Jake Thomas
jthomas@portlandobserver.com

MSNBC has a fascinating piece on people whose parents gave them strange names.

It features a woman with the name Marijuana Pepsi Sawyer who persevered despite her bizarre first name to become a college counselor.

Jake Thomas
jthomas@portlandobserver.com

Longtime community activist and northeast Portland resident Sylvia Evans has filed papers to run against Commissioner Nick Fish in this spring’s election.

Evans has been involved with issues of environmental justice along with Jeri Sundvall-Williams on public health issues in north and northeast Portland, including the Columbia River Crossing.

Her filing papers note that she intends to seek public financing.

Jake Thomas
jthomas@portlandobserver.com

The Oregonian is reporting that a Multnomah County corrections deputy has been sentenced to two years of probation for Tasering a man at a strip club while off duty.

The sentencing stemmed from an incident last June at a northeast Portland bar, where Steven Douglas Cowles, who had been drinking, Tased a man who was reportedly harassing a topless dancer.

Cowles was so drunk the stun gun, which he privately owned, had to be wrestled out of his hands, and he was taken directly to the drunk tank after being arrested.

Interestingly, Cowles’ lawyer contends that his client suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder from spending time in the Navy, and has a service dog to help him with his condition.

He’s been placed on unpaid leave pending an investigation by the county that could lead to his termination.

Jake Thomas
jthomas@portlandobserver.com

Jason Renaud, the co-founder of the Mental Health Association of Portland, has been an outspoken critic of the city’s handling of the 2006 death of James Chasse, a schizophrenic man who died after a confrontation with the police.

Renaud, who knew Chasse in high school, is now taking his crusade further by running for City Council against Police Commissioner Dan Saltzman. He is trying to secure public financing by the Jan. 29 deadline.

Below are his extended remarks. They have been edited for clarity.

Portland Observer: At what point did you say, ‘I’m going to run for this office?’
Jason Renaud: I was the co-founder of the Mental Health Association, and we had been waiting rather patiently for the police to finish their internal investigation of the case of James Chasse, and three years had gone by and we were sort of like, this is the longest internal investigation in recorded history. We went to city hall and said, “where is this?” We got immediate negative response from the police from the police commissioner.

PO: When you say you got a negative response what do you mean?
JR: We called a press conference and said, “Listen we really need this investigation now. People may be in danger. We don’t know what the status of these officers are. The public deserves a public answer, and not some sort of confidential memo to the HR department.” Police Chief Rosie Sizer immediately came out and said she would not release it. She had not finished the internal investigation.

A week later when she finished the internal investigation she sent out a press release saying here it is. There was no internal investigation attached to the press release. It was just a press release. We still don’t know what happened in the internal investigation, other than the fact that they then had a fight about the token discipline for these two officers. They found some small portion of the police rules and regulations that were violated.

A man lay dead on the street corner and they’re arguing about whether the sergeant should have made a transport decision for a human being. It sort of missed the point. It missed the opportunity to do the right thing. We listed 10 points or so fairly easy straight forward things to do. No cost.

PO: What were some of those things?
JR:Things like reopening the chief’s forum. The police chief used to have a monthly forum where she would engage with the public. She closed that inexplicably after the Chasse case. Things like release the internal investigation of Humphreys and Nice, and what happened. They have done this elaborate complicated investigation and it sits still on the table of Dan Saltzman. Doing things like meeting with the Mental Health Association and other mental health advocates and going to Salem to find future funding to integrate services with the police community and mental health community. And we were just completely ignored.

At this point, the two or three weeks went by of being completely ignored and realizing that we were not going to get any response at all from anyone that was worthwhile. We did get a call from Dan Satlzman who said we would like you to come to a private meeting. We said. “no, we don’t do to private meetings. If you want to talk about the public’s business, we would be glad to have a public meeting and you can come and explain your decision to the public and be a public figure.” He declined.

At that point it was clear he was in absentia in being a police commissioner. He wasn’t doing the full basic task that a police commissioner does. We need a new police commissioner. So at that point I decided to step back, not down, as spokesperson for the Mental Health Association of Portland and run for City Council.

PO: You expressed interest in getting assigned the police bureau if elected. Usually this bureau has gone to the mayor. What if the mayor took it?
JR:Traditionally, the mayor has annually decided what commissioner get what bureau. So typically that shuffle takes place at the new year. Sam decided last year that he was busy with other things. He had a different agenda and found the person most willing and most reasonable to do that task in Dan Saltzman. That has failed.

I’m interested in it because of my advocacy around the Chasse event. I’m interested in it because I think it’s a very complicated problem to solve. And it’s a problem that no one City Council knows how to solve, but I do. The issue isn’t really the police union contract or rules or laws. The question really is about post traumatic stress disorder and how we can start talking openly and explicitly about how do we get police officers who have a mental illness help and support to be able to get that illness treated and get back to work.

