Domicile Unknown Report
In 2010, the Multnomah County Medical Examiner’s Office added the designation ‘domicile unknown’ to its database of deaths in the county, to indicate that a person may not have had housing at the time they died.
Today, the county Health Department, in collaboration with Street Roots, released its annual report of deaths on the street, titled ‘Domicile Unknown’. The report found that at least seventy-nine individuals experiencing homelessness died in the 2017 calendar year.
Men made up seventy-five percent of those deaths, and women twenty-five—it should be pointed out that these are the Medical Examiner’s gender classifications. Fifty-eight percent died during the winter months, and forty-two percent during the spring and summer seasons. Just over half, at fifty-one percent, died due to an accident, sixty percent of which involved drug overdoses. Overall, substances were found to have played a role in forty-six total deaths, with methamphetamine and opioids-in-general each being present in over forty percent of cases.
Perhaps one of the most telling statistics as far as the reality of homelessness is this: The median age of those who died was forty-six, with the oldest being eighty-one and the youngest less than one-year old.
In the words of Street Roots director Kaia Sand, who wrote an introduction to the report: “People on our streets die decades before their time.”
Portland Man Stabbed with Sword in Cane
A Portland man was killed on Thursday after another man stabbed him in the chest with a sword hidden in a cane.Twenty-eight year old Tyler Chism was stabbed around 2 am near Northwest 3rd Avenue and Everett Street by fifty-nine year old Timothy C. Cato. Cato told court staffers that he did not know Chism and it is unclear why the attack occurred.
Witnesses told police that Chism was arguing with his girlfriend when they were approached by Cato and another woman. Surveillance video shows Cato with the other woman walking together towards the parking lot. Chism is then seen on video shortly after stumbling away and falling to the ground.
Cato remains held in jail on suspicion of murder and unlawful use of a weapon. He has pleaded not guilty.
Body Found
An employee at Camp Namanu, a summer camp near Sandy, Oregon, discovered a woman’s body around 10:30 AM on Sunday. The Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office identified the body as that of Coral Rodrigues-Lorenzo, who had previously been reported missing.
The Sheriff’s Office added that she died of homicidal violence. It is believed that her body was dumped there late Saturday night or early Sunday morning.
Upon investigation, detectives questioned the victim’s husband, Martin Gallo-Gallardo, who allegedly confessed to the killing. Gallo-Gallardo was booked on murder charges and is being held without bail in the Clackamas County Jail.
Jason Washington PSU Forum
Students, faculty and facilitators gathered this afternoon for the first of nine community Listening sessions about safety and security on the Portland State University campus. The sessions were organized by PSU after two Campus Safety Officers shot and killed Jason Washington in June of this year.
The Portland State University Board of Trustees voted to arm Campus Public Safety Officers in December of 2014 despite strong opposition from students and faculty. Frustration over that decision was at the center of many comments today along with skepticism that Listening Sessions can generate the change the community wants to see. Margolis-Healy, an outside consulting firm that specializes in campus security issues, was brought in to facilitate and compile a report for the PSU Board of Directors.
Six more listening sessions are scheduled over the next two days, all in room 515 of the Academic and Student Recreation Center in downtown Portland. A schedule can be found on the Portland State University website. For community members who are unable to attend the listening sessions, the university plans to make an online survey available on Monday.
Occupy ICE Protestors Plead Not Guilty
Seven protestors from Occupy ICE have pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor charges alleging they created disturbances and failed to comply with federal officers’ orders. The defendants are Cameron M. Cruscial, Lauren M. Halcomb-Hudson, MacKenzie G. Hilmes, Emma C. Mavros, Anna V. Moklayk, Kathryn A. Pyland and Stuart W. Tanquist. They initially appeared in federal court due to citations from the June 28th demonstrations outside the ICE Facility in Southwest Portland.
Prosecutors are arguing that the protestors obstructed entrances to the building, disrupted government employee’s official duties, and refused orders to leave to property. One of the defendant’s attorney’s Phillip Lewis said, “I’m representing people who are protesting government-sponsored child abuse of the most profound kind.”
