Per OAR 845-015-0138, the Oregon Liquor Control Commission will consider any written or verbal comments before implementing such a price increase.

Public Action:

The Commissioners of the Oregon Liquor Control Commission will accept written and verbal public comment on the proposed implementation of setting a minimum price. The proposal sets the price by proof and bottle (container) size using a consistent proof base value per container size. No distilled spirit bottle shall be sold for less than the established minimum price.

It is argued by some that the setting of minimum prices can contribute to decreased social harms and adverse health impacts.

Written Public Comment:

Written comments can be submitted online beginning January 29th, 2021, through March 15th, 2021, at 5:00 PM.

You may also do so via mail to:

OLCC Rules Coordinator 9079 SE McLoughlin Blvd. Portland, OR 97222

A D V E R T I S E M E N T



A D V E R T I S E M E N T

Verbal Comment:

Verbal comments will be heard at the April 15th, 2021 Commission meeting. To offer oral testimony at the April 15th Commission meeting, please send an email here by April 12th, 2021, at 5:00 PM.

Commission Action: The Commission will consider final action on the proposal at the April 15th, 2021 Commission Meeting.

For more information:


• Bryant Haley, Alcohol Spokesperson
• 971-990-3254

--Bruce Armstrong



Post Date: 2021-01-29 15:29:54

Last Update: 2021-01-29 18:27:56

During the evening and overnight hours, Portland Police officers responded to multiple shootings throughout the city of Portland, Oregon.

On Wednesday, January 27, 2021 at 4:50p.m., North Precinct officers responded to a report of shots heard in the 15900 block of Northeast Fremont Street. Officers confirmed that an occupied vehicle was hit with gunfire. At least one occupied apartment was also struck by bullets (21-24790). No one was hurt.

At 9:34p.m., Portland East Precinct officers were dispatched to a report of shots fired near Southeast 122nd Avenue and Southeast Salmon Street. Witnesses described two vehicles driving northbound where occupants appeared to be shooting at each other. Some evidence was recovered. No known injuries.

At 11:37p.m., North Precinct officers were dispatched to a report of someone shot at a house in the 1800 block of Northeast Marine Drive. They arrived and located a victim with serious injuries, who was transported to a hospital. Assault Detectives are investigating (21-25047).

On Thursday, January 28, 2021 at 12:30a.m., North Precinct officers were dispatched to a report of a shooting in the 9100 block of North Mohawk Avenue. They discovered that a suspect fired one round at someone from a vehicle and drove away (21-25118). No injuries reported.

At 3:20a.m., East Precinct officers were dispatched to a report of shots heard in the 100 block of Northeast 129th Avenue. When the arrived they located evidence of gunfire. They checked area homes and found at least one hit by bullets that was occupied by a mom and her two kids. No one was injured. Several parked cars were struck. A gun was also found at the scene (photos, 21-25144). No known injuries.

At 4:38a.m., North Precinct officers responded to a shooting in the 9500 block of North Buchanan Avenue that resulted in the death of a victim.

At 8:00a.m., officers from Central Precinct responded to the 3100 block of Southeast McLoughlin Boulevard on a report of a shot fired through a window. It was not confirmed whether it was a bullet or some other kind of projectile.

With these events, there have been over 80 shooting incidents so far this year.

All of these cases are under investigation. Detectives are doing follow-up, gathering evidence, and looking for more witnesses. But it's critical that help comes from the community to address this problem. Those who have surveillance systems in the area of these events are asked to review footage and reach out if anything of evidentiary value was captured.


--Ben Fisher

Post Date: 2021-01-29 15:15:19

Last Update: 2021-01-29 15:29:54

Republican Legislative leaders Representative Christine Drazan (R-Canby) and Senator Fred Girod (R-Lyons) responded to the Governor’s decision to send 32,000 additional vaccines to Portland, once again prioritizing urban Oregon over the needs of rural Oregon:

“Without public input, the Governor’s announcement that she is redirecting 32,000 vaccines from rural Oregon to Portland is troubling. Cities and counties across the state, who have faced the brunt of the Governor’s shutdown orders, carefully planned to safely vaccinate their communities have suddenly had their allocations redirected. This is an insult to them and unfair to their communities.

