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