02-09-2025  8:11 pm   •   PDX and SEA Weather

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NORTHWEST NEWS

Pastor Mark Knutson on Strengthening Sanctuary and Responding to Trump’s Threats

Augustana Lutheran Church is part of an interfaith network in Portland organizing to protect immigrants.

“Young Black Men Are ___”, A Multimedia Interactive Storytelling Project, Opens February 1

Word Is Bond partners with the 1803 Fund to explore Black identity.

PHOTOS: The World Arts Foundation Presents Lifetime Achievement Award on MLK Day in Portland

Bernie and Bobbie Foster, The Skanner News founders, were presented with the award.

Cascade Festival of African Films Celebrates 35th Year

The Cascade Festival of African Films runs from Jan. 31 through March 1, featuring more than 20 films from 14 countries

NEWS BRIEFS

AG Rayfield Reacts to Latest Victory in Trump’s Attempt to Block Birthright Citizenship Order

“This just proves what we’ve been saying all along. No president can rewrite the Constitution with the stroke of a pen,” said...

Budget Committee Ranking Member Merkley: Vought Dangerously Unfit to Lead OMB

Merkley spoke on the Senate floor to kick off Democratic opposition to Trump’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) nominee and...

Portland Trail Blazers Host First-ever Albina Rose Alliance Game

Game to highlight the Albina Rose Alliance – a partnership between Albina Vision Trust and the Portland Trail Blazers ...

Big Brothers Big Sisters of America Launches Research on the Long-Term Impacts of Mentorship

“This new research proves what we’ve known for years— mentorship has an incredibly positive impact, not just to our Littles, but...

Rayfield Announces Initial Victory in Lawsuit Challenging Trump’s Illegal Federal Funding Freeze

Today a federal judge in Rhode Island issued a temporary restraining order in the lawsuit filed by Oregon and a coalition of 22...

Fresh lawsuit hits Oregon city at the heart of Supreme Court ruling on homeless encampments

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The small Oregon city at the heart of a major U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year that allowed cities across the country to enforce homeless camping bans is facing a fresh lawsuit over its camping rules, as advocates find new ways to challenge them in a legal landscape...

Western Oregon women's basketball players allege physical and emotional abuse

MONMOUTH, Ore. (AP) — Former players for the Western Oregon women's basketball team have filed a lawsuit in federal court alleging emotional and physical abuse. The lawsuit, filed on Wednesday in Marion County, seeks million damages. It names the university, its athletic...

Slaughter leads Missouri against No. 5 Texas

Missouri Tigers (12-10, 1-6 SEC) at Texas Longhorns (20-2, 6-1 SEC) Austin, Texas; Thursday, 9 p.m. EST BOTTOM LINE: Missouri visits No. 5 Texas after Grace Slaughter scored 31 points in Missouri's 78-77 victory against the Mississippi State Bulldogs. The...

Slaughter leads Missouri against No. 5 Texas after 31-point game

Missouri Tigers (12-10, 1-6 SEC) at Texas Longhorns (20-2, 6-1 SEC) Austin, Texas; Thursday, 9 p.m. EST BOTTOM LINE: Missouri visits No. 5 Texas after Grace Slaughter scored 31 points in Missouri's 78-77 win over the Mississippi State Bulldogs. The...

OPINION

Bending the Arc: Advancing Equity in a New Federal Landscape

January 20th, 2025 represented the clearest distillation of the crossroads our country faces. ...

Trump’s America Last Agenda is a Knife in the Back of Working People

Donald Trump’s playbook has always been to campaign like a populist and govern like an oligarch. But it is still shocking just how brutally he went after our country’s working people in the first few days – even the first few hours – after he was...

As Dr. King Once Asked, Where Do We Go From Here?

“Let us be dissatisfied until America will no longer have high blood pressure of creeds and an anemia of deeds. Let us be dissatisfied until the tragic walls that separate the outer city of wealth and comfort from the inner city of poverty and despair shall...

A Day Without Child Care

On May 16, we will be closing our childcare centers for a day — signaling a crisis that could soon sweep across North Carolina, dismantling the very backbone of our economy ...

AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE NEWS

Trump consoles crash victims then dives into politics with attack on diversity initiatives

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday responded to the deadliest American aviation disaster in more than two decades by blaming diversity initiatives for undermining safety and questioning the actions of a U.S. Army helicopter pilot involved in the midair collision with a...

US Supreme Court rejects likely final appeal of South Carolina inmate a day before his execution

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court rejected Thursday what is likely the final appeal of a South Carolina inmate the day before his scheduled execution for a 2001 killing of a friend found dead in her burning car. Marion Bowman Jr.'s request to stop his execution until a...

