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The first, a "YELLOW ALERT," arrived at Willamette Week at 11:21 am on Feb. 25, saying "FREEDOM FIGHTERS SHOULD PREPARE FOR ACTION NOW." The second, which showed up two hours later, demanded an independent investigation into Dons' death, adding ominously, "Dead men tell no lies, or truth." Both e-mails were from Floyd Landrath, secretary of the Portland chapter of NORML, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. From the start, Dons' Jan. 27 shootout with police created a dilemma for local marijuana advocates and cop critics (two groups with considerable overlap). On the one hand, the shooting highlighted controversial police tactics used against suspected marijuana growers ("Sniff and Grab," WW, Feb. 11, 1998). On the other hand, as the only suspect in a police officer's death, Dons wasn't exactly a sympathetic figure. When Dons, who was partially paralyzed, wound up dead in the jail hospital, it added another twist. He had become a victim of the War on Drugs, and Landrath was ready to mobilize like-minded dissidents in a time of crisis. The gathering, however, had more the tone of a klatch of PTA moms than a covey of freedom fighters. The meeting started with a disclosure that there was only one copy of the agenda and that a recent fund-raising event netted about $100 and registered four new voters. The topic of Dons' death was broached. "Is it suicide, or is it homicide?" Landrath asked the group. "I remember on Jan. 27th, 28th, a lot of people said, just in conversation, he won't make it to trial. I had that feeling too." "Everyone is a suspect," someone else intoned. Shasta Hatter wondered how "someone who's paralyzed can commit suicide." That sentiment, however, faded as group members stuffed envelopes for a mass mailing that would go out later that week. "We don't want to be perceived as being in the corner of Dons," said Landrath. Hatter was even more blunt. "Let's be honest," she said. "How many people care that he's dead?" Landrath got the group to agree to a candlelight vigil Friday for jailed marijuana activist Terry Miller. New signs, reflecting the recent events, could be made. One sign already asked, "Suicide?" Group members' reaction to that sign, however, was tepid at best. The vigil was canceled. On Monday, another e-mail arrived. Its subject: "DUMP THE MARIJUANA THUG FORCE (MTF)." It promised a speakout on Friday, March 6, across from the downtown Justice Center. --Paul Albert
Only six more shopping days...
Ballots for the election to replace two Multnomah County commissioners and temporarily boost business taxes for school funding will be counted March 10. If you haven't already mailed in your ballot we urge you to do so soon. Need more info? Chech out our thoughts on the matter. Here are WW's endorsements: Commissioner District 1: Diane Linn
Commissioner District 3: Barbara Willer
Measure 26-28 (Raises business income tax): Yes
Follow-up
Losing the Initiative
One small victory for immigrant rights groups: Sharon Shepperd is giving up. Shepperd, who lives in Independence, is the chief sponsor of a measure that would deny public benefits like food stamps and health insurance to illegal aliens in Oregon. Shepperd felt the need to crack down on illegal immigration because she says Congress wimped out on the Immigration Reform Bill in 1996. She modeled her Oregon initiative on California's Prop. 187, which voters passed in 1994. But after collecting signatures for over a year, Shepperd says there isn't enough volunteer support for the issue to make it to the Oregon ballot, and she didn't have the financial backing to pay for signature gatherers. Her efforts to curb immigration come as the Sierra Club is considering a resolution to work towards the reduction of immigration to the United States ("Green Cards," WW, Feb. 25, 1998). Shepperd says she and her co-petitioners, Randall Killion and Robert Stewert, will probably stay loosely organized around the issue, but she has no plans for future initiatives. "The opposition has labeled this as racist," she says. "Fine. If the taxpayers want to continue to pay for illegal immigrants, it's up to them." --Patty Wentz
BUM Deal
If you want to drop your drawers after work, what business is it of your boss? Plenty, if you work for the state Water Resources Department. According to the department, five male employees of the Field Services Division mooned some co-workers during a social gathering late last year after a department conference at the Silvers Falls Conference Center. Though no one complained about the incident, last week letters of reprimand were placed in the personnel files of the five men, whose names were not released. Here are the key sections of the letter: "Privacy expectations in a public location are not the same as being in your own home.... We have grave concern with your behavior in this incident. Your position as a manager places you in a role that requires discretion and trustworthiness in performing you management responsibilities. Your actions were not professional and represented very poor judgment and insensitivity to your co-workers and subordinates ...[and] raise serious questions regarding your suitability for the manager position.... Recurrence of such conduct will result in further disciplinary action against you." |