A three-day trial is set for March 11th of next year in front of US Magistrate Judge Jolie A. Russo.
Thursday last day to mail ballot
This Thursday, November first, is the last day for Multnomah County voters to safely mail their ballot.
To repeat: if you a resident of Multnomah county, this Thursday, November first, is the last chance to mail in your ballot and expect it to be counted by the time polls close next Tuesday at eight P-M.
Even ballots postmarked before the sixth will not be counted if they are not received in time.
Voters who have not received a ballot or who have lost their ballot can request a replacement ballot from the County at https://multco.us/elections. The replacement will be made available at Will Call either at the main elections building at Southeast Morrison and eleventh Avenue, or at the Multnomah County East Building in Gresham at six-hundred Northeast Eighth Street.
Voters can also call or visit in person to get a replacement ballot.
Also on the Multnomah county elections website, voters can find a list of twenty-four-hour ballot drop off sites, where ballots can be dropped-off any time before eight P-M on the sixth.
All Multnomah County Library locations will also be accepting ballots during their regular open hours.
But remember—if you are mailing your ballot, use first class postage, and get it in the mailbox by this Thursday, November first.
Multnomah County Republican Formal Complaint
The Multnomah County Republican Party has filed a formal complaint concerning Portland Commissioner Chloe Eudaly’s new initiative to send city workers to encourage people to vote.
It is against the law for public employees to campaign for or against a specific candidate or measure, but it is not against the law for them to encourage people to vote. Eudaly’s initiative does not support any specific issue or person, but rather encourages people to vote in general.
The Republican Party has filed a formal request for an investigation by the Multnomah County Tax Conservation Commission into the initiative. They allege that Eudaly is playing politics.
Eudaly’s staff has responded by saying they have taken steps to ensure the effort is nonpartisan and within the law, adding, “city attorneys looked at the political activities statute and confirmed that this GOTV effort is legal because this is a neutral information-sharing initiative.”
Voter turnout
As of yesterday, an estimated six-hundred thousand voters in Oregon had turned in their ballots. This is a far greater number than in the last three midterm elections.
The state elections division reported that 21.5 percent of voters have returned their ballots compared to only 13 to 17 percent in the last three midterms. The high turnout is from people across the political spectrum. 27 percent of both Replications and Democrats have returned their ballots while the number is slightly lower for Independents at 22 percent.
Ballots must be received before 8 PM on November 6th.
You can drop your ballot at the Multnomah County Elections Office at 1040 Southeast Morrison Street or at any public library.
Open Enrollment
Open enrollment on the Oregon Health Insurance Marketplace begins this Thursday, November 1st. The open enrollment period lasts until December 15th.
For folks who do not have coverage through their employer or another source, this may be the only opportunity to get insured with government assistance for 2019.
Another quick reminder:
The enrollment period for Medicare remains open until December 7th.
People over sixty-five and those with Social Security Disability Income, or S-S-D-I, can apply for Medicare coverage through Oregon’s Senior Health Insurance Benefits Assistance office, or SHIBA [shee-bah]. For more information, go to https://healthcare.oregon.gov/shiba/Pages/index.aspx.
Tornado in Portland
A tornado touched down in North Portland on Sunday afternoon.It stayed on the ground for around two minutes and hit speeds of up to seventy-four miles per hour.
The tornado traveled about 1.25 miles through the area east of Delta Park near Forest Grove.
The National Weather Service has determined that it caused minor damage, however no one was injured. This is the first documented tornado touchdown in Portland since April 6th, 1972. The tornado in 1972 started in Portland and crossed over the Columbia River, causing immense damage and killing six people.
The tornado on Sunday was minor, classified as a zero on the Enhanced Fujita scale. Tornadoes in the Portland area are reported only two or three times per year as the metro area is shielded by the West Hills, Mount Hood, and two large rivers.
- KBOO