PO: How does that tie in with the Chasse incident. Are you saying that these officers have PTSD?
JR:Christopher Humphreys, coincident with his discipline with Satlzman, filed a disability claim stating he had a stress-related disorder. Stress-related disorder is a labor parlance for an anxiety disorder that we would call in the psychiatric business a post- traumatic stress. This is a permanent injury that has no cure that has a complicated cobbled together treatment. There are police officers all over the nation receiving treatment, and in the Portland Police Bureau.

But Humphreys, when we’re talking about how to help officers to come back to service, what we need to start talking about is how we can create a support about this so that they can talk about this openly. He had to hide it for months. He had to call it something that it’s not. He had to really deny the fact that he was in a lot of trouble. And when he was asked to come back from his first claim what, ended up happening is he ended up shooting a 12-year-old girl with a shotgun.

PO: So you think that’s because of all the stress that he had undergone?
JR:Well it’s kind of an awkward situation, but if you look at the history of police bureau understanding alcoholism, many heroic officers who came out in the 80s and 90s and said, “I’m a cop and also a drunk, and I’m also recovering and I’m carrying a message that it’s okay to be sober. It’s okay to deal with stress other than drinking and I’m acting as a role model for other officers so they don’t have to lose their job lose their life, lose their kids and their house.”

PO: They should be able to talk more openly about these things?
JR:It took a lot of heroism on the part of individual officers to break that stigma around alcoholism and now if you talk to officers and say, “is it okay for you to go get blasted every night after work, is this the way to deal with this fucked up job.” They say, “no, that’s not okay anymore because we understand that alcoholism is a disease and abusing alcohol isn’t an appropriate way to deal with stress.”

But right now there’s thousand of veterans coming home from wars with the diagnosis of PTSD. They are all coming as messengers of this new issue. And carrying this, are ideals of treatment they’re new ways of managing the stress. There’s new concept of community support for that. They’re the next generation of officers in the Portland Police Bureau.

PO: Are officers using stress disability to just cash in when they don’t want to do it anymore?
JR:This is very important because this is related to charges of corruption and theft,in a sense. There have been about 25 officers that I know of, high profile officers, that have asked for stress related claims in coincidence with discipline. There was woman Penny Harrington [former police chief] who go into a fracas with the mayor over this and they eventually fired her. But I asked the auditor last week to open an investigation to look at this coincidence and find some groundwork. If that’s true, or if someone’s been advising officers to do this, it’s despicable. It’s untenable and it should be criminally prosecuted.

That’s what the auditor will do. She’ll tell us if this urban myth is true. She seemed to be very interested in this. If it’s true that they’re gaming the system, I hope the auditor will pick that up. The management system only has some skills in redirecting a misbehaving employee. These are disciplinary methods. These are sort of managerial or legal tools, but with a person who has PTSD who is misbehaving or not performing correctly the, solution is really a medical solution maybe a psycho therapeutic solution that the management tools are inappropriate for. So in order to be true and understand that we have officers with mental health issues who are in recovery and we hope that they receive treatment and get well and come back. They are in a sense wounded warriors

If we actually want them to come back and do this work we need to be honest about managing them. And that’s why Dan Saltzman doesn’t know how to do this, and why Rosie Sizer with all the rules and regulations- it’s not the right answer. They need to understand police much better than they do. And even cops don’t understand this. They are just coming to terms that this is an overwhelming issue in police culture, but in every town imaginable because we are just now coming to terms with what PTSD is. Unless we continue to do this we are going to continue to have this disconnect where we are arguing about knuckles and dimes. Now the pension fund is sort of a different line but we have asked the pension fund for how many officers are on stress related leave. My guess is it’s a lot. Unless we get a handle on this it could be a massive cost to use.

PO: So the auditor is calling in an independent investigator to investigate the investigation of the Chasse incident. What do you make of that?
JR:Well that’s a very limited investigation by looking at why Rosie took three years to write an internal investigation. I’m a little astounded that they have to do an audit of this. The police commissioner should be able to ask her serious question and get a serious answer. This is not something we need a year long audit that costs 1$00,000. If they can’t ask serious questions and get serious answers they don’t have a relationship where he can perform as a police commissioner. It just shows the lack of capacity on the part of the commissioner to manage the police department.

PO: What do you make of the rest of City Council. They’ve been pretty silent about Dan Saltzman’s handling of this?
JR:I think not only Sam’s City Council but [former Mayor] Tom Potter’s City Council’s continuing strategy has been: this will go away if we ignore it. Randy’s response to what James Chasse was to build a million dollar toilet. There’s no evidence anywhere in the investigation that there was a need for the toilet.

PO: When Saltzman reversed himself with Christopher Humphreys did he do the right thing?
JR:The union’s argument was that there should be an investigation there should be a process. You can’t just take an officer’s guns and badge away. Saltzman was clearly unfamiliar with the police union contract. He’s clearly either incredibly poorly advised or politically pressured. And both of them are the wrong qualities to have in the person whose about to go and negotiate the contract with the police union. I expect that we’re going to get taken to the cleaners. That’s what this is about.

