Register-Guard
By Rebecca Noland
June 29, 2005
Springfield --" a man who says he saw a Springfield police officer shoot an unarmed 15-year-old boy early Sunday morning said it looked as if the teen was trying to surrender when the fatal shot was fired. His statement contradicts the official version of what transpired."
"Dustin Allen Reinke, 26, of Springfield [who police had arrested late Saturday night at a party in Springfield on a warrant for second-degree assault] was in the back seat of a police car parked about 50 feet from the spot where Jason Michael Porter was killed by a Springfield police officer early Sunday morning.
"Reinke, who was under arrest at the time, said that Porter had opened the driver's side door and swung his feet out of the pickup, when the officer ran up and shot the boy in the head, killing him,according to an attorney who spoke with Reinke on Tuesday."
"in a news conference Monday, Lane County District Attorney Doug Harcleroad said the driver's side door was closed and the window rolled up with the officer approached the stolen Dodge pickup truck.the officer looked in the window and saw what he thought was a gun in Porter's hand, Harcleroad said. He fired once through the window glass, and the bullet hit the boy in the jaw, Harcleroad said. Porter died at the scene. He had no gun."
" The other officer was following a stolen silver Dodge pickup whose driver had refused to pull over. The pickup did not accelerate, but turned into a Weyerhaeuser Co. parking lot and circled around, police said. It stopped on some elevated railroad tracks that run through the property. The pursuing officer stopped nearby and got out of his car.
The car Reinke was in stopped near the entrance of the parking lot. Wheatley said Reinke told him he had a clear view of the scene. Reinke said Jason Porter opened the driver's side door, his feet came out and the officer came up and shot him, Wheatley said."
"Jason Porter's mother, Kelly Porter, said Tuesday that her son had arrived at her home with the stolen pickup the night he was shot. She said he told her that he and a buddy bought it together. She said she knew her son was driving without a license."
I agree it is tragic when a 15-year-old loses his life.
in a related story, the parents of the 15 year old are thinking about suing the Springfield Police Department.
In a situation, when the police are following and trying to pull over a reported stolen vehicle, tensions are high.
the officer does not know that it is just a kid out for joy ride, or what to expect when he stops the vehicle.
when the driver, refused to pull over and then later pulled into a parking lot and "circled around" to the police officers point of view, that was a sign of an aggressive act. that when the officer went to the car and the boys suddenly raised his hand, the officer fired.
again, it is very sad that what could easily be thought of as a child's prank, ended in a fatality, however, I believe that the Springfield police acted accordingly to this situation the best that they could considering the circumstances.
Thursday, June 30, 2005
Monday, June 27, 2005
Government Condemns U.S. Civilian Patrols
Los Angeles Times
June 25, 2005
" Mexico condemned US civilian groups that patrol the Mexican border to stop the illegal immigrants, calling them a racist and unacceptable."
they are condemning us for depending our own borders? And that is unacceptable?
"... the shows of racism and xenophobia... particularly on the border between Mexico and Arizona, and which threatened to extend to other US states, are unacceptable,"
Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Emesto Derbez said at a conference on immigration in El Paso.
This would be like a burglar being upset at a home owner for locking their front door and buying a pit bull.
June 25, 2005
" Mexico condemned US civilian groups that patrol the Mexican border to stop the illegal immigrants, calling them a racist and unacceptable."
they are condemning us for depending our own borders? And that is unacceptable?
"... the shows of racism and xenophobia... particularly on the border between Mexico and Arizona, and which threatened to extend to other US states, are unacceptable,"
Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Emesto Derbez said at a conference on immigration in El Paso.
This would be like a burglar being upset at a home owner for locking their front door and buying a pit bull.
