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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 28, 2013)
WWW . THESKANNER . COM A UGUST 28, 2013 P ORTLAND , O REGON V OLUME XXXV, N O . 47 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 School Key to Earning NEW MARKET Report: Investment in education is key to boosting wages By Helen Silvis Of The Skanner News PHOTO BY JERRY FOSTER A new report from the Economic Poli- cy Institute points to education as the key to economic wellbeing. The takeaway: To raise the average wage, state lawmakers should focus on improving the entire education system and helping stu- dents attend college and gain degrees. “If Oregon lawmakers want a stronger economy — one where typical Oregonians earn more — they need to raise our work- force’s educational attainment,” said Chuck Sheketoff, executive director of the non- profit think tank Oregon Center for Public Policy. “That means lawmakers need to invest more in education, from early childhood through higher education.” The report, “A Well-Educated Workforce is Key to State Prosperity” looked at educa- tion levels, productivity and average wages by state. It found that the states with more educat- ed workers have a higher average wage. Authors Noah Berger, president of the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, and Peter Fisher, research director at the Iowa Policy Project, found what they called a striking consistency in the findings. “Overwhelmingly, high-wage states are states with a well-educated workforce. There is a clear and strong correlation between the educational attainment of a state’s workforce and median wages in the state.” Not a single state broke the pattern by having less-educated workers and higher average wages, or well-educated workers and lower average wages. The report also found that lowering taxes for corporations had no positive impact on average wages. It concluded that states that reduce corporate taxes in order to attract and keep businesses, also reduce their ability to fund education. So they receive little bene- Gracing what had been an empty lot for many, many years, New Seasons opened a new grocery store Wednesday morning on North Williams Avenue at Fremont Street. Kicking off one of the most anticipated store openings in North Portland history were, from left, Greg Herrenbruck, director of design and construction at New Seasons Market; Michael Alexander, president and CEO of the Urban League of Portland; Lisa Hetzler, Sinner’s Sausage (once made and sold on the site of the new store); Wendy Collie, CEO and president of New Seasons Market; Tony Hopson, Sr., Self Enhancement Inc.; Bill McGee, New Seasons store manager; Kyle Camberg and Portland Police Lt. Robert King, Sunshine Division; and Pat Brown, New Seasons Market chief operating officer. Play Depicts Dr. King’s Last Night Portland actor Rodney Hicks talks about how role changed his life By Lisa Loving Of The Skanner News D uring the current com- memoration of Martin Luther King and his ‘I Have a Dream’ speech, critics are drawing attention to the dif- ference between the idealized King we revere today and King, the man. A new play at Portland Center Stage, “The Mountain- top,” focuses squarely on the latter. First produced in 2010 by Katori Hall and already consid- ered a classic — this two-person show features Rodney Hicks as See KEY on page 3 INDEX News ................2,3,5,8 Opinion .....................4 A & E ......................6,7 Bids/Classifieds ..........8 Education ............9-12 King and Natalie Paul as a maid at the Lorraine Motel who brings him a cup of coffee on the night before his assassina- tion. The Skanner News spoke with Hicks about the play, the man, and society today. truer to the history of Oklahoma than most people have ever thought about. Now we’re talk- ing about a play called, “The Mountaintop.” Can you speak to the history of this show? What is it about and why is it impor- tant? The Skanner News: Mr. Hicks the last time we spoke with you, it was about your per- formance as Curly in the PCS production of Oklahoma! It was an all-Black show, and the point of it was really that staging was Rodney Hicks: Katori Hall, a native of Memphis who is an amazing playwright and also actress herself, she wrote this play for her mother, really in a sense. Her mother was 15 years old at the time of Martin Luther King’s last speech and she couldn’t go because her mother said, “They’re going to bomb the church.” (Hall says today that her mother always regretted the decision not to attend King’s sermon http://www.tcg.org/pub- lications/at/october12/katori.cf m ) So the play was a legacy for her mother in a sense — but also, bigger than that, King him- self. In short she wanted to create a piece that wasn’t about the ‘god,’ or the mythical being See KING on page 3 DJ OG One Re-Releases his Memoir ‘We don’t have a gang problem, we have a community problem’ Bruce Poinsette Of The Skanner News The Man Behind the Music When the gang scene exploded in Port- land in the late 80s, David Jackson saw hope where others saw madness. Coming from Watts, CA., he still remembers the day a young man took him to the Villa for the first time. “He drives me to the North and I’m like, ‘When are we getting to the projects? I see white people walking down the street,’” says Jackson. “For Portland, the gang scene was bad but coming from where I came from, I was really encouraged.” Jackson, better known as DJ O.G. One, has been doing extensive work in the Port- land community for over 20 years. Along the way, he has built his brand as one of the most recognizable DJs in the city. He re- released an updated version of his autobiography “The Man Behind the Music: The Life and Times of David William OG One Jackson Jr.,” co-written by Rochelle Hart, in July. Jackson sat down with The Skanner News to discuss his story, commu- See COMMUNITY on page 3