PO: What are some things you’d like to see come out of the negotiation?
JR:Well, one I’d like to know what’s happening. They’re discussing the public’s business behind closed doors. That’s been the tradition, but it doesn’t have to be that way. If they want to regain the public’s trust they need to talk about it in public right now. So the items set up for negotiation should be listed on their website and what are they going to talk about? They represent us.

PO: One of biggest issues surrounding the police bureau is the issue of individual officer accountability. Critics have said that we need to find out what officers are making mistakes and hold them accountable. Where do you stand on that?
JR:That’s exactly right. These are not robots. These are individual officers and they need to be managed individually. Ninety percent, maybe ninety nine, percent of officers are doing a really great sterling job, and we need to support them and give them with mentoring, training, and equipment. But the chief does not have the power to pull an individual officer off duty, at this point, and hold them in limbo until they are acting appropriately. Weather it be racial profiling, or use of force, of if they have problems at home. The police chief need to have the power to take a bad apple out of the barrel, and it’s really the commissioner’s job to give her those tools.

PO: If you were elected, what other bureaus would you vie for?
JR:Well I’m particularly interested in the Fire and Police Disability Pension Fund, which is currently also managed by Dan Saltzman. Because of this issue around the changing nature of disability and fireman and police officers needing help with their health care and their retirement. That’s also very interesting to me. I’m also interested in homelessness and housing issues, and that’s currently being fairly well managed by Nick Fish, but as time goes by, the configuration needs to change, so I’d be very interested in the Housing Bureau.

PO: Nick Fish helped get a levy for the parks but not one for housing what do you make of that? [CLARIFICATION: Fish, who heads both the Housing Bureau and Parks and Recreation, is studying a possible bond measure.]
JR:What happened in Seattle [which recently passed a levy for affordable housing] is the result of a lot of advocacy up there for downtown housing. They have a lot of buildings up there that are derelict and available for rehab. That’s sort of been talked about quite a bit. There was also a mayoral election that was fairly interesting. So there was a lot of energy around transformation and change, young people coming in, social media had gotten into play, a lot normal media had gotten into play.

We need to have a strong financial commitment toward achieving goals of the 10 Year Plan [to End Homelessness]. Right now we are 10 years behind the 10 Year Plan. We have this elaborate plan but no money, which is a typical problem in Portland. I don’t he’s insincere in his interest in housing. I just think he was making a political decision, but I do think we need to attach money to those goals.

PO: So what are some other issues that you’d like to address if elected to city council?
JR:Well right now I’m staying focused on the Police Bureau because it’s the most complicated bureau with the most difficult problems, and by demonstrating sort of an in- depth understanding of that and an out-of-the-box understanding on that I’m saying that this is the sort of understanding and experience you get with my candidacy.

PO: What if you get elected and Sam Adams doesn’t give you the bureau?
JR:Well the buck stops with Sam. One of the unspoken issues around Saltzman’s commissionership is why hasn’t Sam been more engaged on this. Why hasn’t he said. “you know I’m going to give you some advice and protection”. Because really the boiling point on this issue is coming. The union negotiations come only every four years. The city has been demolished the last two cycles in a row. It’s really time for Sam to step up and do something different here.

PO: If you don’t qualify for public financing will you continue with this campaign?
JR:That’s a good question. I think it’s initially intriguing to me because of public financing. I admire the idea of public financing. I think allows me to be issues driven and community based and not have to go chase money half the time. So I think it would be a hard decision.

PO: How do you get people back to work with record unemployment more people coming here and not enough jobs?
JR:I think the city can do a couple things. It can model and embrace diversity. I think that diversity is an economic issue as well as a cultural issue. And the city by modeling that for the rest of the community brings people in finds them positions of power and respect. That’s a way the city can model that.

I think Sam had a fascinating set of ideas in his campaign that he has since completely dropped around the creative capacity of the city, as we’re transforming from a working class. It’s transformed into a creative community not only of people who knit tea cozies but people who design computer systems. We’re building an intellectual capacity here, which is quite astounding, and we need to look carefully at the interests and needs of those people who come in here so that they stay. So that’s schools.

The second thing that’s important is the arts. We need to have sufficient funding for the arts and we need to go to the work community and say we need to keep these intellectual workers here, these creative capacity workers here. We need to increase our support for the arts. For every $4 spent on the arts that leverages $5 or $8 from the private sector. It’s an economic catalyst.

When I was a kid you didn’t walk down Alberta Street you’d get shot. This was all hookers and drunks. This has all changed this is all the right direction because of that leveraging money. Public private partnership, that seed money that the Portland Development Commission gave, that community policing, and basically because hoards of young artists came in and were willing to live in these crap-hole houses and start little businesses and capitalist artists and they changed Alberta Street. They’re changing MLK now. So I think the arts are key way the city can support jobs.

