February 27, 2019 The Skanner Portland & Seattle Page 3
News
cont’d from pg 1
fordable housing crisis.
The measure, which
previously passed the
Senate, will now head
to Gov. Kate Brown, who
has said she will sign it.
The bill will take effect
immediately, as Demo-
crats say the housing cri-
sis constitutes an emer-
gency.
vember, voters defeated
a ballot initiative that
would have overturned
that law.
Under the Oregon bill,
landlords are limited
to increasing rent only
once per year. That in-
crease can’t be higher
than 7 percent above the
consumer price index —
a benchmark figure that
tracks average prices for
most household purchas-
es in the U.S.
Landlords also can’t
serve tenants no-cause
evictions
within
a
tenant’s first year of oc-
cupancy, a provision de-
signed to protect those
living month-to-month,
who are often most vul-
nerable to sudden rent
hikes and abrupt lease
terminations.
Republicans warned
that the measure will
only exacerbate the cur-
rent housing crisis, say-
ing the regulations will
discourage investors and
landlords from building
“
In every
corner of
Oregon, in-
dividuals
are facing
an emer-
gency
“
From women fleeing do-
mestic violence, to working
families in communities big
and small trying to get by,
to indigenous people who
struggle to find a safe and se-
cure home, this crisis touch-
es all of us
Rep. Mark Meek, a
Democrat from Oregon
City who sponsored the
bill in the House, said
the measure will address
the state’s homelessness
problem and provide
Oregon residents “some
predictability and stabil-
ity with their expenses.”
Oregon has been strug-
gling to provide housing
for the tens of thousands
of people moving to the
state each year looking
for employment and low-
er costs of living.
The state’s seen a 12.8
percent spike in home-
lessness over the past de-
cade, with high rates of
veterans, youth and fam-
ilies living without shel-
ter, according to the U.S.
Department of Housing
and Urban Development.
“In every corner of Or-
egon, individuals are fac-
ing an emergency,” said
Rep. Tawna Sanchez, a
Democrat from Portland
and the Legislature’s
only Native American
lawmaker. “From wom-
en fleeing domestic vio-
lence, to working fami-
lies in communities big
and small trying to get by,
to indigenous people who
struggle to find a safe and
secure home, this crisis
touches all of us.”
The measure has made
Oregon a nationwide
leader in tenant pro-
tections, and advocates
say rent control is the
first step in addressing
high rent, gentrification
and a lack of affordable
housing. New York has
a statewide rent control
law, but cities can choose
whether to participate.
California restricts the
ability of cities to impose
rent control. Last No-
and maintaining more
property.
“Reduction in land-
lords means a reduction
in housing, plain and
simple,” said Rep. Kim
Wallen, a Republican
from Medford. “This is
the wrong solution for
the whole state to make
owning rentals so un-
pleasant that people sim-
ple stop getting into the
business.”
Opponents add that
the state should instead
focus on the critical
shortage of affordable
housing. It’s estimated
that 30,000 housing units
must be built per year to
meet the state’s current
housing deficit and to
build for the future as
more people move to Or-
egon, according to Demo-
crat House Speaker Tina
Kotek.
Democrats say that
new builders are exempt
from the rent control
law for 15 years, which
is meant to spur devel-
opment throughout the
state. They add that they
plan to continue address-
ing the housing shortage
with future legislation
to incentivize affordable
housing.
“Oregon is open for
business,” said Meek,
who works as a realtor
outside the Legislature.
Follow Sarah Zimmer-
man on Twitter at @sar-
ahzimm95 .
Arya Morman Crowned
Miss Black Oregon US
Ambassador 2019
Arya Morman has been crowned Miss Black Oregon US Ambassador
2019. A former recipient of The Skanner Foundation’s scholarship,
Morman has graduated from Oregon State University with a bachelor
of science in health science and holds a master of science in healthcare
administration from California State University, East Bay and is
pursuing a doctorate in communicable diseases.
