Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (March 7, 2012)
WWW . THESKANNER . COM M ARCH 7, 2012 S EATTLE , W ASHINGTON V OLUME XXXIV, N O . 10 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 SAVE PUBLIC SCHOOLS School to Prison Pipeline Suspensions and Expulsions Part 2: Solutions and Failures By Lisa Loving Of The Skanner News PHOTO BY SUSAN FRIED A Sammy and Olivia, 3rd graders at Gatewood, joined teachers, parents and community members Thursday, March 1 for a March for Public Education from Westlake Park to the Gates Foundation headquarters. The marchers opposed proposed legislation for publicly funded, privately owned and run charter schools. The group marched to the headquarters of the Gates Foundation to protest their support for charter schools. Lawmaker Retires from Congress Rep. Norm Dicks says he’ll step down after a whopping 18 terms By Chris Grygiel and Andrew Taylor The Associated Press SEATTLE (AP) — As a young man, he worked for the late Warren Magnuson, a tower- ing figure in the U.S. Senate known for his ability to strike deals and work with his fellow Democrats as well as Republi- cans. Almost four decades later, Rep. Norm Dicks rose to nearly equal stature in the House, famous as a fierce advocate for his state and labor interests but still able to count opponents as friends. Dicks shocked the political establishment Friday, announc- ing he’ll retire at the end of the year after 18 terms in Congress. “I have been thinking about this for years. At some point you have to retire. I just decided this was the right time,” Dicks told The Associated Press. In a statement, President Barack Obama thanked Dicks for his service. “Norm has spent his career working to protect our national security, championing INDEX News .....................2,3,8 Calendar ....................2 Opinion ....................4,5 Bids/Classifieds.........6-7 the men and women of our Armed Forces and fighting for the many natural resources of Washington State and the Pacif- ic Northwest.” The top Democrat on the pow- erful House Appropriations Committee, the 71-year-old for- mer college football player has a reputation as a defender of the Pentagon and the Boeing Co. and its unionized workforce. The aerospace company employs thousands of people in his district. “It comes as a surprise. He’s been a mainstay of the Washing- ton delegation for so long now, it’s hard to imagine the delega- tion without him,” said Sandeep Kaushik, a Seattle Democratic political consultant who has worked on congressional races in Washington state. Over the years, Dicks has been skilled at “earmarking” pet projects like roads and commu- nity development grants to his northwest portion of the state. But Republicans controlling the House have banned the practice, See NORM on page 3 n anonymous caller phoned The Skanner News office to say 5-year- old Camron Tarver is a real brat, and that fact hadn’t been adequately reported in our Feb. 23 story, ‘Suspensions, Expulsions of Black Students: The School to Prison Pipeline?’ While he admitted he doesn’t know the family and has never been to the school but has “friends who do,” the man angrily insisted that Camron’s nine suspensions since the start of kindergarten are not about race. In early February Camron’s mom, Tam- berlee Tarver, testified about her little boy’s well-documented disabilities and her con- sistent inability to access special education services from his school before Gov. John Kitzhaber’s Oregon Education Investment Board in Salem; subsequently the OEIB set up a public forum March 6 at the Center for Self Enhancement. Sheila Warren of the Portland Parents Union is worried that the families most impacted by the racial disparities around discipline are not being heard – in part for the same reasons the anonymous caller tried to defame the courageous kindergartner and his mom last month. “Partnerships and teamwork are the key,” Warren says. “We must be intentional as well as persistent and consistent in relation- ship building through restorative listening and dialogue. “Please get as many families out as possi- ble Tuesday night,” she says. “We need to hear from the ones that are usually over- looked. “ The simple fact is that families caught up in the school disciplinary process are often not listened to, are often disrespected and shamed; they’ve “done something wrong.” It’s a process that continues as the chil- dren grow older and are disproportionately See SUSPENSIONS on page 3 Scrutiny of Bank Overdraft Practices ‘Candid discussion’ on why customers pay billions in unfair fees By Charlene Crowell NNPA Columnist W hen the Consumer Financial Pro- tection Bureau visited New York City on Feb. 22, a roundtable dis- cussion with bankers and consumer advo- cates began a day of focused discussion of bank products that cost customers billions per year in unfair fees. In his opening remarks, CFPB Director Richard Cordray called for a “candid discussion” and noted how less than 10 percent of checking account customers bear the brunt of more than 80 percent of all overdraft fees charged by banks. Director Cordray announced new a new initiative wherein the agency will examine the practice of reordering customer transac- tions to boost overdraft fees. CFPB will also look at disclosures and marketing, particu- larly with an eye toward impact on the low- income and young consumers. Roundtable participant Rebecca Borne, senior policy counsel with the Center for Responsible Lending, advised that overdraft fees are the number one reason bank cus- tomers lose their checking accounts. See BANKS on page 3