PO: What do you make of the Columbia River Crossing? Is it good bad?
JR:Well, I think my colleague Ed Garren was right in pointing out that the community directly affected by years and years of traffic problems have not been consulted. Oregon Department of Transportation and Washington Department of Transportation brought a plan that is unsustainable. There is just no money, nowhere. And to say here it is like it or leave it. Well we’re leaving it. We need to throw a lot more brain power at this problem. We need people who are little more skilled at urban design and urban planning to be engaged in this conversation. So I’m glad [outgoing Metro Council President David] Bragdon is engaged. It sounds like Sam is getting more solidly engaged.

Jake Thomas
jthomas@portlandobserver.com

A federal appeals court in California has issued what has been called a landmark ruling on the use of Tasers.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has rebuked a San Diego police officer who Tasered an emotionally troubled man who wasn’t running away, wasn’t armed, and seated yards away.

Tasers, which release an electrical shock meant to subdue a subject, have been used more frequently by police as a non-lethal weapon that can quickly diffuse a tense situation.

However, their increased use has caused controversy.

Portland has also been no stranger to controversial uses of Tasers, including this incident, and this incident.

Earlier this year, the City Auditor’s office released a report that shows that police use of force has been down, however officers are using Tasers more and more on mentally ill subjects.

Jake Thomas
jthomas@portlandobserver.com

If you haven’t noticed, it’s snowing. And the snow is sticking.

If you’re relying on TriMet for your ride home tonight, here is a release we just got from the mass-transit agency on steps they’re taking:

TriMet is responding to snow affecting the region:

- 10 buses are chained and are either heading to the West Hills or on standby for Mt. Scott, Mt. Tabor and Burnside

- Three bus lines cancelled until chained buses can get to those routes: Line 18-Hillside, Line 51-Vista, Line 65-Marquam Hill/Barbur Blvd

- Five bus lines on snow routes: Line 8-Jackson Park/NE 15th, Line 61-Marquam Hill/Beaverton, Line 64-Marquam Hill/Tigard, Line 66-Marquam Hill/Hollywood and Line 68-Marquam Hill/Collins Circle. For up-to-the-minute service alerts, visit trimet.org.

- Mobile chaining crews have been dispatched downtown and are on standby in other locations to chain buses in the field as needed

- Switch heaters have been turned on across the MAX system to prevent switches from freezing

For up-to-the-minute service information, visit trimet.org.

Jake Thomas
jthomas@portlandobserver.com

The Associated Press is reporting that the Justice Department dealt with more hate crimes cases in 2009 than any other year since 2001.

Twenty five cases in total were filed for department’s 2009 budget year, which ended in September.

The article raises some interesting questions on the different approaches taken toward the issue by the Obama administration, which is about to wrap up its first year, and its predecessor.

The most recent numbers from the Justice Department come from a period of time that encompasses most of President Barack Obama’s first year in office and the last few months of President George Bush.

Tom Perez, the head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, told the AP that the number of hate crimes did not fall during Bush’s terms in office. He didn’t offer any explanation of why there weren’t more prosecutions, but did note that he was “shocked.”

Interestingly, one of the scandals that shook the Bush administration in its later days was the politicization of the Justice Department, particularly the Civil Rights Division.

Jake Thomas
jthomas@portlandobserver.com

With Congress being within striking distance of passing an overhaul of the nation’s health care system, National Nurses United, the largest nurses’ union in the country, has come out against the bill.

They’re calling it a giveaway to the “callous” health insurance industry, and claim we will see their control over the system cemented, making future reform efforts more daunting.

The progressive blog Loaded Orygun, asked Portland City Council’s only registered nurse, Amanda Fritz, what she thought of the reform effort and of NNU’s opposition to it.

Here’s what she told them:

I am not a member of NNU. I don’t support their position. Any of the versions of national health care reform currently under consideration is not all I hope for, however I believe any improvement is better than no improvement. Both ONA and the Portland City Council passed resolutions supporting single payer health care in 2009. I believe our nation must continue to work towards the goal of universal coverage with adequate controls on costs and profits.

I am still a member of the Oregon Nurses Association. ONA is not a member of National Nurses United – the latter is California, Massachusetts, and United American Nurses. ONA left UAN a year or so ago and with five other state organizations formed the National Federation of Nurses.

A new Muslim Community Center of Portland is outlined in an artist’s drawing. The proposed center would be located in the Humboldt Neighborhood on North Vancouver Avenue, just south of Killingsworth Street.

Jake Thomas
jthomas@portlandobserver.com

When Muhammad Najieb became iman at the Muslim Community Center of Portland, the city’s oldest Islamic congregation, there were just a handful of people that gathered in the humble and small rectangle-shaped building on Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

Over the last 11 years, Najieb has given countless sermons, presided over weddings and funerals. And he’s also watched his “juma” (or congregation) steadily swell to over 250 people.