“First, the Emergency Board unfairly allocated federal COVID relief money to prioritize Portland. Now this. At a time when we should be uniting as a state, the Governor is picking winners and losers and once again punishing rural Oregon.”

Governor Brown has been under fire for prioritizing vaccines for public employee unions who have supported her over elderly persons, who have a higher chance of dying of COVID-19


--Staff Reports

Post Date: 2021-01-29 10:04:55

On January 27, 2021, at approximately 9:51 p.m., a large group that had gathered outside of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) offices in the 4300 block of South Macadam Avenue of Portland, and began blocking vehicular traffic by moving construction cones and barriers in to the street.

Around 10:30 p.m., the group pushed a dumpster, which had been lit on fire, in front of the ICE building on South Bancroft Street. Federal officers emerged on the ICE property in an attempt to move the crowd away so the fire could be put out by Portland Fire and Rescue.

Around 11 p.m., Portland Police officers responded to the location to assist Federal officers in creating an area where Portland Fire and Rescue could safely arrive and extinguish the dumpster fire. After the fire was extinguished, Portland Police left the area.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

At 11:28 p.m., Federal officers began taking rock-like projectiles from the crowd. Portland police once again responded to assist in dispersing the crowd from the property. As the crowd was dispersed, a crowd control munition was used, and one person was taken into custody.

After the crowd had been dispersed, 50-60 people returned to the ICE building and continued to throw some projectiles towards the building and block traffic on South Bancroft Street. The crowd eventually left the area after 12:00 a.m.

Portland Police did use crowd control munitions but did not deploy any CS gas.

The following person was arrested and booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center on the following charges:

• Nilsson, Karl Anders, 20-year-old, Riot, Disorderly Conduct II, Attempt Assault on a Public Safety Officer

--Bruce Armstrong

Post Date: 2021-01-28 16:09:48

Last Update: 2021-01-28 16:32:51

Major League Baseball announced in November of 2019 a change in the minor league system that eliminated 40 minor league teams. This ended the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 23 year connection with the San Francisco Giants. This presented a challenge for Volcanoes CEO Jerry Walker, and he went to work creating something better, the Mavericks Independent Baseball League.

The Mavericks League will feature the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes, Portland Mavericks, Salem Senators and Campesinos de Salem-Keizer, and all four teams will play under the Volcanoes umbrella. Players will be recruited from top-level undrafted and released players, as well as high-level collegiate players and former Volcanoes players. Each team will play 48 games for a total of 96 games at the Volcanoes Stadium. For us baseball enthusiasts that’s a lot to look forward to this summer.

We’ve all watched national sports deteriorate over a political protest when San Francisco 49er quarterback Colin Kaepernick knelt during “The Star-Spangled Banner,” sparking the question of patriotism versus racism. But the baseball diamond has remained largely free of this type of political protest but not immune from the taint on all sports. When Northwest Observer asked Jerry Walker about his vision to help restore the “hero” image to baseball, he responded:

Since 1997, the Volcanoes have spent every season honoring our Veterans, First Responders, Cancer Survivors and the many different cultures that make our country great. We fully believe baseball is the living example of the American Dream. The Maverick League will be a shining example of that commitment.

The Salem-Keizer Volcanoes and the Maverick League are fully invested in baseball bringing the Pacific Northwest together through integrity, tradition, honor and the entrepreneurial spirit.

Walker told the Keizer Times what he is the most excited for the future is the amount of community involvement the league plans to do with their players. With no travel and just three games per week, Walker wants players to take opportunities to visit local schools, hospitals and senior care facilities. “We are going to have our players entrenched in the community in a way we have never been able to do before, and I think it's going to allow for a much more personal connection with the fans. They will be more than just players on a field.”

