Fat?Check Your Zip Code

TBA13: Expect the unexpected Annual festival produces cutting-edge arts — SEE LIFE, B1 PortlandTribune THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2013 • TWICE CHOSEN THE NATION’S BEST NONDAILY PAPER • WWW.PORTLANDTRIBUNE.COM • PUBLISHED THURSDAY ■ New mapping data ties where you live to what you weigh FAT? CHECK TRIBUNE PHOTO: JAIME VALDEZ Right 2 Dream Too resident Marty looks over a series of doors that were among the city justifi cations for fi ning owners of the homeless YOUR ZIP CODE campsite property. A new deal to move the campsite will render the door/wall obsolete, unless it is moved to the new site underneath the Broadway Bridge. Oregon health ortlanders living in close- cies such as bike paths, bus routes researchers in neighborhoods are more and healthier school lunches can used drivers’ likely to have trimmer stem the rising tide of obesity that Handshake license data to P fi gures and physiques. threatens to cut short many Port- plot the Body People in outlay- landers’ lives, includ- Mass Index of ing neighborhoods Story by Steve Law ing a whole genera- adults on maps — and many suburbs tion of children. (below). BMI is — are more likely to “Obesity preven- spurs deal sport love handles, beer bellies and tion is a top priority in public an oft-used proxy for other extra pounds. health these days, and up until determining if Those are some of the early fi nd- now we only had data at the coun- people are ings from health researchers’ ef- ty level,” says Daniel Morris, a for- to relocate overweight or fort to track Oregon’s growing obe- mer state epidemiologist who obese. sity problem, by using driver’s li- spearheaded the driver’s license cense data to compile the Body project. Mass Index of adults throughout Much like entry-level drugs and the state. Mapping the data en- alcohol, being overweight can be a R2DT camp ables researchers to track patterns gateway to more severe problems and pinpoint problems down to the such as diabetes, heart attacks, neighborhood or even block level. strokes, a poorer quality of life and Details being hammered out; Old You might call it new food for shorter lifespan. thought. The Coalition for a Livable Town homeless group ready to go Analysts can drill down into the data to assess whether public poli- See FAT / Page 2 By PETER KORN The Tribune A handshake helped pave the way. Body Mass Index (BMI) One of the stickiest and most highly visible Portland confl icts appears ready to be resolved City of Portland this week with a deal to move the controversial (Data aggregated by census block group and Right 2 Dream Too homeless campground from displayed with neighborhood boundaries) its site at Northwest Fourth Avenue and Burn- side Street. The anticipated deal means each side gets some, but not all, of what it wanted. Right 2 Dream Too is getting a new, rent-free, city- owned site for a homeless campground underneath the Broadway Bridge ramp. But the lease on the new site is not indefi nite. Owners of the Right 2 Dream Too property See HOMELESS / Page 4 Mayor’s offi ce emails detail history of poll on carbon ‘fee’ Utilities that would be subject to DREAMSTIME tax were kept in dark the longest PHOTO By JIM REDDEN The Tribune A recent public opinion poll in Portland shows support for the concept of taxing car- PPS could shove Benson to sidelines bon-based fuels to reduce pollution, con- serve energy and fund street improvements, according to a former coach and administrator at Mayor Charlie Hales’ offi ce. Schools assigned to Jefferson, Wilson and, most recently, “We will now begin having Benson Tech Franklin High. discussions with the other com- sophmore competitive levels The rough proposal comes as the missioners about it, along with Alan Mesa Oregon School Activities Association discussions about other ways to slides back into based on enrollment is preparing to make a decision on raise revenues to fund city fi rst base which schools belong at which com- needs,” says Josh Alpert, a pol- during a spring By JENNIFER ANDERSON petitive levels. That is generally icy adviser to Hales. 