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A UGUST 29, 2012
P ORTLAND , O REGON
V OLUME XXXIV, N O . 35
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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