As I-Tax nears its end, questions still linger
Portland Business Journal
June 24, 2005
Andy Giegerich
"Schools activists are scurrying for alternatives before the December 31 expiration of the temporary Multnomah County income tax"
"... talk of a regionwide ballot initiative that would provide funds to about 30 public school districts in Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington counties; organizing by the Portland business alliance to determine businesses roles in fighting the school crisis; calls from citizen activist for businesses to take a larger role during the next round of school funding effort; and the exploration of other funding measures -- including reinstating a soon to expire property tax levy."
here is a formula that I learned in school...
I=Pi (the value of pi has no end)
or roughly translated, Money pit.
June 24, 2005
Andy Giegerich
"Schools activists are scurrying for alternatives before the December 31 expiration of the temporary Multnomah County income tax"
"... talk of a regionwide ballot initiative that would provide funds to about 30 public school districts in Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington counties; organizing by the Portland business alliance to determine businesses roles in fighting the school crisis; calls from citizen activist for businesses to take a larger role during the next round of school funding effort; and the exploration of other funding measures -- including reinstating a soon to expire property tax levy."
here is a formula that I learned in school...
I=Pi (the value of pi has no end)
or roughly translated, Money pit.
just out of curiosity...
okay, please correct me if I'm incorrect in any of the following.
If you come to this country illegally, it is a felony.
This makes you a felon.
if I hire or support you, and I am aiding and abetting a felon which in turn I could be put in jail.
It is not correct?
Sunday, June 26, 2005
4,618 Square miles. 103,452 people. 5 deputies
The RegisterGuard
June 26, 2005
by Bill Bishop
There is frustration over calls for help that go unanswered as five patrol cars try to cover 4,618 square miles of unincorporated Lane County, where 103,452 people live. In total, the sheriff has 18 patrol deputies providing 24-hour coverage, seven days a week.
The county's overcrowded jail is the most high-profile image of the sheriff's budget shortfall. But it's not the only one.
She is not surprised that Eugene officials recently shot down a proposal by the county to consider forming a new taxing district to boost public safety in rural areas
The number of serious crimes reported increased 17 percent in the first four months of this year, compared with the same period last year. The number of calls for less serious problems rose 12 percent in the same period, according to sheriff's department data.
Those are only the crimes that get reported, says Sgt. Cliff Harrold, who supervises Jacobson and three other deputies on the swing shift on this particular Thursday. Criminals are well aware of how thin the patrols are. Citizens seem to be catching on, too, he says.
Like Duh! especially when you keep "advertising on the front page of the paper" that you're shorthanded and do not respond to calls.
Relying on backup
It's dangerous for a deputy to go solo to high-risk calls.
The county's hills, valleys and forests create pockets where cell phones and radios don't work. Not far from Eugene, on the far side of Bailey Hill, is one such place. A deputy there cannot summon help if a call goes bad.
and again you are advertising this because?
Burnout among deputies is a growing concern for department commanders, says Sgt. Cliff Harrold.
I really feel for the sheriff's department and city police about lack of funding and manpower, but we are not given the complete picture.
The sheriff's department for example is more than just five officers. There are another five officers that are part of the "traffic team" which are self-funded. The primary job at the traffic team is to patrol the freeways. They are not allowed to respond to general law enforcement calls unless it is a life or death issue or providing backup. The rare exceptions are if they happen to be in an area of high priority and there are no other officers to respond in the area.
(Source: city and sheriff's officers that I have personally asked this question of)
It is also in my opinion and extremely "stupid" to advertise that you do not have coverage. Example, the DA giving out a list of what they will not respond to opens the doors for criminals and gives them free range.
I understand that the whole purpose of articles like this is for public support and sympathy.
However, you must also remember that public perception and support is very important to law enforcement.
When you hear that a department does not have enough personnel to protect its citizens, but yet you see a patrol car sitting on the side of the freeway with its lights off for hours running radar, the public does not understand that that is a traffic team member not a patrol officer. We do not see that they are two different things.
In the Eugene/Springfield, area crime is on the rise. What makes the news? A sting over prostitution. Obviously more important than tracking down the people that you stole my car or broke into my house. Oh, I forgot, you don't have the personnel to patrol.
