Daryl Turner, the new president of the police union, has issued a statement in support of the police officers involved in the death of James Chasse, a schizophrenic man who died in police custody.

The remarks, released yesterday in a statement, came a day after City Council approved a record $1.6 million settlement with the Chasse family.

The statement argues that the officers acted according to their training at the time, which has been subsequently changed to better equip officers for interactions with the mentally ill, and were not at fault.

The police union standing up for the embattled officers is nothing new. Late last year, Sgt. Scott Westerman, Turner’s predecessor, held a massive union demonstration after then-Police Commissioner Dan Saltzman suspended Officer Chris Humphreys, one of the officers involved in the Chasse incident, for shooting an underage girl at a MAX stop with a beanbag gun.

Here’s the full text of the statement:

Solutions to Chasse tragedy lie outside law enforcement
PORTLAND, OR — July 27, 2010 — Since 2006, the Portland Police Association has seen the death of James Chasse as a tragic accident. His family was devastated and the lives of the officers involved have been changed forever.

The officers and supervisor who responded to the incident followed their Portland Police Bureau training according to the policies and procedures at that time. Since then, Bureau policies have changed, attempting to adapt to law enforcement’s changing role in society. The PPA will continue to support Officers Chris Humphreys and Bret Burton, and Sergeant Kyle Nice. We will work to vindicate their names, careers and integrity.

Vilifying law enforcement masks the real issue of the broken mental health system in Oregon. The system has been stripped of its staffi ng, funding and resources by local and state government. A 2010 study by the Treatment Advocacy Center ranks Oregon 36th in the nation in per capita expenditures by its state mental health authority.

Across the country, law enforcement management is all too aware that jails and prisons have become modern-day mental hospitals, returning our mentally ill to conditions of the early nineteenth century where 15-20% of incarcerated inmates suffered serious mental illness.

We look forward to participating with the community and the City to fi nd innovative and appropriate
solutions to better protect and care for our mentally ill citizens.

The Portland Police Bureau’s Cold Case Division has solved a 26-year-old homicide case.

From PPB:

This morning, Portland Police Cold Case Homicide Detectives arrested 56-year-old Frederick Alvin Richey and charged him with one count of Murder in the 1984 homicide case that took the life of Francis Marie Waites who was 28-years-old at the time of her death. Detectives arrested Richey in Gresham, Oregon and were assisted by the US Marshall’s Office during the arrest.

Ms. Waites was found murdered in her residence located at 5258 NE 24th Avenue on March 23, 1984. The Medical Examiner’s Office determined that Ms. Waites died from multiple stab wounds.

Retired Detectives from the Bureau’s Cold Case Unit began reviewing this case in 2008 and it was assigned to a primary Detective in 2009. The Oregon State Police Crime Laboratory reported a DNA hit to Detectives in 2009 and investigators followed up on the DNA lead.

Richey is being held at the Multnomah County Jail in downtown Portland and will be arraigned tomorrow in a Multnomah County Courtroom.

Portland Police Chief (left) and Portland Police Association President Daryl Turner step out of police car in Old Town after doing a patrol. Photo by Jake Thomas.

Portland Police Chief Mike Reese and Portland Police Association President Daryl Turner appeared before reporters today with the message that the police rank-and-file wants to get along with management. Both also want to get along with the citizenry of Portland.

Both are relative newbies to their positions, and came to them after their predecessors were ousted after getting into high profile conflicts.

Reese, a former commander of East Precinct, was given his new job just short of three months ago after former Chief Rosie Sizer got into a very public spat with Mayor Sam Adams over the budget. Adams sacked Sizer, took control of the police bureau and appointed Reese.

Turner, a 19-year veteran of the force, was elected president of the police union last week. His predecessor, Sgt. Scott Westerman, resigned after being involved in two widely-publicized road rage incidents.

Last spring, the police union held a massive demonstration and a vote of no confidence on then-Police Chief Rosie Sizer and then-Police Chief Dan Saltzman after a controversial police officer was suspended for shooting a girl at a MAX stop with a beanbag gun.

Both Reese and Turner said that they want to work together in their respective capacities.

“A lot of times when we defend our members, we defend the policies and procedures of Portland Police Bureau also, and we want everyone to know that we’re going to do our best to not only to work toward a safer Portland, but a better work environment for our officers,” said Turner, who is the first African American elected to his position.

