On this day, May 5, 1903, James Beard, US culinary expert, author (Delights & Prejudices), was born in Portland, Ore.
Also on this day, May 5, 1945, A Japanese balloon bomb exploded on Gearhart Mountain in Oregon, killing Mrs. Elsie Mitchell, the pregnant wife of a minister, and five children after they attempted to drag it out the woods in Lakeview, Oregon. The balloon was armed, and exploded soon after they began tampering with it. They became the 1st and only known American civilians to be killed in the continental US during World War II.
Also on this day, May 5, 1945, Bly minister Archie Mitchell, his pregnant wife Elsie, and five children from Mitchell's Sunday school class were on a Saturday morning picnic. Thirteen miles northeast of Bly, or about sixty miles northeast of Klamath Falls, Mitchell parked the car, and Elsie and the children headed to Leonard Creek. Mitchell later remembered: "As I got out of the car to bring the lunch, the others were not far away and called to me they had found something that looked like a balloon. I heard of Japanese balloons so I shouted a warning not to touch it. But just then there was a big explosion. I ran up there--and they were all dead." It was a Japanese balloon bomb. They were 70 feet tall with a 33-foot diameter paper canopy connected to the main device by shroud lines. Balloons inflated with hydrogen followed the jet stream at an altitude of 30,000 feet.
Oregon Redefines Sanctuary State
Sanctuary State has new meaning after Senator Kate Lieber (D-Beaverton), co-sponsor, carried
SB 1543 for the Senate floor vote that established the Universal Representation Fund. The fund is to provide a statewide, integrated, universal navigation and representation system for immigration matters.
“Unlike in criminal court, immigrants facing deportation and immigration court are not entitled to a lawyer. This will bring Oregonian residents before our immigration courts in equal treatment to those before criminal court systems by granting each person access to legal representation, regardless of their financial resources,†said Representative Teresa Alonso Leon (D-Woodburn), a co-chief sponsor of the bill whose family came to Oregon from San Jeronimo Purenchecuaro, Michoacan, Mexico.
The Universal Representation Fund is a statewide program that will embed qualified community-based organizations to act as navigators that would guide Oregonians at risk of deportation into the program, supported by a statewide call center. Attorney fellows would be embedded at community-based organizations throughout the state, providing legal services to community members at culturally accessible locations including affirmative services such as DACA renewals, naturalization and legalization services.
“As a member of the Latinx community, I have seen the struggles and strain that deportation has placed on immigrant and refugee communities across the state,†said Representative Andrea Salinas (D-Lake Oswego), a co-chief sponsor of the bill. “My personal history was at the forefront of my policy-making lens when I worked with several other legislators and organizations to bring this policy forward last session.â€
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 budget allotted
SB 1543 $10.5 million to the newly created Universal Representation Fund, and $4.5 million for the Oregon State Bar’s Legal Services Program to provide legal services to individuals on immigration matters. The State Bar program will work with Oregon’s immigration legal services providers and provide fiscal and regulatory oversight of legal services to individuals on immigration and related matters throughout the state.
This will not be a one-time allotment. This program is projected to be made permanent, increasing the state budget every biennium. It has the potential to explode. Neither
SB 1543 nor
the report behind the program limit the services to those residing in Oregon. “Individuals are ineligible if (a) earn more than 200% FPG, (b) have no connection with Oregon, (c) are eligible for service through other similar program (e.g., trafficking victims).†If all it takes is a lawyer to avoid deportation, it’s only fair to require assimilation and recognize that taxpayers are providing the legal services and other benefits.
--Donna Bleiler| Post Date: 2022-03-12 07:45:17 | Last Update: 2022-03-12 07:50:29 |
