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CONVENTIONS Thursday, July 14, 2016 East Oregonian Page 7A AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar In this 2014 file photo, runners jog along the Schuylkill Banks Boardwalk in Philadelphia. Democrats are set to begin their convention at the end of July. The Quicken Loans Arena in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, is prepared for the upcoming Republican National Convention Wednesday. Democrats to meet in Fractured Cleveland city of great inequality an apt place for GOP By KATHY MATHESON Associated Press PHILADELPHIA — When the Democrats come to the City of Brotherly Love to nominate Hillary Clinton for president and the talk turns to income inequality and the 1 percent, Exhibit A will be right outside their windows: Philadelphia itself. 7KH QDWLRQ¶V ¿IWKODUJHVW FLW\ LV UHERXQGLQJ ¿OOLQJ some Philadelphians with an unfamiliar sense of civic pride. And yet it struggles with the gap between rich and poor that Sen. Bernie Sanders decried during his campaign against Clinton, with 26 percent of residents living in poverty, the highest rate among the 10 biggest cities in the U.S. The July 25-28 conven- tion creates an opportunity WR DFNQRZOHGJH WKH FLW\¶V successes in urban revitaliza- tion, but also “to look closely at the real Philadelphia, which is also the real America,” said Randall Miller, a history SURIHVVRU DW 6DLQW -RVHSK¶V University. Philly has ridden a wave of good publicity lately. Pope Francis visited last fall, and Lonely Planet named the city its top travel destination in 2016. The opening of new civic spaces, bike paths and beer gardens has generated major buzz. And yet a report released this year by Pew Charitable Trusts found that for every residential area that gentri- ¿HG VLQFH WKHUH ZHUH 10 others where the median income dropped. Overall, annual median income in Philadelphia is about $39,000, compared with more than $53,000 nationally. 0DQ\ RI WKH JHQWUL¿HG tracts ring Center City, the GRZQWRZQ DUHD ¿OOHG ZLWK nightspots, businesses and cultural attractions where delegates will probably spend a large amount of time. Numerous construc- tion cranes dot the skyline, building high-end condos, RI¿FHV KRWHOV DQG D VHFRQG skyscraper for Comcast Corp. “There have been in recent years a lot of positive “The high poverty rate and all that comes with it has not gone away.” — Larry Eichel, Pew’s Philadelphia Research Initiative signs in the city,” said Larry (LFKHO ZKR GLUHFWV 3HZ¶V Philadelphia Research Initia- tive . “But the high poverty rate and all that comes with it has not gone away.” New Mayor Jim Kenney hopes to change that, starting with better schooling. Last month, City Council passed a soda tax, with the revenue going to expand prekinder- garten and renovate badly run-down libraries and recre- ation centers. “This is the beginning of a process of changing the narrative of poverty in our city,” he said. ——— The last time Philadel- phia hosted a Democratic convention was 1948, a couple of years before hitting its peak population of nearly 2.1 million. The ensuing decades saw manufacturing jobs decline and middle-class IDPLOLHV ÀHH WR WKH VXEXUEV By the time the Republicans came here in 2000 to nomi- nate George W. Bush, the population had dropped to 1.52 million. In 2006, the count hit 1.49 million — its lowest point in a century — before starting its slow rebound. The restaurant industry started hopping and a tech start-up community began taking shape. The Phillies even won the World Series in 2008, breaking a 25-year drought in major sports championships. Today, Philadelphia has 1.57 million residents, and overall is younger and more diverse, according to Pew. 7KDW¶V GXH LQ SDUW WR D ODUJH LQÀX[ RI PLOOHQQLDOV ZKR RIWHQ FRPH IRU WKH FLW\¶V well-regarded universities and stay after graduating. 