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Speech Class
Mayor Vera Katz's State of the City speech last week was warm, funny and bold. It wasn't, however, entirely fresh. Katz gave a preview of the speech last fall--at least the most controversial part, in which she ripped Portland's education establishment. But no one paid much attention to her Sept. 18 address to the Associated Oregon Industries education awards foundation. Nevertheless, it contained the same urgent criticism of educators as her State of the City sermon. Katz began the September speech, delivered at the Benson Hotel, by warning the crowd that she expected to "offend many with the bluntness" of her remarks. The mayor went on to say that public schools were "failing our children" and we could not continue to "defend schools to which you would not send your children." Katz concluded that there's been "collective denial" about the pressing need for school reform, and that lowering student standards is "morally wrong, undemocratic and an admission that we weren't as smart as many Third World nations." Katz told WW she decided to use her annual State of the City address as a "bully pulpit" to amplify her concerns about schools. It worked, judging by the extensive media coverage of her gutsy remarks. --BY Not Just for Hippies Anymore
The marijuana legalization movement in Oregon, for years dominated by politically unsophisticated pot proponents, is looking more respectable. This week, Oregonians for Medical Rights will file a proposed initiative to legalize the growing and using of marijuana for "debilitating medical conditions" including multiple sclerosis, seizures and nausea associated with chemotherapy. The group plans to finance its signature-gathering campaign with help from billionaire businessman George Soros, who has already funded a successful medical-marijuana initiative in California. Chief petitioner Rick Bayer, who for 15 years practiced internal medicine in Lake Oswego, says his interest in medical marijuana began 20 years ago. As an internist at the VA Medical Center, Bayer recalls smelling marijuana smoke coming from a lymphoma patient's room. After talking to Vietnam vets and researching the topic, Bayer concluded pot can be good medicine. The campaign will be run by the Sugerman Group, the Silverton-based consulting firm that ran last year's Death with Dignity campaign. "It fits in with how I think we're all so stupid in dealing with dying people," says Geoff Sugerman. This will be the second infusion of Soros cash into Oregon in the last 12 months. Last fall, he and two other out-of-state businessmen dropped $100,000 on a signature-gathering push to reverse the 1997 Legislature's decision to recriminalize less than one ounce of marijuana. That referendum has qualified for the November ballot. --MO Correction:
Our story about noise complaints at the Portland International Airport ("Fight Patterns," WW, Jan. 28, 1998) incorrectly stated that Portland air traffic has doubled in the past five years and will triple by 2020. In fact, flights have increased in the past five years from 800 daily to 900 daily and are expected to rise another 53 percent (to 1,380 daily) by 2020. The number of passengers, meanwhile, has jumped from 6.4 million in 1991 to 12.8 million in 1997 and is expected to more than double again (to 28.6 million) in 2020. WW regrets the errors. |
