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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 14, 2015)
Local News O’Dea “Challenging People to Shape a Better Future Now” B ERNIE F OSTER Founder/Publisher B OBBIE D ORE F OSTER Executive Editor J ERRY F OSTER Advertising Manager L ISA L OVING News Editor H ELEN S ILVIS Multimedia Editor P ATRICIA I RVIN D AVID K IDD Graphic Designer M ONICA J. F OSTER Seattle Office Coordinator J ULIE K EEFE S USAN F RIED Photographers that if we focus on having all of our bureau from the top down, building relationships in all parts the community—-not just most— not just some—and working together on [their] priorities we can meet people’s needs so that we can police in a reflective way. The needs of the business commu- nity Downtown are very different is going to be the new commander of North Precinct. Who else are you bringing in that you’re excit- ed about? Chief O’Dea: I’m really excited about the whole team. Part of what I’m doing is restructuring, going from three branches to four branches in the Chief’s office (Rapid Response The other part of my priority is to continue to diversify the police bureau and its leadership than the needs of the folks out at Cully and Killingsworth, which are different from Albina and Killingsworth. The other part of my priority is to continue to diversify the police bureau and its leadership. For those of us in the police bureau, that causes us to think, learn, and do things differently and grow richer by having a diverse police bureau and continuing our educa- tion around equity, institutional racism, and implicit bias. TSN: I know that Chris Uehara Team; Critical Incident Com- mand; and Crowd Control Inci- dent Command.) I’m doing that specifically so all of my Assistant Chiefs have the time and capacity to be engaged with the communi- ty. I look at all the advisory com- mittees I’ve been a part of and different opportunities in the com- munity and it matters when there’s an assistant chief at the table; it matters, and it’s important. All my assistant chiefs will have more capacity to do that; this is going to be top down. We’re going to be engaged in the community. PHOTO BY LISA LOVING continued from page 1 Portland Police Chief Larry O’Dea, at left, helped rebuild the dining room table for a family at Villa de Mariposas, at a special party thrown by the community for police officers last month. O’Dea also volunteers with Habitat for Humanity. TSN: Are there any numbers around how much recruitment comes from your local municipal- ities trying to get into the Portland bureau? Chief O’Dea: California’s police academy has been consid- ered the equivalent of our acade- my. So somebody can go through that academy and we can hire them right in, they don’t have to go and do another 16 weeks because the quality and the type of training is on-par and we would do our own Portland-specific training. So it offered to us a little bit of success to our way diverse recruiting. The downside though is now with the economy going better and better that opportunity isn’t going to be there. So we’ve got find our new strategy because we’ve still got to continue our diverse recruiting. [Our] best chance at having See O’DEA on page 6 Radon continued from page 1 The Skanner Newspaper, established in October 1975, is a weekly publica- tion, published each Wednesday by IMM Publications Inc., 415 N. Killingsworth St., P.O. Box 5455, Portland, OR 97228. Telephone (503) 285-5555. E-mail: info@theskanner.com World Wide Web site: http://www.theskanner.com Fax: (503) 285-2900 The Skanner is a member of the National Newspaper Pub lishers Associ- ation and West Coast Black Pub lishers Association. All photos submitted become the property of The Skanner. We are not re - spon sible for lost or damaged photos either solicited or unsolicited. © 2015 The Skanner. ALL RIGHTS RE SERVED. leading cause of lung cancer in the U.S. after cigarette smoking, and the leading cause of lung cancer among non-smokers. The EPA and the American Lung Association recommend all homes be tested for radon. The EPA suggests conducting a short- term test from 3-7 days which gives a snapshot of the back- ground concentration. Levels are likely to be the highest during winter heating months when peo- ple keep their windows closed and they spend more time indoors. Brett Sherry, the Radon Pro- gram coordinator with the Oregon Health Authority says the data shows a clear and critical need to test homes. “The take-home message is that every home needs to be tested, regardless of where it is located,” Sherry said. “Radon has been detected in homes all across