East Oregonian : E.O., May 30, 2015, Image 29

COFFEE BREAK
Saturday, May 30, 2015
PARENTS TALK BACK
Shooting sprees
in our safest cities
W
ithin a few steps at an
all-American strip mall just
outside St. Louis, you can play
Skee-Ball at Chuck E. Cheese’s or buy a
semi-automatic shotgun at Ruby’s Guns.
At this busy intersection in the heart of
middle-class suburbia, safety and fear live
in the same neighborhood.
For three years in a row, Ballwin,
Missouri was lauded as the safest
city in the state by real estate website
Neighborhood Scout. In
2014, the site ranked it in
the top 10 safest cities in
the country.
And yet it was here,
a few weeks ago, that
Michael V. Pona II, 34,
allegedly started shooting
at vehicles in the middle
Aisha
of the day. One of the
Sultan
bullets hit a Chevy SUV,
Parents talk back
lodging near a child in
a car seat, police said.
Another bullet shattered the passenger-side
window of a Mustang. No one was hit.
Police are still investigating why the
alleged gunman went on this shooting
spree.
There’s a disturbing familiarity to all
of this.
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show that “active shooter” attacks, in
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of people, have dramatically increased
since 2000. The number of incidents more
than doubled over the past seven years
compared with the previous seven, the FBI
study found.
The report found 160 active shooter
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seven-year span, there were an average
of 6.4 incidences annually. Between 2007
and 2013, the annual average jumped to
16.4 incidences.
The majority of active shooters are not
considered mass killers, however, because
a majority of these shooters kill fewer than
three people.
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can seem oddly ordinary despite otherwise
extraordinarily safe surroundings. Perhaps
even more peculiar than the frequency of
such instances is our reaction to them.
“One of the problems is that a person
can be perfectly mentally stable and pass a
background check on Monday, and all hell
can break loose Tuesday through Friday,”
said Steve Walsh, owner of Ruby’s Guns.
“And there’s no way to know it.”
But, in fact, there are ways to know it,
or least to have a better idea of it. There’s
research that indicates what makes one
gun user more dangerous to society than
the next. Unsurprisingly, prior history is
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guns away from dangerously angry
people without infringing on the rights of
law-abiding citizens.
Researchers from Duke, Harvard
and Columbia universities analyzed
data from more than 5,000 face-to-face
interviews and discovered that nearly 9
percent of people in the United States have
self-admitted outbursts of anger — some
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breaking or smashing things — and
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researchers say one way to lower gun
violence would be to prohibit those with
violent misdemeanor convictions, such
as assault or brandishing a weapon, along
with those with multiple DUIs, from
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Serious mental illness, which can lead
to involuntary civil commitment and
thereby legally prevent someone from
purchasing a gun, only accounts for about
4 percent of U.S. gun violence, according
to study author Jeffrey Swanson.
Walsh says there have been times he
has turned away potential customers in his
store who didn’t seem mentally stable to
him. He’s told others to take a class before
he sells them a weapon. He wondered,
when he heard about the shooting a few
miles down the road, if the perpetrator was
one of his former customers. There’s also
an American Arms and Supply gun shop
within half a mile of the incident.
But he doesn’t believe that any
additional laws or restrictions will reduce
gun violence. He says the problem is that
the country has gotten too far away from
God.
Even in Ballwin, a relative bastion of
safety, most of Walsh’s customers say
they buy guns for protection. During the
protests in Ferguson, the store was selling
so many weapons, they couldn’t keep
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said.
Meanwhile, he sees nothing unusual
about his store’s proximity to a place
where “a kid can be a kid.”
“Any parent that doesn’t educate a
child on how to use a gun is foolish,” he
said. It’s a part of life, he added.
Not everyone wants guns to be a part of
their child’s life.
No parent, regardless of their gun
ownership, wants their child hurt or killed
by a stray bullet or an angry, out-of-control
person. There should be no argument
around the notion that dangerous people
should not have guns.
Those who dismiss research-supported
suggestions on ways to reduce gun
violence have accepted that these kinds of
shootings are, in fact, a part of life.
The truth is: They don’t have to be.
Ŷ
Aisha Sultan is a St. Louis-based
journalist who studies parenting in the
digital age while trying to keep up with her
tech-savvy children. Find her on Twitter:
@AishaS.
East Oregonian
Page 9C
Is rent out of reach?
Study shows how 11 of
nation’s largest cities stack up
By JENNIFER PELTZ
Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — Renters are on the
rise in America’s biggest cities, but many
tenants are scrambling to keep up with
growing rent bills and shrinking vacancies,
according to a study released Thursday.