0DQ\ ¿QG LW DQ DIIRUGDEOH walkable place with a rich arts scene. “You can go to plays, you can see music, you can eat really good food and not break the bank,” said Emma Fried-Cassorla, creator of the Philly Love Notes blog . Still, many young adults leave after starting families because the school system is in such poor condition. The district has a graduation rate of just 65 percent, contributing to an unskilled workforce that business leaders say makes it hard to attract jobs. 7KHUH¶V DQRWKHU JURXS RI millennials that is not faring so well: Young black men account for the majority of homicide victims, most by gunshot. Gun violence has wreaked havoc in swaths of the city, and the homicide rate has begun ticking up after historic lows in 2013 and 2014. ——— Norman Jefferson, who lives in a North Philadelphia neighborhood where the annual income averages $14,185 per year, recently passed a hot afternoon on his porch with his sister Shirley. They said Democratic delegates need to know how GLI¿FXOW LW LV WR OLYH RQ ORZ wages. “It costs more to ride the bus, to eat, to do everything,” said Shirley Jefferson, a retired school district employee. “But how are you going to do that without the salary going up?” Philadelphia has hosted several “Fight For $15” protests where fast-food workers rallied for a $15 minimum wage. Democrats appear to be listening, incor- porating their support into the party platform. Convention CEO Leah Daughtry said she knows more must be done to ensure XUEDQ UHYLWDOL]DWLRQ EHQH¿WV all neighborhoods equally. She encouraged residents in the heavily Democratic city WR SDUWLFLSDWH LQ WKH HYHQW¶V public sessions and “be part of the conversation about the issues they feel affect their lives.” “I hope that local folks in Philadelphia will not miss the moment and will be part of history during the conven- tion,” Daughtry said. Trump seeks $10M from former aide in disclosure case Associated Press WASHINGTON — Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is seeking $10 million in damages from former senior campaign consultant Sam Nunberg, alleging that 1XQEHUJOHDNHGFRQ¿GHQWLDO information to reporters in violation of a nondisclosure agreement. ,QDFRXUW¿OLQJREWDLQHG by The Associated Press, Nunberg accused Trump of trying to silence him “in a misguided attempt to cover up media coverage of an apparent affair” between two senior campaign staffers. Such a legal dispute is highly unusual for a presidential candidate. It UHÀHFWV 7UXPS¶V HIIRUWV WR aggressively protect the VHFUHF\ RI KLV FDPSDLJQ¶V inner workings, as he has for years fought to protect the secrecy of his businesses and family. The AP reported last month that Trump requires nearly everyone in his campaign and businesses to sign legally binding nondisclosure agreements prohibiting them from UHOHDVLQJ DQ\ FRQ¿GHQWLDO or disparaging information about the real estate mogul, his family or his companies. Trump has also said he would consider requiring such agreements in the White House. Bruce Thoma s Smith s Original Texa ck Roadhouse Ro July 16 @ 8PM Pendleton Red Lion Inn • 304 SE Nye Ave Pendleton, Or 541.276.6111 Presented by www.glcproductions.com By JOHN SEEWER Associated Press CLEVELAND — 'RQDOG 7UXPS¶V HIIRUW WR unite a splintered Republican Party around his candidacy is about to take center stage in a city that is itself deeply fractured. Once an industrial powerhouse, Cleveland is one of the poorest and most segregated big cities in America. Two out of ¿YH SHRSOH OLYH EHORZ WKH poverty line, second only to Detroit. Infant mortality rates in its bleakest neigh- borhoods are worse than in some Third World countries. 7KHFLW\¶VPRVWO\EOLJKWHG east side is almost entirely black, the slightly more prosperous west side more PL[HG $QG WKHUH¶V GHHS distrust between the black community and police, in part because of police shoot- ings such as the killing of 12-year-old Tamir Rice and a U.S. Justice Department report that found a pattern of excessive force and civil rights violations by the department. Yet there are also islands of prosperity, created in part by a wave of college-ed- ucated young people moving into downtown neighborhoods, a trend WKDW KDV UHVKDSHG WKH FLW\¶V image and helped attract the Republican National Convention, which will be held July 18-21. ³,W¶V D FLW\ IXOO RI neighborhoods and a city full of divides,” said John Grabowski, a local historian. ——— This is the place that in the 1970s — when the city was in default and a quarter of its population was moving out — embraced the slogan “Cleveland: You Gotta Be Tough.” Tough is