WWW . THESKANNER . COM
F EBRUARY 13, 2013
P ORTLAND , O REGON
V OLUME XXXV, N O . 19
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
March
Against
Guns
AMERICAN WINTER
A dismal turnout mars
Portland’s ‘Million
Mom’ anti-gun event
Sen. Ginny Burdick and Mayor Charlie
Hales spoke to about 100 people Saturday,
at a rally outside Portland City Hall to call
for gun control measures. Organized by
Portland supporters of the grassroots group,
One Million Moms 4 Gun Control, the rally
called for universal background checks on
gun buyers, action to ban guns in Oregon
schools, and bans on military-style assault
weapons and high capacity magazines.
Sen. Ginny Burdick, who is sponsoring
several bills in the Oregon Legislature,
urged everyone who supports gun control
measures to contact their state and national
elected officials and press them to add their
support. Even legislators who support gun
control are reluctant to speak out, she said.
“Democrats are “trying to hide from the
issue.”
Burdick drew applause when she said the
NRA had given her an F- grade. Nonethe-
less she said, she won reelection with 70
percent of the vote.
Jenn Lynch, local organizer for “One Mil-
lion Moms For Gun Control spoke first fol-
lowed by Mayor Charlie Hales; local
business owner and NRA member, Rick
George; and Sen. Burdick.
“We are not gun grabbers,” Lynch said.
“We support your Second Amendment right
to own a handgun to protect your business
or your home; a rifle to hunt with…. All we
are asking for are common sense regulations
on the sale of military-grade assault
weapons; common –sense bans on the man-
ufacture and sale of high-capacity maga-
zines…Like 85 percent of NRA members
we support background checks on sale of a
weapon…”
Mayor Charlie Hales said the measures
are “common sense” and are supported by
“thousands of people across the city.” He
said he has been out with the Portland
Police Department when shots have been
fired, hitting vehicles and buildings. That’s
PHOTO COURTESY AMERICAN WINTER
By Helen Silvis
Of The Skanner News
Filmed in Portland through the course of last winter, a documentary about poverty, “American Winter” follows the lives
of several local families getting help from 211Info, the social services referral nonprofit. One of the families is that of
TJ and his wife Tara, who are slowly watching their bills swallow all their resources until the point that they face losing
their home; above, TJ prays with his son. The film shows at the 36th Portland International Film Festival at the NW Film
Center’s Whitsell Auditorium in the Portland Art Museum, on Sunday, Feb. 17 at 3 p.m. and at Cinemagic, 2021 SE
Hawthorne Blvd., on Monday, Feb. 18 at 7:30 p.m. The film airs on HBO on March 18. For more information go to
www.americanwinterfilm.com.
2013 Urban League Action Day
Advocates head to Salem for lobbying by everyday people
Helen Silvis
Of The Skanner News
T
he Oregon Legislature is
beginning its 2013 ses-
sion with hundreds of
proposals for new laws, or
tweaks to old ones. Of course,
many of the proposed bills will
never gather enough support to
come to a vote, but others are
coming to the table with support
already lined up.
High on the agenda are a host
of healthcare bills that will
finalize the state’s version of
See GUNS on page 3
INDEX
News ...................2,3,6
Opinion .....................4
A & E .........................5
Bids/Classifieds ..........7
Obamacare. Gov. Kitzhaber is
pushing for reforms to the
prison system. And corporate
lobbyists, advocacy groups and
nonprofits all will be pushing
for their own legislative priori-
ties.
African Americans, and other
advocates from minority com-
munities are planning a day of
action to make sure all of our
voices are heard.
“A lot of what we do is to edu-
cate and inform legislators
about how issues affect our
communities,” says Midge Pur-
cell, Director of Advocacy and
Public Policy for The Urban
League of Portland.
The league has been working
with groups such as, the Port-
land African American Leader-
ship Forum, the Center for
Intercultural Organizing and the
Coalition of Communities of
Color to draw up a list of priori-
ties.
Advocates from those groups
will be heading to Salem next
Tuesday, Feb. 19, for Our Voic-
es United Legislative Action
Day. Buses will leave Portland
around 7:30 a.m. taking advo-
cates to meet legislators, discuss
issues, and watch a session in
progress. The group will meet in
the Oregon State Capitol Build-
ing, Hearing Room 50, 900
Court St. NE, Salem, at 9 –9:30
a.m., and will head back to Port-
land at 3 p.m. Students from
several high school Black Stu-
dent Unions have signed up.
Anyone interested in attending
can contact the Urban League to
reserve a seat.
“It will be an incredibly pow-
See ACTION on page 3
Police Activities League Center Closes
Group pulls plug on East Portland, keeps Beaverton facility open
By Helen Silvis
Of The Skanner News
T
he Portland Police Activities League
announced that its Eastside youth
center and its office at the Northeast
police precinct will close Feb. 15.
Based at Northeast 172nd at Glisan Street,
the youth center served some of the poorest
children and teens living in the Rockwood
neighborhoods of East Portland and Gre-
sham. The youth center served breakfast
and lunch to 80-100 youth each day.
Longstanding financial troubles left the
youth center with little money to effect cru-
cial repairs. Last year, the league, whose
board includes prominent law enforcement
leaders, had to turn down financial help to
repair its roof, because matching funds were
not immediately available. The leaks were
repaired, but a press release from the league
says financial difficulties remained.
The league recently parted ways with the
center’s popular director, Jay Williams, who
had been an outspoken internal critic of the
center’s management. Williams now works
for Portland Opportunities Industrialization
Center.
See PAL on page 3