Turner and Reese had just finished up a patrol of Old Town before stopping to talk to reporters. Reese noted that many people along the ride were well acquainted with Turner.

“He’s been committed to this area for a long time and you can tell that people are already missing him,” said Reese, who also noted that he had worked with Turner on the Drugs and Vice Division and while Reese was commander at Central Precinct.

Turner said that his biggest priority as union president was wrapping up negotiations over the its labor contract with the city. He also said that he wanted to keep the lines of communication open with the police management and the community it serves.

“It could be tomorrow, it could be a year from now; there’s no saying,” he said.

“Besides the contract, the biggest challenge, again, is not for our officers to do anything differently because they do it everyday. They go out there, they engage the community, they talk to people, they give them information,” added Turner. He also said that he would keep his ear to the ground to get a sense of the concerns of officers, and would be present at neighborhood association meetings hearing peoples’ concerns.

Reese said that when he first began his career in law enforcement, much of the work was centered around violent crime. However, it’s now shifted to dealing with more social issues, he said. During the patrol he had just finished up with Turner he had to call in mental health workers to deal with a mentally ill person sleeping in a park.

“That is the type of work officers are having to do now. It’s difficult; it’s a tough environment,” he said.

Turner acknowledged that funding for mental health services has been “gutted,” and police are often the first to deal with these issues. Just the same day, City Council approved a record $1.6 million settlement with the family of James Chasse, a schizophrenic man who died during an encounter with the police.

He was also asked about recent moves by City Council to bring greater oversight to the police, which he has sharply criticized in the union’s newsletter, “Rap Sheet.”

“Well I think there is going to be change. But I also think we’ll be able to open the lines of communication. I think they’re passionate about what they do, serving the public, and I think we’re passionate about what we do,” said Turner, who noted that police still have good judgment and he would stick up for them.

Sex trafficking in the City of Roses

Sex trafficking survivor Sherry Dooley looks out at Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard where she prostituted herself for years. Photo by Drew Dakessian.

Drew Dakessian

Editor’s note:

This article contains factual inaccuracies regarding Sherry Dooley. Her son was not fathered by her pimp. Also, Dooley was prostituted on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard for four years, not 16. The Portland Observer and the author of this article sincerely apologize for any harm done to Dooley and her family.

When Sherry Dooley was 16, her life was at a crossroads.

She had been in and out of 12 foster homes before being adopted at age 3. Two years later a female babysitter molested her. Teenage boys sexually abused her at age 10. She spent the next six years railing against the straight-laced conservative attitudes of her adoptive parents, spending time in juvenile detention and in and out of a group home.

That’s when she met him. He drove a red Cadillac and told her something she desperately wanted to hear: She was beautiful; she was perfect.

Dooley had no idea that her boyfriend was in fact a pimp and she spent the next 16 yearsnext four years of her life walking Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, then Union Avenue, to support herself and her the son that she had by her second pimp.

Dooley’s story isn’t unique.

In 2008, a national FBI sting of 30 cities determined Portland to be second only to Seattle in prolificacy of child prostitution. The Portland Police Bureau reports five cases of trafficking each week. And these figures may not accurately reflect the problem because they take into account only the victims that have been rescued.

Most experts and stakeholders say that Portland’s location on the I-5 corridor is to blame for its reputation as a hub for domestic minor sex trafficking. But other factors are at work as well.

“Port cities typically [have a] higher incidence of trafficking. A landlocked state…won’t have that population,” says James Pond, founder of Transitions Global, a Hillsboro-based non-governmental organization that provides rehabilitation services to survivors of sex trafficking.

Visitors are not the only ones who are soliciting sex from underage girls.

Linda Smith, founder of the anti-sex trafficking non-profit Shared Hope International, believes that Portland’s permissive attitude toward the sex has incited the desire for new and illicit forms of sexual activity among citizens.

“After a while, the experience of normal consensual sex isn’t enough,” says Smith, who represented southwest Washington as a Republican congresswoman mid to late 1990s.

“Some people really believe it’s a prevalent problem here in Oregon because we have a very liberal [state] constitution regarding freedom of speech,” said Portland City Commissioner Dan Saltzman, citing the high number of strip clubs in the city.

Smith says that some of those venues are harboring minors.

Though fewer minors are prostituting themselves on the streets than ever before, they are not disappearing altogether. They are now on Craigslist.