From Boston to Miami, New York to
Los Angeles, more than half of tenants are
paying what experts consider unaffordable
rents, says a report by New York University’s
Furman Center, which studies real estate and
urban policy, and bank Capital One, which
is a leading affordable-housing lender and
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While various housing experts have noted
such trends, the study zooms in on 11 of
the nation’s most populous cities. Overall,
it’s a portrait of increasing competition and
often slipping affordability, but the picture
isn’t universally bleak and looks noticeably
different from city to city.
“The study brings into light the limited
options there are for renters,” Capital One
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AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File
A woman walks across the street from the Venn on Market apartment and con-
dominium building March 17 in San Francisco. San Francisco surpassed New York
for the title of tightest rental market: New York’s 3.8 percent vacancy rate was the
lowest in 2006, but by 2013 San Francisco had the floor with a mere 2.5 percent.
purchase.
lated apartments, perhaps helping explain why
it has a lower median rent than Washington,
The cities
San Francisco ($1,491) and Boston ($1,263).
In each city, the amount of rental housing Meanwhile, median rents were under $1,000
The study analyzed U.S. Census Bureau
data from 2006 to 2013 on the central cities of grew faster than any rise in owner-occupied everywhere else except Los Angeles ($1,182).
But rents don’t tell the whole story of
the 11 most populous U.S. metropolitan areas: homes. In fact, the data suggest some homes
affordability: Renters’ median household
Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, were converted to rentals.
Nonetheless, the vacancy rate declined incomes varied widely over the years.
Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia,
everywhere except Miami and Washington, Housing experts like to gauge affordability by
San Francisco and Washington, D.C.
where increases were slight. San Francisco the percentage of income that goes to housing
Renters on the rise
surpassed New York for the title of tightest costs, with anything over 29 percent being
As of 2013, most residents were renters in rental market: New York’s 3.8 percent rent-burdened. Over 49 percent is considered
nine of the 11 cities, all except for Atlanta and vacancy rate was the lowest in 2006, but severely burdened.
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On that scale, the landscape is uneven. The
least 60 percent of residents are now tenants, mere 2.5 percent. New York, L.A. and Boston percentage of rent-burdened tenants grew in
rather than owners, in Boston, L.A., New York were hovering around 3.5 percent. Atlanta, six cities while dropping in the rest, and the
and Miami. Nationwide, about 35 percent of meanwhile, had the highest vacancy rate of ¿QGLQJVZHUHIXOORIVHHPLQJFRQWUDGLFWLRQV
people rented in 2013, up from 31 percent in the cities in the survey, at nearly 10 percent.
San Francisco had the highest median rent
2006, the Census Bureau says.
the lowest percentage of rent-burdened
Rising rents, uneven burdens but
Experts trace much of the rise in renting to
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Amid growing demand and tight supply, median rent, but 68 percent of tenants were
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left some people unable and others reluctant PHGLDQ UHQWV URVH IDVWHU WKDQ LQÀDWLRQ LQ burdened.
to own homes. And when rent becomes a all the cities but Dallas and Houston, where
One reason: San Francisco renters’ median
stretch, leaving less income to save toward WKH\ ZHUH QHDUO\ ÀDW :DVKLQJWRQ¶V PHGLDQ household income was $61,200 a year, nearly
homeownership, “it’s a reinforcing cycle,” rent shot up by 21 percent over the seven 1.5 times what their Miami counterparts made.
Furman Center faculty director Ingrid Gould years, to $1,307 a month. New York’s rose
by 12 percent, to $1,228. The calculation is in To save on rent, stay put
Ellen says.
In each city, apartments that had come
But other factors may include home-down- LQÀDWLRQDGMXVWHG IRU GROODUV LQFOXGHV
sizing within the giant and aging baby boom utilities and encompasses market-rate, RSHQZLWKLQWKHODVW¿YH\HDUVZHUHOHVVOLNHO\
to be affordable to low- and middle-income
generation and hefty college debt that slows rent-regulated and subsidized housing.
New York has about 1 million rent-regu- tenants than apartments that hadn’t.
some young people’s saving for a home
More rentals, less availability
OUT OF THE VAULT
Hero laid to rest after Indian uprising at Camas Prairie
O
n the 20th of October,
1878, a hero was laid
to rest in Pendleton’s
pioneer cemetery. The remains
of J.C. Lamar (also reported
as William Lamar) were
interred with a large number
of Pendleton residents in
attendance, and many in the
crowd swore vengeance on
those responsible for his death
and subsequent mutilation.
Lamar came to Pendleton
in the winter of 1877 and soon
established himself in Pendleton
society. When the news came in
July of 1878 that hostile Indians
were encroaching on the John
Day River, Lamar was one of a
large scouting party that decided
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out what the Bannock and Paiute
warriors were up to. Frightened
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Pendleton, and were camped
in every available vacant spot,
including the courthouse lawn.