The growing faithful has prompted the center to hatch plans for a larger center that can hopefully provide a bridge to Portland’s non-Muslim population as well. Muslim Community Center leaders aim to have the new facility and mosque constructed in the Humboldt Neighborhood at North Vancouver Avenue, just south of Killingsworth Street with an opening anticipated by August 2011.

Sitting on the carpeted floor of the center’s current “masjid” (or community center), Najieb explained that a number of Muslim immigrants hailing from virtually every continent have made their way to Oregon, and a growing number of converts have flocked to his juma, prompting it to look into building a bigger facility.

“There are more that would participate, and that’s why we’re really involved in our expansion at this time,” he said.

He also mentioned that he was uneasy with the old location because of the future Planned Parenthood being erected on the same block.

The newer, bigger Muslim center will be more than a mosque, Najieb explained. It’ll allow the Muslim Center to do more than its current humble building allows, he said, noting that it will be open to all cultures and religions.

“The whole concept of this community center is that it’s open to the community,” he said.

Iman Muhammad Najieb (right) and Shauku abd’Hafid of the Muslim Community Center of Portalnd are looking forward to leaving their humble quarters on Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard for a new center that will accommodate future growth. Photo by Jake Thomas

Shauku abd’Hafidh, who manages the center’s youth programs and events, explained that with the bigger facility, local residents will have more opportunities to take classes on the history of Islam and learn how Muslims can relate the life of the prophet Muhammad to their everyday experiences.

He also said that the center will offer programs to help inmates transition out of prison, as well as classes aimed at strengthening family ties.

“Our main thing is to eliminate the division and separation that happens between the Muslim and non-Muslim,” he said.

Abd’Hafidh said that Muslim Center officials hope to partner with nearby Portland Community College to offer English language and computer classes to everyone, and he also hopes the new building will foster greater understanding between Muslims and non-Muslims.

“We’re hoping that this Islamic center and our efforts as a community can help facilitate this more because times are difficult right now,” he said. “People have a lot of misunderstanding and a lot of hardship based on those misunderstandings.”

Najieb said that he has been in contact with the Humboldt Neighborhood Association, whom he says have been receptive to the new addition.

The blog Portland Architecture has noted that the planned architecture for the building reflects a modern character for a mosque.

Islamic architecture traditionally shies away from gaudy designs, in favor of modest architecture.

The building will not have a dome-like shape, characteristic of many mosques. Instead, the 12,000-square-foot masjid will featured layered floors with a plaza-like space in front of the building for community activities.

However, Najieb admits that it’s going to be challenging coming up with enough construction money for the $3.6 million price tag.

“The fundraising is challenging. We will say that at this particular time,” said Najieb, who has been in contact with embassies from various Muslim countries, and is applying for grants.

But Najieb remains optimistic.

“God willing, it will start construction in July 2010 and we should be in there August 2011,” he said.

Jake Thomas
jthomas@portlandobserver.com

A coalition of business groups has filed a lawsuit aimed at overturning a law passed last legislative session that bars employers from punishing workers who refuse to attend meetings that push political or religious messages.

The law, which was passed last summer before the legislature adjourned, was prompted by concerns from labor groups who claimed that workers trying to unionize were all too often bombarded by messages from their employer telling them of the downsides of banding together.

Most notably, Wal-Mart stores across the country held meetings with their employees to tell them of the dangers of a Democratic Congress and White House, which they said would open the floodgate to pro-union legislation that would hurt the business.

This prompted the Oregon Legislature, which is overwhelming controlled by Democrats, to pass a bill that made it illegal for employers to punish workers who fail to attend such meetings.

But business groups who opposed the law in the legislature are now turning to the courts. The Associated Oregon Industries and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have filed a suit to stop the law.

“This law tramples employers’ speech rights and gives organized labor an unprecedented advantage in unionizing campaigns,” said Robin Conrad, executive vice president of the National Chamber Litigation Center, the chamber’s public policy law firm, in a statement.

Both groups are arguing that the bill is unfair to employers, who can’t present their side to counterbalance that of union organizers. The groups also contend that it unconstitutionally abridges employers’ freedom of speech, and preempts federal laws that protect such speech.

“Some employers seem to be threatened by the idea that they will no longer be able to fire or punish workers who don’t want to sit down and listen to their opinions on non-work-related topics,” said Tom Chamberlain, Oregon AFL-CIO President, in a press release. “But for too may years Oregonians have felt threatened by their bosses telling them how to vote or what to believe. SB 519 is necessary, overwhelmingly supported by Oregonians, and legal.”

Here is the Jeff Mapes’ coverage on the fight to get the law passed.

Jake Thomas
jthomas@portlandobserver.com

The Obama family has gotten the H1N1 vaccine, which a sizable segment of the population has been uneasy about getting. The president received the vaccine on Sunday in the White House.