The Maverick League has opportunities for host homes for players that will give families an opportunity to get involved. The new website is mavericksindependentleague.com where season tickets and ticket packages are currently on sale. You can also email mavericksleague2021@gmail.com or call 503-390-2225 to purchase seats.




--Donna Bleiler

Post Date: 2021-01-28 15:50:13

Last Update: 2021-01-28 16:04:55

Starting today, the Oregon Health Authority will no longer list individual cases of COVID-19 related deaths in Oregon in its daily media releases.

Since the first COVID-19 related death was reported in Oregon by OHA on March 14, 2020, the Oregon Health Authority has listed each of the individuals by county of residence, date of death, date of positive test or symptom onset and reported if the individuals had underlying conditions. Those updates have been provided daily since that date.

“Every death from COVID-19 represents a loss, especially for those who knew them best — families, friends and loved ones,” said OHA Director Patrick Allen. “That is why we have listed each case. Moving forward, we will share aggregated COVID-19 related deaths on OHA’s public dashboards, which are updated daily. As the death toll from the virus has climbed, validating and reporting each death has had an impact on our daily reporting. We will continue to honor the lives of each person lost to the pandemic, but in a different way. The dashboard will provide additional information on COVID-19 related deaths that have not been accessible in a visual format before — including data on trends, underlying conditions and residence setting. This dashboard offers the public a clearer picture of the collective toll the virus has taken. But it will never detract from the importance of each Oregonian who is no longer with us.”

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

As of Jan. 27, the state ranks fifth lowest in deaths per 100,000 persons in the country, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Despite Oregon's graceful condition nearly a year after the virus began to spread, the government lockdown mandates continue from Governor Kate Brown. High benchmarks have been set for communities to have the state's permission to "return to normal".

The governor now seems to want the entire population of Oregon vaccinated before she would grant those freedoms back to the people of Oregon that they once had.


--Ben Fisher

Post Date: 2021-01-28 15:09:48

Last Update: 2021-01-28 16:50:04

Wednesday, HB 3059 was introduced by Representative Janelle Bynum (D-Portland) at the request of the Oregon ACLU. If passed, it “Repeals statute authorizing law enforcement officers to command dispersal of unlawful assemblies and arrest participants who do not disperse”.

It wipes ORS131.675 off the books – “When any five or more persons, whether armed or not, are unlawfully or riotously assembled in any county, city, town or village, the sheriff of the county and the deputies of the sheriff, the mayor of the city, town or village, or chief executive officer or officers thereof, and the justice of the peace of the district where the assemblage takes place, or such of them as can forthwith be collected, shall go among the persons assembled, or as near to them as they can with safety, and command them in the name of the State of Oregon to disperse. If, so commanded, they do not immediately disperse, the officer must arrest them or cause them to be arrested; and they may be punished according to law”.

If this passes, look for Portland to continue to be burned, looted and run by mobs of “Peaceful protesters”.


--Terese Humboldt

Post Date: 2021-01-27 19:44:37

Last Update: 2021-01-27 19:55:19

Governor Kate Brown announced updates to county risk levels under the state's public health framework to protect Oregonians from COVID-19. Effective January 29 through February 11, there are 25 counties that seem to be stuck in the Extreme Risk level with high COVID-19 test results. Two counties are at High Risk, two at Moderate Risk, and seven at Lower Risk. Four counties made improvements, but Tillamook stands out moving from Extreme Risk down to Lower Risk. It didn’t just move from the highest risk to the lowest risk level, it is third from the bottom having the lowest case count per population. One thing is noticeable for counties in the lower risk levels is that they also rank the lowest in tests given per population. With one exception (Sherman County) all counties testing more than 50% of the population are in the Extreme Risk level.