“It’s just less visible to the public,” says Dooley.

Regardless of how it’s happening, the big problem is breaking the spell pimps put on their victims.

“They’re not using alcohol and drugs,” says Deputy Keith Bickford, director of the Oregon Human Trafficking Task Force. “They’re brainwashing these girls to believe they love this pimp. [The pimp] courts them and gives them the things they’re not getting from their parents.”

A pimp is a skilled psychological manipulator, leading a girl to believe that he is her boyfriend. Soon, he will start to drop hints that money is tight, and if they want to stay together, they’ll have to do something. The pimp will then introduce the girl to another man, a “friend” who has promised to pay them a lot of money if he can sleep with her just this once.

Unaware that this “friend” is actually a john, she will agree to have sex with him under the impression that it is a one-time thing. But this one-time thing quickly turns into a regular thing, and before long, the pimp will introduce the girl to other girls who are doing the same thing for him – but he’ll convince her that she’s the only girl he really loves.

Underprivileged girls are not the sole victims of domestic minor sex trafficking. Pimps pander to runaway girls from the suburbs who are unhappy at home, buying them cell phones and jewelry and feigning deep affection for their prey.

While Dooley was 16 when she was first trafficked, nowadays the average age of entry into “the business” is 13 years old.

In Portland, pimps sometimes poach girls at malls, and quickly put them up for business at nearby hotels.

But once a girl has fallen into the trap, it’s hard to get her out.

“It takes a lot to deprogram a victim, and you can’t do that when they’re brainwashed to go back to their pimp,” says Michelle Bart, co-chair of the Northwest Coalition Against Trafficking.

Meanwhile, even if they were clean prior to entering the business, sex trafficking victims often will often turn to drugs in an attempt to numb their pain and disgust. Many were also molested as children.

Advocates say a shelter is essential to addressing the problem. Brainwashed victims can be viewed as mentally ill persons who pose a danger to themselves, so they can be locked up after being put through a civil commitment process. This arrangement would essentially be a more humane form of imprisonment, but according to Portland City Commissioner Amanda Fritz.

“Once they get there they appreciate the security,” she said.

Thanks to the efforts of McKeel and Sen. Ron Wyden, Oregon has been issued a half-million dollar federal grant to build a shelter that would house and rehabilitate domestic minor sex trafficking victims. One agency that has proposed a shelter option is the Portland YWCA.

An effective shelter would not only function as a safe house, but also offer drug therapy to overcome addiction, education to work towards a GED, and counseling to cope with post-traumatic stress disorder.

The shelter would be at least be partially staffed by sex trafficking survivors since girls are most likely to recover with help from “someone who’s actually been in their stilettos,” says Dooley.

“When you get the help that you need, you start to see that possibilities are endless,” says Jeri Sundvall-Williams, a local activist who once walked the streets, adding that most of her survivor friends have gone onto careers in community organizing or social work.

In Portland, the anti-domestic minor sex trafficking movement is gaining momentum, with government, non-profit organizations and faith-based groups working in tandem to solve a problem plaguing this city.

“The challenge is making sure it’s not like herding cats, because there are so many organizations that want to do something,” says Saltzman.

“It’s not okay for anybody to turn their backs on children who are being sold on the streets,” says Fritz, whose zeal is partly due to the “daily issues of gender bias” that she says she confronts as only the seventh woman to serve on Portland’s City Council in 150 years.

Saltzman, too, has a personal connection to this issue. Glancing at one of many pictures of his daughter throughout his office, he imagines the terror he might feel if own daughter were trafficked.

Then the usually soft-spoken commissioner raises his voice.

“It’s something that we have to face up to,” he says. “There’s too many young girls whose futures are being sacrificed by our ignorance.”

A sign expresses the displeasure with a proposed cell phone tower in the Beaumont-Wilshire Neighborhood of northeast Portland. Photo by Jake Thomas.

Jake Thomas
jthomas@portlandobserver.com

Unease among Portland residents about the placement of wireless technology has reached a new level, with a group of residents preparing to file a lawsuit seeking to prevent the placement of an antenna in a northeast neighborhood, claiming that City Hall is kowtowing to the wireless industry.

Portland is a city restive about the proliferation of wireless technology.
Neighborhoods ranging from Arbor Lodge to Brentwood-Darlington have skirmished with the city and Internet providers over efforts to install wireless antennas. And City Hall has been ill at ease with federal policies that have made it easier to install wireless facilities all over the city.

RespectPDX, an organization based in the Beaumont-Wilshire neighborhood that hopes to put the brakes on the placement of wireless antennas in Portland, announced last week that it intended to file a lawsuit against the City of Portland and Clearwire, an Internet service provider, over the placement of a cell phone antenna on 3707 N.E. Fremont St., near Wilshire Market.

Clearwire, commonly referred to as “Clear”, has been hoping to place a wireless antenna near Wilshire Market since at least 2008 to fill in a coverage gap. The move rankled residents of Beaumont-Wilshire, who worry that the antenna would diminish the livability of the surrounding area. They are concerned that the constant hum from a nearby equipment cabinet would be a constant irritant and that the potential health effects of wireless technology, and the antenna- attached to a nearby utility pole- would be a blot on the streetscape.

The federal Telecommunications Act of 1996, which helped open the floodgate for the dissemination of wireless technology, severely limits how local governments can regulate cell towers and antennas.

Local governments can’t block the installation of a wireless facility on health grounds. But they can use land-use laws to steer them out of residential areas, according to David Soloos, the assistant director of Portland’s Office of Cable and Franchise Management.

The city has encouraged wireless providers to install smaller antennas that blend into the cityscape, rather than bulky and alien-looking cellular towers. According to Soloos, no cell towers have been built in a residential or open space area since 2004.

Last year, City Council passed an ordinance meant to balance its obligations to accommodate the installation of wireless technology with livability issues by establishing a prioritization system for wireless antennas. The system aims to place antennas in industrial areas or high traffic streets away from residential neighborhoods whenever possible.

The lawsuit claims that the city’s Office of Cable Communications and Franchise Management did not follow this process when it approved the placement of the antenna on 37th Avenue and Fremont Street because there is a site nearby that is not in the middle of residential area and better satisfies the city’s prioritization system.

Steve Crew, the lawyer taking the case, did not know the exact location of the alternative site when contacted by the Portland Observer.

“I anticipate that they’re going to argue that they’d get better coverage [at the site on 37th and Fremont],” said Crew.

Both the city attorney’s office and the Office of Cable Communications and Franchise Management declined to comment, as did Clear. However, the city attorney’s office had not been served with papers regarding the lawsuit by press time.

The plaintiffs in the suit say they aren’t after any monetary damages aside for attorney fees. Instead, they hope suing will bring clarity to Portland’s prioritization system for wireless antennas, according to a press release.

“It seems that Clearwire is betting that City Hall will ignore the process and put the interests of Big Business above the local concerns of our citizens. We hope the City will tell Clearwire, ‘That’s not the way Portland,’” said Plaintiff Colin O’Neill, who lives near the Fremont site and is also the chairperson for RespectPDX, in a press release.

There are about 800 wireless antennas in Portland, a number that’s likely to rise. The city makes $5,000 off of each wireless facility installed on a public utility pole.

Wireless technology has come under increased scrutiny over concerns that radiation emitted by transmitters and cell phone can be cancer causing. San Francisco enacted an ordinance last month requiring retailers to label cell phones with the amount of radiation they emit. Last spring, Maine lawmakers considered a similar state-wide legislation, which ended up falling flat.

City Council also joined Arlington, Texas last year in challenging the federal preemption that local governments can’t use health concerns to block wireless facilities. It also voted earlier this year to challenge a Federal Communications Commission rule seeking to expedite the installation of wireless facilities.

Miss Black Oregon 2010 Sable Scott will be heading to Washington, D.C. on Aug. 4 to compete in the Miss Black USA Scholarship Pageant.

For 22 years the Miss Black USA Scholarship pageant has provided educational opportunities to outstanding women of color. The organization believes that education is key to long term success and empowerment. The winner of the national pageant will use her civic platform to promote awareness of these issues in her reign.

Scott is 20 years old and is a sophomore at Portland Community College where she plans to pursue a degree in English and a minor in journalism. Her platform is education of the youth in her community.

If you would like to help Miss Black Oregon with her pageant expenses, there is an account set up for donations at Advantis Credit Union.

Crime Stoppers, in cooperation with the Portland Police Bureau, wants your help solving a homicide that occurred five years ago this week in north Portland.

On July 27, 2005, at about 9:52 p.m., officers discovered the body of 26-year-old Eyo Nyong outside the doorway of what was then J.D. Sports Bar in the 3500 block of N. Vancouver Avenue shortly after hearing shots fired in the area.
Nyong had stepped outside of the bar and was talking with several people. At least two men approached on foot and engaged Nyong in a brief conversation. One of the suspects pulled out a gun and shot Nyong multiple times. He died at the scene from a gunshot wound to the head. The assailants then fled on foot northbound on Vancouver Avenue.

The suspects were described as black males in their early 20’s. One suspect is 6 feet tall, weighing 190-195 pounds, with a very short afro. At the time of the incident, he was wearing a dark, short sleeved T-shirt, dark jean shorts, and white Nike Air Force basketball shoes. The second suspect is 5′8″ to 5′9″ tall, weighing 170 pounds, and has black hair worn in braids. At the time of the incident, he was wearing dark shorts.

Crime Stoppers is offering a cash reward of up to $1,000 for information, reported to Crime Stoppers, that leads to an arrest in this case, or any unsolved felony, and you remain anonymous. Call Crime Stoppers at 503-823-HELP (4357), leave a tip online at crimestoppersoforegon.com, or text 823HELP plus your tip and send it to CRIMES (274697).

Bona fide rock ’n’ roll legend Levon Helm, best known for his work with the Band, will be in town, Thursday, Aug. 8 as part of the Oregon Zoo’s summer concert series presented by NW Natural.

Helm began performing more than five decades ago, but it was in 1965 when he and the Band — then known as the Hawks — shot to rock stardom. When Bob Dylan decided he wanted to “go electric” he chose the Band for the transformation.
Eventually, they rented a big pink house in Woodstock, N.Y., and emerged with a sound that fused together all of their musical influences on landmark late-’60s albums like “Music From Big Pink” and “The Band.”

“Helm’s distinctively soulful, country-tinged voice –– heard on such classic Band recordings as “The Weight,” “Up on Cripple Creek” and “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” –– earned him a spot on Rolling Stone’s list of the 100 greatest singers of all time. Modern Drummer magazine rated Helm as “perhaps the greatest singer/drummer to ever play a backbeat.”

Madeline Martinez at the old location of country’s first cannabis cafe.

Drew Dakessian

The country’s first cannabis cafe will be reopening later this month at a new location.

World Famous Oregon NORML Cannabis Cafe, run by Cannabis Commons and the Oregon chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, will be opening on July 31, 2010 at 4:20pm at 322 SE 82nd Avenue, Portland, OR 97216.

The timing of the reopening is appropriate because 420 is the de facto number for pot culture.

“I am so excited about our new location; we will be able to serve our community so much better,” said Madeline Martinez, Executive Director for Oregon NORML and co-founder of both the cafe and Cannabis Commons, in a prepared statement.

As at the first location on N. Dekum Street, which closed last month after a dispute with the building’s owner, the four thousand square foot care will be open only to Oregon Medical Marijuana Program (OMMP) registrants who are members of Oregon NORML. Membership to Oregon NORML is $35.00 for the year, and will be available at the door. Café dues are separate at $20.00 per month with a $5.00 door fee for entry.

For more information as it becomes available call the Oregon NORML message line at 503-239-6110 or visit www.ornorml.org.

Jake Thomas
jthomas@portlandobserver.com

Sen. Chip Shields, D-north/northeast Portland, is drafting legislation that will require cell phone retailers to include some sort of a label on their packaging that warns of the potential health effects of the technology.

According to Shield’s legislative aide MaryAlecia Briggs, the exact language of the bill, which will be introduced in the 2011 Oregon legislative session, is still being worked out. She did say that the legislation will require retailers to place a label on cell phones warning consumers that there could be health risks associated with the radiation-generating devices.

Cell phones have become increasingly common beginning in the 1990s, and as their use has grown a number of studies have piled up suggesting that they can cause cancer, with children being at particular risk.

According to the American Cancer Society’s website, there is no conclusive research that shows that cell phones cause cancer.

But that’s not stopping some elected officials from demanding that consumers be warned.

Last month the city of San Francisco passed an ordinance requiring labels on cell phones that display the amount of radiation the device emits, which provoked a lawsuit from a wireless trade group. Last year, Maine considered similar legislation that eventually went nowhere.