The Miss Black US Ambassador and Miss Black Teen US Ambassador
Scholarship Pageant, is a program of Ambassador of Change Inc, a
501c3. The Miss Black Teen US Ambassador Scholarship Pageant will be
held in Atlanta July 2019. Morman’s platform encourages Black health
equity for all women to embrace their leadership abilities to push
towards their goals.
PCC
cont’d from pg 1
out” the program so that students
involved in its major and certifi-
cate programs – applied science
in website development and de-
sign, computer software funda-
mentals and business office assis-
tants – are able to complete their
coursework.
According to Katy Ho, PCC’s vice
president of academic affairs, it’s
difficult to determine exactly how
long the CAWT program has been
around, because it’s shifted in its
curricular focus over the year.
But she estimates it’s been offered
in different iterations for about
25 years.
School officials cite declining
enrollment as a major reason for
the change, with a 12 percent drop
in full-time enrollment in CAWT
programs from 2016 to 2018. They
also say the school needs to find a
“more holistic” way to teach com-
puter skills to students, but aren’t
yet sure precisely what that will
look like.
“One of the things that we know
in the decision to close the pro-
gram is to make sure that we are
thinking very holistically and
broadly about teaching computer
applications,” Ho told The Skan-
ner.
The way forward will be guided
by a couple of concerns, Ho said.
One is industry needs: school of-
ficials plan to meet with industry
Gladen
leaders to find out what techno-
logical skills they’re seeking in
new hires which may be more
current and more useful than a
certificate in website design. The
school does offer associate’s de-
grees and certificates in comput-
“
is designed to improves student
graduation and retention rates,
and help new students better nav-
igate college life.
“We’re going to interview spe-
cific staff, students, stakeholders
around the college. We’re making
School officials plan to meet with in-
dustry leaders to find out what tech-
nological skills they’re seeking in new
hires
er information systems and net-
work administration, and offers
computer science classes but no
degree or certificate in computer
science.
The second concern is student
onboarding — the process of
making sure new students have
appropriate skills and advising
to succeed — and how computer
skills fit into that.
“The decision to close this pro-
gram comes with a strong recog-
nition that the college needs to
address future support and pro-
gramming in computer literacy,
which includes specific software
expertise,” said an email sent
to PCC faculty and staff and ob-
tained by The Skanner.
The email mentions a college
initiative called Yes to Equitable
Student Success — YESS — which
sure the student onboarding pro-
cess is being improved,” Ho said.
Ho said because so many spe-
cifics are up in the air, she did not
yet know how many faculty jobs
would be affected or what the fis-
cal impact of the program’s clo-
sure would be.
Earlier this month, PCC Pres-
ident Mark Mitsui and others
rallied on the capitol for better
education funding at both the
K-12 and collegiate level, with
PCC officials saying last year the
school deficit spent $10 million to
compensate for state budget cuts
and are concerned about similar
shortfalls in the near future.
Searching “computer applica-
tions” on the staff directory on
PCC’s website yields 45 faculty
names, 36 of whom are listed as
part-time instructors.
impactful meeting and I appreci-
ated the family’s willingness to
meet with us.”
and to propose changes in how
the city responds to calls relating
to mental illness.
In 2011 the US Department of
Justice found the City of Portland
had a pattern and practice of ex-
cessive force against people with
mental illness and in 2012 the city
was placed under federal super-
vision.
According to PPB, investiga-
tive material relating to Glad-
en’s death will be posted on the
Bureau’s Open Data page at
www.portlandoregon.gov/po-
lice/52175.
cont’d from pg 1
“The Portland Police Bureau is
awaiting additional information
from the Grand Jury transcripts,”
“
PHOTO COURTESY OF ARYA MORMAN
Rent
When I met with Mr. Gladen’s family
today, I listened and assured them this
tragic incident is receiving a thorough
level of investigation and review
Outlaw said in a PPB press re-
lease. “When I met with Mr. Glad-
en’s family today, I listened and
assured them this tragic incident
is receiving a thorough level of in-
vestigation and review. It was an
At a Feb. 22 press conference,
Gladen’s family said they were
unsurprised by the not-true bill
and intend to work to ensure
what happened to their loved one
does not happen to anyone else,