Personally, I think it comes down to getting value for money and priority.
Although I do agree that keeping prostitution out of our neighborhoods helps makes our neighborhoods safer, I think that I would rather hear that they just busted a meth lab or a car theft ring over arresting nine Johns trying to get a little "whoopie" tonight.
To be fair, I cannot emphasize the point enough that it is not the officers fault. Most are excellent at what they do and they do the best that they can with what they have to work with, they just got stuck in the middle of the funding battle.
June 26, 2005
by Bill Bishop
There is frustration over calls for help that go unanswered as five patrol cars try to cover 4,618 square miles of unincorporated Lane County, where 103,452 people live. In total, the sheriff has 18 patrol deputies providing 24-hour coverage, seven days a week.
The county's overcrowded jail is the most high-profile image of the sheriff's budget shortfall. But it's not the only one.
She is not surprised that Eugene officials recently shot down a proposal by the county to consider forming a new taxing district to boost public safety in rural areas
The number of serious crimes reported increased 17 percent in the first four months of this year, compared with the same period last year. The number of calls for less serious problems rose 12 percent in the same period, according to sheriff's department data.
Those are only the crimes that get reported, says Sgt. Cliff Harrold, who supervises Jacobson and three other deputies on the swing shift on this particular Thursday. Criminals are well aware of how thin the patrols are. Citizens seem to be catching on, too, he says.
Like Duh! especially when you keep "advertising on the front page of the paper" that you're shorthanded and do not respond to calls.
Relying on backup
It's dangerous for a deputy to go solo to high-risk calls.
The county's hills, valleys and forests create pockets where cell phones and radios don't work. Not far from Eugene, on the far side of Bailey Hill, is one such place. A deputy there cannot summon help if a call goes bad.
and again you are advertising this because?
Burnout among deputies is a growing concern for department commanders, says Sgt. Cliff Harrold.
I really feel for the sheriff's department and city police about lack of funding and manpower, but we are not given the complete picture.
The sheriff's department for example is more than just five officers. There are another five officers that are part of the "traffic team" which are self-funded. The primary job at the traffic team is to patrol the freeways. They are not allowed to respond to general law enforcement calls unless it is a life or death issue or providing backup. The rare exceptions are if they happen to be in an area of high priority and there are no other officers to respond in the area.
(Source: city and sheriff's officers that I have personally asked this question of)
It is also in my opinion and extremely "stupid" to advertise that you do not have coverage. Example, the DA giving out a list of what they will not respond to opens the doors for criminals and gives them free range.
I understand that the whole purpose of articles like this is for public support and sympathy.
However, you must also remember that public perception and support is very important to law enforcement.
When you hear that a department does not have enough personnel to protect its citizens, but yet you see a patrol car sitting on the side of the freeway with its lights off for hours running radar, the public does not understand that that is a traffic team member not a patrol officer. We do not see that they are two different things.
In the Eugene/Springfield, area crime is on the rise. What makes the news? A sting over prostitution. Obviously more important than tracking down the people that you stole my car or broke into my house. Oh, I forgot, you don't have the personnel to patrol.
Personally, I think it comes down to getting value for money and priority.
Although I do agree that keeping prostitution out of our neighborhoods helps makes our neighborhoods safer, I think that I would rather hear that they just busted a meth lab or a car theft ring over arresting nine Johns trying to get a little "whoopie" tonight.
To be fair, I cannot emphasize the point enough that it is not the officers fault. Most are excellent at what they do and they do the best that they can with what they have to work with, they just got stuck in the middle of the funding battle.
Saturday, June 25, 2005
Idaho Lawmaker Leads Drive for Alternative National Currency
KCBI channel 2 Boise Idaho
June 24, 2005
by Scott Logan
Boise-A state lawmaker from northern Idaho is helping lead the local charge for a new currency in the United States.