“The problem with the Maine legislation was that it had really specific language,” said Briggs.

According to Briggs, the Maine bill would have required cell phone warning labels to make certain claims that haven’t been conclusively proven, like cell phones cause cancer in children. Briggs said this was a stumbling block in getting the bill passed. Shields hopes to avoid taking a similar approach, she said.

Briggs said that Shields became interested in the issue from the advocacy of some of his constituents, including residents of the Beaumont-Wilshire neighborhood who have been concerned about a wireless antenna in a residential area.

Via ProPublica

Drew Dakessian

You’ve probably seen them somewhere on the Internet. An animation of a woman dancing jubilantly on an ad encouraging people to go back to school, courtesy of money made available by President Barack Obama.

However, a recent article by the investigative reporting network ProPublica has reported that online marketers are hoodwinking single moms by promising them college grants and scholarships created by the president.

Unfortunately, the report found these claims are false and evidently are an attempt to dupe women into providing their personal contact information, allowing for-profit universities like the University of Phoenix and Kaplan University to recruit them.

Read the full story here.

Jake Thomas
jthomas@portlandobserver.com

Portland police gave an update on the plan to address racial profiling before the city’s Community and Police Relations Committee, showing that it had made some progress, but still has work to do.

In 2009, the city released its plan to address racial profiling. It called on the police bureau to change its hiring practices in order to diversify its ranks, improve officer training, foster more interaction between the police and the community, and analyze traffic stop data to get a better scope of the issue.

The committee, composed of both police and citizen members, heard from Assistant Chief Larry O’Dea, also a committee member, on Wednesday of what the bureau had done to change its hiring practices to bring greater diversity to it, leaving updates on other portions of the plan for a later date.

The plan called on the bureau to have 10 percent of its new hires in 2009 be either women or ethnic minorities.

O’Dea told the committee that 12.3 percent of new hires were female, surpassing the bureau’s goal. However, only 7.1 percent of new hires were minorities.

“So we did make some improvements in that time frame,” he said.

He also reported that 40 percent of individuals who signed up for the initial police exam were minorities, up from 26 percent in 2008.

O’Dea said that the bureau sent recruiters down to Los Angeles last February to look for potential hires. Past efforts hadn’t been particularly fruitful, with candidates reluctant to uproot themselves. But this time was different, he said, because of the poor economy.

He also described other changes the bureau has made in its hiring policies aimed at removing barriers to minority applicants.

The bureau once required two years of college for all applicants, but now allows individuals who’ve had experience working for the city, the military, or as a reserve volunteer to apply.

Part of the plan also calls for expediting the background check process, which sometimes can take the better part of year and turn off potential applicants, according to O’Dea. He also said that he would be consulting with retired and current minority police officers to see how the hiring process could be improved.

When other committee members asked what the current racial breakdown of the police force is, he said he didn’t have the numbers on hand. He also noted that he wasn’t sure how many hires the bureau would make since it is under-funded by $2.5 million, but expected it to be substantial because 87 officers will be eligible for retirement this summer.

“We’ve got a great list we want to start hiring off of, but need to make sure they’re not over hiring,” he said.

The committee also discussed the potential of recruiting from the Police Bureau’s Cadet program, which Commander Mike Crebs, a committee members, likened to “a boy scout program for police.”

Cadets’ ages range from 16 through 21, and learn the basics of law enforcement from police officers. All three of the police members of the committee noted that its ranks are very diverse, attract community-minded individuals, and could be a rich source for future police officers.

“A reoccurring thing is people want to see Portlanders born and raised in Portland become police officers,” he said.

During the public comment period, Dan Handelman of Portland Copwatch, said that conversation the committee was having was interesting, but the bureau wasn’t pursuing its objectives in other key areas.

He noted that police Chief Mike Reese recently hired Portland Business Alliance Vice President Mike Kuykendall to an assistant chief job earlier this month.

His organization and the Albina Ministerial Alliance, a coalition of historically black churches, faulted Reese for hiring Kuykendall without any community input and not hiring someone of color for the key position.

It’s still barbecue season, but be careful when lighting the fire.

From the Portland Police Bureau:

Today at approximately 10:30 am, firefighters Portland Fire & Rescue’s Station 9 were patrolling their response area when they were dispatched to a report of a burn victim a block away at the Indochinese Socialization Center in SE Portland.