Here is ABC News’ write-up:

“People need to understand that this vaccine is safe,” Obama said. “Michelle and I just got the shots ourselves… we wanted to make sure nationwide that children were getting it before adults did. And now there’s enough vaccine so that adults should get it as well. “

The President spoke about how his daughters received the vaccine in October, when it was first being made available to school-age children. He said that it’s important for parents to vaccinate their children.

“That’s the most important population because this flu, unlike seasonal flu, disproportionately affects children and young people — healthy children and young people as well as people with underlying conditions like asthma or neurological diseases. So it is so important and, frankly, the African American vaccination rate has been lower, substantially lower so far than the general population,” he said. “I think people just need to understand: If I had the two people that are most important in my life, my two daughters, get it right away — and they’ve been just fine with it and in fact haven’t gotten sick this entire flu season — then you need to know that you need to make sure your children get it as well.

The interview also noted that the Obamas waited until priority groups, like young people, pregnant women, and those with underlying conditions got the vaccine until getting it themselves.

Nothing can ruin a holiday party quite like having to spend the night jail after getting a DUI and having to shell out a wad of cash for legal fees.

The Oregon Liquor Control Commission is trying to look out for you.

They’ve posted a series of videos on steps people hosting holiday parties can take to make sure their guests don’t have to spend the night in the drunk tank.

Some of the tips are a bit obvious: get a designated driver, have food at your party, and offer non-alcholic beverages.

But it also offers some pretty good ones, like passing the hate around to cover cab fees for guests, or putting the number of a cab company on the invites.

However, notably absent is the option of taking the bus.

TirMet spokesperson Mary Fetsch said that all MAX and bus service will be free after 8 p.m. on new years, but not on Christmas Eve or other holidays.

Portland Police Chief Rosie Sizer spoke to the city’s Human Rights Commission’s Committee on Police and Community Relations last night. Photo by Jake Thomas.

Jake Thomas
jthomas@portlandobserver.com

The Portland Human Rights Commission’s committee on police relations took up a high-profile use of force incident last night at its meeting.

At the meeting, the term “the community” was present on nearly every committee member’s lips. During the meeting, members of the committee noted that community was unhappy with the handling of the incident. They noted that the community was uneasy with the police, and that the community had a hard time distinguishing between the police union and the police bureau.

Portland Police Chief Rosie Sizer appeared before seven members of HRC’s Community and Police Relations Committee and Maria Lisa Johnson, the director of the city’s Office of Human Relations, to discuss the incident and how the bureau was handling it.

Last month, Officer Christopher Humphreys, a controversial officer who was disciplined for his role in the death of James Chasse, caused a firestorm when he shot a 12-year-old girl with a beanbag gun at close range at MAX stop.

Humphreys was initially put on a desk job while the incident was being investigated, but Police Commissioner Dan Saltzman went further and suspended him. This caused the police union to stage a demonstration and hold a vote of no confidence on Sizer and Saltzman, which wasn’t released after Humphrey’s suspension was reversed.

Speaking to the committee, composed of police officers and citizens, Sizer acknowledged that there are issues with police use of force, but insisted that the bureau was making progress on them.

She explained that officers operate under trying conditions, and forming guidelines for the use of force is very difficult since it gets tied into a dizzying array of legal issues. Officers are often left with an unclear sense of when they can use force, she said.

“Unfortunately, for them that line is not very bright,” she said.

Sizer repeatedly cited a report issued earlier this year that showed that police were using less force.

However, several members of the committee expressed discomfort with how the incident with Humphreys was handled.

“In my experience, whenever the police do something, whether it be the right thing or the wrong thing, it’s justified [by the bureau],” said Patricia Ford, a member of the committee who also asked if the 12-year-old girl got any support.

Sizer said that she couldn’t comment on whether the girl got support, and explained that holding officers accountable can be complicated since there needs to be a careful review of employment case law before an action can be taken.

Darryl Kelley, a former gang member who serves on the committee, questioned whether the officer should have shot a 12-year-old girl when he was clearly bigger and stronger.

“When you think about excessive force, that’s pretty excessive,” said Kelley, who wondered out loud how much support he’d get if he shot someone.

Kelley said that the incident was a “huge step backward” for community policing.

Hector Lopez, a former United Church of Christ minister who serves as the committee’s chair, asked Sizer to comment on the actions of the police union.

Sizer described the union’s actions as “overtly political.” She also noted that the union was willing to be part of dialogue on the issue.

Stephen Manning, an immigration lawyer and member of the committee, said that people have a hard time distinguishing between the police union and the police bureau.

Ford added that she has an 11-year-old grand daughter who asked if she would be shot by the police.

“To the community, it feels like this officer is going to do whatever,” she said.

