04-23-2024  7:01 pm   •   PDX and SEA Weather
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NORTHWEST NEWS

The Drug War Devastated Black and Other Minority Communities. Is Marijuana Legalization Helping?

A major argument for legalizing the adult use of cannabis after 75 years of prohibition was to stop the harm caused by disproportionate enforcement of drug laws in Black, Latino and other minority communities. But efforts to help those most affected participate in the newly legal sector have been halting. 

Lessons for Cities from Seattle’s Racial and Social Justice Law 

 Seattle is marking the first anniversary of its landmark Race and Social Justice Initiative ordinance. Signed into law in April 2023, the ordinance highlights race and racism because of the pervasive inequities experienced by people of color

Don’t Shoot Portland, University of Oregon Team Up for Black Narratives, Memory

The yearly Memory Work for Black Lives Plenary shows the power of preservation.

Grants Pass Anti-Camping Laws Head to Supreme Court

Grants Pass in southern Oregon has become the unlikely face of the nation’s homelessness crisis as its case over anti-camping laws goes to the U.S. Supreme Court scheduled for April 22. The case has broad implications for cities, including whether they can fine or jail people for camping in public. Since 2020, court orders have barred Grants Pass from enforcing its anti-camping laws. Now, the city is asking the justices to review lower court rulings it says has prevented it from addressing the city's homelessness crisis. Rights groups say people shouldn’t be punished for lacking housing.

NEWS BRIEFS

Mt. Tabor Park Selected for National Initiative

Mt. Tabor Park is the only Oregon park and one of just 24 nationally to receive honor. ...

OHCS, BuildUp Oregon Launch Program to Expand Early Childhood Education Access Statewide

Funds include million for developing early care and education facilities co-located with affordable housing. ...

Governor Kotek Announces Chief of Staff, New Office Leadership

Governor expands executive team and names new Housing and Homelessness Initiative Director ...

Governor Kotek Announces Investment in New CHIPS Child Care Fund

5 Million dollars from Oregon CHIPS Act to be allocated to new Child Care Fund ...

Ex-Washington officer wanted in 2 killings found in Oregon with gunshot wound, police say

SEATTLE (AP) — A former Washington state police officer wanted after killing two people, including his ex-wife, was found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound following a chase in Oregon, authorities said Tuesday. His 1-year-old baby, who was with him, was taken safely into custody by Oregon State...

Ex-Washington officer wanted in 2 killings found in Oregon with self-inflicted gunshot wound; child is safe, police say

WEST RICHLAND, Wash. (AP) — Ex-Washington officer wanted in 2 killings found in Oregon with self-inflicted gunshot wound; child is safe, police say....

Missouri hires Memphis athletic director Laird Veatch for the same role with the Tigers

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri hired longtime college administrator Laird Veatch to be its athletic director on Tuesday, bringing him back to campus 14 years after he departed for a series of other positions that culminated with five years spent as the AD at Memphis. Veatch...

KC Current owners announce plans for stadium district along the Kansas City riverfront

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The ownership group of the Kansas City Current announced plans Monday for the development of the Missouri River waterfront, where the club recently opened a purpose-built stadium for the National Women's Soccer League team. CPKC Stadium will serve as the hub...

OPINION

Op-Ed: Why MAGA Policies Are Detrimental to Black Communities

NNPA NEWSWIRE – MAGA proponents peddle baseless claims of widespread voter fraud to justify voter suppression tactics that disproportionately target Black voters. From restrictive voter ID laws to purging voter rolls to limiting early voting hours, these...

Loving and Embracing the Differences in Our Youngest Learners

Yet our responsibility to all parents and society at large means we must do more to share insights, especially with underserved and under-resourced communities. ...

Gallup Finds Black Generational Divide on Affirmative Action

Each spring, many aspiring students and their families begin receiving college acceptance letters and offers of financial aid packages. This year’s college decisions will add yet another consideration: the effects of a 2023 Supreme Court, 6-3 ruling that...

OP-ED: Embracing Black Men’s Voices: Rebuilding Trust and Unity in the Democratic Party

The decision of many Black men to disengage from the Democratic Party is rooted in a complex interplay of historical disenchantment, unmet promises, and a sense of disillusionment with the political establishment. ...

AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE NEWS

Transgender Tennessee woman sues over state's refusal to change the sex designation on her license

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A transgender Tennessee woman sued the state's Department of Safety and Homeland Security on Tuesday after officials refused to change the sex on her driver's license to match her gender identity. The lawsuit was filed in Davidson County Chancery Court in...

Biden's Morehouse graduation invitation is sparking backlash, complicating election-year appearance

ATLANTA (AP) — President Joe Biden will be the commencement speaker at Morehouse College in Georgia, giving the Democrat a key spotlight on one of the nation’s preeminent historically Black campuses but potentially exposing him to uncomfortable protests as he seeks reelection against former...

New Fort Wayne, Indiana, mayor is sworn in a month after her predecessor's death

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (AP) — Democrat Sharon Tucker was sworn in Tuesday as the new mayor of Indiana’s second-most populous city, nearly a month after her predecessor's death. Tucker, who had been a Fort Wayne City Council member, took the oath of office Tuesday morning at the Clyde...

ENTERTAINMENT

What to stream this weekend: Conan O’Brien travels, 'Migration' soars and Taylor Swift reigns

Zack Snyder’s “Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver” landing on Netflix and Taylor Swift’s “The Tortured Poets Department” album are some of the new television, movies, music and games headed to a device near you. Also among the streaming offerings worth your time as...

