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