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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 3, 2018)
JANUARY 3, 2018 Portland and Seattle Volume XL No. 14 News .............................. 3,8-10 A & E .....................................6-7 Opinion ...................................2 Dr. Jasmine ......................8 Calendars ........................... 4-5 Bids/Classifieds ....................11 By Melanie Sevcenko Of The Skanner News t De La Salle North Catholic High School, most students would be hard pressed to find a teacher that looks like them. Eighty-six percent of the student body at the North Portland private school are students of color. Conversely, 78 percent of its staff is White. “There’s a challenge there,” said prin- cipal Tim Joy, who added that his school is actively training teachers in cultural- A AP PHOTO/JAE C. HONG See TEACHERS on page 3 Homeless people wait in line for a free meal Dec. 21 in Dana Point, Calif. The number of homeless living in Orange County has climbed 8 percent over the last two years. Solutions to Homelessness Methods come with financial and political hurdles page 10 Kam Interviews Katt Williams page 7 Governor Brown announced Tuesday that she will appoint Adrienne C. Nelson, a trial judge in Multnomah County, to the Oregon Supreme Court. Judge Nelson will be the first African American to serve on an appellate court in Oregon and the second woman of color to serve on the Oregon Supreme Court. Judge Nelson will fill a vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Jack L. Landau. The appointment is effective immediately. Judge Nelson was appointed to the Multnomah County Circuit Court by Governor Kulongoski in 2006. She earlier worked at Portland State University as a senior attorney and coordinator of Student Legal and Mediation Services, from 2004 to 2006. Prior to that, she worked at the Portland firm Bennett, Hartman, Morris and Kaplan, LLP, from 1999 to 2004. She began her legal career as a public defender at Multnomah Defenders, Inc., from 1996 to 1999. Judge Nelson grew up in Arkansas, and attended the University of Arkansas for college and University of Texas for law school. Basketball League Recruits Somalian Kids L eague launched by the African Youth Community Organization, city By Melanie Sevcenko Of The Skanner News n Friday evenings, the Montavilla Com- munity Center gets loud, as 40 some odd boys dribble, shoot and dunk. Through a partnership between Portland Parks & Recreation and the Afri- can Youth Community Or- ganization, a pocket of the city’s immigrant youth has formed a new basketball league — and they couldn’t be more enthusiastic about O it. “I’ve been playing since I was three. I thought if I joined the team I might be the best,” said Jonas, 11, who told The Skanner that he wants to play for the NBA when he’s older. The AYCO league, which launched on Nov. 10, has re- cruited boys between the ages of 11 of 15 who come from Somali or neighbor- ing east Africa, or whose parents hail from the re- gion. In 1991, a civil war broke out in Somalia, giving way to an extremist Islamic in- surgency and displacing over a million people in an all-out refuge crisis. Jamal Dar, AYCO exec- utive director, told The Skanner that sports like basketball and soccer have always had a strong pres- ence in Somalia. In fact, in the aftermath of the civil war, basketball has been a means to settle disputes among gangs and even boost gender equality. The AYCO, too, has plans to offer sports to young girls. But first, said Dar, “we need funding, space and coaches. (Our) organi- zation is 90 percent volun- teer and grassroots, and so we maximize our commu- nity with whomever has the time and knowledge to help us.” Partner Portland Parks & Recreation has offered the community center in Mon- tavilla for AYCO’s league to host games. “We at PP&R are proud to partner with AYCO in helping Portland newcom- See BASKETBALL on page 3 Oregon to Vote on Healthcare Assessment Jan. 23 Measure 101 asks voters to review a hospital assessment passed in last year’s state budget package By Christen McCurdy Of The Skanner News ater this month Oregon voters whether to accept or reject tem- porary assessments on some health care organizations — in a vote some say is critical to ensuring Medicaid receives continued fund- ing. Measure 101 is the only matter Multnomah County voters will de- cide in the Jan. 23 special election. Apart from the unusual timing, the fact that the measure is on the ballot at all illustrates something of a quirk in direct democracy: the main com- mittee working to defeat the initia- L tive is the one that put it on the ballot in the first place. Rep. Julie Parris (R-Tualitin), who chairs the Stop Healthcare Taxes PAC along with Rep. Cecil Hayden (R-Rose- burg), said the petition had plenty of grassroots support — 90,000 people signed it and 80 percent of those who circulated the petition were unpaid. Parrish, Hayden and Rep. Sal Es- quivel (R-Medford) objected to por- tions of a budget bill the Legislature passed last summer and decided to pass the matter on to voters. And on the flip side, advocates for Measure 101’s passage say the mea- sure isn’t particularly well written – but that its passage is critical to PHOTO COURTESY OF OREGON LEGISLATURE Meyer Memorial Trust awards grants aimed at upping the number of non-White educators NELSON ON SUPREME COURT PHOTO COURTESY OF GOVERNOR KATE BROWN PRESS OFFICE AMANDA MILLS, USCDCP CHALLENGING PEOPLE TO SHAPE A BETTER FUTURE NOW Oregon’s Educators of Color Remain Low in Numbers 25 CENTS Rep. Julie Parrish (R-Tualitin) is driving the campaign against Measure 101, which would assess a temporary tax on hospitals to feed into the state’s healthcare fund. ensure the state’s healthcare system receives continued funding. See VOTE on page 3