04-25-2024  3:53 am   •   PDX and SEA Weather
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NORTHWEST NEWS

A Conservative Quest to Limit Diversity Programs Gains Momentum in States

In support of DEI, Oregon and Washington have forged ahead with legislation to expand their emphasis on diversity, equity and inclusion in government and education.

Epiphanny Prince Hired by Liberty in Front Office Job Day After Retiring

A day after announcing her retirement, Epiphanny Prince has a new job working with the New York Liberty as director of player and community engagement. Prince will serve on the basketball operations and business staffs, bringing her 14 years of WNBA experience to the franchise. 

The Drug War Devastated Black and Other Minority Communities. Is Marijuana Legalization Helping?

A major argument for legalizing the adult use of cannabis after 75 years of prohibition was to stop the harm caused by disproportionate enforcement of drug laws in Black, Latino and other minority communities. But efforts to help those most affected participate in the newly legal sector have been halting. 

Lessons for Cities from Seattle’s Racial and Social Justice Law 

 Seattle is marking the first anniversary of its landmark Race and Social Justice Initiative ordinance. Signed into law in April 2023, the ordinance highlights race and racism because of the pervasive inequities experienced by people of color

NEWS BRIEFS

Mt. Tabor Park Selected for National Initiative

Mt. Tabor Park is the only Oregon park and one of just 24 nationally to receive honor. ...

OHCS, BuildUp Oregon Launch Program to Expand Early Childhood Education Access Statewide

Funds include million for developing early care and education facilities co-located with affordable housing. ...

Governor Kotek Announces Chief of Staff, New Office Leadership

Governor expands executive team and names new Housing and Homelessness Initiative Director ...

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 ...

Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge US to prosecute the company

Boeing said Wednesday that it lost 5 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers. ...

Authorities confirm 2nd victim of ex-Washington officer was 17-year-old with whom he had a baby

WEST RICHLAND, Wash. (AP) — Authorities on Wednesday confirmed that a body found at the home of a former Washington state police officer who killed his ex-wife before fleeing to Oregon, where he died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, was that of a 17-year-old girl with whom he had a baby. ...

Missouri hires Memphis athletic director Laird Veatch for the same role with the Tigers

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri hired longtime college administrator Laird Veatch to be its athletic director on Tuesday, bringing him back to campus 14 years after he departed for a series of other positions that culminated with five years spent as the AD at Memphis. Veatch...

KC Current owners announce plans for stadium district along the Kansas City riverfront

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The ownership group of the Kansas City Current announced plans Monday for the development of the Missouri River waterfront, where the club recently opened a purpose-built stadium for the National Women's Soccer League team. CPKC Stadium will serve as the hub...

OPINION

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...

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. ...

AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE NEWS

Bishop stabbed during Sydney church service backs X's legal case to share video of the attack

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — A Sydney bishop who was stabbed repeatedly in an alleged extremist attack blamed on a teenager has backed X Corp. owner Elon Musk’s legal bid to overturn an Australian ban on sharing graphic video of the attack on social media. A live stream of the...

Biden just signed a bill that could ban TikTok. His campaign plans to stay on the app anyway

WASHINGTON (AP) — When President Joe Biden showed off his putting during a campaign stop at a public golf course in Michigan last month, the moment was captured on TikTok. Forced inside by a rainstorm, he competed with 13-year-old Hurley “HJ” Coleman IV to make putts on a...

2021 death of young Black man at rural Missouri home was self-inflicted, FBI tells AP

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A federal investigation has concluded that a young Black man died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound inside a rural Missouri home, not at the hands of the white homeowner who had a history of racist social media postings, an FBI official told The Associated Press Wednesday. ...

ENTERTAINMENT

Music Review: Jazz pianist Fred Hersch creates subdued, lovely colors on 'Silent, Listening'

Jazz pianist Fred Hersch fully embraces the freedom that comes with improvisation on his solo album “Silent, Listening,” spontaneously composing and performing tunes that are often without melody, meter or form. Listening to them can be challenging and rewarding. The many-time...

Book Review: 'Nothing But the Bones' is a compelling noir novel at a breakneck pace

Nelson “Nails” McKenna isn’t very bright, stumbles over his words and often says what he’s thinking without realizing it. We first meet him as a boy reading a superhero comic on the banks of a river in his backcountry hometown in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Georgia....

Cardi B, Queen Latifah and The Roots to headline the BET Experience concerts in Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Cardi B, Queen Latifah and The Roots will headline concerts to celebrate the return of the BET Experience in Los Angeles just days before the 2024 BET Awards. BET announced Monday the star-studded lineup of the concert series, which makes a return after a...

U.S. & WORLD NEWS

The Latest | Israeli strikes in Rafah kill at least 5 as ship comes under attack in the Gulf of Aden

Palestinian hospital officials said Israeli airstrikes on the southern city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip killed at...

Columbia's president, no stranger to complex challenges, walks tightrope on student protests

Columbia University president Minouche Shafik is no stranger to navigating complex international issues, having...

