04-18-2024  11:03 am   •   PDX and SEA Weather
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NORTHWEST NEWS

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.

Four Ballot Measures for Portland Voters to Consider

Proposals from the city, PPS, Metro and Urban Flood Safety & Water Quality District.

Washington Gun Store Sold Hundreds of High-Capacity Ammunition Magazines in 90 Minutes Without Ban

KGW-TV reports Wally Wentz, owner of Gator’s Custom Guns in Kelso, described Monday as “magazine day” at his store. Wentz is behind the court challenge to Washington’s high-capacity magazine ban, with the help of the Silent Majority Foundation in eastern Washington.

Five Running to Represent Northeast Portland at County Level Include Former Mayor, Social Worker, Hotelier (Part 2)

Five candidates are vying for the spot previously held by Susheela Jayapal, who resigned from office in November to focus on running for Oregon's 3rd Congressional District. Jesse Beason is currently serving as interim commissioner in Jayapal’s place. (Part 2)

NEWS BRIEFS

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 ...

Bank Announces 14th Annual “I Got Bank” Contest for Youth in Celebration of National Financial Literacy Month

The nation’s largest Black-owned bank will choose ten winners and award each a jumi,000 savings account ...

Literary Arts Transforms Historic Central Eastside Building Into New Headquarters

The new 14,000-square-foot literary center will serve as a community and cultural hub with a bookstore, café, classroom, and event...

Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Announces New Partnership with the University of Oxford

Tony Bishop initiated the CBCF Alumni Scholarship to empower young Black scholars and dismantle financial barriers ...

Mt. Hood Jazz Festival Returns to Mt. Hood Community College with Acclaimed Artists

Performing at the festival are acclaimed artists Joshua Redman, Hailey Niswanger, Etienne Charles and Creole Soul, Camille Thurman,...

Idaho's ban on youth gender-affirming care has families desperately scrambling for solutions

Forced to hide her true self, Joe Horras’ transgender daughter struggled with depression and anxiety until three years ago, when she began to take medication to block the onset of puberty. The gender-affirming treatment helped the now-16-year-old find happiness again, her father said. ...

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators shut down airport highways and key bridges in major US cities

CHICAGO (AP) — Pro-Palestinian demonstrators blocked roadways in Illinois, California, New York and the Pacific Northwest on Monday, temporarily shutting down travel into some of the nation's most heavily used airports, onto the Golden Gate and Brooklyn bridges and on a busy West Coast highway. ...

The sons of several former NFL stars are ready to carve their path into the league through the draft

Jeremiah Trotter Jr. wears his dad’s No. 54, plays the same position and celebrates sacks and big tackles with the same signature axe swing. Now, he’s ready to make a name for himself in the NFL. So are several top prospects who play the same positions their fathers played in the...

Caleb Williams among 13 confirmed prospects for opening night of the NFL draft

NEW YORK (AP) — Southern California quarterback Caleb Williams, the popular pick to be the No. 1 selection overall, will be among 13 prospects attending the first round of the NFL draft in Detroit on April 25. The NFL announced the 13 prospects confirmed as of Thursday night, and...

OPINION

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. ...

COMMENTARY: Is a Cultural Shift on the Horizon?

As with all traditions in all cultures, it is up to the elders to pass down the rituals, food, language, and customs that identify a group. So, if your auntie, uncle, mom, and so on didn’t teach you how to play Spades, well, that’s a recipe lost. But...

AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE NEWS

Armenian victims group asks International Criminal Court to investigate genocide claim

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A human rights organization representing ethnic Armenians submitted evidence to the International Criminal Court on Thursday, arguing that Azerbaijan is committing an ongoing genocide against them. Azerbaijan’s government didn't immediately comment...

A Georgia beach aims to disrupt Black students' spring bash after big crowds brought chaos in 2023

TYBEE ISLAND, Ga. (AP) — Thousands of Black college students expected this weekend for an annual spring bash at Georgia's largest public beach will be greeted by dozens of extra police officers and barricades closing off neighborhood streets. While the beach will remain open, officials are...

Choctaw artist Jeffrey Gibson is first Native American to represent the US solo at Venice Biennale

VENICE. Italy (AP) — Jeffrey Gibson’s takeover of the U.S. pavilion for this year’s Venice Biennale contemporary art show is a celebration of color, pattern and craft, which is immediately evident on approaching the bright red facade decorated by a colorful clash of geometry and a foreground...

ENTERTAINMENT

Robert MacNeil, creator and first anchor of PBS 'NewsHour' nightly newscast, dies at 93

NEW YORK (AP) — Robert MacNeil, who created the even-handed, no-frills PBS newscast “The MacNeil-Lehrer NewsHour” in the 1970s and co-anchored the show with his late partner, Jim Lehrer, for two decades, died on Friday. He was 93. MacNeil died of natural causes at New...

Celebrity birthdays for the week of April 21-27

Celebrity birthdays for the week of April 21-27: April 21: Actor Elaine May is 92. Singer Iggy Pop is 77. Actor Patti LuPone is 75. Actor Tony Danza is 73. Actor James Morrison (“24”) is 70. Actor Andie MacDowell is 66. Singer Robert Smith of The Cure is 65. Guitarist Michael...

What to stream this week: Conan O’Brien travels, 'Migration' soars and Taylor Swift will reign

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...

U.S. & WORLD NEWS

This ancient snake in India might have been longer than a school bus and weighed a ton

WASHINGTON (AP) — A ancient giant snake in India might have been longer than a school bus and weighed a ton,...

The Latest | Netanyahu says Israel will decide how to respond as Iran warns against retaliation

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would decide whether and how to respond to Iran’s major air...

Allman Brothers Band co-founder and legendary guitarist Dickey Betts dies at 80

Guitar legend Dickey Betts, who co-founded the Allman Brothers Band and wrote their biggest hit, “Ramblin’...

Prominent figure in German far-right party stands trial over alleged use of Nazi slogan

HALLE, Germany (AP) — One of the most prominent figures in the far-right Alternative for Germany party went on...

Armenian victims group asks International Criminal Court to investigate genocide claim

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A human rights organization representing ethnic Armenians submitted evidence to...

Once a fringe Indian ideology, Hindu nationalism is now mainstream, thanks to Modi's decade in power

AHMEDABAD, India (AP) — Hindu nationalism, once a fringe ideology in India, is now mainstream. Nobody has done...

Michael Martinez and Natalie Brunell CNN

LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- The father of a homeless California man who died after being beaten by Fullerton police officers filed a wrongful death lawsuit Thursday against the city, its police chief and the six officers allegedly involved in the fatal incident.

The lawsuit filed by Frederick Ronald Thomas Jr., 55, of Cypress, California, also alleges assault and battery, negligence and civil rights violations in the death of his son, Kelly James Thomas.

The suit, filed in Orange County Superior Court one year after the beating, seeks more than $25,000 in damages.

Kelly Thomas, 37, a lifelong resident of Fullerton, was shirtless and carrying a backpack, and was wearing long pants and slippers, when Fullerton police were called to investigate a "homeless" man looking in car windows and pulling door handles of parked cars at the city's bus depot last July 5, the lawsuit said.

A security camera at the downtown bus depot provided 16 minutes of video of the officers questioning and then beating Thomas, who was schizophrenic.

An anniversary vigil was scheduled to be held Thursday evening at the Fullerton depot.

Two of the officers have been charged in the beating death and were ordered in May to stand trial.

Officer Manuel Ramos is charged with second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter, and Cpl. Jay Patrick Cicinelli is charged with involuntary manslaughter and felony use of excessive force.

Both have pleaded not guilty.

Ramos, 37, a 10-year veteran of the police department, would face a maximum sentence of 15 years to life if convicted, authorities said. Cicinelli, 39, a 12-year Fullerton police veteran, would face a maximum of four years in prison if convicted.

"The murder of Kelly Thomas was the inevitable result of the culture of corruption and deliberate indifference within the City of Fullerton Police Department," the lawsuit alleges. "The city's police department has a longstanding reputation of running roughshod on its citizens' constitutional rights, ignoring citizen complaints and issuing no discipline to officers accused of wrongdoing," the lawsuit claims.

Fullerton police spokesman Sgt. Jeff Stuart said the department hadn't yet reviewed the lawsuit and didn't have a comment Thursday.

Recently, Thomas' mother, Cathy, received $1 million from Fullerton's insurance reserves in an agreement to settle her claim against the city in her son's death, according to a city statement. Cathy Thomas, who's divorced from Frederick "Ron" Thomas, released the city and its police officers from all potential claims, the city's statement said.

Garo Mardirossian, the attorney in Ron Thomas' suit, told reporters Thursday that he also represented Cathy Thomas at one point. He declined to comment on her settlement agreement.

Meanwhile, Ron Thomas told reporters at Thursday's press conference that he's considering running for mayor of Fullerton.

 

The Skanner Foundation's 38th Annual MLK Breakfast