Portland Police Officer Deanna Wesson (left), Officer Mike Chapin (center), and Commander Mike Crebs (right) serve on HRC’s Community and Police Relations Committee. Photo by Jake Thomas

Commander Mike Crebs, a member of the committee, said that the guidelines for police use of force, which once had clear rules for what officers could do, are being replaced with ones that use “the totality of circumstance.” He said this was a difficult transition for many officers who were accustomed to being judged on much they could bench press or how fast they could run the 100, and are now expected to show “empathy.”

Sizer also commented on the issue of accountability in the bureau. She said that officers are quietly dismissed from the force on a regular basis, but the public is largely unaware because they are kept at a lower profile. She also said that some officers worry that if “something bad happens” they’ll lose their jobs.

“Police officers react to fear with that,” she said.

Officer Deanna Wesson, a committee member, said that the officer in the incident was in a difficult position. She noted that the girl was allegedly fighting officers trying to arrest her, and hoped people would consider the officer’s perspective.

She said that women “are more flexible” and sometimes fight harder.

“If you decide to fight us, we’ll fight back,” she said reluctantly, noting the presence of television cameras.

Sizer concluded by saying that the police are burdened beyond capacity, and are routinely confronted with socio-economic and educational issues that are outside the scope of the bureau.

At the public comment period, Dan Handelman, of Portland Copwatch, said that officers who cheat or steal might get kicked off the force, but found it troubling that officers who use force against people aren’t.

He also said that the complaints are not thoroughly investigated, and that he was troubled by the amount of money the city pays out in settlements from lawsuits stemming from police use of force.

“A lawsuit comes out of our pockets,” he said.

The Trail Blazers have big plans for the Rose Quarter, which is a ghost town when the team isn’t in season. But the developer they want to realize their vision has left behind a trail of angry people.

By Jake Thomas
jthomas@portlandobserver.com

Larry Miller, the president of the Portland Trail Blazers, has seen the Rose Quarter looking so desolate during his team’s off season that he felt like a tumbleweed might blow by at any minute.

Speaking before a crowd gathered at the headquarters for the Oregon Association of Minority Entrepreneurs, Miller unveiled his vision for a more active Rose Quarter: a year-round entertainment district called “Jumptown,” in tribute of a once lively African American district of Portland know for its many jazz clubs.

And it seems that the idea might get wings very soon.

Mayor Sam Adams put his sights on redeveloping the Rose Quarter since the day he took office, in hopes that it will be something more than a dead zone when the Trail Blazers aren’t playing.

But the company that the Trail Blazers have enlisted to do the development has a controversial past, with strong allegations of racism leveled against it, and the project is surrounded by questions as to whether or not it will actually benefit the community it’s intended to honor.

Since earlier this year, the Trail Blazers have been working to bring the Cordish Companies to Portland to build Jumptown. The massive Baltimore-based real estate development firm has created flashy and award-winning entertainment districts across the country.

One of the better known projects is Kansas City’s “Power & Light District,” an entertainment-oriented development that took roots from a blighted section of the Midwestern city.

But the Cordish development has steadily gotten the nickname the “Power & White District” in some quarters because of a dress code that critics say has been used to keep African Americans out of its venues.

The dress code, which has been altered after much controversy, appears to target the garb preferred by many young urban African American males, and includes items like jerseys, work boots, white t-shirts, chains, and shorts that go below the knee.

The controversy heated up earlier this month, when an African American family received the right to sue by the Missouri Commission on Human Rights, for alleged discrimination. The suit claims they were refused entry into a venue in the district for failing to meet the dress code, even though they claim they were appropriately attired.

Phillip Yelder, the administrative director of Kansas City’s Human Relations Division, said that his division has received complaints about the dress code being used to discriminate against minorities in the district. After conducting investigations, some complaints have been found to have merit, he said.

The division released a report stating that dress codes were inconsistently enforced in the district, and have been used to discriminate. The Kansas City Council has also begun regulating dress codes city wide, in response to complaints of Cordish using them to discriminate against African Americans.

“In the context of millions of visitors, there have been a handful of complaints, we take each one seriously and we can confirm that any accusations are without merit,” responsed Zed Smith, the director of asset Management for Cordish, in an e-mail.

In September, Adams convened the Rose Quarter Development Stakeholder Advisory Committee, composed of citizens who will examine submitted proposals for the Rose Quarter and settle on one next year.

The Trail Blazer’s pitch appears to be one of the most polished of the Rose Quarter redevelopment proposals. It’ll use sustainable design, and will be bike friendly. Other submitted ideas range from the installation of a roller coaster, a casino, and bamboo bicycle manufacturing facility.

The original Jumptown was an African American part of Portland, now occupied by the Rose Quarter, that was know for its many jazz clubs, like the Dude Ranch, and lively night life in the mid 20th century. For touring bands, playing Jumptown was a must, and people could be seen visiting clubs all hours of the night.

