WWW . THESKANNER . COM
S EPTEMBER 5, 2012
P ORTLAND , O REGON
V OLUME XXXIV, N O . 36
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C HALLENGING P EOPLE TO S HAPE A B ETTER F UTURE N OW
Register
Now to
Vote
DNC LIVE COVERAGE
Multnomah Dems
open office on NE
Killingsworth Street
Lisa Loving
Of The Skanner News
PHOTO BY JOHN MORENO
W
here were you on the night of Nov.
4, 2008? Hundreds of Portlanders
thronged outside the Obama for
President office on Northeast Killingsworth
Street, dancing, shooting off fireworks and
driving in circles around the building –
where the longest high-five line in Portland
history slapped the palms of auto passengers
circling the block to celebrate the election of
the nation’s first Black president.
Colleen Davis and Roseta Akin – who on
Monday opened the Democrats’ Northeast
neighborhood Voter Registration Depot –
want to bring that sense of excitement back
to their storefront office, right across the
street from the old headquarters.
The Voter Registration Depot, at 1615 NE
Killingsworth (inside the old One Stop
Records shop) will be open Monday
through Saturday, 10 a.m. - 8 p.m., and Sun-
days from 1 to 8 p.m.
There you will find pins, bumper stickers
and lawn signs for sale; voter registration
information; and volunteer training.
On Sept. 9 the Depot hosts a grand open-
ing celebration from 3 to 6 p.m., with
refreshments and sign up sheets. Oregon
Rep. Lew Frederick will kick off his new
office there as well.
After Oct. 16, the entire operation shifts
from a voter registration hub to a get-out-
the-vote operation where you will be able to
find “slate cards” to help you decide which
candidates and ballot measures to vote for.
“People have been coming in, getting to
know our office and all the things we’re
planning,” says Akin.
“For the next six weeks we would like to
register 75-100 people a day, until Oct. 16,
which is the deadline,” Davis said.
Akin and Davis met at the Obama head-
quarters in 2008, and they share many
happy memories of the experience – as well
as strategies on how to register the maxi-
Delegates openly wept with emotion as Michelle Obama headlined the Democratic National Convention kickoff
in Charlotte, N.C. The president is expected to speak Thursday, in his official acceptance of the Democratic Party
nomination. Catch live reports on the convention with video and photos on our website, www.TheSkanner.com.
Health Insurance Rate Hikes
Industry squares off against critics on public disclosures
Bruce Poinsette
Of The Skanner News
R
egence
BlueCross
BlueShield’s announce-
ment that some of its
customers will face an average
rate increase of 8.9 percent,
starting Dec. 1, has drawn the
ire of some consumer and small
business advocates.
“I’m very concerned that
Regence refused to try to justify
its premium increase in public,”
says Oregon Sen. Chip Shields,
chair of the Consumer and
See VOTE on page 3
INDEX
News ......................2,3
Opinion ..................4,5
A & E ......................6,7
Food..........................8
Books.......................11
Bids/Classifieds ........12
Small Business Protection
Committee.
Regence’s rate increase marks
the latest in a battle between
consumer advocates, health
insurance providers and the
Oregon Insurance Division over
the transparency of the rate
increase process.
The Insurance Division
recently approved a 12.2 per-
cent increase for Providence
Health Plans. Regence and
Providence originally requested
9.6 and 15.7 percent increases,
respectively.
The decision is part of a new
approach to pricing health
insurance premiums based on
hospital based networks.
For example, Portland area
residents can pick from one of
five networks, depending on
what suits them the best. Cheryl
Martinis, the communications
director for the Insurance Divi-
sion, says they will be listing the
different prices and rate increas-
es on their site.
“We think, actually, the
approach to pricing will foster
transparency by showing people
the variance in rates that exist
among hospitals and doctor
groups that provide the same
services,” she says. “We think
that kind of transparency may
actually help drive down med-
ical costs.”
In the case of Regence, indi-
vidual members who purchase
health insurance on their own
will be the only ones subject to
the increase. According to Scott
Burton, of Regence Strategic
Communications, this will only
affect 52,000 members out the
See HEALTH on page 3
$100,000 Grant Will Fund Youth Leaders
Multnomah Youth Commission pulls down big bucks for programs
By Helen Silvis
Of The Skanner News
T
he Multnomah Youth Commission’s
anti-violence initiative has been
granted $99,996 to expand its work.
The grant comes from State Farm’s youth
advisory board one of 68 service-learning
projects to receive a total of $3.9 million.
Youth Against Violence came together last
year, when six youth commissioners identi-
fied violence as a crucial issue affecting
young people in Portland. Last April the
group brought 200 high school students
together for the 2012 Rob Ingram Youth
Summit Against Violence. Now they are set
to double that number at the 2013 Rob
Ingram Youth Summit against Violence, to
be held March 16 at the Ambridge Event
Center, 1333 N.E. Martin Luther King
Boulevard.
“We’re all very thankful to have this sup-
port from the community,” said Ana Meza,
a founding member of the Youth Against
Violence group. “This takes a lot off our
shoulders; we don’t have to think so much
about how to raise money. We can focus on
developing our vision for the summit and
See GRANT on page 10