Trump's orders take aim at critical race theory and antisemitism on college campuses

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is ordering U.S. schools to stop teaching what he views as “critical race theory” and other material dealing with race and sexuality or risk losing their federal money. A separate plan announced Wednesday calls for aggressive action to...

ENTERTAINMENT

Book Review: Hunted by the FBI and Russian Oligarch, a hedge fund manager flees into the wilderness

Paul Brightman, a former hedge fund manager, has been keeping a low profile, changing his name to Grant Anderson and making a modest living as a boat builder in a small New Hampshire town. But Paul fears it’s only a matter of time before he’s found. The FBI is hunting him. The CIA...

Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni get March 2026 trial date for her 'It Ends With Us' lawsuit

NEW YORK (AP) — A New York judge set a March 2026 trial date on Monday and moved an initial conference from mid-February to next week as the public feud between Blake Lively and her “It Ends With Us” costar and director Justin Baldoni continued to grow and accelerate. And in a...

Movie Review: Will Ferrell and Reese Witherspoon collide in comedy 'You're Cordially Invited'

Are you with the bride or the groom? Hold on, scratch that. Are you with Reese Witherspoon or Will Ferrell? “You're Cordially Invited,” a new comedy directed by Nicholas Stoller, brings together two stars whose movie worlds are nearly as divided as wedding guests on separate sides...

U.S. & WORLD NEWS

Kelly Gilblom Uw News Lab

The number of Washington families struggling with hunger has risen through the recession, according to recent report by the Food and Research Action Center.
Nearly one in five of the almost half a million families polled said they struggled to afford food in 2009. The previous year, the hunger rate was 16 percent, two percentage points lower than now.
"The recession really has caused a lot more families to get to the point where they don't have enough to eat," said Linda Stone, senior food policy coordinator for Children's Alliance- a state group that advocates for the wellbeing of children. Intractable parts of a family budget such as rent, utilities and car expenses squeeze out money for meals.
With unemployment rates now in the double digits, it is not a surprise to see more people straining to afford the basics. According to Stone, individuals on fixed incomes, senior citizens with small pensions, those with language barriers or in distant, rural communities and families with young children are the most common demographics that encounter problems affording food.
To cope, many enlist in the Washington Basic Food Program, known as food stamps, or the Women Infant Children Program, which provides basics such as milk and eggs. Children can also sign up to receive breakfast and lunch at public school.
The Basic Food Program, which was revamped in 2008, now allows individuals to apply online and be interviewed for acceptance over the phone. Since the changes, it has seen a 50 percent rise with 850,000 families in the state receiving food stamps to purchase what the program refers to as "basic nutrition."
However, some still struggle to make do, especially at the end of the month, said Stone. They might need to go to a food bank as a last resort.
"You can go to a food bank pretty much every week if you need to. That's how a lot of families get it for the month," said Stone. "And so far they have really been able to help."
Peggy Bailey, operations manager of the Ballard Food Bank, has seen demand rise by 30 percent over the past year.
"A lot of people who are in our lines this year were donors last year," she said.
The food bank, which receives food largely through private donations and grocery store surplus, never turns anyone away.
Though, the common thread through all forms of food handouts is the risk of a lack of adequate nutrition.
"Healthy food costs more," said Stone. "You can certainly afford more top ramen and macaroni and cheese than fresh fruits and vegetables."
Because of underfunding, food programs cannot buy high quality foods.
One of the groups with the greatest food hardships is families with young children. Kids in their early years usually have young parents, which means less time having been established in the work force, and a greater need for governmental help.
Already, 42 percent of eligible school age children are signed up to receive free or reduced priced meal programs at school, according to Stone. Though, only 11 percent of those children enrolled have access to free meals in the summer.
Stone believes the lawmakers can help make a difference in this area. Child nutrition programs are up for reauthorization before Congress this year, so legislators will be required to rewrite the law governing meals available to children.
"We're asking state legislature to provide $250,000 grants to communities," said Stone. "We're in a terrible budget year but frankly we've got a lot of legislators this year who really get it." She said the investment would leverage $3 million to $4 million in federal money.
Washington second district Rep. Rick Larsen, proposed a bill in Dec. 2009 that would also provide after school snacks for children of low-income families. It would function as an amendment to the Child Nutrition Act, expanding federal reimbursement for organizations that provide after-school snacks.
"Our country has a moral obligation to make sure that kids get enough to eat every day," said Rep. Larsens in a Dec. 10 press release. "Improving nutrition for low-income kids helps them perform better in school and avoid serious health problems down the road."
By ticking off the list of available food sources in the Seattle area, it is possible to stay fed, even if it is with great difficulty and without ideal nutrition. However, the greater problem of poverty remains.