March 27, 2019 The Skanner Portland & Seattle Page 3
News
cont’d from pg 1
Wal-Mart
Acting FAA Admin-
istrator Daniel Elwell’s
prepared testimony also
hinted at coming chang-
es at the FAA but gave
few details.
“
We know
that our
oversight
approach
needs to
evolve
“We know that our
oversight
approach
needs to evolve to ensure
that the FAA remains the
global leader in achiev-
ing aviation safety,” he
said.
Elwell also said Boeing
submitted an applica-
tion on Jan. 21 spelling
out changes it planned
to make to crucial
flight-control software
on the 737 Max — the sys-
tem suspected of playing
a role in the Oct. 29 crash
of a Lion Air jet in Indo-
nesia and the March 10
plunge of an Ethiopian
Airlines Max. In all, 346
people died.
FAA engineers and
pilots have tested the
software update in a sim-
ulator and the plane, ac-
cording to his prepared
remarks. “The FAA’s
ongoing review of this
software installation and
training is an agency pri-
ority,” Elwell said.
An FAA spokesman
said Wednesday that the
Boeing submission was
an “initial application”
and that the agency had
not yet received Boeing’s
completed plan for up-
dating the software.
The
Transportation
Department watchdog
has previously raised
questions about the
FAA’s certification of
Boeing planes and the
seemingly close relation-
ship between some agen-
cy managers and Boeing.
Read the rest of this story at
TheSkanner.com
The Vera Katz Eastbank Esplanade will reopen
by 3 p.m. March 29 after eight weeks of repair
and maintenance work, and several days ahead
of schedule. Portland Parks & Recreation, the
Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT),
Bureau of Environmental Services (BES), and
the Regional Arts and Culture Council (RACC)
partnered to make improvements to the Vera
Katz Eastbank Esplanade. The project benefits
thousands of cyclists, runners, walkers, and
other visitors to one of Portland’s most iconic
public amenities. According to PBOT, during the
summer months the Eastbank Esplanade sees
approximately 2,400 daily bicycle trips (almost
500 during the two-hour peak commute) and
approximately 1,200 daily walking trips. There
will be a celebration of the project’s completion
at 12:30 p.m. April 5 on the Eastbank Esplanade
at the SE Salmon Street Plaza.
Hate
cont’d from pg 1
best to fight it.”
If passed, the bill would com-
pel law enforcement to forward
all reports of hate activity to the
Civil Rights Unit of the Oregon
Department of Justice, and hate
crime data would be compiled
and made publicly available by
the Criminal Justice commission.
“If we can start to regain some
credibility within the law en-
forcement community -- of the
law enforcement community --
that makes everyone else feel a lot
safer,” Frederick said. Cosponsor
James Manning, the only other
African American Democrat in
the state legislature, could not be
reached for comment.
Task force member Zakir Khan,
board chair of the Council on
American-Islamic
Relations,
called SB 577-1 “a good first step
in a series of steps that needs to
happen to counter White nation-
alism here in Oregon.”
“This would greatly improve
data collection from police de-
partments statewide, so there
would be an organized scheme
created and worked on by the
criminal justice system,” Khan
told The Skanner. “District attor-
neys will now track hate crimes
cases as well, to make sure there’s
an accountability mechanism.”
But Khan was disappointed that
a gun addendum didn’t make it
into this draft of the bill.
“Something we’ve been trying
to push for is that hate crime of-
fenders would be banned from
owning a gun for 10 years,” Khan
“
The idea is that
we will create
a confidence
that any sort
of crime like
this might be
addressed well
and quickly
said. “It’s something we would
like to pursue in the future. The
Gifford Law Center helped create
the language for it that we pitched
to Senate and the Legislature.
We’ve been working in tandem
with them, because a lot of these
people that are committing these
hate crimes go on to commit fur-
ther violent acts. It’s a concern,
too, for law enforcement over the
next generation: we’re concerned
for their safety in dealing with
these nationalists and White su-
premacists — we’ve already seen
situations where these groups
have tried to target law enforce-
ment.”
Khan added, “We’re also call-
ing for the specific hire of a new
detective in the Oregon State Po-
lice that focuses solely on hate
crimes, because that currently
doesn’t exist.”
Nancy Haque, executive direc-
tor of Basic Rights Oregon, said
the bill gave much more weight to
the harm inflicted on victims -- a
welcome change from the current
intimidation law, which places an
emphasis on the perpetrator’s in-
tent.