Upon arrival, firefighters found a 43-year-old woman with severe burns. The victim appears to have accidentally poured a full bottle of lighter fluid onto a small outdoor barbecue, igniting herself and a portion of the building. The victim was immediately transported to Emanuel Hospital.

Portland Fire & Rescue reminds citizens to use caution when operating outdoor cooking equipment. Most importantly, if you or someone you know is ever on fire, remember to stop, drop, and roll and immediately call 9-1-1.

Jake Thomas
jthomas@portlandobserver.com

U.S. Senator Patty Murray, a Washington Democrat, has secured another $42 million for preliminary work on the Columbia River Crossing, reports the Vancouver Columbian.

The paper reports that Murray, who chairs a key Senate committee on transportation, secured the money for the crossing’s Environmental Impact Statement, preliminary engineering, start of the final design, and other things that will push the bridge to fruition.

Law would target supermarkets

Mason Brock turns into a bag monster during a rally in support a ban on plastic grocery bags in front of City Hall. Photo by Drew Dakessian.

Drew Dakessian

Portland is gearing up to join the ranks of other cities, like San Francisco, in banning plastic bags. Mayor Sam Adams has made good on a promise to draft up an ordinance banning single-use plastic bags from supermarkets, but even in a city that has prided itself on its green reputation the proposal still faces opposition and isn’t in the clear yet.

Last year, Seattle passed a 20-cent fee on plastic bags, but was shortly overturned by voters after significant push back from industry groups. In Oregon, similar efforts have also fallen flat. During the last Legislative session, Oregon lawmakers punted on a bill that would ban plastic bags state-wide.

Proponents of the ban say that plastic bags are seldom recycled, and create big messes after making their way into waterways. They also add to the country’s dependence on oil since it is a key ingredient in manufacturing them.

The ordinance would prohibit the provision of single-use plastic or non-recycled paper carryout bags at big grocery stores like Fred Meyer, Albertsons and Safeway and or large retailers with pharmacies; require the regulated stores to charge a minimum of 5 cents for recycled paper or compostable plastic bags, and provide reusable bags, at no cost, to seniors and low-income residents.

The ordinance will be voted on in August. If it passes, it would go into effect in January 2012, giving opponents of the ban ample to time to rally.

Adams announced his plans for the ordinance at a rally in front of City Hall last Wednesday and was joined by a crowd of supporters, including members of the Surfrider Foundation’s Oregon Chapter, which has launched a “Ban the Bag” campaign.

Opponents of the ban, like Keith Christman, managing director of the American Chemistry Council’s Plastics Division, called the Portland proposal a completely wrong approach.

“Banning plastic bags would cause a switch to paper bags, which have resulted in twice [the] greenhouse gas emissions, use twice as much energy to make, and produce 80 percent more waste,” he said.

In 2007 when San Francisco became the first U.S. city to ban single-use plastic bags, citizens did switch to paper bags.

This does not mean that Christman would prefer that paper bags be banned instead.

“If you banned both [paper and plastic bags], you would still get rid of…the recycling infrastructure for other kinds of plastic bags and wraps,” he said

When asked if the American Chemistry Council supports reusable bags, Christman replied, “If you reuse something, you’re preventing the manufacture of something else for that purpose.”

Joe Gilliam, President of the Northwest Grocery Association, has a somewhat different outlook. He thinks that people should reuse bags or get a bag specifically for that purpose, and is quick to point out the torrid history of the bag ban.

“Seattle went down in flames, and that’s a pretty liberal city,” he said. “If we’re gonna do this, we think it should be [applied to] all retailers statewide.”

To prevent something similar happening in Portland, Gilliam said it should be applied to all retailers statewide.

“We’ve asked the mayor to consider setting his ordinance up in a way that allows the legislature to act next time,” said Gilliam. “We think it should be done statewide, so that there’s one set of rules.”

Unlike the American Chemistry Council, the Northwest Grocery Association takes issue not with the concept of the bag ban, but the method of implementation.

“We’ve asked the mayor to consider setting his ordinance up in a way that allows the legislature to act next time,” said Gilliam. “We think it should be done, statewide, so that there’s one set of rules.”

But Adams is charging ahead. A blog post from Adams’ website states,
“Portland and Oregon have always led the nation on smart environmental policy.”