US growth likely slowed last quarter but still pointed to a solid economy

WASHINGTON (AP) — Coming off a robust end to 2023, the U.S. economy is thought to have extended its surprisingly...

French president will outline his vision for Europe as an assertive global power amid war in Ukraine

PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to outline his vision for Europe to become a more...

Ship comes under attack off coast of Yemen as Houthi rebel campaign appears to gain new speed

JERUSALEM (AP) — A ship traveling in the Gulf of Aden came under attack Thursday, officials said, the latest...

With war in Ukraine on its border, Poland wants to be among the countries setting Europe's agenda

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski told parliament on Thursday that the government...

CNN


Two Northern California men are due in federal court Wednesday in what began as another big pot-growing drug bust but what has become a horrifying story of one teenager's alleged torment, captivity and sexual abuse.

The criminal complaint against the two men -- Ryan Balletto, 30, and Patrick Pearmain, 24 -- outlines the allegations of a 15-year-old girl's ordeal of being held in a coffin-like box for hours on end at a marijuana-growing "farm" where she worked trimming plants.

Balletto and Pearmain were criminally charged in federal court earlier this month -- and are in custody without bail -- with conspiracy to manufacture and distribute more than 1,000 marijuana plants and with using a minor in a drug operation. Additionally Pearmain faces state charges of kidnapping to commit robbery or rape and unlawful sex with a minor. Balletto faces state charges of lewd and lascivious acts with a child.

Efforts Tuesday to reach attorneys for the two men were not successful.

The girl sometimes was held in a metal toolbox 4 feet long, 2 feet wide and 2 feet high, authorities said. According to the criminal complaint, she told authorities that the men "put her in the box to 'teach' her because they had a 'point to prove.'"

The girl referred to the marijuana operation as a "mission" and said the men locked her in the box to protect the operation, according to the complaint.

"Specifically, they did not want (the girl) to 'ruin the mission' or 'go off and say something about the mission,'" the complaint stated.

The box was hoisted at an angle to allow a hose to be inserted "to wash her off and rinse human waste from the inside of the box without letting her out," the complaint said.

Federal authorities declined to comment Tuesday on the whereabouts or current condition of the girl.

But a psychologist who had read about the case told CNN that he was shocked by the details and that he believes the girl will suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.

"She is so different from, say, a POW ... She was in a box. She's going to need a lot of therapeutic treatment," said California-based clinical psychologist Mark Burdick, who is not involved in the case.

"This is obviously a very traumatic situation for her...It is cruel, cruel and unusual punishment for a 15-year-old girl, and she will undoubtedly need a structured therapeutic environment for what could be years," Burdick said.

According to the criminal complaint, federal agents began a suspected narcotics investigation in late 2011, and Balletto was one of the individuals suspected. Last August, agents identified land that he had bought in Lake County, California, north of San Francisco.

During a surveillance flyover of that land in April, a Lake County detective spotted two greenhouses that appeared to be full of marijuana plants.

Meanwhile, also in April, the Los Angeles Police Department "requested urgent assistance of the Lake County Sheriff's Department regarding a missing juvenile from the Los Angeles area," the complaint stated.

The minor was traced from a cell phone call to a hotel in Sacramento, where she was found with Pearmain on April 30, the complaint said. He was immediately taken into custody, and the girl was placed in protective custody.

Authorities said they also found a black notebook in Pearmain's possession with a script apparently for the girl to read from if confronted by police.

Balletto was taken into custody on May 1 when he was found in a trailer on the property that had been under surveillance.

According to the complaint, the minor said she worked for Balletto by trimming the marijuana plants on what she referred to as the "farm."

The girl then went on to describe an ordeal of being held in the box twice "for a total of approximately three days," according to the complaint. She said both men "engaged in multiple sex acts with her," and Balletto "told her she was a 'trooper' because she didn't scream in the box," the complaint said.

"A poem signed by (the girl) found in Balletto's trailer described her life as being locked inside a box with holes in it," the complaint added.

At the property, authorities found the two greenhouses with 970 individually potted and irrigated marijuana plants, according to the complaint. Authorities later found a third greenhouse with an additional 346 plants.

Authorities also uncovered a stash of weapons including, assault rifles, pistols, shotguns, loaded magazines, night-vision scopes, ballistic face masks and gas masks, body armor and a large cache of assorted ammunition, according to the complaint.

The Northern District of California U.S. attorney's office said a search of Balletto's residence uncovered even more weapons, including several sniper rifles and additional assault rifles.

Lake County Sheriff's Department Lt. Chris Chwialkowski said the stash was one of the largest collection of weapons seized in his department's history.

Tatum King, acting special agent in charge of investigations for the Homeland Security office in San Francisco, which mounted the federal narcotics investigation, said, "The criminal groups involved in growing and trafficking marijuana have repeatedly shown they have no qualms about using violence and intimidation against those who get in their way.

"In this case the alleged victim was only 15 years old."

 

The Skanner Foundation's 38th Annual MLK Breakfast