Music Review: Jazz pianist Fred Hersch creates subdued, lovely colors on 'Silent, Listening'

Jazz pianist Fred Hersch fully embraces the freedom that comes with improvisation on his solo album “Silent, Listening,” spontaneously composing and performing tunes that are often without melody, meter or form. Listening to them can be challenging and rewarding. The many-time...

Book Review: 'Nothing But the Bones' is a compelling noir novel at a breakneck pace

Nelson “Nails” McKenna isn’t very bright, stumbles over his words and often says what he’s thinking without realizing it. We first meet him as a boy reading a superhero comic on the banks of a river in his backcountry hometown in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Georgia....

U.S. & WORLD NEWS

Pentagon set to send jumi billion in new military aid to Ukraine once bill clears Senate and Biden

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon is poised to send jumi billion in new military aid to Ukraine, U.S. officials said...

United Methodists open first top-level conference since breakup over LGBTQ inclusion

Thousands of United Methodists are gathering in Charlotte, North Carolina, for their big denominational meeting,...

Minnesota and other Democratic-led states lead pushback on censorship. They're banning the book ban

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A movement to ban book bans is gaining steam in Minnesota and several other states, in...

Nekesa Mumbi Moody AP Music Writer

MIAMI BEACH, Florida (AP) -- Miami's South Beach was swamped with celebrities during Super Bowl week. Whether they were hanging out on South Beach, mingling together at intimate parties or participating in some of the more high-profile celebrity events, they often times outshined the football players during the sport's biggest showcase.
Here's a look at some of the more notable things seen, heard and observed leading up to Sunday's Super Bowl.
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(MORE THAN) FASHIONABLY LATE: The Black Eyed Peas were more than tardy for the party.
The Grammy-winning band was the main attraction for Playboy's Super Bowl bash, which started around 9 p.m. But many guests had already headed out the door by the time the Peas rolled into the event around 2 a.m.
They may have had a better excuse than most for being late: The quartet had performed earlier Saturday night at American Airlines arena for the second date of their "The E.N.D." tour.
Nearby, another men's magazine -- Maxim -- was also holding court with stars like LL Cool J.
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WEEK OF CELEBRATION: Rihanna had more to celebrate during Super Bowl week than most. The singer was still excited over her two Grammy wins a week ago.
"You never come down from that," said Rihanna, who won with Jay-Z and Kanye West for "Run This Town."
"When you remember it, you're like, 'Wow, I won a Grammy.'"
Rihanna will switch from the music world to the literary world soon. She's finishing a coffee table book that will be out this year.
"It's like a look into my life, behind the scenes, what you don't really get to see, but also fashion shots," she said.
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BRODY BEING BRODY: Brody Jenner had some fun at a scantily clad woman's expense on a windy afternoon in Miami Beach.
The TV personality was hanging with his buddies outside the swank Eden Roc hotel when they observed a very tan, short brunette wearing a low-cut mini-dress waiting for a cab. She was desperately trying to keep her dress down in the wind and not show what little was left uncovered.
As she did, Jenner and his crew yelled out, ``SNOOKI! SNOOKI! SNOOKI!'' -- because of the woman's resemblance to the reality starlet from the MTV show ``Jersey Shore.'' When her cab finally arrived, she stopped holding on to her dress, revealing her underwear -- and Jenner and friends cheered.
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HEIDI'S LONG RECOVERY: Holly Montag says it's been tough for her sister Heidi to deal with all the critics of her massive plastic surgery.
Heidi -- famous for her role on "The Hills" -- admitted to having 10 procedures in one day to create her ideal look, including breast implants, a lip job, liposuction and more.
"She's being very strong and holding to her own morals and I'm very proud of her," said Holly, also on "The Hills," at Playboy's party on Saturday. "She's the strongest woman I know. She's done a brilliant job."
Holly Montag also said her sister is still not adjusted to her new body.
"She was still just getting used to it and it's a long recovery time. It's several months," she said. "She's being a trooper about the whole thing."
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CELEBRATIONS AND HEADACHES: Kelly Rowland wasn't one of the celebrities who popped into town for the Super Bowl. She lives in Miami, and like a lot of residents, was trying to grapple with the headaches that come with having the Super Bowl on your doorstep.
"I happened to come home during Super Bowl. I was like, 'Why is there so much traffic?' and everyone is like, 'Super Bowl!'" the singer said. "Nobody wants to drive. So I have to spend a lot of money for a car service."
Rowland -- who shot to fame with Destiny's Child -- said she's working on a new album with Akon, Ne-Yo and more.
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PROUD MOTHER: Solange Knowles was a bit nervous when Rihanna and Jay-Z brought her young son Juelz on stage with them when they accepted their Grammy Award last Sunday.
"I was very surprised and very nervous when Rihanna put his mouth to the mic, because anything could have come out," she said Friday. "But I was very proud as a mom that he used his manners."
Knowles also downplayed her tweets on Grammy night where she seemed frustrated that despite sister Beyonce's record-breaking six Grammy wins in one night for a female, much of the attention was going to Taylor Swift, who won album of the year.
"I wasn't frustrated at all, I was just a proud sister. So, of course I wanted that to be celebrated. It was national history, it had never been done before and not only is it history, it's black history, it's music history. Anytime you break a record, I feel like it should be celebrated," she said.
Knowles, who was a DJ at tennis star Venus Williams' Tide party, said she was just in town for the parties, not the game: "I'm just in a different zone right now, not in party football mode."

The Skanner Foundation's 38th Annual MLK Breakfast