08-31-2024  6:48 pm   •   PDX and SEA Weather

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4

NORTHWEST NEWS

Police in Washington City Banned From Personalizing Equipment in Settlement Over Shooting Black Man

The city of Olympia, Washington, will pay 0,000 to the family of Timothy Green, a Black man shot and killed by police, in a settlement that also stipulates that officers will be barred from personalizing any work equipment.The settlement stops the display of symbols on equipment like the thin blue line on an American flag, which were displayed when Green was killed. The agreement also requires that members of the police department complete state training “on the historical intersection between race and policing.”

City Elections Officials Explain Ranked-Choice Voting

Portland voters will still vote by mail, but have a chance to vote on more candidates. 

PCC Celebrates Black Business Month

Streetwear brand Stackin Kickz and restaurant Norma Jean’s Soul Cuisine showcase the impact that PCC alums have in the North Portland community and beyond

Unusually Cold Storm That Frosted West Coast Peaks Provided a Hint of Winter in August

The calendar briefly skipped ahead to November as the system dropped out of the Gulf of Alaska, down through the Pacific Northwest and into California. Mount Rainier, southeast of Seattle, got a high-elevation dusting. Central Oregon’s Mt. Bachelor resort did, too. A spokesperson at the resort says it was exciting to see the flakes flying. Far northern California's Mount Shasta also wore a white blanket after the storm clouds passed, and the Yosemite high country received a dusting.

NEWS BRIEFS

RACC Launches New Grant Program for Portland Art Community

Grants between jumi,000 and ,000 will be awarded to support arts programs and activities that show community impact. ...

Oregon Company Awarded Up to $50 Million

Gov. Kotek Joined National Institute of Standards and Technology Director Laurie E. Locascio in Corvallis for the...

Greater Vancouver Chamber Announces Finalists for 2024 Business and Leadership Awards

Two Ways to Celebrate: Live-Streamed Ceremony and In-Person VIP Social, Set for October 10 ...

US National Parks Are Receiving Record-High Gift of $100M

The National Park Foundation was created by Congress in the 1960s to support national parks. It will receive the donation from...

3 dead after small plane crashes into row of townhouses in Oregon, TV station reports

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Three people were dead after a small plane crashed into a row of townhouses Saturday morning in a neighborhood east of Portland, setting the homes ablaze, authorities told KATU-TV. Officials earlier in the day had said the plane was carrying two people and that...

Workers breach key Klamath dams, allowing salmon to swim freely for the first time in a century

Workers breached the final dams on a key section of the Klamath River on Wednesday, clearing the way for salmon to swim freely through a major watershed near the California-Oregon border for the first time in more than a century as the largest dam removal project in U.S. history nears completion. ...

Brady Cook, Luther Burden III show No. 11 Missouri's potential in opening 51-0 rout of Murray State

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — It was hardly surprising that Missouri's Brady Cook looked for Luther Burden III on the first play of the season. How far the No. 11 Tigers go will the rest of the way will depend largely upon them. Cook, the senior quarterback, and Burden, his...

Brady Cook, Luther Burden III lead No. 11 Missouri to season-opening 51-0 rout of Murray State

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Brady Cook threw for 218 yards with touchdowns running and throwing, Toriano Pride Jr. returned an interception 25 yards for a score, and No. 11 Missouri routed Murray State 51-0 on Thursday night in the season opener for both teams. Luther Burden III had a...

OPINION

America Needs Kamala Harris to Win

Because a 'House Divided Against Itself Cannot Stand' ...

Student Loan Debt Drops $10 Billion Due to Biden Administration Forgiveness; New Education Department Rules Hold Hope for 30 Million More Borrowers

As consumers struggle to cope with mounting debt, a new economic report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York includes an unprecedented glimmer of hope. Although debt for mortgages, credit cards, auto loans and more increased by billions of...

Carolyn Leonard - Community Leader Until The End, But How Do We Remember Her?

That was Carolyn. Always thinking about what else she could do for the community, even as she herself lay dying in bed. A celebration of Carolyn Leonard’s life will be held on August 17. ...

‘Deepfakes’ Require a Real Federal Response

The stakes of November’s election are real. Campaign communications should be, too. ...

AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE NEWS

California lawmakers pass landmark bills to atone for racism, but hold off on fund to take action

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California lawmakers this week passed some of the nation’s most ambitious legislation aimed at atoning for a legacy of racist policies that drove disparities for Black people, from housing to education to health. None of the bills would provide widespread...

On the first day without X, many Brazilians say they feel disconnected from the world

SAO PAULO (AP) — The blocking of social media platform X in Brazil divided users and politicians over the legitimacy of the ban, and many Brazilians on Sunday had difficulty and doubts over navigating other social media in its absence. The shutdown of Elon Musk’s platform started...

Brazil blocks Musk’s X after company refuses to name local representative amid feud with judge

SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil started blocking Elon Musk’s social media platform X early Saturday, making it largely inaccessible on both the web and through its mobile app after the company refused to comply with a judge’s order. X missed a deadline imposed by Supreme Court Justice...

ENTERTAINMENT

Book Review: 'Swallow the Ghost' a promising but uneven exploration of memory in internet age

In many ways, Eugenie Montague's “Swallow the Ghost” feels like three separate novels. That's what makes her debut novel so imaginative — and also so frustrating. The story's center is Jane Murphy, who works at a New York social media startup on an internet novel that's become a...

Celebrity birthdays for the week of Sept. 1-7

Celebrity birthdays for the week of Sept. 1-7: Sept. 1: Comedian-actor Lily Tomlin is 85. Singer Archie Bell of Archie Bell and the Drells is 80. Singer Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees is 78. Drummer Greg Errico of Sly and the Family Stone is 76. Talk show host Dr. Phil is 74. Singer...

Book Review: Technology and chaotic government programs doom family farms in 'Land Rich Cash Poor'

Brian Reisinger's “Land Rich Cash Poor” emerges as an anthem to the family farm in America, romanticized despite the never-ending work even in good times, which have been sparse in the last century. The book follows a procession of efforts by other authors laboring to explain...

U.S. & WORLD NEWS

Catholic diocese sues US government, worried some foreign-born priests might be forced to leave

For more than a year, religious organizations have lobbied Congress and the Biden administration to fix a sudden...

Japan wants its hardworking citizens to try a 4-day workweek

TOKYO (AP) — Japan, a nation so hardworking its language has a term for literally working oneself to death, is...

Error messages and lengthy online queues frustrate fans scrambling to secure Oasis reunion tickets

LONDON (AP) — Some Oasis fans celebrated like a champagne supernova, while others looked back in anger on...

When the US left Kabul, these Americans tried to help Afghans left behind. It still haunts them

The United States' longest war is over. But not for everyone. Outside of San Francisco, surgeon Doug...

Ukraine somberly marks 33 years of independence as war with Russia rages on

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine somberly marked its 33rd Independence Day on Saturday, setting the usual fireworks,...

6 people hurt in a knife attack on a bus in Germany. No political or religious motive seen

BERLIN (AP) — Police arrested a 32-year-old woman after six people were hurt in a knife attack on a bus headed...

From Staff and Wire Reports

A chart at the top of the facebook developers website Thursday tracked response time for repairs to the social network Wednesday and Thursday.

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Untold millions of Facebook users scrambled desperately to access Bejeweled, Mafia Wars and Farmville today as the mega-social network crashed and stayed down for hours.
Meanwhile, Mark Zuckerberg, the 26-year-old wunderkind behind Facebook is making a move to become a player in philanthropy just before the opening of a film that portrays him as less than charitable.
The site's heavy crash sent waves of panic around much of the world, demonstrating how the tentacles of its applications. The Associated Press quoted TechCrunch's analysis: "This is a problem not just because the site is down, but Facebook's omnipresent Like button is also completely down, and so is Connect, and Platform — in other words, the entire Internet (or a good percentage of it) is feeling this pain."
Normal service was restored just after 5 p.m. Eastern standard time.
Zuckerberg no doubts eyes will return to his $100 million donation — thought to be the biggest of his young life — to the Newark public schools, a long-struggling district that could use the money to become a laboratory for reforms.