Ore- gon. The only way to know if your Testing is an easy, important way to protect you and your family. If you don’t test, you don’t know home has high radon levels is to test.” Radon test kits can be purchased at hardware and home improve- ment stores, or can be purchased online at www.radonkit.org. Many tests cost between $15 and $25 dollars. Radon issues can be repaired at a cost similar to many common home repairs. Radon repairs include sealing cracks in floors and walls, which reroute airflow throughout the house. The EPA suggests contracting with an EPA qualified or state-cer- tified radon contractor to evaluate and rehabilitate radon exposed homes. To find a contractor near you, visit: www.epa.gov/radon/wherey- oulive.html The Radon Program is also offering free radon tests if your Zip Code has fewer than 20 radon test results. Cities that have very few test results include Cornelius, Tillamook, Scio and Brookings. To see if your Zip Code is on this list, visit www.healthoregon.org/radon. If you qualify, send an email to radon.program@state.or.us to receive instructions on how to get a free test kit, which will be pro- vided while supplies last. The American Lung Association of Oregon is also holding an event, Radon Forum Northwest, which will feature informational presentations, a panel discussion and a Q & A with industry experts. The forum is free and open to the public. It will be held at the Salem Public Library on Jan. 16 from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. Interested par- ties are asked to RSVP to Tiffany Belser at 503-718-6141 or tbelser@lungoregon.org. For Klein, the most important action of Radon Action Month is to get that test done so you can know what your risk is. “Testing is an easy, important way to protect you and your fami- ly,” Klein said. “If you don’t test, you don’t know.” Learn more about Radon, radon testing and mitigation and radon- resistant new construction, visit www.healthoregon.org/radon or the EPA website at www.epa.gov/radon/nram. REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART WITHOUT PERMISSION PROHIBITED. Payday continued from page 1 To see The Skanner News on your smart phone go to theskannermobile.com or scan this QR code with your app. • • • • • • • • Local news Opinions Jobs, Bids Sports Entertainment Music reviews Bulletin board RSS feeds ever, are small, short-terms loans, with interest and fees that are often outrageous.” Borrowers who obtain loans from illegal lenders also are par- ticularly vulnerable to abusive collection practices. Some of the most common complaints are repeated and harassing calls at work, threatening criminal prose- cution, and harassing and lying to co-workers or family members. Borrowers have also reported that some companies have illegally attempted to garnish their wages. Illegal lenders have also been reported to have sold personal information. For these reasons, DFI strongly urges Washington residents to ver- ify that the payday lender is licensed to offer payday loans and Page 2 The Portland and Seattle Skanner January 14, 2015 The state continues to receive regular complaints from Washington borrowers regarding online payday lending to do some research before pro- viding personal information, such as the following: Visit the DFI website, http://www.dfi.wa.gov, and select “Verify License.” Type in the name of the company offering the loan, and it will search the DFI licensee database and return any results. Conduct an Internet search. Before giving personal informa- tion (social security number, date of birth, bank account number), consumers should conduct an Internet search on the name of the company to see if other con- sumers have complained about the lender. Ask the lender for their Wash- ington State license number. If the lender doesn’t give an answer, or states that they don’t need to be licensed, it is almost certain that the payday lender is not licensed. If you realize that you’re deal- ing with an unlicensed lender, please contact the Enforcement Unit of DFI’s Consumer Services Division at http://www.dfi.wa.gov/docu- ments/payday-loan- complaint.htm to file a complaint. Even if the unlicensed lender appears to be complying with state law, consumers may not have the protection of a surety bond (required of DFI licensees) or receive loans in compliance with other protections provided for under Washington State law, including privacy protections and limitations on fees and interest. For more information about the Washington State Attorney Gener- al’s consumer affairs work, go to www.dfi.wa.gov, or call 360-902- 8700, toll-free at 877-RINGDFI (746-4334).
