Local News
Drugs
‘DiaTribe’
ing to a formula that sends percentages to:
drug treatment; the state general fund; chil-
dren’s relief nurseries; the asset forfeiture
oversight fund; and for cleaning up drug
houses.
Law enforcement agencies can keep and
use a portion of the assets seized.
The report shows that in Oregon last year,
$400,597 was distributed according to the
formula. Drug courts, for example, received
$204,000, and the state’s Children’s Relief
Nursery Fund received $102,000.
The remainder, $620,000 went to law
this information.
Gresham police and the Multnomah
County Sheriff’s Office shared in the pro-
ceeds of joint cases.
Of the funds that stayed with the police
department in 2010 and 2011, none has yet
been spent, says Ryan Rees, a senior Police
Administrative Support Specialist in the
Records Department.
“The PPB intends for all of these funds to
go to a drug treatment program selected by
the Chief,” Rees said.
Sgt. Pete Simpson said the funds, which
amount to $200,000, are ear-
marked for the Service
Coordination Program that
works with long-term offenders.
Until 2000, when Measure 3
passed, police departments
could seize assets even when no
arrest was made, and law
enforcement kept forfeited
assets.
“The ACLU were pretty much the only
opponents of the original law,” Fidanque
says. “Allowing law enforcement to confis-
cate property from individuals without
requiring an arrest, never mind a conviction,
was an invitation to corruption.”
Marijuana accounted for the largest num-
ber
of
drug
seizures,
with
methamphetamine, heroin and cocaine next
in number. Possession charges topped the
list of arrests, with delivery and manufac-
ture of of drugs accounting for the most of
the rest.
Marijuana accounted for the
largest number of drug
seizures
enforcement agencies across the state. The
agencies must report how they spend the
money, and it varies from agency to agency.
Portland Police Kept $300,000
More than $300,000 ended up with Port-
land Police Department, while $25,000
went to the Multnomah County Sheriff’s
Office.
Portland police took 33.3 percent off the
top for attorney fees. That suggests that
more than $100,000 went straight to the pri-
vate forfeiture attorney who handles
forfeiture cases for the City Attorney’s
office. And it included a share of the value
of two cars that PPD is now using in their
investigations. Ellen Osoinach, an assistant
attorney with the city did not know the total
for 2011. The Skanner News has requested
The Feds Play by Different Rules
Federal law mandates all of the proceeds
of federal forfeitures to go to law enforce-
ment.
“There has been some abuse,” Fidanque
PHOTO COURTESY ALAN WONE
continued from page 1
An historic performance event this Friday, “DiaTribe: From the Village to
the Streets,” is a cultural collaboration between African and African
American hip-hop, drumming, dance, krumping and spoken word artists
from around the region. The event is headed up by Ghanaian master
drummer Obo Addy, recording artist Mic Crenshaw, and poet Alan Wone,
who will appear alongside a large cast of musicians, dancers and
singers. Above, Obo Addy, at left, samples a Ghanian-style krump for
fellow performers in rehearsal. The show will be recorded for a
documentary project and then distributed around the country as an
educational curriculum about the connections between African and
African American culture. The event is Friday, May 25, starting at 7:30
p.m. at the Alberta Rose Theater, 3000 NE Alberta Street, Portland. Find
more information on the Facebook fan page, DiaTribe: From The Village
To The Street.
says, ”but the reason there hasn’t been more
is that federal agencies are focusing for the
most part on organized crime, cocaine,
heroin and international drug trafficking.
“They aren’t interested in what the bulk of
state and local government do –going after
the low-level drug dealers,” Fidanque says.
amendment on the floor on May 30 to get to
$4.8 million.
“My initial sense is that there is broad
support in the building for this,” Fish said.
“The mayor is to be applauded for a
fourth straight year where he has funded
safety net programs,” Fish said.
“My job is just to close the gap.”
Matheson and Fish both praised
the grassroots campaign by a wide
Fish spectrum of housing advocates to
present a united front for funding in
this budget cycle.