But the original Jumptown saw its demise from the construction of Memorial Coliseum, the expansion of the freeway, and other urban renewal initiatives during the late 1950s and 60s that dispersed the region’s African-American population and displaced their businesses.
Interestingly, the Trail Blazers are hoping to use urban renewal to bring back Jumptown, or at least their version that will include an array of entertainment options, like an interactive exhibit on Nike’s history.

The project will almost inevitably require some sort of public financing. Kansas City had to dip into its general fund to meet bond debt obligations. Cordish also sued the county surrounding Kansas City to lower its property taxes.

Karen Gibson, an associate professor of urban studies and planning at Portland State University said that such developments often have dubious economic development prospects.

“These types of developments create retail jobs,” said Gibson, who cautiously adds that such jobs don’t pay family wages. “I just think it’s an odd economic development strategy to pursue.”

Some Portlanders are also worried that a project meant to highlight a portion of Portland’s African American past will end up leaving them behind.

“It would be a great tragedy if the people they are trying to highlight will be prostituted in the process,” said James Posey, an African American contractor with Work Horse Construction.

Posey said that he is nervous about the involvement of Cordish, of which he has heard troubling things about.

However, he hopes that it will provide work for minorities and minority-owned subcontractors, and will serve as a model for future developments.

Faye Burch, the vice president of the Oregon chapter of the National Association of Minority Contractors, told the Portland Observer that she has been in contact with Miller about how to involve local businesses, and is optimistic about Jumptown.

But Rona Holloman-Hughes, a Kansas City attorney and organizer with Friends of Great Kansas City Area African American Skilled Trade Workers, said that she heard a familiar tune when Cordish began courting Kansas City to build the Power and Light District.

She said that Cordish claimed that they would provide employment for the area’s minorities. But when it came down to it Cordish didn’t deliver, said Holloman-Hughes.
Smith said that the district hires many African Americans in managerial positions, including its CEO. It started an incubator fund for minority-owned businesses, and insists Cordish meets or exceeds minority contracting goals.

Miller understands that such concerns exist, and insists that the Trail Blazers will be in charge of the project and responsive to community concerns.

”We would never bring anything to Portland that didn’t work for Portland,” said Miller, speaking to a crowd at the OAME center, who added that the Power & Light District created 5,000 permanent jobs.

State Rep. Lew Frederick, a Democrat who represents parts of north and northeast Portland, asked Miller what he would do to ensure that local, minority-owned businesses would be involved.

“Even though Cordish is the partner on this, we are the ones that are driving this; we are the ones that are leading this effort,” replied Miller, who strongly stated that minorities and minority-owned businesses will be involved with Jumptown. He also pointed out that the Trail Balzers exceeded the city’s goals on using minority-owned businesses.

When asked by the Portland Observer about allegations of race discrimination leveled against Cordish, he said that he felt comfortable with Cordish after having met its executives and seeing the Power and Light District.
”I don’t think that there’s anything that they’re doing that’s against what I think they should be doing,” he said. “We’re going to be the ones in the driver seat on this.”

By Jake Thomas
jthomas@portlandobserver.com

Senator Jeff Merkley, Oregon’s junior senator, announced that he will vote against confirming Ben Bernanke as chair of the Federal Reserve.

The chair is nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate serves a four-term. The position has been characterized as the most powerful un-elected post in American politics.

Bernanke has come under increasing scrutiny for not doing enough to foresee the economic collapse and being too cozy with banks.

From Merkley’s statement:

“Our nation is just beginning to emerge from the greatest financial crisis since the Great Depression, and there is no guarantee we will continue on the road to recovery over the long or short terms. Unemployment remains far too high, credit is unavailable to too many businesses, and families are plagued by falling home prices and high foreclosure rates. Even as we move forward with our efforts to get our economy back on track, it is critical we carefully examine what led us to this point.

“For too many years, federal regulators turned a blind eye to signs of an impending financial crisis. Tricks and traps proliferated in the credit card and consumer lending industries. Predatory mortgage loans exploded, fueling an unsustainable housing bubble. Regulators lifted rules requiring banks to keep adequate capital, and a laissez-faire approach to securitization, derivatives, and proprietary trading encouraged excessive risk-taking on Wall Street. As a member of the Board of Governors, Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, and then ultimately as Chairman of the Board of Governors, Dr. Bernanke supported each of these decisions, failing to take the necessary precautionary steps that could have averted or mitigated financial collapse.

“These failures are very relevant to the future. We need economic leaders who understand that the ultimate goal of economic policies and the key to meaningful economic recovery should be financially successful families, not oversized Wall Street profits.

“Indeed, it should be recognized that although Wall Street prospered in the short-term from reduced leverage requirements, securitization of faulty mortgages, and the explosion of derivatives, Americans did not. The expansion that occurred from 2002 to 2007 became the first economic expansion in which working families were worse off at the end than at the beginning. This is not a path that we can afford to travel again.”