 

Facebook tycoon Mark Zuckerberg
The donation is being announced Friday on Oprah Winfrey's TV show in an arrangement that brings together the young Internet tycoon, Newark's celebrated Democratic mayor and a governor who has quickly become a star of the Republican party.
The unusual coalition is more evidence of the growing cache of the cause of remaking urban public schools, an issue that has long confounded educators and advocates.
"What you're seeing is for the under-40 set, education reform is what feeding kids in Africa was in 1980," said Derrell Bradford, the executive director of the Newark-based education reform group Excellent Education for Everyone. "Newark public schools are like the new Live Aid."
Zuckerberg is not the first person to get rich on technology and then donate some of his wealth to urban schools.
Last year, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced $290 million in education grants, along with $45 million for research into effective teaching. The grants included $100 million to Hillsborough County Public Schools in Tampa, Fla., and $90 million to Memphis City Schools. The Gates Foundation also has given than $150 million to New York City schools over the past eight years, primarily for a project to transform its high schools into small schools.
An official familiar with the Newark plan confirmed it to The Associated Press on Thursday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the parties have been told not to usurp the announcement on Winfrey's show. The donation was first reported by The Star-Ledger of Newark.
The state Education Department, Facebook and the Newark mayor's office have been mum on the donation, but that hasn't stopped Gov. Chris Christie and Newark Mayor Cory Booker from hinting about it on their Twitter accounts.
Booker tweeted: "Looking forward to Oprah on Friday! Please tune in to learn more about what's going on in Newark." Christie replied: "See you in Chicago," then added: "Great things to come for education in Newark."
The deal also sets the stage for Christie's announcement next week on his plans to reform the state's schools.
Some suggested that altruism was not the only thing driving the gift.
The announcement comes a week before the film "The Social Network" opens widely. The movie, whose tagline is "You don't get to 500 million friends without making a few enemies," portrays Zuckerberg as taking the idea for Facebook from other Harvard students. It is to debut at the New York Film Festival on Friday.
"I hate to be cynical and there are few districts in the nation that couldn't use an infusion of cash more than Newark," wrote blogger Christopher Dawson on ZDNet. "However, the timing of the announcement, coinciding with a high-profile return of district control from the state of New Jersey to the municipality of Newark, on Oprah no less, feels a little too staged."
Forbes.com on Thursday was asking readers: "Was the gift heartfelt or cunning PR?"
Zuckerberg is worth $6.9 billion, good enough to make him the 35th wealthiest American, according to Forbes magazine rankings out this week. His massive donation establishes him as a major player in philanthropy, placing him alongside others made wealthy by technology innovations, including Microsoft Corp. co-founders Bill Gates and Paul Allen.
Details have not been disclosed on how the money may be spent in Newark, where the school district budget this year is $940 million, but it will likely give Booker some control over his city's school district.
The schools have been state-run since 1995 but consistently have some of the state's lowest scores on standardized tests and worst graduation rates. The problems have continued to mount despite major infusions of funds from the state government, which has been under court order to improve schools in Newark and other impoverished New Jersey cities.
According to the official with knowledge of the plans, Christie won't give up state control of Newark schools as part of the deal, but will authorize Booker to implement the education plan. Christie will still have ultimate control and can veto any moves.
Christie, like Booker, is an advocate of more publicly funded charter schools, using public money to send children to private schools and paying teachers partly based on how well students perform. The ideas from both often make teachers unions bristle, though union officials in Newark declined to comment.
For Christie, the deal may be a way to recover from the biggest misstep of his administration so far: Last month, the state missed out on a $400 million federal education grant because of a simple error on its application. Former state Education Commissioner Bret Schundler was fired in the aftermath.
Education scholars and advocates will be watching closely.
Newark and other impoverished New Jersey districts have received infusions of state funding over the last two decades, but they've still lagged far behind schools in the suburbs. Advocates are hoping the effort brings reform, not just money.
"Just throwing a lot of money at a problem doesn't necessarily solve anything, and I think past history demonstrates this," said Joseph DePeirro, dean of education at Seton Hall University.
Bradford, of the Newark-based education reform group, said: "If you are enormously successful, then you really have outlined a model of how you can use private philanthropy to break the status quo. And if you fail, you've given everybody a billion reasons never to try again."
___
Mulvihill reported from Trenton. Associated Press writer Beth DeFalco in Trenton contributed to this report.