02-11-2025  7:06 am   •   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

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

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Portland Trail Blazers Host First-ever Albina Rose Alliance Game

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

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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

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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

Abe Proctor of The Skanner

From time to time, everybody can use a helping hand. Whether you're looking for work and need some assistance polishing your resume, or whether you're a business owner trying to get past those critical first few years, a helping hand at the right time can make all the difference.

Fortunately for workers and business owners in certain parts of North and Northeast Portland, just such a helping hand exists.

In partnership with the city of Portland's Bureau of Housing and Community Development, the Enterprise Community Commission is accepting proposals for $187,000 in grants to be divided between private- and public-sector recipients. The commission's initial proposal deadline was April 28, but that has been indefinitely extended, said Sheila Holden, commission chair.

The Portland Enterprise Community was created 12 years ago during the Clinton administration. Similar to the Enterprise Zones created at about the same time, the enterprise community received special priority when it came to the disbursement of grant funds. Although the area's enterprise community designation has since lapsed, after its pre-ordained 10-year run, the commission set up to administer the grant funds that flow to the area is still around — and it's still disbursing funds to help the area create jobs and build wealth.

"The Enterprise Community Commission … originally started out as a joint partnership between Multnomah County, the city of Portland and the North/Northeast Economic Development Alliance," Holden said. "We applied for a federal designation as an Enterprise Zone. We didn't get that, but we did get a designation as a federal Enterprise Community.
With that designation came a 10-year ability to get first consideration for federal government funds when there was a program or grant opportunity that tied back to the goals for the North/Northeast community, Holden said.

Once established, the commission stepped into its role, handing out federal funds to organizations and businesses within the enterprise community. Over 10 years, the commission leveraged some $31 million into the community, Holden said.
Most of the funds went to small and emerging businesses; many had a credit status that made them a bad risk with traditional lending agencies, like banks and credit unions. The rest of the funds went to nonprofit organizations dedicated to training people to be reliable, employable workers.

The enterprise community's boundaries don't resemble anything like a regular shape. It encompasses the south shore of the Columbia River from where it meets the Willamette River east to just past the end of Hayden Island. From there, it follows an irregular path south to the east bank of the Willamette River, roughly between the Fremont Bridge and Interstate 84.

"We picked the poorest Census tracts, and the places where we thought people could create jobs," Holden said of the community's oddly shaped borders.

But the commission doesn't hand out money to just anyone. Businesses that receive funds must face a rigorous evaluation process before, during and after the grant process, Holden said. Not only do business owners need to put their own equity into the business and demonstrate a solid business plan,  they also must be able to prove that they are sticking to it, and that their plan is contributing to the economic health of the larger community.

"They have to show that they've actually been successful in growing their business if they're going to receive funds," she said. "After we review their activities and make recommendations, we have a consultant come in to make a review.

"Based on the conversation we have with the consultant, we then decide what we're actually going to provide, in dollars, and what the work plan is going to be, and what the performance is going to be if we're going to consider it a success. Our purpose is not just to provide money, but to see some real results."

Jennie Portis makes use of the public-sector side of the fund's activities. Portis is the director of the Northeast Workforce Center, a neighborhood hub for job skills training and other employment-related services. She also provides administrative services to the Enterprise Community Commission.

Portis said the commission and the fund have been invaluable to the workforce center's efforts.

"We're still operating on the same pot of money we got from the Bureau of Housing and Community Development during the last round of grants two years ago," Portis said. "It was about $500,000 over two years, administered by the Enterprise Community Commission."

While the lion's share of the grants administered by the commission go to small businesses, Portis said, the monies that go to organizations like the workforce center are essential to the complete picture of creating wealth in the community.

"We often help people who are part of the working poor," she said. "When you're out there flipping burgers, you're not making much money, but you've worked yourself out of a lot of (assistance) programs, and you still need help."

The grant funds used by the workforce center train and house people so they can find stable jobs and stable housing situations. This helps people escape the vicious circle of being unable to find a job because they don't have a permanent address, and being unable to have a permanent address because they don't have income from a job.

"The people that we're working with … also need assistance with their (rental) housing," Portis said. "People who are trying to improve their housing situation are also needing to improve their income situation. Without the one, there is no other."

To qualify for grant funds from the commission, businesses must be located in the enterprise community or employ people who live in it. To apply, contact the Enterprise Community Commission, care of the Black United Fund of Oregon, 2828 N.E. Alberta St., Portland, OR 97211.