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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 5, 2014)
News Election Vigil for Zeytuna continued from page 1 ethics questions surrounding his partner Cylvia Hayes, Kitzhaber took 49 percent of the vote compared to 45.3 per- cent for Republican candidate Dennis Richardson. Measure 87 that would have allowed judges to be hired by the National Guard and public universities; allows school employees to serve in the legislature, passed. Measure 90, which would have created a top two primary election sys- tem, failed. Over a hundred community and family members including Seattle mayor Ed murray attended a walk and vigil Nov. 1 for Zeytuna Edo, a 7 year old girl who was struck by a hit and run driver while walking to the Boys and Girls club on martin Luther King way in September. The walk ended with a “solutions meeting” at the Boys and Girls Club. Measure 89, that amends the Oregon constitution with an Equal Rights Amendment for women, passed with a large margin. Measure 92 that would require labeling of genetically modified foods looks likely to fail by a small margin. Despite the millions that flowed into the state to prevent Measure 92 from passing, the result looks to be very close, with current results showing 49.4 percent in favor and 50.6 percent against. Oregon’s national lawmakers, Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, Rep. Earl Blumenauer, Rep. Peter DeFazio, Rep. Kurt Schrader and Rep. Greg Walden all won their bids for re- election. Walden will be the only Oregonian legislator in the US Congress to be part of the majority Republican party. The City of Portland Parks bond and schools levy both passed easily. Washington Seattle Mayor Ed Murray has to be pleased that voters gave the thumbs up to his progressive agenda, passing new levies for a parks district, for transit and for universal pre- PHOTO BY SUSAN FRIED Despite the millions that flowed into the state to prevent Measure 92 from passing, the result looks to be very close school. More than 60 percent of Seattle voters passed Tran- sit Proposition 1, which will pay for more buses and cross-town service. And they passed option B to fund early childhood education with property taxes. A proposal to create and fund monorail in Seattle was defeated with 80 percent of the electorate voting no. Not all results are in yet, but it looks as if Republicans will retain control of the Washington State Legislature. At press time Republicans look to win the Washington State Senate with a 26 seats to the Democrats 23. Read the rest of this story online at www.theskanner.com Law continued from page 1 things, but for our group which was very concerned about use of force by police, it was a pretty significant thing to say – ‘here is something happening all over the state and everyone’s going to figure out how to deal with it,’” said Dan Handelman of Port- land Copwatch. “There’s not as much outcry in other cities when somebody is shot by the police, but that does not mean that every shooting that happens is completely justified, or that everyone in a community where it happens thinks it was the right thing to do.” Unfunded Mandate On Oct. 17, Copwatch compiled the data and sent it to Oregon Attorney General ‘We appreciate this inquiry and we are reviewing our procedures for making sure that all the required information is accurately reported to the Oregon Department of Justice’ —Kristina Edmundson Oregon DOJ Ellen Rosenblum; Rosenblum’s staff says they are reviewing the statistics and also reviewing what they should be doing with them, as per SB 111. Contacted by The Skanner News two weeks ago regarding the status of SB 111, Kristina Edmunson, Oregon Department of Justice spokesperson, spent days trying to track down what happened with the 2008 law, sending updates on her progress before finally turning up the bottom line. The task proved difficult because almost every official and lawmaker involved in passing it is retired or out of office; each one contacted by The Skanner News thought it had gone into effect. “ORS 181.789(6) provides that law enforcement agencies are to collect and report certain information to the Oregon Department of Justice (DOJ) when the use of deadly force results in a death. However, the DOJ grant for this program has not been legislatively funded since the 2007 -2009 biennium,” Edmunson told The Skanner News this week. “Any reports that the Oregon Department of Justice has received have been forwarded to the Public Health Division of the Oregon Health Authority. They, in turn, are to report these deaths to the federal CDC and U.S. Department of Justice. Read the rest of this story online at www.theskanner.com Employers continued from page 1 Subsequent violations result in penalties up to $1,000. JAO went into effect on Nov. 1 of last year, and applies to most jobs within Seattle city limits, not including: law enforcement; or jobs with unsupervised access to children under 16, individuals with developmental disabilities or vulnerable adults. “One in four adults in the U.S. has a crim- inal record, and the racial disparities in incarceration rates have devastated commu- nities of color,” said Patricia Lally, Director of the Seattle Office for Civil Rights. “Poli- cies that prevent people from working because of actions in their past hurt all of us. The Job Assistance Ordinance allows an applicant a fair chance at employment,” Lally says. “This law is an important step to strength- en communities, reduce crime and save tax dollars.” The employers charged cover a wide range of businesses: pet care, general con- tractor, construction, commercial and home cleaning, medical marijuana sales, land- scaping, IT technical support, home food The Job Assistance Ordinance is a Seattle law that sets limits on employers’ use of criminal history in hiring and other employment decisions delivery, liquor sales and telecommunica- tion. Some are located in Seattle; others are based outside Seattle but have employees who work within Seattle city limits. In addition to banning ads that exclude applicants with criminal history, the Job Assistance Ordinance also: Prohibits employers from asking ques- tions about applicants’ criminal history until after they conduct an initial screening. Prohibits employers from denying a job based solely on an arrest record. Gives applicants the opportunity to explain or correct criminal history informa- tion. Requires employers to provide a business reason if they deny a job based solely on an applicant’s conviction record. “Now that the Job Assistance Ordinance has been in effect for a year, we have started to file charges in situations that clearly vio- late the law.” said Michael Chin, SOCR’s Enforcement Manager. “While we want to educate employers on how to comply with JAO, we will enforce the law if we see a violation.” SOCR offers free training and technical assistance for employers on the Job Assis- tance Ordinance and other Labor Standards laws, like the Paid Sick and Safe Time Ordi- nance. A free JAO Employer Workshop is scheduled for December 2, noon-1 pm in the Central Building, 810 Third Avenue in downtown Seattle. To register, visit https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/HK6SC F5. For more information or to report a vio- lation, call 206-684-4500 or visit http://www.seattle.gov/civilrights/criminal- records.htm. Director’s Charges filed under Seattle Job Assistance Ordinance As of 11/3/14 Patricia Lally vs. Thrive Pet Care, LLC dba G’day! Pet Care Patricia Lally vs. David C. Akers dba Belltown Dog Walker VIP Pet Serv- ices Patricia Lally vs. Innovative Founda- tion Solutions, LLC. Patricia Lally vs. Alpine Specialty Cleaning, Inc. Patricia Lally vs. Solstice Group, Inc. dba Solstice Patricia Lally vs. Elliott Bay Land- scape Design Inc. Patricia Lally vs. Cities Digital Inc. Patricia Lally vs. Downtown Spirits LLC dba Downtown Spirits Patricia Lally vs. Caviar, Inc. dba Munch on Me Patricia Lally vs. Atlas Networks Cor- poration Patricia Lally vs. Homejoy, Inc. November 5, 2014 The Portland and Seattle Skanner Page 3
