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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 17, 2012)
Opinion The Skanner News Ballot Enorsements “Challenging People to Shape a Better Future Now” B ERNIE F OSTER Founder/Publisher T hese are our endorsements for the ballot initiatives on the Nov. 6 ballot. Whether you agree or disagree, you should be sure to get out and vote. B OBBIE D ORE F OSTER Executive Editor STATE T ED B ANKS Advertising Manager YES ON MEASURE 77. Measure 77 amends constitution to allow the governor to declare an emergency (a “catastrophic disaster”) and begin recovery efforts more quickly. Considering we’re expecting a major earthquake some time in the next 30 years, it’s not a bad idea. J ERRY F OSTER Account Executive L ISA L OVING News Editor H ELEN S ILVIS Multimedia Editor D AVID K IDD Graphic Designer M ONICA J. F OSTER Seattle Office Coordinator J ULIE K EEFE S USAN F RIED Photographers The Skanner Newspaper, established in October 1975, is a weekly publica- tion, published each Wednesday by IMM Publications Inc., 415 N. Killingsworth St., P.O. Box 5455, Portland, OR 97228. Telephone (503) 285-5555. E-mail: info@theskanner.com World Wide Web site: http://www.theskanner.com YES ON MEASURE 78. Measure 78 is a “housekeeping” measure designed to clean up language, misspellings and clar- ify Oregon’s three branches of government. NO ON MEASURE 79. Measure 79 amends constitution: Prohibits real estate transfer taxes, fees, and other assess- ments. Critics charge that the law takes control away from local governments and should not be put into the state constitu- tion. YES ON MEASURE 80. Measure 80 allows personal marijuana, hemp cultiva- tion/use without license; commission to regulate commercial marijuana cultiva- tion/sale. While we have reservations about some aspects of the law, we sup- port a common sense effort to start regulating the pot industry and bring its profits into the tax coffers. This is the only measure that, if passed, could potentially CREATE revenue for the state. National Newspaper Pub lishers Associ- ation and West Coast Black Pub lishers Association. All photos submitted become the property of The Skanner. We are not re - 4 4 5 4 4 4 4 5 5 STATE OF OREGON Yes on Measure 77 Yes on Measure 78 No on Measure 79 Yes on Measure 80 Yes on Measure 81 Yes on Measure 82 Yes on Measure 83 No on Measure 84 No on Measure 85 5 MULTNOMAH COUNTY No on Measure 26-143 4 4 5 CITY OF PORTLAND Yes on Measure 26-144 Yes on Measure 26-145 No on Measure 26-146 way. Why should one group have a monop- oly on casinos? We’d like to see competition in the industry and if there’s a shake-up in tribal casino management – so be it. YES ON MEASURE 81. Measure 81 Prohibits commercial non-tribal fishing with gillnets in Oregon “inland waters,” allows use of seine nets. This measure is aimed at protecting the last wild salmon runs in the Columbia River by banned the use of gillnets—which capture everything that runs into them, whether it’s endan- gered fish or not. NO ON MEASURE 84. Measure 84 Phases out existing inheritance taxes on large estates, and all taxes on intra-family property transfers. Few Oregonians will be impacted by the cost of an inheritance tax, but everyone would be impacted by the loss to the state economy of an estimated $50 million to $175 million a year, depend- ing on how it would reduce capital gains taxes, according to the state Legislative Revenue Office. YES ON MEASURES 82-83. Measures 82 and 83 amend the state constitution to authorize establishment of privately- owned casinos and mandates percentage of revenues payable to dedicated state fund. It’s a shame the campaign has been suspended but we are supporting it any- NO ON MEASURE 85. Measure 85 amends constitution: allocates corporate income/excise tax “kicker” refund to addi- tionally fund K-12 public education. One of the biggest problems the Oregon legisla- ture has is that its tangle of anti-tax laws Fax: (503) 285-2900 The Skanner is a member of the Ballot Measures makes it hard to budget -- for anything. The kicker is a major culprit because it literally makes it impossible for the state to save money – kicking it back to corporations that are not even based here. Make sense? We don’t think so either. MULTNOMAH COUNTY NO ON THE LIBRARY LEVY. 26-143 Form Library District with permanent rate to fund library services. We are worried about piling more taxes onto households in tough times. It’s not that we don’t sup- port the libraries, but as Multnomah County Chair Jeff Cogen says without this measure, things will stay the same. So we are making the tough call of passing on this one, this time. CITY OF PORTLAND YES ON THE SCHOOLS BOND. 26-144 Portland Public School District Bonds to Improve Schools. We didn’t support the last schools bond because it was too cost- ly and poorly written. This measure has built-in citizen accountability, which is important because we do not have faith that school district bureaucrats will spend our resources wisely. If the measure pass- es, we will be holding the district’s feet to the fire on how these dollars are used. YES ON FIRE AND POLICE DISABILI- TY RETIREMENT REFORM. 26-145 Amends Charter: Changes Provisions of Fire Police Disability Retirement System. We all support our Fire and Police Departments, but dedicating 26 cents on every tax dollar the city takes in for their disability plan is a burden that we can’t continue to bear. NO ON THE ARTS TAX. 26-146 Restore School Arts, Music Education; Fund Arts through Limited Tax. We love arts in the schools – they actually help kids learn many other subjects. But this measure taxes every working adult “over the pover- ty line” $35 a year, with part of the money going to the ballet, the symphony and the opera. Many people are still the working poor even if they are above the official “poverty line” – and these people should not be tapped to subsidize the ballet, the symphony and the opera. As much as we love those things too. spon sible for lost or damaged photos either solicited or unsolicited. © 2012 The Skanner. ALL RIGHTS RE SERVED. REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART WITHOUT PERMISSION PROHIBITED. Coming Next Week To see The Skanner News on your smart phone go to theskannermobile.com or scan this QR code with your app. Lew Frederick • • • • • • • • Local news Opinions Jobs, Bids Sports Entertainment Music reviews Bulletin board RSS feeds Page 4 The Portland Skanner Earl Blumenhauer Chip Shields Who will be the best candidates to support the issues that matter most to us? Check in and see. October 17, 2012 Vedell Nelson registered voters this month outside the Voter Depot on Northeast Killingsworth Street. Get out and use your vote!