Representative Phil Hart is pushing what's called Liberty Dollars, supposedly backed by gold and silver bullion, stored at a warehouse in northern Idaho.
Proponents claim their legal, but state officials aren't so sure.
Hart says his role is to get people and merchants to accept the new currency. "When you go out to eat, you can choose restaurant A or B," he said. "And if you want to trade and do commerce with the Liberty Dollar, it's out there for people to do that."
proposed Liberty Dollar
just out of curiosity, I did a Google search for "Mexico currency" which returned the above result.
Even if they are dissimilar, the last time we changed our currency to make it more difficult to "counterfeit", it was within hours when the first counterfeit version came out. Now we have so much ever changing variety of currency, is getting difficult to recognize what is real money and what is fake.
June 24, 2005
by Scott Logan
Boise-A state lawmaker from northern Idaho is helping lead the local charge for a new currency in the United States.
Representative Phil Hart is pushing what's called Liberty Dollars, supposedly backed by gold and silver bullion, stored at a warehouse in northern Idaho.
Proponents claim their legal, but state officials aren't so sure.
Hart says his role is to get people and merchants to accept the new currency. "When you go out to eat, you can choose restaurant A or B," he said. "And if you want to trade and do commerce with the Liberty Dollar, it's out there for people to do that."
proposed Liberty Dollar
just out of curiosity, I did a Google search for "Mexico currency" which returned the above result.
Even if they are dissimilar, the last time we changed our currency to make it more difficult to "counterfeit", it was within hours when the first counterfeit version came out. Now we have so much ever changing variety of currency, is getting difficult to recognize what is real money and what is fake.
Shana Alexander 79 dies
June 25, 2005
the New York Times
by Margalit Fox
For those you that are old enough to remember the earlier 60 minutes shows, one segment of the show was point/counterpoint with Shana Alexander and James Kilpatrick.
What made this segment of 60 minutes very entertaining and interesting is that the two would debate and constantly spar off each other about issues in the news.
Saturday Night Live later picked up the gag with Dan Aykroyd playing James Kilpatrick and Jane Curtin was Shana Alexander.
CBS dropped the show in 1979.
Shana Alexander died of cancer on Thursday in Hermosa Beach California. She was 79
This was back in the days when television was actually entertaining. Back when we had good journalist and investigative reporters.
How times have changed.
the New York Times
by Margalit Fox
For those you that are old enough to remember the earlier 60 minutes shows, one segment of the show was point/counterpoint with Shana Alexander and James Kilpatrick.
What made this segment of 60 minutes very entertaining and interesting is that the two would debate and constantly spar off each other about issues in the news.
Saturday Night Live later picked up the gag with Dan Aykroyd playing James Kilpatrick and Jane Curtin was Shana Alexander.
CBS dropped the show in 1979.
Shana Alexander died of cancer on Thursday in Hermosa Beach California. She was 79
This was back in the days when television was actually entertaining. Back when we had good journalist and investigative reporters.
How times have changed.
Thursday, June 23, 2005
Supreme Court rules cities may seize homes
Chicago Tribune
By Hope Yen
Associated Press writer
June 23, 2005
WASHINGTON -- A divided Supreme Court ruled Thursday that local governments may seize people's homes and businesses against their will for private development in a decision anxiously awaited in communities where economic growth often is at war with individual property rights.
The 5-4 ruling -- assailed by dissenting Justice Sandra Day O'Connor as handing "disproportionate influence and power" to the well-heeled in America -- was a defeat for Connecticut residents whose homes are slated for destruction to make room for an office complex. They had argued that cities have no right to take their land except for projects with a clear public use, such as roads or schools, or to revitalize blighted areas.
As a result, cities now have wide power to bulldoze residences for projects such as shopping malls and hotel complexes in order to generate tax revenue.
at the moment, just providing a link to the article.
the representatives that voted in favor of this bill, I wonder how they will feel if it is their property that is targeted for shopping center.
