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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 12, 2012)
WWW . THESKANNER . COM S EPTEMBER 12, 2012 P ORTLAND , O REGON V OLUME XXXIV, N O . 37 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 Crime Rates Falling FLUORIDE: YES AG Ellen Rosenblum signals support for sentencing reforms By Helen Silvis Of The Skanner News PHOTO BY LISA LOVING P roperty and violent crime fell by 25 percent between 2000 and 2010. Yet, unless state corrections policies change, Oregon is on track to add 2,000 more prison beds over the next decade, at a cost of $600 million. That’s on top of the existing $1.4 billion corrections budget. Last Saturday, Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum signaled she is prepared to back major revisions to sentencing guide- lines, including those mandated by voters through Measure 11 in 1994 and Measure 57 in 2008. “Nothing – Nothing is sacred,” Rosen- blum told a statewide gathering of the Part- nership for Safety and Justice in Keizer Oregon, Sept. 8. “All of our state’s felony sentencing structure has to be on the table for review.” Calling the rising costs unsustainable, Gov. Kitzhaber last year tasked Oregon’s Commission on Public Safety with review- ing sentencing policy. The commission is expected to issue recommendations towards the end of 2012, with draft legislation expected in 2013. Research by the Pew Center for the States, found more than 50 percent of the expected rise in Oregon’s prison population would constitute people convicted of property crimes (36 percent) and drugs charges (17 percent). The same study shows that 66 per- cent of people imprisoned in 2011 were rated as low or medium risk, up from 55 percent in 2005. Rosenblum contrasted spiraling prison spending with cuts to victims’ services. More than 20,600 requests for emergency shelter from victims of domestic violence were turned down in 2011, for example. “We need to invest in life-saving services for victims, not only because it’s smart spending, but because it’s the right thing to do,” she said. “We need to lake a long hard Portland City Council has voted to add fluoride to the city’s water supply in a unanimous 5-0 vote Wednesday, Sept. 12. At least eight protesters opposing fluoridation were ejected from the council meeting after shouting at commissioners, who said the issue has caused more dissension than almost any other. Voter ID: The Battle Comes to Oregon It’s a campaign to persuade voters the elections are rife with abuse By Helen Silvis Of The Skanner News S ince 2006, 30 states have passed laws that require voters to show identifica- tion at the polls. Advocates argue stricter laws are needed to prevent voting fraud. Oppo- nents reply that voter ID laws will prevent millions of Ameri- cans from voting, hurting poor and minority communities most, not to mention U.S. democracy. Oregon, has sidestepped the controversy –so far. But a group See CRIME on page 3 INDEX News ...................2,3,6 Opinion .....................4 A & E ......................5,8 Church ......................6 Bids/Classifieds ..........7 of activists, connected to the right-wing Cascade Policy Insti- tute and the Oregon Tea Party, is trying to change that. The U- Choose Education Forum has issued a six-point criticism of Oregon elections with sugges- tions it calls, “improvements,” – including requiring voter ID. The move is the first step in a campaign intended to persuade Oregonians that the state’s elec- tion system is rife with abuse. Next step is a meeting, titled, “When Does 1 and 1 make 3?” “Learn about the wide-spread possibilities of massive election fraud and what you can do about it!” runs the blurb on the group’s website. The meeting is set for 6:30 - 9 p.m., Sept. 26 at 4101 Kruse Way, Lake Oswego. “First we are surveying all office holders and legislators in the state and asking for their comments,” said Chana Cox, a retired Lewis and Clark profes- sor and U-Choose group founder. “We’d like to refine these proposals so they can be passed next session.” Well, pigs might fly. But voter ID is unlikely to get traction in Oregon. Neither Kate Brown nor her opponent in the Secre- tary of State’s race, Knute Buehler, are campaigning on the issue. In fact, both candidates have publicly rejected calls for stricter voter ID, saying that Oregon’s signature matching system works as well as any other identification. “Every signature, on every ballot is checked by highly trained election staff,” Brown said in a statement. “A bar code See VOTER ID on page 7 Pot Could Be Tax Windfall, but Skeptics Since no state has legalized marijuana for anything but medical By Kristen Wyatt and Jonathan J. Cooper The Associated Press DENVER (AP) — A catchy pro-marijua- na jingle for Colorado voters considering legalizing the drug goes like this: ``Jobs for our people. Money for schools. Who could ask for more?’’ It’s a bit more complicated than that in the three states — Colorado, Oregon and Wash- ington — that could become the first to legalize marijuana this fall. The debate over how much tax money recreational marijuana laws could produce is playing an outsize role in the campaigns for and against legalization — and both sides concede they’re not really sure what would happen. At one extreme, pro-pot campaigners say it could prove a windfall for cash-strapped states with new taxes on pot and reduced criminal justice costs. At the other, state government skeptics warn legalization would lead to costly legal battles and expensive new bureaucracies to regulate marijuana. In all three states asking voters to decide See POT on page 3
