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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 29, 2012)
WWW . THESKANNER . COM A UGUST 29, 2012 P ORTLAND , O REGON V OLUME XXXIV, N O . 35 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 Hood to Coast Race PART Y! All-Black teams make splash at annual race to the beach By Helen Silvis Of The Skanner News PHOTO BY JOHN MORENO F or the first time ever, this year’s Hood to Coast relay featured an all-Black men’s team. The Soleful Brothers, who took part in the Portland to Coast speed walk, were aiming to win. They didn’t win this year, but team leader Justin Johnson says they’re determined to try again. “For us to come in so well on our first time out and having older members, that was good,” he says. “I can’t wait till the next one. We’re already talking about it. Next time we want to be first and this will just make us work harder.” The 31st annual Hood to Coast relay began Friday Aug. 24 at Timberline Lodge, where the runners started. The runners — 1,050 teams of 12 people — ran the full 199 miles from Mt. Hood to the Coast. All 50 states were represented as well as 37 coun- tries. The race finished Saturday morning with first place overall going to a Japanese team from Tokyo University. The Soleful Brothers were one of 400 teams who competed in the speed walk from Portland to Seaside. Walking overnight through the forested Coastal range, the novice speed walkers took 10th place over- all, and fourth in their age category. Johnson says he and his teammates have caught the speed walking bug. “Now we are looking at other races too,” he said. “We’ve seen a marathon in October and the Seattle Big Climb, that is climbing stairs in a tall building. I’m going to be training with my friends all year.” A Lane Community College student who will be heading to the University of Oregon this fall, Johnson was inspired by his mom Tammie Swinson-Allen, who walks the Hood to Coast relay with the Soleful Strut- ters. The former Benson High School track and field star enlisted a group of his friends— Benson alumni and coaches –and Former Republican Party Chair Michael Steele, at left, chats with Republican delegates at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla. Go to www.TheSkanner.com for daily breaking news updates from the Republican convention and the Democratic convention, which kicks off immediately afterward. Politics Heats Up in Tampa, Fla. Catch The Skanner News’ live coverage of the conventions T his year The Skanner News Group is partner- ing with the Los Ange- les Wave and several other papers to bring readers all the latest news on the Republican and Democratic National Con- ventions. The publications will be sending John Moreno, manag- ing editor of the Los Angeles Wave, to both conventions. “Usually when we cover something like this I’m the front reporter and I’ve got a photographer,” says Moreno. “Unfortunately that’s not going to be the case so I have to become the photographer, the videographer, the print reporter and the social media editor, etc. You just have to own up.” Moreno, a self-described political junkie, has been doing journalism for nine years. He worked as a copy editor when he first began at the Wave and soon moved on to entertainment coverage. Eventually he migrated to the local political beat and report- ed on City Hall. Since being elevated to man- aging editor, he hasn’t gotten as many opportunities to be out in the field. “When I get the chance to go out and cover something like these elections I jump at it,” says Moreno. This year will mark his sec- ond time covering national political conventions. In 2008, he reported from the Demo- cratic National Convention in Denver. Moreno says the thing that stood out to him the most from 2008 was all the excitement surrounding President Barack Obama’s candidacy. Specifi- cally, he says there were a number of celebrities, profes- sional athletes, actor, singers and other people that you wouldn’t necessarily expect at a political convention. “That was great for a reporter because you could just walk around the arena and you would run into people you See PARTY on page 3 See RACE on page 3 INDEX Obamacare: Oregon is State to Watch News ................2,3,5,6 Issue: Creating a better health care system that people can afford Opinion .....................4 A & E ......................5,8 Food..........................6 Bids/Classifieds ..........7 By Helen Silvis Of The Skanner News I n just five months, since “Obamacare” became U.S. law, Oregon has estab- lished itself as the state to watch. With a waiver from the feds that frees providers from the traditional fee-for-service payment structure, the state is on a mission to drasti- cally reduce healthcare costs at the same time as delivering healthcare to many more people. “The nation is watching us, which is both gratifying and sometimes terrifying,” said Bruce Goldberg, director of Oregon Health Authority, at a meeting organized by Fami- lycare. “If we can create a better healthcare sys- tem at a cost we can afford, that’s what everyone wants for our entire healthcare system.” So how the new law will affect us? The goal of the law is to make sure every- one has healthcare coverage. But the pro- gram will roll out in stages. The state reached its first major milestone, Aug. 1, with the certification of eight Coor- dinated Care Organizations. Five more will See CARE on page 3