The groups’ campaign made a visible
splash on Facebook, where supporters were
encouraged to take a photo of themselves
holding up the same sign, which reads: “I
Support the Portland Safety Net,” and then
post it to Facebook.
“And so what’s been great about that cam-
paign is that all the different housing
advocates are coming out with the same
message which is — support the safety net,”
Matheson said.
“So you have shelter folks coming out and
saying, support homeownership. You have
rent assistance folks saying, support fore-
closure prevention, and vice versa.”
“We’ve heard from all of our partners
over the last month as part of the Safety Net
Coalition,” Fish said.
“They’ve been enormously effective in
meeting with the mayor and my colleagues,
sending messages, appearing at budget
forums and in council presentations.
“If we get to $4.8 million, and I am confi-
dent that we will do so, it will be in part a
function of a very successful campaign that
the advocacy community has led,” Fish
said. “And this will be the fourth year that
my partners have I think very successfully
made the argument for investing in safety
net programs.”
In an effort to preserve the school’s
history, The Skanner News is working
to digitize hundreds of photos gath-
ered up by the school staff and
supporters, which will be organized
into a series of slide shows, videos and
interviews kept on the newspaper’s
website for years to come.
However one problem is that the
school has no images from the decade of the
1960s. So we are calling out to school sup-
porters, family and students to contact us
for scanning of your images from that
decade.
Class photos are sought, plus any snap-
shots of school activities, including
teachers, classrooms and field trips.
Please contact Lisa Loving at 503-285-
5555, or email lisa@theskanner.com with
your historic images of Humboldt School.
In case you haven’t been there in awhile, it’s
located at 4915 North Gantenbein Ave.,
in Portland.
For more information about Humboldt’s
closure ceremonies call the school at 503-
916-5468.
Read the rest of this story online at
www.theskanner.com
Budget
continued from page 1
Part of a proposed $4.8 million budget for
“housing safety net” programs and services
overall, the cuts came in Mayor Sam Adams
“Proposed Budget,” released last week.
But the way the budget process works
involves a level of give-and-take, Fish says,
and he and his staff are waiting for a
look at the mayor’s “Revised Pro-
posed” Budget, due out later this
week, to see the status of the short-
fall.
“We originally made a request for
$4.8 million, which we say funds the safety
net,” Fish said. “So that covers the home-
ownership
programs,
foreclosure
prevention, emergency shelters, homeless
street outreach, short term rent assistance,
and a number of other tools. “The strategy
was to get the biggest amount of money we
could get in the mayor’s budget and then
close the gap,” he said.
According to Fish, as each bureau was
asked by Adams to suggest a range of pro-
gram reductions – assuming budget cuts of
4, 6, and 8 percent – the mayor’s move to
bail out Portland Public Schools with $7
million earlier this month “created a slight-
ly bigger hole.”
My job is just to close the gap.
--City Commissioner Nick
“So we have essentially three bites at the
apple,” Fish said. “The goal was to get the
biggest possible number in the ‘Mayor’s
Proposed,’ and I believe his $4.1 million
number in a tough budget year was a strong
number.
“Our current strategy is to find the addi-
tional $700,000 and include that in the
mayor’s ‘Revised Proposed,’ and if we are
still not able to close the gap, I will bring an
School
continued from page 1
formance by the school’s signature Char-
gettes all-girl dance team.
Then from 6 to 8 p.m. the school is
throwing a Community Carnival, offer-
ing food, games, music and fun for the
general public. All children must be
accompanied by adults.
“We want to make it a positive celebra-
tion,” Poinsette said. “When you think of
how many wonderful things have taken
place in this building, we want to capture
some part of that for our community.”
Poinsette – who will herself be retiring
this year after 45 years as an educator – has
Class photos are sought,
plus any snapshots of school
activities, including teachers,
classrooms and field trips
been working overtime to coordinate
dozens of parents and school alumni in
building Humboldt School’s legacy for the
many thousands of children who have
passed through its doors.
May 23, 2012 The Portland Skanner Page 3