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).