Is this a coincidence that the CDC states on their website, “In general, a positive antibody test is presumed to mean a person has been infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, at some point in the past. It does not mean they are currently infected. An average of 10% of the SARS-Cov-2 are people with colds during the winter. People who receive positive results on an antibody test but don’t have symptoms of COVID-19 and have not been around someone who may have COVID-19 are not likely to have a current infection. They can continue with normal activities, including work.”

Governor Brown also announced modifications to the guidance for indoor activities in Extreme Risk counties, which will take effect January 29. These modifications allow for a maximum of six people indoors at facilities over 500 square feet (for all indoor activities except dining) with associated guidance for ongoing social distancing, cleaning protocols, and face coverings. For facilities smaller than 500 square feet, the modified guidance allows for 1:1 customer experiences, such as personal training. The updated guidance for indoor recreation will be posted to the state COVID-19 site. That site indicates under the Metrix that Indoor Entertainment Establishments and Indoors Recreation & Fitness are “prohibited.” However, the Statewide Guidance, Regardless of County’s Risk Level guidelines still permits opening with certain precautions.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

"The science has shown us that outdoor activities are safer than indoor activities when it comes to the spread of COVID 19, which is why we have clearly delineated guidance between indoor and outdoor activities," said Governor Brown. "We have seen over the last several weeks that Oregonians have largely complied with risk levels to the point that we have not seen a surge in hospitalizations that would have jeopardized hospital capacity. This means we are able to make these adjustments for Extreme Risk counties, which should assist both businesses and Oregonians as we continue to work to stop the spread of COVID-19."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the science of indoor spreading relates to SARS Cov-2, which may or may not carry the virus for COVID-19 and could simply be the common cold. The CDC indicates the only difference between precautions for outdoors and indoors is being well ventilated and wearing a mask. What science is Governor Brown using to justify closing businesses that provides healthy activity.

“Most of the state remains in the Extreme Risk category," said Governor Brown. "This is an important reminder for all Oregonians to continue to do their part by abiding by the health and safety guidelines in place. Until vaccines are widely available with high participation rates, the surest way to lower our risk and open our businesses and communities is to continue practicing the measures we know are effective in reducing the spread of COVID-19 — wear your mask, keep physical distance from others, avoid gatherings, wash your hands often, and stay home when you are sick."

As 25 counties struggle with pleasing Governor Brown to get off her “Extreme Risk” list, the Governor relays a false positive outlook to news outlets that are reflected nationally.


--Donna Bleiler

Post Date: 2021-01-27 14:07:31

Last Update: 2021-01-27 20:19:29

On January 25th, the Senate Education Committee held an informational hearing on reopening schools. All the major players were there; Colt Gill, Oregon Department of Education, Dr. Sidelinger, Oregon Health Authority, John Larson, Oregon Education Association (OEA), and so on. ODE and OHA talked about the importance of safely getting kids back into school for many reasons including social emotional learning and student mental health.

During the hearing, Chair Dembrow asked the Dr. Sidelinger a question about vaccination and the continued risk of transmitting COVID after receiving the vaccine. He cited studies done, before the vaccine, stating that school age children have not been shown to transmit COVID. Also, the vaccine is 95% effective of preventing COVID. Although extensive studies have not been done on vaccinated people becoming asymptomatic transmitters, it is assumed in the healthcare community that COVID will act similar to other respiratory diseases like the flu. Vaccinated individuals will not be transmitters. Thus, offering protection for staff in the educational setting as well as the likelihood that students will take the disease home to at risk family members.

However, the tone of the conversation changed when the representative from OEA spoke. He immediately shifted the conversation away from vaccination and to the need for funding from State and Federal sources to address classroom overcrowding, aging infrastructure and ventilation upgrades.

Class size is not a new discussion point on the part of OEA. ODE has reported on class size information since 1997, and the method and measurement has evolved and improved over time. In 2013 HB 2644 established a new class size reporting requirements for ODE as well as requiring that the data be published to the legislature annually.