The scouting party arrived
at Camas
Prairie July 4,
and met the
advance guard
of the Indian
warriors. After
killing one of
the Indians, the
scouting party
Renee
Struthers fell back and
Out of the vault held a meeting,
deciding to
return to settled
territory because about half of
the men present had less than 10
rounds of ammunition apiece.
But before the meeting was
over, a band of 100 well-armed
Indians suddenly appeared
on three sides of the party.
A handful of men, including
Lamar, decided to stay put and
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party panicked, “and were not
particular upon the order of their
going.”
Lamar and his few supporters
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Lamar took up his place at the
rear of the retreat but continued
to urge his companions to make
a stand. He did what he could,
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shot for eight miles as often as
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Upon arriving in Pendleton,
Lamar enlisted Captain Sperry’s
Company of Volunteers and
returned to meet the Indians the
next day. The company camped
at Willow Springs on July 6 and,
while at dinner, were surprised
by the hostiles. About a quarter
of the company was separated
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was among those who stayed
and fought. One of two men
killed in the battle, Lamar’s
body was mutilated and burned
by the Indian combatants.
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outside world was when 13
survivors of the battle arrived
in Pendleton July 7. Major
Throckmorton, just arrived
from Umatilla with a company
of U.S. cavalry, sent Captain
Bernard with a small force
to aid the volunteers and the
Indians were routed by the use
of mountain howitzers. The war
was over.
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disastrous: Altogether, more
than 50 stockmen, ranchers
and sheep herders were killed
and $500,000 in damage was
sustained in burned buildings,
unharvested crops and dead or
stolen livestock. Much of the
blame was placed on Snake
River Indians, but reports that
local Umatilla Indians were
involved caused an uproar and
censure of the federal agent in
charge of the reservation, J.C.
Cornoyer.
Ŷ
Renee Struthers is the
Community Records Editor for
the East Oregonian. See the
complete collection of Out of
the Vault columns at eovault.
blogspot.com
ODDS & ENDS
Boston still has snow
piles — and they’re
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BOSTON (AP) — Snow
piles from the record-setting New
England winter are lingering
in the Boston area, even as the
weather turns summer-like.
A 75-foot-high snow mound
in Boston’s Seaport District has
been reduced to a three-story pile
of dirt and trash — including
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half a $5 bill — that remains
encrusted in solid ice.
Department of Public Works
Commissioner Michael Dennehy
tells The Boston Globe the vile
pile is “a science experiment
waiting to happen.”
Crews have been working for
six weeks to clean away the trash
as it breaks free from the mound.
So far, they have pulled out 85
tons of debris.
Dennehy says the pile will be
around for weeks, even as the air
temperature hits 80.
Students may have to
re-test after hundreds
of SATs get lost
ASHBURN, Va. (AP) —
Parents say hundreds of SAT tests
taken by Virginia students at a
that Lancaster told the male
caller: “If you call again, we’re
going to hunt you down.”
Police found the man was
using a track phone bought in
Georgia and had set up voice
mail to identify the phone as
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the Somerset County Sheriff’s
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the Somerset County Sheriff’s
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AP Photo/Elise Amendola
Debris covers a lingering snow pile, amassed during the re-
cord-setting winter, Thursday at the Seaport District in Boston.
high school were lost in the mail,
leaving students in a bind.
WJLA-TV reports tests are
missing for 300 students who
took the SAT on May 2 at Broad
Run High School in Ashburn.
A Loudoun County schools
representative says the tests were
shipped via UPS, as instructed,
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that administers the SAT, but the
tests never arrived. Parent say
students will now have to take the
test again.
College Board said in an email
that it’s working to accommodate
students by scheduling a make-up
day or arranging a transfer to a
future test session.
Phone scammer dials
Maine state trooper,
given stern warning
SKOWHEGAN, Maine (AP)
— A Maine state trooper issued
a stern warning to a telephone
scammer who called to tell him
he had missed grand jury duty
and would be arrested if he didn’t
pay a fee.
The scammer called state
trooper Dale Lancaster on his
private line on Monday and told
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make a donation to the Somerset
County Sheriff’s Department.
The Kennebec Journal reports
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but girl just right to
rescue kitten
LANCASTER, Pa. (AP)
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rescue a tiny kitten from a central
Pennsylvania storm drain but a
6-year-old girl’s size proved to be
just right.
Lancaster Township
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the girl, Janeysha Cruz, and her
friends saw the trapped kitten
Tuesday afternoon.
The girl’s mother called
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permission to lower the
kindergartner nearly 3 feet down
into the drain, which was too
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The girl was able to coax the
kitten to come to her, and handed
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