a good way to GHVFULEH &OHYHODQG¶V HDVW side, where blacks from WKH 6RXWK ¿OOHG LQGXVWULDO jobs and settled during and DIWHU:RUOG:DU,,,W¶VQRZ marked by high crime and abandoned factories. Over half the children live in poverty. Chris Brown, a 41-year-old black man and lifelong Clevelander, admits he was part of the problem in his younger days. “I was a thug, almost. On a highway going nowhere fast,” he said. Caught selling drugs, he went to prison for three years. Afterward, getting by was a struggle until he started “It’s a city full of neighborhoods and a city full of divides.” — John Grabowski, local historian working at a commercial laundry four years ago. Funded by civic leaders, foundations and local insti- tutions, the laundry is part of a wider mission to stabilize east side neighborhoods by creating jobs. Built inside a former torpedo factory, it employs about 40 people, most of whom have done time in prison, and operates as a worker-owned coopera- tive. The employees can use their wages to buy a piece of the company and get a split RIWKHSUR¿WV Brown took advantage of its loan program to buy KLV ¿UVW KRXVH RQ WKH HDVW side, where 1 in 5 homes is vacant. “Where we come IURPWKHUHDLQ¶WPDQ\JX\V like that,” Brown said. Those behind the cooperative, which also operates a greenhouse and a renewable-energy business, DUHQ¶WVHOOLQJLWDVDVROXWLRQ to pervasive unemployment. %XW LW¶V D EULJKW VSRW LQ DQ area desperately needing something positive, said plant manager Claudia Oates. “It shows we work, we believe in work,” she said. The convention will mean more hotel sheets for the laundry to wash, but apart from that, Brown said, the money the event will EULQJ LQWR WKH FLW\ ZRQ¶W show up where he lives. ³,GRQ¶WNQRZPDQ\EODFN SHRSOHZKR¶YHJRWDQ\WKLQJ to do with convention,” he said. “Nobody else I know is getting a job or money from the convention.” ——— Downtown is where delegates will spend their money at souvenir shops and sidewalk cafes. ,W¶VDOVRZKHUHPLOOHQQLDOV are moving into renovated warehouse apartments and new condominiums. Once a JKRVWWRZQDWQLJKWLW¶VQRZ home to 14,000 people. In the two years since the GOP awarded the conven- tion, vacant downtown VWRUHIURQWV KDYH EHHQ ¿OOHG with new businesses, and the Public Square underwent a $50 million renovation. Health care and high-tech jobs are drawing young SHRSOHVWDELOL]LQJWKHFLW\¶V population at about 388,000 after a peak of over 900,000 in the 1950s. ³&OHYHODQG¶V JRW D ORQJ ZD\ WR JR ,¶P QRW JRLQJ to sugarcoat it,” said Bill Mangano, a white man who bought a downtown apartment after growing up LQWKHFLW\¶VZHVWHUQVXEXUEV ³:H¶UH QHYHU JRLQJ WR EH New York or Chicago, but we can carve out our own place.” Peter Karman, a 27-year-old white man, left behind a two-hour commute in San Diego for a job within walking distance. “All of my family and friends asked, why Cleve- land?” he said. Here, he said, he can afford a lifestyle not possible in California, living in a downtown warehouse overlooking the Cuyahoga River. ——— The crooked river that FDXJKW¿UHGXULQJWKHV and ‘60s from industrial pollution sparked an environ- mental movement resulting in the federal Clean Water Act. But in Cleveland it was WKHFLW\¶VUDFLDOERXQGDU\IRU many generations. Blacks stayed east of the river and out of the white neighborhoods to the west, fearing unwelcome stares and police harassment. Kevin Conwell, a black city councilman, remembers his parents warning him 40 years ago not to cross certain streets or risk having the police haul him back home. “People my age still tell kids not to go over there,” he said. “How do break you down that gap?” To this day, many of the east side neighborhoods are at least 90 percent black, according to census data. But over the past 15 years, more blacks are moving to areas once off-limits, creating neighborhoods that are more racially diverse yet still poor. Overall, blacks make up DERXWSHUFHQWRIWKHFLW\¶V residents, whites 37 percent, Hispanics 10 percent. :KDW¶V KROGLQJ EDFN the neighborhoods now, Conwell said, are companies DQG XQLRQV WKDW ZRQ¶W KLUH minorities and lenders that ZRQ¶W RIIHU WKHP KRPH loans. ³:KHQ \RX¶UH QRW ZRUNLQJ \RX WHDU \RX¶UH neighborhood apart,” she VDLG ³7KDW¶V \RXU JUHDW divide.”