In 2015 the Legislature passed HB 2928 which directed a study to be performed on class sizes in Oregon and a report to be delivered to the Interim Committee on Education in 2016. The report was delivered and there were several meetings of a legislative Joint Interim task force over the summer.

The 2017 Legislative session saw the first bill introduced regarding class size, when HB 2651 was introduced by Representative Margaret Doherty(D-Tigard). The bill “Includes school class size as mandatory collective bargaining subject,” meaning that teachers unions could bargain salary, hours, etc. based on class size. The bill had one public hearing and died in committee.

During the 2018 Legislative session, the class size discussion resurfaced in HB 4113, introduced by Representatives Doherty and Brian Clem (D-Salem). This time it again “Includes class size as mandatory subject of school district collective bargaining”. This time it got a little further. It moved out of the House committee, and off the floor of the House on party line votes. It received a hearing in the Senate but that was as far as it went.

In the 2019 Legislative Session, the bill concept was back again but this time it started in the Senate as SB 764, introduced by Senators Lew Frederick (D-Portland), Shemia Fagan (D-Portland) and Michael Dembrow (D-Portland) as well as Representative Clem. The bill received a hearing and was voted out of committee on a party line vote. However, this was during the Republican walkout, so it subsequently died on the Senate floor. Part of the reason the bill may have not progressed was due to the annual class size report from ODE submitted Feb 1, 2019 to the legislature. They concluded:

• State median class sizes have remained stable over the last four school years.
• Classes tend to be slightly smaller at kindergarten and first grade than in later elementary grades.
• State median middle and high school class sizes are very similar across subjects, although middle school median class sizes are slightly larger for some core subjects.
• English language arts, mathematics, and world language classes tend to be slightly smaller than classes in the other core subjects.
• However, there is considerable variation in class size, both within a district, and across districts.
• Medians tend to be proportional to district size until practical upper limits of class sizes are met in larger districts.
• Median class sizes for medium to large districts varied widely from a low of 14 students to a high of 29 students.

In other words, class sizes are stable and not necessarily a driving force to be considered in collective bargaining agreement negotiations.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

In addition, HB 3427, Oregon’s new Corporate Activity Tax did make it out of session, and many believed this was a partial answer to the “class size issue”. It would bring in a little over an additional $1 billion in annual revenue into education funding and in Section 9, 3(c) it spelled out that the Student Investment Account funds (CAT funds) could be used for “Reducing class sizes, which may include increasing the use of instructional assistants, by using evidence-based criteria to ensure appropriate student/teacher ratios or staff caseloads”. One would think this would have solved the class size tied to collective bargain discussion going for the last 4 years. Nope.

In the 2020 Legislative session, the class size tied to collective bargaining conversation was back on the table. HB 4094 Representatives Doherty and Clem, and Senator Rob Wagner (D-Lake Oswego). The bill “Amends definition of “employment relations” to include class size and caseload limits as mandatory collective bargaining subjects for school districts”. The issue has not been solved by the Student Investment Act -- at least in the eyes of the OEA. The bill was referred to committee but never received a hearing. Some would blame the Republican walkout, but others might assert that you can only bring a bad piece of legislation forward so many times. Not the case.

2021 legislative session has begun, and the request is back as SB 580, introduced by Senators Dembrow and Frederick and Representative Clem. Again, it looks to “Amends definition of “employment relations” to include class size and caseload limits as mandatory collective bargaining subjects for school districts”. The latest ODE Class Size Report for the 19-20 school year which is the 5th annual report since reporting started looks very similar to the 2018-19 school year report. The data showed:

• State median class sizes have remained stable over the last five school years. Small decreases have been sustained for some self-contained classes and for classes at combined schools.
• Classes tend to be slightly smaller at kindergarten and first grade than in later elementary grades.
• English language arts, mathematics, and world language classes tend to be slightly smaller than classes in the other core subjects.
• There is considerable variation in class size, both within a district, within a school, and across districts.
• Medians tend to be proportional to district size until practical upper limits of class sizes are met in larger districts.
• Median class sizes (as shown in Appendix A) for medium to large districts varied widely from a low of 11 students to a high of 29 students.

