200 vacancies, so the good news is that we have had a pretty good increase in job vacancies over the last two years,” said Charlie John- son, a senior economic analyst with the State of Oregon, and the author of the report. ‘The bad news is that in 2008 we had about 40,000 vacancies, so we are defi- nitely not back up to that pre-recession level of hiring.” Nationally, economists have reported signs of recovery, from the two-year long downturn that’s been named, “The Great Recession.” “I think the storyline is that that there is a slow and steady recovery, but not a sharp increase in the number of jobs out there,” Johnson said. Jason Gettel a policy analyst with the Ore- gon Center for Public Policy said we still have a long way to go to repair the damage done during the recession. “Taking into account population changes, the number of jobs per 100 working age Oregonians is not projected to reach its pre- recession level until 2017.” People of color, particularly African Americans, have been harder hit by unem- ployment than other groups. Nationally, the January unemployment rate for African Multnomah Youth Commissioners are working hard to pull together the Rob Ingram Youth Summit Against Violence. Pictured here from left: Rakiyah Johnson, Ana Meza, Isai Rojas-Arcos, Perla Alvarez and Violeta Alvarez. Ingram Youth Summit Against Violence Multnomah Youth Commissioners need support for event By Helen Silvis Of The Skanner News W ith just six weeks to pull together the Rob Ingram Youth Sum- mit Against Violence, Mult- nomah Youth Commissioners are looking for help. If you are under 21, and you’re interested in helping with the summit, that means you. At a meeting downtown Wednesday Feb. 20, a group of youth commissioners came together for their weekly plan- ning meeting. The summit will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, April 21 at Highland Christian Center, 7600 N.E. Glisan Street. Marc Fernandes, the Mult- nomah County staffer support- ing the group asks a question. “If you ask how many people in the room have been impact- ed by violence, how many do you think will stand up?” “Everyone,” say several voices at once. “Almost every- one.” From bullying to child abuse, from partner abuse to gang shootings, violence, or the threat of violence, is perva- sive in our daily lives. Through the summit, Multnomah Youth Commissioners want to give youth a voice in the issue. “We want to hear from peo- ple who have been directly impacted by violence,” said Violeta Alvarez. The other goals of the forum are to connect youth to helpful resources, and to increase communication between young people and the adults who make decisions that affect their lives. The morning will be open to youth only. In the afternoon, elected officials and decision makers will be invited to hear what youth have to say “Before the Multnomah Youth Commission I didn’t know I had rights that could be infringed upon,” said Rakiyah Johnson. “I didn’t know I had rights. So if even 100 more people left the summit know- ing that, they might speak out See YOUTH on page 9 See JOBS on page 3 INDEX News ................2,3,8,9 Opinion ..................4,5 A & E .................6,7,10 Bids/Classifieds ........11 503tv Shines Light on Local Talent Video television entrepreneurs film events otherwise overlooked By Bruce Poinsette Of The Skanner News 503tv wants to expose the world to a side of Portland they prob- ably haven’t seen. “This is not the Portlandia you see on IFC,” says co-creator Sadiki Stone. Stone and fellow Jefferson High alum John Lee Jr. created the production compa- ny as a means to promote talented individu- als and movements in Portland. Lee and Stone first took an interest in film as students in a video class at Harriet Tub- man Middle School (now Harriet Tubman Leadership Academy for Young Women). They emphasize that this was before the introduction of a lot of digital technology. In the early 2000s they began making amateur videos, mostly humorous films for You Tube. They taught themselves filming and edit- ing techniques through trial and error, as well as with online tutorials. “We started out with Sony Handycams,” says Stone. “There were no grants. No spon- sors.” Lee and Stone, both former high school See 503TV on page 3