“I think that the attorney gen-
eral’s office and the people who
are part of the task force did a re-
ally good job of being thoughtful
about what it means to have a hate
crime committed against your
personhood,” Haque said. “I think
that that sort of focus on the vic-
tim of the crime rather than just
catching offenders is actually a
really positive step forward.”
She called the proposed system
“service-driven,” allowing vic-
tims to access culturally compe-
tent advice and support.
“Often people don’t feel safe
going to the police or don’t feel
the police take them seriously,”
Haque said. “This creates another
vehicle for people to report hate
crimes.”
Read more at TheSkanner.com
cont’d from pg 1
asked Robinson’s stepdaughter – who
had a basket full of items she intend-
ed to buy — to leave the store, but not
Robinson. They also told Robinson they
had her on video, but refused to play it
when she asked.
“I always thought they’d take you in
the office and rewind the film back. He
didn’t do that. He told me he didn’t have
to,” Robinson said. “That was so humil-
iating, degrading and I just couldn’t be-
lieve it.”
Robinson is suing Wal-Mart Stores,
Inc. for “fair compensation determined
by the jury to be reasonable but not to
exceed $45,000,” according to a com-
plaint filed last week in Multnomah
County Circuit Court. She said she ini-
tially tried to speak to a manager, and
later attempted to call a national cus-
tomer service hotline but wasn’t able to
get through.
(In response to a request for comment
on this story last week, Wal-Mart sent a
form reply saying, “We strive to return
media calls within one business day.”
“
I always thought
they’d take you in
the office and re-
wind the film back.
He didn’t do that.
As of Wednesday morning the compa-
ny had not followed up.)
Robinson then contacted Portland
attorney Michael Fuller. He told The
Skanner the complaint was filed quick-
ly in part so Robinson can obtain sur-
veillance video from the store and oth-
er information relating to the incident,
which the complaint describes as both
discriminatory and a false arrest.
“Civilly, a false arrest is when some-
one is stopped and detained and search
in a store like this. It involves being
stopped and detained and searched
when there’s no basis in law,” Fuller
said. According to Robinson, both her
stepdaughter and Wal-Mart staff called
the police, who arrived shortly after,
questioned her, witnesses and staff and
she was eventually allowed to leave.
“If you feel like you’re being targeted
because of your race, you need to come
forward because lawsuits seem to be
the only way to target these compa-
nies,” Fuller said. “We get calls monthly
by people who feel targeted because of
their race in public accommodations.
It’s really a lack of training, is what I
believe it is. It needs to be profitable for
these companies to train their employ-
ees to follow Oregon law.”
PHOTO BY CHRISTEN MCCURDY
overly cozy relationship
between the FAA and the
industry.
The
self-certifying
practice, called Orga-
nization
Designation
Authorization, was ex-
pected to come under
scrutiny Wednesday at
a Senate subcommittee
hearing where the act-
ing FAA administrator,
Transportation Depart-
ment inspector general
and chairman of the Na-
tional
Transportation
Safety Board were sched-
uled to appear.
In testimony prepared
for the hearing, Inspec-
tor General Calvin Scov-
el III said the FAA plans
to significantly revamp
its oversight of aircraft
development by July.
He gave few details but
said the changes would
include new ways to
evaluate training and
self-audits by aerospace
companies.
Over the years, the in-
spector general’s office
has found management
weaknesses in the agen-
cy’s oversight, Scovel
said in testimony ob-
tained by The Associated
Press.
In Seattle, Boeing said
the process by which it
designs, develops and
tests planes has led to
safer and safer air travel,
and it sees no need for an
overhaul.
The Max, featuring
bigger, more efficient
engines and a new auto-
mated anti-stall system
that has now come under
suspicion in both air di-
sasters, went into service
in 2017.
Transportation Secre-
tary Elaine Chao, who
oversees the FAA, has
asked Scovel to look into
the way the agency cer-
tified the 737 Max as air-
worthy.
At the same time, the
Justice Department is
investigating
possible
criminal violations in-
volving the airliner’s cer-
tification.
Eastbank
Esplanade
Reopens Friday
PHOTO COURTESY OF PORTLAND PARKS & RECREATION
FAA
Antoinette Robinson is suing Wal-Mart Stores,
Inc. for discrimination and false arrest after two
employees accosted her and accused her of
stealing at the Eastport Plaza location. Robinson
said the employees approached her after she blew
her nose on a roll of paper towels on a post in the
center of the cleaning products aisle, where this
photo was taken.