If the data continues to show that class sizes have remained stable for five years and if there is a concern regarding class size, it is isolated to elementary grades and also relates to the size of the district (i.e. larger districts tend to have larger class sizes). If the ODE reports are true why is the legislature, again, looking at a “one size fits all approach” for the 197 school districts in Oregon? Why do they want to force districts into negotiating class size in teachers collective bargaining agreements if their specific school has no class size issues?

The COVID “pandemic” has given the OEA power never before seen. Teachers have been out of the classroom for almost a year teaching a modified and often reduced caseload. Now they have an opportunity to use COVID to bargain a return to the classroom if class sizes are small enough to make them comfortable and/or if they are paid more money if the class size goes over the negotiated threshold.

Legislative Session 2021 may finally be their year.


--Terese Humboldt

Post Date: 2021-01-27 10:48:35

Last Update: 2021-01-27 11:30:21

HJR 9 is a proposal that would change Oregon's Constitution and therefore needs to be sent to a vote of the people. It is proposing that the number of Senators be increased to 36 and that each county would be considered a Senate District. The bill is the work of State Representatives Mark Owens (R-Crane) and David Brock Smith (R-Port Orford).

The bill has been assigned to the House Committee on Rules. It has not been scheduled for a hearing at this time.

“I recognize the changes proposed are complicated, but the principle behind this bill is what matters,” said Rep. Owens. “Our vast rural communities are not one-in-the-same and our counties have varied interests that deserve more representation in the Capitol. Right now, the system is outdated and takes for granted the diversity of our region. My hope is this legislation starts an important conversation about ensuring all Oregonians have a voice in their Capitol.”

This bill would certainly tip the balance of power toward rural Oregon. Currently, large metropolitan counties send several Senators to Salem and many rural counties are gathered together to make up one Senate District. Were the bill to pass and be approved by the people, large, urban counties would get one Senator, as would all the rural counties.

The Oregon Senate has an interesting history. The Original Oregon Constitution had the counties as Senate districts, though the layout of counties in Oregon was a bit different than we know it today. Additionally, Oregon did not redistrict between 1907 and 1960. In 1954 through a ballot initiative, Oregon changed to a "one person, one vote" system in which each Senate District completely contains two House districts, giving us the district configuration we have today. Though the actual districts change every ten years as they are redistricted, there are always 60 House districts and 30 Senate districts.

In 1964, the US Supreme Court decided in Reynolds v. Sims that legislative districts need to all have roughly the same amount of residents in them. In 2016, Evenwel v. Abbott the High Court backed off that decision. Neither case dealt with Oregon Directly.

If you know a House District, you can always calculate the Senate district. If it's even just divide by two. If it's odd, add one and divide by two. So House District 14 (even, so divide by two) is in Senate District 7 and House District 45 (odd, so add one and divide by two) is Senate District 23.


--Staff Reports

Post Date: 2021-01-27 07:43:37

Last Update: 2021-01-27 14:07:31

The folktale, The Princes and the Pea, possibly based on a true story, involved a stack of 20 mattresses and a pea placed in the bottom mattress as a test for the Princes. The author joked that the pea was placed in the Royal Museum, but what of all those mattresses? Chief Sponsors Senator Michael Dembrow (D-Portland), and Senator James Manning Jr (D-Eugene) are making another run at mattress disposal that died in committee last session. To further their agenda for Extended Producer Responsibility that makes manufacturers manage their products from inception to garbage dump, SB 570 will receive a public hearing January 28, 2020. The bill establishes guidelines for a nonprofit run product stewardship program and funding for mattress disposal.

EPR operates by requiring consumers to pay a transparent fee at the point of purchase that covers the cost of disposal or recycling of the product. EPR makes some sense with high-hazard, low-value items such as used car batteries. It makes less sense with low-hazard items that puts a mandated price on the item. The concept is an environmental push to control the flow and track products, which makes little sense while businesses struggle to recover from multiple shut-downs.

SB 570 assesses a tax to consumers at point of sale to cover disposal, modeled after California who assesses $10.80. While the program is intended to be self-supporting based on an annual fee paid by stewardship organizations, the program is supervised by the Department of Environmental Quality establishing, approving, administering, collecting and disbursing the mattress stewardship assessment.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

The mattress stewardship program is a new system for simply hauling mattresses to the dump. Some areas report serious problems where mattresses are collecting on streets and roadsides that has prompted developing a mattresses disposal program. Instead of a voluntary cleanup day that a county could sponsor for free dumping, government wants to manage a statewide program complete with hefty penalties. A nonprofit could offer pickup and dump for mattresses for a donation forgoing the need for a state-run program.

Counties with less than 10,000 population will be required to hold an annual collection event if no collection site is available, and other counties must provide a permanent staffed collection site with a permitted solid waste facility. That imposes an expense on counties that were struggling even before the pandemic.


--Donna Bleiler

Post Date: 2021-01-27 07:25:26

Last Update: 2021-01-26 22:16:12

Governor Brown has mishandled nearly every aspect of the coronavirus vaccine rollout, and still she sticks to her course. Her administration's mishaps range from giving seniors mixed messages on when they could receive the vaccine to sluggish distribution. Now, she is on pace to botch school reopening. Is this a lot to do about nothing? In a virtual press conference on December 28, 2020, the World Health Organization and Dr. Fauci publicly stated that “health officials do not know if COVID-19 vaccines prevent infection or if people can spread the virus to others after getting vaccinated.” FDA granted emergency use for Pfizer and Moderna vaccines based on clinical trials showing a reduction in severity of symptoms, but WHO officials say, “while it appears the vaccines can prevent clinically symptomatic COVID-19 clinical disease, there is no clear evidence COVID-19 vaccines are effective at preventing asymptomatic infection and transmission.”

So why all the fuss over the vaccine? Is it the need for Governor Brown to appear she has successfully manage the pandemic? Senate Republican Leader Fred Girod (R-Lyons) “I share the Governor’s eagerness to open schools, but not at the expense of lying to seniors.” After all Governor Brown set the standard for her to get criticized.

The Governor first told seniors that they would become eligible for shots starting last week. She then changed course after she mistakenly counted second doses for first doses. Teachers are now set to receive vaccines before seniors in an attempt to return kids to school this school year. In early January, a group of teachers’ unions sent the Governor a letter demanding access to the vaccine before schools reopened. But now, they are moving the goalposts; The Portland Association of Teachers and other local teachers’ unions are balking at returning to in-person instruction.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

To date, there has been no agreement with school districts and teachers’ unions to ensure schools will actually reopen once teachers are vaccinated. “If teachers are going to jump the line ahead of seniors, they must go back into the classroom.” Girod continued his hit on the Governor, “The science says this vaccine is effective. We cannot allow politics to get in the way of getting our kids back to school.”

“The Governor continues to say that she trusts that teachers will return to the classroom, but last time she relied on others to fulfill her plans, she ended up lying to seniors. She should not set parents and kids up for disappointment. Her words are empty until there is a guarantee that kids will get back to regular instruction. No agreement, no cutting in line – that’s the deal. We need to see something in writing.”

When will Governor Brown face her responsibility to parents and students and iron out with teachers’ unions a plan that will put kids back in the classroom? More than vaccines, we want leadership that is transparent and trustworthy.


--Donna Bleiler

Post Date: 2021-01-27 07:13:35

Last Update: 2021-01-26 18:25:26