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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (May 1, 2015)
OFF PAGE ONE Friday, May 1, 2015 East Oregonian Page 9A IRAN: Women are banned from sporting events to prevent mixing forced it into Iranian waters. Isom noticed sporadic domes to the tops of the anti-American signs, one square structures. that took up the entire side Isom stopped and chatted RI DQ RI¿FH EXLOGLQJ ZLWK with Iranians underneath the message, “Down with domes, in gardens and at other America.” tourist hangouts. She found Isom found herself drawn herself charmed and surprised to Iranian women who by their friendly hospitality. seemed willing to share their “Given our foreign policy hopes and goals. While in issues, I would have expected some ways the laws and more hostility,” said Isom, culture hamper women, they former chair of the Oregon aren’t as restricted as Isom World Affairs Council’s board had suspected. of trustees. “I was fascinated by the Of course, Isom acknowl- women,” she said. “Women edged, the visitors stayed in are very well-educated. They the tourist areas where they drive cars. They have status didn’t run into members of the and power. They can inherit Revolutionary Guard, Iran’s (though less than men). They SDUDPLOLWDU\ ¿JKWLQJ IRUFH can run family businesses. This week, the Guard inter- They are very enterprising.” cepted a cargo ship bearing Yet, she said, they have D 0DUVKDOO ,VODQGV ÀDJ DQG a dress code that requires Continued from 1A Photo by Harriet Isom A group of Iranians picnic near the Garden of Nightengales in Isfahan. “I was fascinated by the women. Women are very well-edu- cated. They drive cars. They have status and power ... They can run family businesses. They are very enterprising.” — Harriet Isom She toured the Shah of Iran’s palace. She wasn’t alone. Tourists are more numerous since the election of moderate cleric Hassan Rouhani, who says he wants to double foreign tourism. “He really opened up the country to western tourism,” Isom said. Photo by Harriet Isom 7KH ÀRZ RI YLVLWRUV ZLOO A woman prays at the Pink Mosque, the oldest mosque in Shiraz. likely get larger as they build covering all but face and except when in their hotel she said. “Exceptionally more infrastructure, Isom hands. rooms. Their visa photos must proud of their history, culture said. Her group stayed mostly “Iranian women, partic- also show them in a headscarf. and modernization, Iranians in hotels “built in the Shah’s ularly the younger genera- The separation of men and today want world acceptance, day.” While Isom felt relaxed tion, often interpret this in women in public is a point stability and foreign invest- and welcomed during her differing and fashionable of consternation for many ment.” Isom soaked in sights and visit, she said she noticed the ways. Leggings and jeans women. Even at weddings, seem acceptable as long as Isom said, males and females sounds with intense curiosity anti-American signage and worn with a long tunic top celebrate separately. Women during the 12 days in country. remembered Washington Post and a headscarf,” Isom said. are banned from sporting “Iran has been something reporter Jason Rezaian and other Americans jailed in Iran. “A number of women do, events to prevent mixing. of a mystery,” she said. “It is, after all, Ayatollah’s however, wear the tent-like During conversations with She gazed out the bus black chador that makes them Iranians, Isom heard concern ZLQGRZ DW ZKHDW ¿HOGV WKDW Iran,” she said. ——— like a shadow.” about nuclear negotiations reminded her of home. She Contact Kathy Aney at Female tourists are between the U.S. and Iran. navigated colorful bazaars, expected to don the traditional “People are very anxious visited mausoleums and kaney@eastoregonian.com hijab headscarf at all times for there to be an agreement,” ogled mosques and citadels. or call 541-966-0810. RETIREES: ‘The Supreme Court let them know that they can count on a secure retirement’ Continued from 1A have a contractual right to receive the pre-amendment &2/$ IRU EHQH¿WV WKDW WKH\ earned before the effective date of the amendments,” Chief Justice Thomas Balmer wrote for the court. Balmer acknowledged that a dollar spent on public pensions is one that cannot go toward other