By Hope Yen
Associated Press writer
June 23, 2005
WASHINGTON -- A divided Supreme Court ruled Thursday that local governments may seize people's homes and businesses against their will for private development in a decision anxiously awaited in communities where economic growth often is at war with individual property rights.
The 5-4 ruling -- assailed by dissenting Justice Sandra Day O'Connor as handing "disproportionate influence and power" to the well-heeled in America -- was a defeat for Connecticut residents whose homes are slated for destruction to make room for an office complex. They had argued that cities have no right to take their land except for projects with a clear public use, such as roads or schools, or to revitalize blighted areas.
As a result, cities now have wide power to bulldoze residences for projects such as shopping malls and hotel complexes in order to generate tax revenue.
at the moment, just providing a link to the article.
the representatives that voted in favor of this bill, I wonder how they will feel if it is their property that is targeted for shopping center.
teen charged with vomiting on teacher
June 23, 2005
by Mallory Simon
Court TV
a Kansas high school student has been charged with battery against his teacher using an unusual weapon -- vomit.
Matthew Haefele, a 17-year-old student at Olathe Northwest High School in Olathe, Kan., is due in court on July 1 to face a misdemeanor battery charge for throwing up on his Spanish teacher.
According to state law, offenders can be charged with battery if the action "intentionally [causes] physical contact with another person when done in a rude, insulting or angry manner."
Johnson County District Attorney Paul Morrison claims Haefele threw up on David Young as part of an end-of-semester prank, and said he hopes to teach the teen that his actions were no laughing matter.
what can I say?
by Mallory Simon
Court TV
a Kansas high school student has been charged with battery against his teacher using an unusual weapon -- vomit.
Matthew Haefele, a 17-year-old student at Olathe Northwest High School in Olathe, Kan., is due in court on July 1 to face a misdemeanor battery charge for throwing up on his Spanish teacher.
According to state law, offenders can be charged with battery if the action "intentionally [causes] physical contact with another person when done in a rude, insulting or angry manner."
Johnson County District Attorney Paul Morrison claims Haefele threw up on David Young as part of an end-of-semester prank, and said he hopes to teach the teen that his actions were no laughing matter.
what can I say?
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
State proposes removing cultural competency ban
TARA MCLAIN
Statesman Journal
June 22, 2005
a banning of "cultural competency" training in Oregon schools have been removed from the House budget bill.
Yet for bids the department from spending money on developing cultural dependency standards or programs.
The department and the Oregon Teacher Standards and Practices Commission had said earlier that nothing barred them from pursuing the idea on their own after Flores (Rep. Linda Flores chairwoman of the House education committee) stopped a competency bill from progressing in the Legislature.
Under Flores' interpretation, the bill would have required educators to advocate for equity and social justice in order to teach.
She said she doesn't oppose those concepts but doesn't want the government telling teachers what to think.
Supporters of the idea say that their motivation comes nowhere close to that. They see cultural-competency training as a way to better educate teachers about poor and minority students in order to raise their achievement.
maybe because there is confusion on which culture to teach?
Statesman Journal
June 22, 2005
a banning of "cultural competency" training in Oregon schools have been removed from the House budget bill.
Yet for bids the department from spending money on developing cultural dependency standards or programs.
The department and the Oregon Teacher Standards and Practices Commission had said earlier that nothing barred them from pursuing the idea on their own after Flores (Rep. Linda Flores chairwoman of the House education committee) stopped a competency bill from progressing in the Legislature.
Under Flores' interpretation, the bill would have required educators to advocate for equity and social justice in order to teach.
She said she doesn't oppose those concepts but doesn't want the government telling teachers what to think.
Supporters of the idea say that their motivation comes nowhere close to that. They see cultural-competency training as a way to better educate teachers about poor and minority students in order to raise their achievement.
maybe because there is confusion on which culture to teach?
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