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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (May 27, 2020)
A4 OPINION Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, May 27, 2020 Redistricting and politics O regonians trust politicians to make decisions about what taxes are collected, how taxes are spent and policies that shape lives. But should poli- ticians be trusted with setting up voting districts? A proposed ballot measure aims to take politicians out of political redistricting. The measure would create a citi- zen commission to draw the lines. Would it be more fair? That’s unclear. The new census will mean Oregon’s congressional and legislative districts will be redrawn. In Oregon, the dis- tricts are now redrawn by leg- islators. That could be putting the fox in charge of the hen- house — at least that’s what the groups supporting a cit- izen commission argue. The measure is backed by the League of Women Voters of Oregon, Oregon Common Cause, the Independent Party and The Taxpayer Association of Oregon. It would work like this: It creates an independent, mul- tipartisan commission of 12 Oregonians. They would hold public meetings across the state and draw up the bound- aries in an open process. The goal is for it to be done fairly, respecting communities and less manipulated by partisan- ship or other politics. The proposal takes sub- stantial steps to keep politi- cians out of it. People would apply for the commission spots. Basically, paid poli- ticians couldn’t be chosen. People who have recently run for such offices couldn’t be chosen. Neither could their staff. Political consultants are barred. An individual who has given more than $2,700 a year to any single candidate couldn’t be chosen. There are also requirements to limit the members from the two largest political parties and include nonaffiliated voters. From the pool of applicants, candidates for the commission would be winnowed by administrative law judges and would even- tually be chosen by lot. The governor could remove some- one from the commission, but only with a two-thirds major- ity vote of the Senate. Gerrymandering began before it was called gerry- mandering, before the coun- try’s independence. It’s the idea of drawing a voting dis- trict so it will get a certain kind of candidate elected. The name was immortalized in a political cartoon satiriz- ing a law signed by Massa- chusetts Gov. Elbridge Gerry in 1812. The law redrew state Senate districts to ensure Ger- ry’s party — Thomas Jeffer- son’s Democratic-Republi- cans — would be strong and John Adams and Alexander Hamilton’s Federalists would be weak. It worked. One of the districts looked a bit like a salamander. Gerrymander was born. The U.S. Supreme Court has been reluctant to decide when partisanship goes too far in gerrymandering. It would require two things dif- ficult for the courts: defining what is fair and divining the future. What’s a clear test for fairness? There are many dif- ferent ways to measure what’s fair. Fair to whom? Fair to what? As Chief Justice John Roberts wrote, choosing one “poses basic questions that are political, not legal.” The courts would also have to look at a district and some- how know that in the future the outcomes it creates would turn out to be unfair — by some definition. It’s addition- ally unclear that the found- ers intended judges to decide such things. These days, leaning on big data, political consul- tants have more tools than ever to draw up districts to get an outcome they want. Does Oregon need to change? Oregonians could do noth- ing. If legislators are mak- ing the redistricting decisions, they can be held accountable by voters, though it would be mostly after the districts are drawn. An independent redistrict- ing commission creates a way to try to minimize the influ- ence of some politicians on the process. Commissioners will still have to make choices about defining what is fair. They will still have to guess if sticking the lines in one place will produce more “fair” out- comes in the future. We don’t know if the commission would be more fair. It might. It would, however, get more Oregonians involved in mak- ing important decisions about how they are governed. Blue Mountain EAGLE USPS 226-340 Grant County’s Weekly Newspaper Email: www.MyEagleNews.com Phone: 541-575-0710 John Day, Oregon MEMBER OREGON NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION P UBLISHER E DITOR & G ENERAL M ANAGER R EPORTER R EPORTER S PORTS M ARKETING R EP O FFICE A SSISTANT Chris Rush, crush@eomediagroup.com Sean Hart, editor@bmeagle.com Rudy Diaz, rudy@bmeagle.com Steven Mitchell, steven@bmeagle.com sports@bmeagle.com Kim Kell, ads@bmeagle.com Alixandra Hand, office@bmeagle.com PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY BY EO Media Group Periodicals Postage Paid at John Day and additional mailing offices. 