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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (April 2, 2014)
News Publishers Children Helping Children continued from page 1 Historically, Black publishers have played a powerful role in American politics and culture, since the first Black news- paper, Freedom’s Journal was published in 1827. Its editors were Rev. Samuel Cornish and John B. Russwurm, who famously said, “Too long have others spoken for us …We wish to plead our own cause.” The association was founded in 1941 when John Sen- gstacke of the Chicago Defender, invited publishers to a meeting aimed at “harmonizing our energies in a common purpose for the benefit of Negro journalism.” Some of the most influential journalists in the history of the American Press have worked for Black newspapers. Among them: Frederick Douglass, W.E.B. DuBois, Ida B. Wells Barnett, Langston Hughes, Romare Bearden, James Weldon Johnson, Mary McLeod Bethune and Daisy Bates. The Black Press gallery, which features publishers who have made significant contributions to Black journalism, is housed at Howard University, and the Black Press archives are stored at the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center, also at Howard. PHOTO BY ADRIAN ADEL ‘Too long have others spoken for us … We wish to plead our own cause’ Inspired by a little boy named Terrance Burton Jr., The Second Annual Terrance Feed raised more than $250 on March 23 to benefit the Union Gospel Mission in Portland. Featuring local recording artists such as Mic Crenshaw, the event attracted many families. Above, Terrance dances with Anthony Hill at the event. Terrance’s mother, Rochelle Hart, has also created a GoFundMe site to bring in even more funds — $115 so far above the money collected at the event — which is live through at least April 15. Go to www.gofundme.com and search for 2014 2nd Annual Terrance Feed. Court continued from page 1 crime,” Arling says. A Spanish interpreter asks if anyone needs help. He has one taker. 1:25 p.m.: A court clerk commands everyone to rise as the Honorable Steven Todd, community court judge, enters the courtroom. Judge Todd smiles warmly at everyone in the room as he comes to the front of the seated area and goes over the rules in more detail. “You’re all innocent till proved guilty,” he says, and explains the options again. “The good news is that there is no risk of jail no matter what. The bad news is that because it’s a violation you have fewer rights. The standard of proof is a preponder- ance of the evidence, not beyond a reasonable doubt. That’s 51 percent com- pared to 99 percent.” 1:30 p.m.: The clerk calls out the first case: a young woman, Mary B. There’s an error in the spelling of her name that takes a few minutes to sort out. Then the judge asks her how she wants to plead and she says, ‘no contest.’ Judge Todd orders eight hours of community service. She signs up with Nnenna Lewis, court coordinator for the Portland Business Alliance. It’s Lewis’s job to dole out the community service work, mostly landscap- ing and trash pick-up. 1:34 p.m.: A succession of people is called up, plead and get in line to be assigned eight hours of service. Then lawyers step in to deal with a non-TriMet case. “Flynn,” a bald and bearded 30-some- thing, is charged with being at S.E. 97th and Stark with the intention of “paying for sex- ual activity.” It’s his first offense so he is sentenced to attend what Judge Todd calls a “very expen- sive” ($1,000) “John class” and to “stay out of trouble for six months.” To read the rest of the story online, scan this QR code with your smartphone app. 1:40 p.m.: Back to the ticketless TriMet riders. In quick succession they plead ‘no contest’ and are sentenced to community service. Occasionally the ticket notes the person was cooperative with the TriMet fare inspectors. Apparently Savannah I. wasn’t so polite. “You don’t want to tell me what you told the officer?” the judge asks. She shakes her head, blushing and lines up for community service. Chris F., one of the few men here dressed in a suit and tie, is on parole. Politely he recounts that he had a ticket, but jumped on the train before validating it. He’s in a treat- ment program now and names his parole officer — Dave O. “Oh good. I know him, he’s great,” Judge Todd says. “Parole officers get a bad rap but they can be your best friend if you let them.” 2 p.m.: The TriMet cases keep coming. A slight woman, who looks about 16, is ordered to attend eight Narcotics Anony- mous meetings. “You need to go to at least one a week, and you should be going a lot more often than that if you want it to work,” she’s told. “Bring back proof.” Another young woman totters up in pink high-platform shoes and a bare midriff despite the chilly weather. Around her neck she wears a necklace spelling DOPE in large, gold letters. Eight hours for her too. Read the rest of this story online at www.theskanner.com Health Care continued from page 1 finish. That includes people stymied by website outages or overwhelmed phone lines, missing information on applications, and other problems or confusion. Those who started an application on HealthCare.gov should log on and finish it soon. Federal officials say they will take what time is necessary to work through cases pending online and will accept paper applications until April 7. Rules vary in the 14 states running their own insurance mar- ketplaces. For most people, going through a market- place opens the door to lower costs. Those who use the grace period will get coverage starting May 1 and won’t owe a fine. 2. USE A SPECIAL ENROLLMENT PERIOD The government also is offering special extensions for a host of problems that might have prevented people from signing up through a marketplace: Natural disasters. Domestic abuse. A serious illness. Mistakes by application counselors. Errors by insur- ance companies. To seek a “special enrollment period,” contact the federal call center, at 1-800-318- 2596, or your state marketplace and explain what went wrong. It’s on the honor system. If the extension is approved, that brings another 60 days to enroll. Also, at any time during the year, certain life events — such as changing jobs, getting married or divorced, or becoming a parent — open a 60-day window to sign up for and people with disabilities. 4. BUY INSURANCE OUTSIDE THE MARKETPLACES Buyers can always go directly to an insur- ance company, but it may be expensive. Plans bought outside the marketplaces don’t come with government subsidies that hold Supporters of the law are calling on President Barack Obama to make things easier next time around. marketplace coverage. 3. SIGN UP FOR MEDICAID Those who qualify can still enroll in Med- icaid — there’s no deadline. Eligibility is based on income and varies from state to state. About half the states expanded their Medicaid programs. The main beneficiaries of the change are adults earning up to about $16,100 per year, with no children living at home. Previously, Medicaid was limited mostly to poor children and their parents down the cost for people with low or mid- level incomes. But they do include the law’s consumer protections. For example, insur- ers can’t turn down customers because of pre-existing medical conditions. Even after the deadline, buying a plan that meets the law’s essential coverage standard reduces the penalty owed, which is based on the number of months without coverage. The fine for going uninsured all year is the greater of two formulas: about 1 percent of household income above the tax-filing threshold of $10,150 or $95 per adult and $47.50 per child under 18, up to $285 per family. It’s due to the IRS in April 2015. 5. GET READY FOR NEXT TIME Open enrollment for 2015 is coming later this year. It’s scheduled to begin Nov. 15 and run just three months. That’s another chance to get covered or switch into a plan with subsidies. Supporters of the law are calling on Pres- ident Barack Obama to make things easier next time around. The advocacy group Families USA sug- gested a bunch of improvements Tuesday, including more face-to-face sign-ups, coor- dinating enrollment with tax-filing season so people better understand the fines, and improving coordination with Medicaid pro- grams. Something to think about: The uninsured penalty next year rises to 2 percent of income or $325 per adult and $162.50 per child. Find more at www.healthcare.gov/all-top- ics/ AP writer Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar con- tributed to this report. April 2, 2014 The Portland and Seattle Skanner Page 3