services. “The Legislature’s interest in enhancing those services is entirely appropriate,” he wrote. “The Legislature, however, must pursue those objectives consistently with constitutional requirements, including Oregon’s consti- tutional prohibition against impairing the obligations of contracts.” Five justices joined the decision. Justice Jack Landau recused himself and did not take part. The court rejected argu- ments by the state and lawyers for local governments that a more compelling “public SXUSRVH´ MXVWL¿HG EUHDFKLQJ the contract. “The public-purpose defense that respondents ask this court to recognize imposes a high bar to justify the state’s impairment of a state contract, like PERS, and the record in this case does not meet that standard,” Balmer wrote. At issue are two changes made by the Legislature in 2013 to the Public Employees Retirement System, which was created in 1945 and now has about 128,000 retirees. The system has 925 govern- ment employers and covers about 95 percent of all public employees. One change affects cost- of-living increases, which ¿UVWFDPHLQWRHIIHFWLQ and which were capped at 2 SHUFHQWDQQXDOO\LQ Starting on July 1, 2014, the 2013 law applies the full SHUFHQWWRWKH¿UVW of a pension, then 1.5 percent WRWKHQH[WSHUFHQW WR WKH QH[W DQG SHUFHQWDERYH The rate for 2013-14 was a ¿[HGSHUFHQW The other change affects the extra payment lawmakers granted to retirees in 1991, after the state taxed public pensions in line with a deci- sion by the U.S. Supreme Court. The change denies the extra payment to out-of- state retirees who do not pay Oregon taxes. The changes were projected to pare the system’s IXWXUHOLDELOLW\E\ELOOLRQ over the next few decades. In the current two-year budget cycle, governments DUH H[SHFWHG WR VDYH PLOOLRQ DQG LQ billion — unless the court reverses them. Lawmakers in 2013 allowed for legal challenges to go directly to the Supreme Court, bypassing the circuit court and Court of Appeals. Public employee unions, and two out-of-state retirees, challenged both changes. The unions argued that cost-of-living increases — and the formula that deter- mines them — are part of the contract between government employers and workers. The state argues they are not. There are two related lawsuits; the lead plaintiff is Everice Moro of Portland, a retired school employee who is among 14 named in the main lawsuit. The out-of-state retirees argued that discontinuance of the extra payments to them violate state and federal constitutional guarantees of equal protection under the law. 7KRVH VXLWV ZHUH ¿OHG by Michael Reynolds, who retired in 2003 and is living in Seattle, and George Riemer, ZKR UHWLUHG LQ DQG LV living in Arizona. Reynolds is a former solicitor general, WKH RI¿FLDO ZKR UHSUHVHQWV the state in state and federal appellate courts. Riemer worked for the Oregon State Bar, and is executive director for the Arizona Commission on Judicial Conduct. Plaintiffs hailed the ruling. “The state made a good-faith deal with these employees, who devoted so much of their working lives to serving their communities,” said Greg Hartman, a Port- land lawyer who represented 14 plaintiffs in the main case. “Today the Supreme Court let them know that they can count on a secure retirement, and will be able to afford groceries, medical bills, car repairs, and other day-to-day living expenses which rise ZLWKLQÀDWLRQ´ Local government and business associations said the decision will result in higher pension costs under the Public Employees Retirement System. The Oregon Business Association also decried the decision, and offered a state- ment by a leading economist, who said millions will go into public pensions rather than education and other services. “Oregon made a genera- tional mistake in public policy, and the court has essentially ruled that we have to live with it,” said John Tapogna, president of ECONorthwest. “That puts Oregon in a chal- lenging economic position for the next couple of decades. Families and businesses can choose Washington, with similar amenities, but without the legacy costs of an ill-de- vised pension system.” Place a Yard Sale Ad 25 words, 3 days, private party only $20.00 East Oregonian & Hermiston Herald ers w o h S o f $ $ ! 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