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Zip code 97227, North Portland
I am a part of the problem. I would like to be part of the solution.
The chart to the right is a table of the 25 most “whitened” zip codes in the country. Michael J Petrelli, Executive VP of the Thomas B Fordham Institute and an education policy analyst, did a rough examination of census data to come up with this table. As he cautions, this is not hard evidence; it’s his perusal of census data and lacks the rigor he would use in his own academic work.
It’s not rigorous, but it’s close enough.
When I see headlines like this (I found the link in Flipboard), I take a casual glance to see if Portland’s mentioned, hoping, in cases like this, that we are not. So you can imagine my chagrin when I saw my freaking zip code sitting at #24. And while the numbers are not completely awful — this is still a “minority majority” community — the numbers are going in the wrong direction, too far and too fast.
Given that I now live here, having moved in two months ago, I am indeed part of the problem, even if I did replace a white tenant. Here is why I think the number and trend are a problem and something Portland must address.
97227 is at the south end of “NoPo”, the wedge of the city bordered on the east by N Williams and the west by the Willamette River. I love living here. The diversity of the place is wonderful, even if problematic. Like most of North Portland, there are pockets of wealth throughout the area, but for the most part, 97227 is working class. Or has been. Between “gentrification” of older homes by young couples and families and the development of condos and apartments to bring in ever-increasing numbers of young people, the nature of this area is shifting rapidly. Petrelli’s numbers indicate the extent to which this change is occurring.
Prior to joining the Eileen Brady campaign last year, I was ignorant of the nature of gentrification and related issues in Portland. I had heard some of the facts, the number of people moving from North and Inner Northeast Portland to east county and such, but it hadn’t registered in my mind in a meaningful way. However, because I attended numerous mayoral forums where these issues were discussed by members of the affected communities, I began to understand what has been happening for too many years. I’m the wrong person to speak of the nature of these issues, for many reasons, but suffice it to say I received a good education in the sociological and human impacts of NoPo gentrification.
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See "Save KLSD" tonight at 6 p.m. at Pop Art, 1125 NW Couch, Portland
By Jennifer C. Douglas of San Diego, California. Jennifer is a writer and co-producer of the documentary film "Save KLSD".
On Monday, the New York Times described how the new owner of the San Diego Union-Tribune (real estate developer "Papa Doug" Manchester) is using the paper as a mouthpiece for his conservative ideas. And the paper is expanding its reach with its own TV project, bringing in conservative radio host Roger Hedgecock, a former mayor of San Diego.
Just wait until the FCC furthers deregulation by dropping the cross-ownership ban, allowing newspapers to buy existing radio and TV stations in the same market. We will see even less diversity of content, particularly progressive views on the radio. Radio is regulated because the airwaves are are publicly owned, finite natural resource like air and water.
Radio is supposed to be responsive to local communities. Oregon may still have KPOJ-AM 620, but it's owned by the largest radio company in America, Clear Channel Communications, which also owns KLSD-AM 1360 in San Diego. Despite listener rallies to "save KLSD", Clear Channel flipped the progressive talk format to sports talk -- as witnessed in the new film, "Save KLSD: Media Consolidation & Local Radio".
I'd like to invite you to a showing of "Save KLSD" at Portland's Pop Art Inc., 1125 NW Couch St. today (June 12) at 6 p.m. In addition to the screening, I'll be answering your questions after the film.
Like the corruptive influence of big money in politics, big money in media threatens our democracy in fundamental ways, making it more difficult to gain exposure for ideas and actions outside of what's good for corporations. So whether your pet interest is water pollution, reproductive choice, homelessness or the erosion of unions, media reform is everyone's business. As TV/radio host Bree Walker says in the "Save KLSD" film, if you're not a media reform activist, you're not a true patriot.
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Dear Washington D.C. Democrats:
If you're not listening to US Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon), you're doing it wrong.
Love,
Carla
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Oregon's Department of Transportation is once again trumpeting the latest iteration of its plan to tax Oregonians based on mileage driven - not just gasoline consumed.
After all, gas taxes are no longer keeping up with the cost of highway maintenance and construction. That's because gas-powered cars are getting more efficient, hybrid and electric vehicles are becoming more common, and the cost of highways keeps going up.
But the concept they've been working on - at least as far back as 2005 - is utterly ridiculous, and will surely be resoundingly rejected by voters both liberal and conservative. Here's the latest gee-whiz coverage from the Oregonian:
Smartphones are great for texting, checking email, and surfing the web. But now your phone will be able to track the miles traveled in your car by connecting to an on-board device. Next, the information is reported to the government, which will then tax you on it. Yes, there is an app for that. ...
Sorry, but this new plan is just as bad as the last one. Completely obvious problems:
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How will Oregon force all vehicles to get a GPS device installed? There are plenty of very old cars on the road. (My parents are still driving a 1980 Volvo, and I owned a 1967 Barracuda just a few years ago.)