2012 baseball The Tribune based on enrollment, and the OSAA HALES The poll was commissioned game. A new takes the action every four years. by the Oregon Environmental proposal could A new proposal that will hit the Grant and Lincoln play at the high- Council, a nonprofit advocacy cut sports at Portland School Board soon for est level, Class 6A, which also in- organization that supports carbon taxes. Alpert Benson as public comment would eliminate cludes the largest and best-supported saw the poll results but was not given a copy. He part of an athletics at Benson Polytechnic schools in the state, such as David expects a summary to be released within a week enrollment High School. Douglas, Westview, Lake Oswego and or two. plan. The sure-to-be-controversial move Jesuit. TRIBUNE FILE PHOTO: is being spearheaded by PPS’ new See CARBON / Page 9 NICK FOCHTMAN athletic director, Marshall Haskins — See BENSON / Page 3 “Pamplin Media Group’s pledge is to Portland Tribune deliver balanced news that refl ects the THORNS BRING HOME THEIR FIRST NWSL TROPHY stories of our communities. Thank you Inside — SEE SPORTS, PAGE B8 for reading our newspapers.” — DR. ROBERT B. PAMPLIN JR. OWNER & NEIGHBOR Reall FINAL DAYS Mummies.Mummies.s. Reall Science.Science. Reall 800.955.6674 People.People. OMSI.EDU 427806.090513 Discover this extraordinary collection of real mummies and artifacts from Don’t Miss It! Asia, South America, Europe as well as ancient Egypt, some dating back as far as 6,500 years. A2 NEWS The Portland Tribune Thursday, September 5, 2013 Fat: Map patterns reveal food for thought But could some of the dis- ■ From page 1 parities be because of, say, the lack of good bus service in East Body Mass Index (BMI) Future used the driver’s li- Portland? Or more time spent cense data from Morris’ proj- in cars for residents of Sher- Portland metropolitan area ect to create a series of inter- wood and Oregon City, who (Data aggregated by census block group and active maps, enabling re- tend to have higher BMIs? displayed with neighborhood boundaries) searchers and policy analysts “People who take a bus have to try to correlate pockets of an average of a 10-minute walk overweight people with other on either side of that,” says Mi- factors such as ethnicity, in- chelle Kunec-North, a program come, and access to parks, coordinator at the Portland fresh and healthy food, and Bureau of Planning and Sus- transit. tainability, who is evaluating One clear pattern emerged health factors for the city’s re- that everyone expected: People write of its comprehensive with higher incomes and more plan. That means people tak- education are more likely to ing a bus get an average of 20 have their weight in a healthier minutes’ exercise per weekday range, while those with lower that those driving to work incomes and less schooling are don’t get. more prone to being overweight “Every hour in a day you and obese. spend in a car, your obesity “I think the patterns are re- risk goes up 6 percent,” Morris ally striking, how strong the as- says. sociations are between BMI and Do communities like Corne- the indicators of socioeconomic lius and Fairview score on the status,” Morris says. heavy side because of their in- Others found a strong affi r- come levels? Or can some of mation for what the city of Port- that be traced to their high His- land calls “20-minute neighbor- panic population, whose ethnic hoods,” generally closer-in ar- diet is rich in tortillas and lard? eas where residents can walk Researchers can now probe or bike easily to fill most of for answers to such questions their essential needs. by overlaying the maps in the “It suggests a strong correla- new Regional Equity Atlas 2.0, tion between the ability to have released in June. a healthy weight and factors in when you’re cooking at home.” BMI higher than 30 as obese. tional improvements. our community: access to tran- Weighty problems When she goes to her favor- BMI and healthy weights The map numbers also have “It can be a real ‘aha’ mo- sit, healthy food, parks, walk- Bonnie Nicholas noticed her ite sandwich shop, she shares to be taken with a grain of salt ment, and can open up the con- able neighborhoods, etc.,” says weight grew slowly but steadily one with a friend. That way, ■ Body Mass Index is widely used because many peoples’ versation to more people, more Mara Gross, executive director over 20 years, partly because there’s “no overeating,” she as a proxy for evaluating whether weights refl ected on their driv- solutions,” says Noelle Dobson, of the Coalition for a Livable Fu- she was just going out and en- says, “and both get a bargain.” someone is overweight or not. er’s licenses are no longer ac- associate director of the ture. “Maps are a good way to joying Portland’s restaurants, She advises others facing In general, the World Health curate — or never were. Stud- nonprofi t Oregon Public Health visualize data,” Gross says. food carts and live music. weight problems to start with Organization says a BMI higher ies show that women under- Institute. “Maps help to The other night simple changes, like taking than 25 is a sign of being over- report their weight at the De- Morris found it interesting make things un- she went to dinner their daily cups of coffee with- weight, and a BMI higher than 30 partment of Motor Vehicles by that the Salem area had higher is a sign of being obese.

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