1 YEAR SUBSCRIPTION RATES (including online access) Grant County .....................................$45 Everywhere else in U.S. .....................$57 Subscriptions must be paid prior to delivery POSTMASTER — send address changes to Blue Mountain Eagle 195 N. Canyon Blvd. John Day, OR 97845-1187 Copyright © 2020 Blue Mountain Eagle All rights reserved. No part of this publication covered by the copyright hereon may be repro- duced or copied in any form or by any means — graphic, electronic or mechanical, including pho- tocopying, taping or information storage and retrieval systems — without written permission of the publisher. www.facebook.com/ @MyEagleNews GUEST COMMENT National Military Appreciation Month is a time to honor America’s many heroes M ay is National Military Appreciation Month, since 1999 an annual opportu- nity for Americans to honor veter- ans and active-duty members of our military services. But this month- long observance takes on special meaning in 2020, a year so dis- rupted by COVID-19, because so many men and women on the front lines of this pandemic are also active-duty military or veterans now protecting us on a very differ- ent kind of battlefield. Perhaps thousands now serving their nation so heroically as medi- cal caregivers and first responders honed their skills in military ser- vice, sometimes under the stress of combat conditions. Today they are gallantly applying their compas- sion and skills in a no-less stress- ful battle against COVID-19. Recent months have also seen active-duty military called to assist in the pandemic, for example the physicians and nurses on military hospital ships in New York City and Los Angeles harbors, and the soldiers who set up temporary hos- pitals in stadiums, convention halls and New York’s Central Park. In my own state of Ohio, National Guard troops helped communi- ties deliver food, while others with medical backgrounds stepped in to care for the sick in an overwhelmed federal prison. Other examples abound. As we use National Military Appreciation Month to salute these heroes — and indeed all the men and women serving our country today and veterans who served in years past — we must not forget thousands of veterans who continue to struggle with service-related injuries, including traumatic brain injury (TBI) and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), which is a form of brain injury. In fact, nearly 450,000 com- bat veterans have returned from their tours of duty in either Iraq or Afghanistan with Chrisanne TBI sustained from Gordon, MD an improvised explosive device blast, the explo- sion of a rocket-propelled grenade or the concussive force of heavy artillery. All are struggling with a potentially devastating, yet out- wardly invisible consequence of service to our nation. Because these veterans had great difficulty receiving medical assis- tance for these wounds of war, I founded the Resurrecting Lives Foundation, a nonprofit organiza- tion dedicated to seeing that combat veterans with TBI receive expert medical care, rehabilitation and community support services they need for a successful return to civil- ian life. Our goal, put another way, is to keep our former military ser- vice members in “service” to their families and communities by col- laborating for their brain health. As a rehabilitation physician and as someone who has worked to recover from a serious, though not service-related, brain injury of my own, I empathize with these injured veterans and their families. Their injuries are greater; their resources are limited. But from my dual per- spective of having treated TBI patients while also having lived firsthand with those dark days of depression, I know just how chal- lenging it can be to summon up the motivation and courage to find a new normal — to “turn the lights back on” in a world grown dark. This May, as we pause to honor all who have worn America’s uni- form, we as a nation cannot over- look the “invisible” wounds of war and must commit to providing the best rehabilitative and psycho- logical long-term support for our injured service members, upon and after their return. If you or someone you know is a veteran who is experiencing one or more signs of traumatic brain injury — headache, blurred vision, diffi- culty with bright light, ringing in the ears, excessive tiredness, mem- ory loss or poor concentration — seek medical help for yourself or your loved one as early as possible. The good news is that TBI is treat- able and its symptoms are manage- able with proper treatment. National Military Appreciation Month is our opportunity — one I believe is an absolute obligation — to honor past and present mem- bers of the military. This year, it is a particular occasion to salute those past and present military mem- bers who are serving us now in the fight against COVID-19. But it is also our responsibility to speak out on the debt we owe to those who returned home struggling to over- come injuries sustained while serv- ing us. No one is more deserving of the expert medical care, rehabilitation services and community support that are needed for their success- ful return to civilian life. Those who get involved in serving our returning heroes, no matter how small a ges- ture that work may be, will be a sav- ing grace in the eyes of an injured veteran. For those struggling with TBI, you must be the light they are searching for. Dr. Chrisanne Gordon, author of “Turn the Lights On!” is a physi- cian who has personally struggled to recover from a brain injury, an experience that inspired her to cre- ate the national Resurrecting Lives Foundation to help military veterans recover from TBI. GUEST COMMENT Answers to PPP and EIDL questions M any business owners have applied for or received funds from the Paycheck Protection (PPP) and/or Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL). We have received the following ques- tions and want to share information we hope will be helpful. Q: I’ve applied for the EIDL or the PPP and have heard nothing back yet. What do I do? A: You may call the customer service line but be aware there are long wait times. The number is: 800-659-2955. For questions regarding PPP applications you may try contacting your lender. Unfortu- nately, you may just have to wait as there are tens of thousands of appli- cations, limited staff and amounts of money. Q: I did not apply during the first go-round of applications for the EIDL. Can I apply now? A: At this time the EIDL is accept- ing applications only from agriculture businesses. Keep monitoring the web- site to see when (and if) they open it up again to other businesses. Q: I applied during the first round of funding but did not hear anything from SBA. Do I need to reapply? A: No. Existing applications will be processed on a first come, first- served basis. Q: I’ve applied for the EIDL and the loan amount I’ve received requires collateral. I already have assets mortgaged or with a UCC fil- ing. Do I still qualify for the loan? A: Yes, the SBA will take a subordi- nate position, and if there is no collat- eral available, bor- rowers will not be Greg Smith denied the loan. Q: I heard the maximum EIDL loan has been decreased. Is this true? A: Yes, the most current infor- mation we have is that the maxi- mum loan amount for the EIDL has been reduced to $150,000. Q: I received no notification from the EIDL regarding the loan advance (grant), but the money just showed up in my account. Is this normal? A: Yes. They are just depositing the loan advance into your account so monitor it frequently. Q: I obtained a PPP loan and want to hire back my employees. However, they are collecting more on unemployment and don’t want to return. A: Those collecting unemploy- ment who turn down work stand a strong chance of losing their ben- efits except under certain circum- stances. As long as you have doc- umented their refusal to return to work you should not be penalized and can hire new employees to meet the required 75% threshold for loan forgiveness. Q: I’ve not received either the PPP or EIDL and am self-employed. Can I apply for unemployment? A: Yes. Under the new Pandemic Unemployment Insurance Program (PUA), those who are self-em- ployed, are independent contrac- tors, or “gig workers” can apply for unemployment benefits. Visit workinginoregon.org and click the “Cares Act” link in the yellow ban- ner at the top of the page to learn about the program and to apply. Q: What documentation does the PUA require to apply? A: You are not required to pro- vide documentation at the time of application but will complete and sign a certification stating the information you provided is true and correct. However, in case your application is reviewed, you will need to have proof of your income. This would include your tax return, 1099’s, etc. Q: As the economy opens, where can I find information on the guidelines required for my business? A: Visit https://govstatus.egov. com/or-covid-19. It will provide you all the latest information spe- cific to your business. We will continue to provide business owners the most up to date information we have and are here to assist you. Greg Smith is the director of the Eastern Oregon University Small Business Development Cen- ter located at 1607 Gekeler Lane, Room 148, in La Grande. For free, confidential business advising, call 541-962-1532 or email eousbdc@gmail.com.