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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 14, 2012)
Local News Dental continued from page 1 an enormous number, one in three or one in four emergency room visits are precipitated by dental care issues. And it’s really the case that if you let your dental issues go untended, it results in all kinds of serious physical health problems.” Dr. Beverly Cutler will direct the dental care. Cogen said Dr. Cutler happens also to be his dentist. But, her other clinic isn’t quite as good, he joked. Odegaard was in the audience, alongside county staff, health board members and donors who helped finance the clinic. See more photos of the clinic and the opening ceremony on The Skanner News Facebook page. HELEN SILVIS PHOTO Odegaard won a federal grant to create the first safety-net health clinic in the county, he said. Today the county serves 75,000 people a year in eight neighborhood clinics. And students can access healthcare at 13 school-based health centers. “For many of these children, if they didn’t have these clinics in their schools they wouldn’t have access to any healthcare,” he said. Lillian Shirley, the current health depart- ment director, said the project spoke to the power of partnerships. Cogen said there is a tremendous need for dental services, but their importance is not always obvious. “Lillian Shirley told me earlier today that Gangs continued from page 1 ball coach, attend the games with the aim of preventing fights and trouble. But some students and parents have com- plained that it sends a negative message that students of color are all potential criminals. Several made that point at a meeting on Portland Community College’s Cascade campus, Thursday evening. About 100 peo- ple came together to discuss policing, race and the ideas in Michelle Alexander’s book The New Jim Crow. A senior at Jefferson High School said the heavy police presence was creating, “fear and resentment toward the police. “You walk by and they flash their lights at all the students. You feel singled out and ostra- cized and like you’re doing something wrong by being in that area.” The parent of a Jefferson foot- ball player said he and his wife were surprised to see such a strong police pres- ence at the games, especially since the Gang enforcement team, (until recently) were all White officers. “When we went out to Milwaukie there was no officers to be seen, anywhere. What if there was all-Black officers at a White school’s game. “It’s extreme to have this, when you are just trying to have a good night out, because, it’s almost like anticipating some- thing will happen.” Similar complaints were made at the meeting about the recent efforts to end graf- fiti and other nuisance crimes on N. Killingsworth Street. The Multnomah Police say they made 6,100 positive contacts with youth, but a dozen youth and adults said that police stops are racially biased County District Attorney’s office recently won a $600,000 grant to put a Deputy Dis- trict Attorney in the North precinct to work with the street crimes unit. So while police say they made 6,100 pos- itive contacts with youth, at the Cascade campus meeting a dozen youth and adults Dental assistants, Ari Puente, left, and Liz Hughes said they are excited to work with clients in the state-of-the-art clinic. complained that police stops are racially biased. Jo Ann Hardesty, a member of the Albina Ministerial Alliance and a former state leg- islator, said she had asked police for a breakdown of the 300 arrests made over the summer. In the month of June, she said the racial breakdown of arrests was: Black: 180 Asian: 7 Hispanic: 7 Native American: 3 White: 31 Almost 50 percent of the arrests were for alcohol-related misdemeanors, such as drinking in public, Hardesty said. “What difference would it have made if they had taken these people to alcohol and drug treatment instead of arresting them? “I want a police department that treats kids in Northeast the same as kids in the Southwest hills.” Police Chief Mike Reese was rushing off to a graduation event, so couldn’t comment extensively, but he said Community College staff and the business owners on Killingsworth Street are pleased that nui- sance crimes are down. PPB spokesman Pete Simpson said the extra police presence was needed to keep gang violence in check, pointing to several shootings in the neighborhood, including an incident that injured students directly after a football game. “Unfortunately, what we know is that when a young African American male is shot, it’s almost 100 percent certain that another young African American male did the shooting,” Simpson said. “We are out there on behalf of those Young African American men who are 3.5 times more like- ly to be the victims of gun violence. We’re out there for them.” Overall, during 2012 gang-related shoot- ings are up at 109, on Nov. 9, compared to 103 for the whole of 2011. The gun task force has seized 40 handguns, 31 rifles and brought 111 felony charges. U.S. Attorney Amanda Marshall said her office prosecuted 21 gang-related cases over the summer, including 17 weapons charges and four drug cases. All those cases carry minimum penal- ties of five years. ty cameras abound and there are rules in place that say patrons can’t wear gang col- ors or leave three times and be allowed back in. Van says that these restrictions, specifical- ly the early last call for drinks, didn’t just hurt his business, but gave Maui’s a clear advantage. “My clientele here wants to party until A History of Neighborhood Problems Kay Newell has been a member of the Boise Neighborhood Association for 20 years and has been on the board for 18. Although she isn’t a fan of bars, she sup- ports LV’s and thinks its closing will hurt the community and its sense of inclusive- ness. Newell remembers when LV’s was The Texan and attests that the drug prob- lems have been there long before Van took over. She says that the loca- tion and the lack of other businesses being open at the same hours also con- tributed to the amount of attention the bar received from police. “It’s really hard to run a business in isolation,” says Newell. “They (drug dealers stopped by the police) aren’t going to say, ‘I’m going to make a drug deal.’ They’re going to say, ‘I’m going to LVs.’” “Unfortunately, LV is taking the brunt of it but the problems are still going to be in our community. We’re still going to have the same negative activities going on that have been happening forever.” License continued from page 1 LV’s last day was Halloween. Formerly known as The Royal Esquire, and before that The Texan, the bar has been a Black gathering spot for half a century. “My great grandmother used to come here,” says Van. “My grandma use to come here. I used to see this club as a kid.” Everyone acknowledges that the neigh- borhood has a history of drug issues. As it has gotten whiter over the years, these prob- lems have remained but new businesses have been able to set up shop and attain liquor licenses relatively easily. Perhaps the biggest symbol of this trans- formation is the New Seasons being built across the street from LV’s. Sylvester points out that the vacant lot is where Wonder Bread Bakery used to stand. Looking at the bigger picture, he says the phasing out of Black businesses hurts unity in the Black community. “Back in the day I would know everyone on the block,” says Sylvester. “That’s what’s missing with the gentrification of our community. It takes away the cohesiveness of the African American community. You see everybody at church on Sunday but as far as having relatives come in from, say Louisiana, what African American business would you take them to that’s big enough and thriving enough?” OLCC Restrictions Van finds it curious that another bar, Maui’s, moved in across the street from him around the same time the OLCC started placing restrictions on LV’s in 2009. According to the OLCC, these restrictions were: 1. Licensee shall prohibit the sale, service, or consumption of alcoholic beverages between 1:30am and 2:30am. 2. Licensee shall limit each patron to possessing no more than one container of alcohol at a time. 3. Licensee shall limit the amount of alcohol in a container to no more than 16 ounces of malt beverage, 6 ounces of wine, or 2 ounces of distilled spirits. 4. Licensee shall have at least two DPSST-certified security staff on duty on the premises between 8 p.m. and closing on Friday and Saturday nights to monitor patrons inside the premises and in the immediate vicinity adjacent to the prem- ises. Before walking into LV’s customers are wanded and patted down (This reporter was asked to empty his pockets as well). Securi- Looking at the bigger picture, Sylvester says the phasing out of Black businesses hurts unity in the Black community 2:30 in the morning like everybody else,” he says. “If you make me stop selling liquor at 1:30 that means I have to stop serving at 1:10 so all the drinks will be up. All my clientele left.” “From my heart I really did feel that when they moved Maui’s over there they were anticipating getting the Black crowd. How are they going to get me when my same clientele goes over to Maui’s?” See LV’S on page 5 November 14, 2012 The Portland Skanner Page 3