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ODOT claims they've resolved civil liberties objections because the new GPS devices are privately manufactured. That's nonsense. The data will still be stored somewhere. And unlike your phone, you won't be able to turn it off if you're going somewhere you'd rather not be tracked.
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What's the cost? I find it hard to believe that the cost of all these GPS devices - and the enforcement required to ensure that every Oregon vehicle has one - is going to be justified by the revenue that they produce. Show me the money, ODOT.
And worst of all? This entire effort is designed to tax energy-efficient vehicles. Check out this absurdity from the O's editorial board:
The tax as a user fee is no longer fair. When it comes to road repair, those who drive thirsty road hogs are now subsidizing those who drive efficient and unconventionally powered cars. This trend needs to reverse...
This trend needs to reverse? Seriously?! Electric vehicles and hybrids should subsidize "thirsty road hogs"? Are you kidding me? No, no, a thousand times no. We need to pay for highway maintenance. Insisting that carbon-spewing gas-guzzlers shoulder a larger portion of the expense is also an excellent way to reduce pollution. We shouldn't do anything that pushes consumers away from fuel-efficient vehicles. (And not just because we want to reduce carbon pollution. But fuel-efficient vehicles are lighter and thus put less wear on the roads, too.)
Here's what I'd do instead:
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Raise Oregon's gas tax to match our neighbors. In 2011, we raised it six cents to 30 cents/gallon -- but we're still 5.3 cents behind California and 7.5 cents behind Washington.
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Inflation-adjust the gas tax. It should go up every year based on inflation (or more). Otherwise, the purchasing power of those highway maintenance dollars will just erode over time.
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Raise car registration fees. I'm sympathetic (a little) to the idea that electric vehicles don't pay much at all for highway maintenance. Right now, all passenger vehicles pay just $43/year for registration (plus $19 if you're in Multnomah County). Bump that $10-25 and inflation-adjust it.
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Tax tires. 35 states do; Oregon doesn't (pdf). A tire tax would hit both gas-guzzlers and fuel-efficient cars, and would disproportionately affect those who drive the most miles. (Hey, look! A highway-maintenance fee that is directly tied to highway usage - without a GPS.) Most states are between a buck or two; California charges $1.75/tire. I'd consider doubling or tripling the tire tax for studded tires - which cause the most damage to our roads.
In addition to the privacy considerations, my biggest objection to the GPS tax is its complexity. It will require delivering new technology to every single Oregon driver. That technology will have to be maintained. And enforcement will be a nightmare.
The four revenue ideas I've proposed are easy to understand and easy to collect. They don't require installing new technology anywhere and don't violate anyone's privacy. They may not be gee-whiz sexy, but they're dead simple and will get the job done.
Previously on BlueOregon:
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As an attendee of last week's Netroots Nation in Providence, Rhode Island, I was privileged to attend a speech by Democratic congressional candidate Darcy Burner. During the speech, Burner asked if there were women in the room who would be willing to stand up and talk about making the choice to have an abortion. All over the room, women stood. Myself included. Burner then asked those who were willing to support these women who would speak up about their choice to stand. As far as I could see, the entire rest of the room came to their feet.
For me, it felt like the safe and warm embrace of a loving community--willing to support me and speak out against those who would try and shame me.
For conservatives, it was just another chance to engage in being jackasses.
Case in point:
Melissa Clouthier:
It was difficult to estimate the number of women as they were sprinkled through out the audience. They stood alone while Burner admonished the attendees to hold their applause.
Then Burner asked the others seated in the audience to stand and give these women a standing ovation. The audience complied enthusiastically.
I sat during this spectacle.
Burner said,”If you are a woman in this room, and statistically this is true of about 1/3 of the women in this room, if you’re a woman in this room who has had an abortion and is willing to come out about it, please stand up.”
She continued, “Now, if you are willing to stand with every woman who is willing to come out about having had an abortion, please stand up.”
Nearly everyone stood.
Burner said,”This is how we change the stories in people’s past. We need to make it okay for women to come out about the choices they make.”
The left will say that they’re not pro-abortion, they’re pro-choice or they’re pro-women. It was clear, though, that abortion itself was elevated as something good and something to be celebrated.
The speaker and the audience was honoring women who had an abortion as though the action was an objectively good thing.
Shorter Melissa: Sit down you shameful, murdering sluts. How dare you celebrate taking responsibility for your life & choices in a way in which I disagree.
Well Doc Clouthier (she's a chiropractor), I do celebrate it. I'm proud of the fact that I recognized I wasn't ready to have a baby at 19 years old. I'm relieved that I made the right decision and now I've got two healthy, well-adjusted and intelligent offspring. I waited to have children until I was ready to be a mother. That's what being pro-woman is all about.
So take your coat hanger mentality and your conservative, judgmental BS and get stuffed.
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