From Full Life:

Please join us for a full evening live music which all benefits goes to YES on 66 and 67!
Measures 66 and 67 will protect nearly $1 billion in funding for our classrooms, senior care, and other critical services. But most people–including your friends and family–don’t know there’s an election coming up, or that they should vote YES.

A YES vote on Measures 66 and 67 will protect health care coverage for tens of thousands of Oregon’s working families by protecting almost $1 billion in funding for essential services such as healthcare, education, and public safety.

January 16th…Saturday

from 6:30 til 11:00 pm

$5.00 (all proceeds go to YES on 66 and 67)

From WWeek:

BY NIGEL JAQUISS

What a way to start the new year.

We get to vote on raising taxes. Twice, actually.

Oregon voters will soon receive ballots asking them to vote on Measure 66, which would raise personal income taxes on the highest-income Oregonians, and Measure 67, which would increase corporate income taxes.

The Democratic-controlled Legislature already approved the tax hikes in 2009, but opponents then gathered enough signatures to put them on the ballot for voters to decide.

Tax policy is thorny. It’s never so simple as “taxes are good as long as someone else pays them.” In fact, if you take a close look at this state’s tax structure, you will often see a reflection of our collective psyche. Nothing speaks to the stubborn individualism of Oregon quite like our continued refusal to adopt a sales tax, for example.

To dispel some of the overheated rhetoric surrounding the tax hikes, here’s a look at how we got here and what our collective response to Measures 66 and 67 may say about Oregonians as we enter a new decade.

Oh, and WW’s editorial board also tells you at the end how we think you should vote.

What would Measure 66 do?

It would raise the state income tax rate from 9 percent to 10.8 percent on an individual’s personal income between $125,000 and $250,000, and to 11 percent on every dollar above $250,000. The measure would also eliminate the state income tax on the first $2,400 of unemployment income. The Legislative Revenue Office, which crunches numbers for lawmakers, projects fewer than 3 percent of Oregonians would pay this increased tax—that’s why some people call the measure “class warfare.”

How about Measure 67?

Measure 67 is a lot more complicated. First, corporations with no taxable income now pay a minimum $10 tax. This measure would raise the minimum to $150. It would also raise the corporate income tax rate on companies with profits to 7.9 percent, compared to the current 6.6 percent. This measure would do something completely new, as well: It would create a new tax on companies with more than $500,000 in annual sales but no taxable profits. All companies would pay the new minimum tax or the 7.9 percent tax on profits, whichever is higher.

Continue article here.

A Message from the Yes on 66/67 Campaign:

The fight to protect Oregon’s schools and critical services is about to get even more exciting. This week, ballots for Measures 66 and 67 will begin arriving in mailboxes around the state.

We have just two short weeks to make sure that Oregonians get the facts, know what’s at stake, and Get Out The Vote! Right now, we’re winning, but winning on January 26 all depends on getting all of our supporters to turn out and vote YES. Contact the campaign today to find out how you can get involved to make sure that January 26 is a night for celebrating.

Now is the time to get involved and make sure that voters all over Oregon know only a YES vote will protect the services we care about, including over $390 million for education and other services for children, funding for lifesaving prescription drugs and home care that helps low-income seniors remain independent.

Already, over 600 Oregonians just like you have volunteered at the Vote Yes for Oregon Campaign, and hundreds more have given time through our more than 200 coalition partners.

Phone banks and neighborhood walks are happening in counties across the state. It’s easy to find and sign up for opportunities to talk to your neighbors about why we need to vote YES on 66 and 67!

From The Arc of Multnomah Clackamas:

The Arc of Multnomah/Clackamas, in concert with Self-Advocates as Leaders (SAAL) and Multnomah County People First will be offering assistance to anyone with IDD who needs help with voting on Measures 66-67 on Wednesday, January 20, from 2 pm to 5 pm in the first floor conference room at the United Way Building, 619 SW 11^th, next to The Arc office (this ‘open house’ is not sponsored or affiliated with United Way).

We hopefully will have added assistance from Jan Anderson of Disability Rights of Oregon.  We’ll be available to directly assist individuals with voting on these measures.

If you have questions, please feel free to contact me, Bill West, Case Coordinator at The Arc at 503-935-5224.  These sessions are usually very informal and very individualized.

From a release by the Department of Human Services:

House Bill 2442 has changed the legal definitions of abuse for adults with developmental disabilities beginning January 1st, 2010. Abuse definitions are now the same no matter what type of service a person is receiving. All care providers and people who have a trust relationship with an individual are subject to the new definitions.

Here is a summary of the abuse definitions for which protective services are provided and an abuse investigation must be conducted:

• Abandonment – desertion by a caregiver who has assumed responsibility for all or a portion of the person’s care.
• Financial exploitation – wrongfully taking or threatening to take funds or property, misusing money, failing to use a person’s money for their benefit.
• Involuntary Seclusion – restricting freedom of movement to a part of a facility or program for convenience of a caregiver or as discipline, unless agreed to in a plan. This includes confinement in a home setting.
• Neglect – withholding services needed for the health and well-being of a person (such as food, medical care) and that causes harm. Failing to provide the necessary care, supervision and services that causes harm or creates a significant risk of harm.
• Physical abuse – inflicting pain or injury or injury by other than accidental meansor injuries appearing to be at variance with the explanation.
• Restraint – physical or chemical restraint not part of a plan or prescribed by a doctor.
• Sexual abuse – nonconsensual sexual contact, harassment or exploitation. Sexual contact with an employee, paid caregiver or any relative (except spouse or partner.)
• Verbal abuse – including threats, derogatory names, ridicule, humiliation directed at the person. Failing to make a reasonable effort to protect the person under their care.

For further information on the changes contact your local county abuse investigator or the
DHS Office of Investigations and Training at  2575 Bittern St., NE (Yaquina Hall, #33) Salem, OR 97310. Phone:  (503) 945-9495

Check out the latest issue of the Oregon Council on Developmental Disabilities’ GO! Bulletin here.

What's in this issue: