05-02-2024  2:21 pm   •   PDX and SEA Weather
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NORTHWEST NEWS

Portland Government Will Change On Jan. 1. The City’s Transition Team Explains What We Can Expect.

‘It’s a learning curve that everyone has to be intentional about‘

What Marijuana Reclassification Means for the United States

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is moving toward reclassifying marijuana as a less dangerous drug. The Justice Department proposal would recognize the medical uses of cannabis but wouldn’t legalize it for recreational use. Some advocates for legalized weed say the move doesn't go far enough, while opponents say it goes too far.

US Long-Term Care Costs Are Sky-High, but Washington State’s New Way to Help Pay for Them Could Be Nixed

A group funded by hedge fund executive Brian Heywood is attempting to undermine the financial stability of Washington state's new long-term care social insurance program.

A Massive Powerball Win Draws Attention to a Little-Known Immigrant Culture in the US

An immigrant from Laos who has been battling cancer won an enormous jumi.3 billion Powerball jackpot in Oregon earlier this month. But Cheng “Charlie” Saephan's luck hasn't just changed his life — it's also drawn attention to Iu Mien, a southeast Asian ethnic group with origins in China, many of whose members fled from Laos to Thailand and then settled in the U.S. following the Vietnam War.

NEWS BRIEFS

April 30 is the Registration Deadline for the May Primary Election

Voters can register or update their registration online at OregonVotes.gov until 11:59 p.m. on April 30. ...

Chair Jessica Vega Pederson Releases $3.96 Billion Executive Budget for Fiscal Year 2024-2025

Investments will boost shelter and homeless services, tackle the fentanyl crisis, strengthen the safety net and support a...

New Funding Will Invest in Promising Oregon Technology and Science Startups

Today Business Oregon and its Oregon Innovation Council announced a million award to the Portland Seed Fund that will...

Unity in Prayer: Interfaith Vigil and Memorial Service Honoring Youth Affected by Violence

As part of the 2024 National Youth Violence Prevention Week, the Multnomah County Prevention and Health Promotion Community Adolescent...

The Latest | Arrests top 2,000 as protests against Israel-Hamas war roil college campuses

The number of people arrested in connection with protests on college campuses against the Israel-Hamas war has now topped 2,000. The Associated Press has tallied arrests at 35 schools since the protests began at Columbia University on April 18. Student protests have popped up at many...

Tension grows on UCLA campus as police order dispersal of large pro-Palestinian gathering

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Law enforcement on the UCLA campus donned riot gear Wednesday evening as they ordered the dispersal of over a thousand people who had gathered in support of a pro-Palestinian student encampment, warning over loudspeakers that anyone who refused to leave could face arrest. ...

The Bo Nix era begins in Denver, and the Broncos also drafted his top target at Oregon

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — For the first time in his 17 seasons as a coach, Sean Payton has a rookie quarterback to nurture. Payton's Denver Broncos took Bo Nix in the first round of the NFL draft. The coach then helped out both himself and Nix by moving up to draft his new QB's top...

Elliss, Jenkins, McCaffrey join Harrison and Alt in following their fathers into the NFL

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Marvin Harrison Jr., Joe Alt, Kris Jenkins, Jonah Ellis and Luke McCaffrey have turned the NFL draft into a family affair. The sons of former pro football stars, they've followed their fathers' formidable footsteps into the league. Elliss was...

OPINION

New White House Plan Could Reduce or Eliminate Accumulated Interest for 30 Million Student Loan Borrowers

Multiple recent announcements from the Biden administration offer new hope for the 43.2 million borrowers hoping to get relief from the onerous burden of a collective

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...

AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE NEWS

Asian American Literature Festival that was canceled by the Smithsonian in 2023 to be revived

NEW YORK (AP) — A festival celebrating Asian American literary works that was suddenly canceled last year by the Smithsonian Institution is getting resurrected, organizers announced Thursday. The Asian American Literature Festival is making a return, the Asian American Literature...

Critics question if longtime Democratic congressman from Georgia is too old for reelection

CONYERS, Ga. (AP) — U.S. Rep. David Scott faces multiple Democratic primary opponents in his quest for a 12th congressional term in a sharply reconfigured suburban Atlanta district. But with early voting underway ahead of the May 21 primary elections, the 78-year-old is ignoring challengers and...

Hakeem Jeffries isn't speaker yet, but the Democrat may be the most powerful person in Congress

WASHINGTON (AP) — Without wielding the gavel or holding a formal job laid out in the Constitution, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries might very well be the most powerful person in Congress right now. The minority leader of the House Democrats, it was Jeffries who provided the votes needed to...

ENTERTAINMENT

Book Review: Rachel Khong’s new novel 'Real Americans' explores race, class and cultural identity

In 2017 Rachel Khong wrote a slender, darkly comic novel, “Goodbye, Vitamin,” that picked up a number of accolades and was optioned for a film. Now she has followed up her debut effort with a sweeping, multigenerational saga that is twice as long and very serious. “Real...

Celebrity birthdays for the week of May 5-11

Celebrity birthdays for the week of May 5-11: May 5: Actor Michael Murphy is 86. Actor Lance Henriksen (“Millennium,” ″Aliens”) is 84. Comedian-actor Michael Palin (Monty Python) is 81. Actor John Rhys-Davies (“Lord of the Rings,” ″Raiders of the Lost Ark”) is 80....

Select list of nominees for 2024 Tony Awards

NEW YORK (AP) — Select nominations for the 2024 Tony Awards, announced Tuesday. Best Musical: “Hell's Kitchen'': ”Illinoise"; “The Outsiders”; “Suffs”; “Water for Elephants” Best Play: “Jaja’s African Hair Braiding”; “Mary Jane”; “Mother...

U.S. & WORLD NEWS

Hakeem Jeffries isn't speaker yet, but the Democrat may be the most powerful person in Congress

WASHINGTON (AP) — Without wielding the gavel or holding a formal job laid out in the Constitution, Rep. Hakeem...

What is at stake in UK local voting ahead of a looming general election

LONDON (AP) — Millions of voters in England and Wales cast ballots Thursday in an array of local elections...

A new form of mpox that may spread more easily found in Congo's biggest outbreak

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Congo is struggling to contain its biggest mpox outbreak, and scientists say a new form...

Lawmakers in Serbia elect new government with pro-Russia ministers sanctioned by the US

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbian lawmakers on Thursday voted into office a new government that reinstated two...

A new form of mpox that may spread more easily found in Congo's biggest outbreak

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Congo is struggling to contain its biggest mpox outbreak, and scientists say a new form...

Death toll jumps to at least 48 as a search continues in southern China highway collapse

BEIJING (AP) — The death toll from a collapsed highway in southeastern China climbed to 48 on Thursday as...

Lisa Loving of The Skanner News

UPDATE: The man who was fatally shot by Portland Police Monday was 58-year-old Jack Dale Collins, who also went by the name Jackie.

Details are slowly coming out in the fatal Portland police shooting yesterday afternoon of an allegedly drunken transient, bleeding from self-inflicted wounds and threatening passersby at Hoyt Arboretum near the Oregon Zoo.
The man was fatally shot by Officer Jason L. Walters after the man brandished a six-inch razor-edged knife at the officer, according to Chief Rosie Sizer.
The dead man has been identified by the state medical examiner but his name is not being made public until his family is notified, police said.
Medical Examiner Karen Gunson said the man likely died from excessive bleeding from a gunshot to the leg which hit a major artery. He was shot four times in the arms and hip, in what the police log indicates was two bursts of gunfire about 30 seconds apart.
While the log describes the man as a "drunk" transient, Gunson told reporters she found no obvious evidence of alcohol on the remains, and that toxicology tests will take four to six weeks.
Walters, a respected 13-year veteran of the bureau, still has not been interviewed on what happened, and an expected grand jury investigation will be wrapped up in a couple of weeks, Chief Sizer said.

Spontaneous Protest
A group of demonstrators spontaneously marched on the Traffic Division on SE Burnside Street last night in protest against the Hoyt Arboretum shooting, mistakenly believing it is still the East Precinct.
Chief Sizer said she was disappointed that the protestors caused property damage, although none were arrested.
Oregon Public Broadcasting is reporting that a citizens meeting to discuss responses to the shooting at Hoyt Arboretum is at 6 p.m. tonight at Col. Summers Park.
On Sunday, the citizens group (I'm) Everyday People plans a Palm Sunday Prayer Vigil at sites where unarmed people have been fatally shot by police officers.
Starting at 3 p.m. on March 28, mourners will travel to six different sites to commemorate the lives of Deontae Keller, Kendra James, James Jahar Perez, Dickie Dow, and James Chasse.
The group is asking participants to bring candles. For more information, email everydaypeople2008@live.com, or call 503-962-9607.

Police Log
The transcript of the computer-generated incident log released this morning to the public described the man as intoxicated, White, 5' 8" tall, apparently in his 50s, wearing a green jacket over a tan hoodie and jeans, and carrying a plastic bag.
He was bleeding from self-inflicted cuts to his face and neck.
Chief Sizer said witnesses at the scene who pointed out the man to officers have not yet been located, and they are urging members of the public who saw what happened to come forward and call Mark Slater at 503-823-9319.
Police were called to the scene by a park ranger, Sizer said.
"I understand that Police Commissioner Dan Saltzman again will ask Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Shrunk to transcribe the Grand Jury review of this matter and ask that those transcripts be released," Mayor Sam Adams said today in a statement. "Since 2005, serving in an elected capacity, I have supported such efforts to maximize police accountability and transparency."
Adams continued, "Based on the details and circumstances in my briefing, this event reflects a very sad situation. However, until we have gathered all of the facts, I will reserve judgment."

Officer Attacked, Bureau Says
Sizer said a park ranger called 9-1-1 yesterday reporting that a blood-covered man armed with a "razor knife" was threatening bystanders at Hoyt Arboretum.
The bureau says Officer Jason Walters arrived at the Arboretum at 3:24 p.m. and confronted the man in the bathroom near the facility's office.
The scene played out as follows, according to a spokesperson:
"The officer retreated and gave repeated commands to the subject to drop the razor knife, but the subject refused to do so. The officer and the subject began moving out of the bathroom area, with the subject still approaching the officer with the razor knife. At this point, the officer fired shots at the subject. The officer immediately requested medical assistance and the subject was pronounced dead upon Medical's arrival."
Investigators are looking for more witnesses to the scene to flesh out the complete story of what happened, they said.
Anyone who saw the incident is asked to call Detective Mark Slater at 503-823-9319.

The Skanner Foundation's 38th Annual MLK Breakfast