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O CTOBER 8, 2014
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V OLUME XXXVII, N O . 1
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C HALLENGING P EOPLE TO S HAPE A B ETTER F UTURE N OW
Ballots
Coming
Soon
25
NEW NIKE FIELD
Quick list of what’s on
the agenda for voters
this Election Day
By Lisa Loving
Of The Skanner News
Washington Statewide Ballot Meas-
ures (Advisory Votes are nonbinding)
Initiative 1351 would lower class sizes in
public schools.
Initiative 591 would prohibit government
agencies from requiring background checks
on firearm recipients unless a uniform
national standard is required.
Initiative 594 would require universal
background checks on gun purchases.
Advisory Vote No. 8 (Senate Bill 6505)
concerns eliminating the agricultural tax
preferences for various aspects of the mari-
juana industry.
Advisory Vote No. 9 (Engrossed Substi-
tute House Bill 1287) concerns imposing
the leasehold excise tax on certain leasehold
interests in tribal property.
See BALLOT on page 3
INDEX
News............1,3,6,7,10
Opinion .....................2
Calendars ..............4,5
A & E ......................8,9
Business ..............13-15
Bids/Classifieds ........14
PHOTO BY NIKE | SKYRISIMAGING.COM
I
t is without a doubt going to be a big
Election Night on Nov. 4, with far-
reaching ballot measures sure to lure big
voter turnouts in both Oregon and Washing-
ton.
In the Evergreen State, dueling gun con-
trol measures – as well as a confusing early
childhood education measure in Seattle –
will keep voters on their toes trying to make
sure they tag the correct boxes on their bal-
lots. (So far it remains unclear what will
happen if both gun control measures pass.)
In Oregon, a legalized retail cannabis
measure, alongside one that would establish
a driving card for undocumented residents,
are expected to trigger a high tide of voter
participation.
Here is our thumbnail guide to ballot
measures in the two states. The voter regis-
tration deadline in Oregon is Oct. 14; in
Washington State, the deadline to register to
vote is Oct. 27, for in-person new registra-
tions. (Updates to current registration must
have been made by Oct. 6).
The Jefferson High School Democrats took on the Madison High School Senators in football on Jefferson’s new field
built by NIKE on Friday, Oct. 3. Before the kick-off, Carole Smith and other leaders from Portland Public Schools,
NIKE, and Jefferson High School gathered to celebrate and dedicate the new track and field. It is the ninth
completed project of “The 10 Great Fields” fund partnership between the district and the shoe retailer’s executives
and employees, who contributed about $2 million to the effort.
Portland Police Chief Retires
Assistant Chief Larry O’Dea tapped by Mayor as replacement
By Helen Silvis
Of The Skanner News
P
ortland Chief Mike Reese
has announced he will
retire in January 2015. His
replacement will be Assistant
Chief Larry O’Dea, a 28-year
veteran officer.
“Larry O’Dea is one of the
most decorated officers in the
bureau — 11 medals and 75 let-
ters of commendation,” Mayor
Charlie Hales said at a press
conference in the Justice Center,
Tuesday.
“He shares my goals and aspi-
rations. He has been living the
idea of community engagement.
He has led the bureau’s equity
work. He has the respect of the
command staff, the rank-and-
file, and the community. He is
the right leader at the right
time.”
As assistant chief, O’Dea has
been responsible for operations
management across all three
precincts, youth services, and
the traffic and transit divisions.
He was part of the team that
worked out the Department of
Justice settlement agreement,
and he says he agrees complete-
ly with its goals. The problems
in Ferguson Missouri, O’Dea
told reporters were not solely
due to Mike Brown’s death at
the hands of Officer Darren Wil-
son, but went deeper. The
community in Ferguson had
already lost trust in their police
force. Community relationships
should be at the heart of police
work, he said.
O’Dea said he has four priori-
ties for the bureau:
“The first is to focus on a rela-
tionship-based policing philoso-
phy,” he said. I can’t direct
that our members work on this
crime, or that crime, or on this
issue and it work for everyone.
The needs of the downtown
community are different from
the Cully and Killingsworth
community and different from
the needs at 162nd and Burn-
side. What I can do that works is
to direct our members to build
trusting relationships with all
parts of the community and
See CHIEF on page 3
Settlement in Garfield High Rape Case
Multiple protests dog district officials but no admission of guilt issued
By Lisa Loving
Of The Skanner News
A
two-year struggle for justice over a
15-year-old Garfield High School
student’s alleged rape on an
overnight school field trip has apparently
ended with a $700,000 settlement for the
teenaged girl and her family.
However the uproar over the incident –
first reported by Al Jazeera but then picked
up by national and local news outlets and
blogs – is unlikely to end anytime soon.
The U.S. Department of Education
opened an investigation into the assault in
August of this year, and judging by the Seat-
tle School District’s public statement
Wednesday, some of its new policies appear
to be aimed at beefing up the district’s com-
pliance with federal law.
Schools officials released the statement
but at the same time stated they would not
be answering any questions about it.
The proposed settlement with the girl’s
family goes before the school board for
approval on Oct. 15; district officials say the
settlement must also be approved by a
court-appointed official “who will assure
See GARFIELD on page 3