On Steps of US Supreme Court, AG Rosenblum Rallies Abortion Rights Supporters
Speaking at an ACLU-organized rally on the steps of the United States Supreme Court this morning, Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum made an impassioned defense of abortion as essential healthcare, and of medication abortion as a key part of those healthcare rights. The rally coincided with arguments being presented inside the Supreme Court in the AHM (Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine) v. FDA (Food & Drug Administration) case.
Should College Essays Touch on Race? Some Feel the Affirmative Action Ruling Leaves Them No Choice
When the Supreme Court ended affirmative action, it left the college essay as one of few places where race can play a role in admissions decisions. Yet the added weight of the college essay has fallen unevenly on students of color, who often feel pressure to exploit their hardships as they compete for a spot on campus.
Bird Flu, Weather and Inflation Conspire to Keep Egg Prices Near Historic Highs for Easter
The cost of filling a basket or completing a Seder plate reflect a market scrambled by disease, high demand and growing costs for farmers. While global prices are lower than they were at this time last year, they remain elevated.
Strippers' Bill of Rights Bill Signed Into Law in Washington State
Gov. Jay Inslee signed the measure on Monday which creates safer working conditions for people in the adult entertainment industry. The law requires employee training in establishments to prevent sexual harassment, identify and report human trafficking, deescalate conflict and provide first aid.
The Portland Art Museum presents Future Now: Virtual Sneakers to Cutting-Edge Kicks
Exhibition on view March 30 - August 11, 2024. Programs to include sneaker-focused Summer Camps and in-gallery activities ...
Portland Street Response Hosts Town Hall
PCCEP is seeking community input to help shape their recommendation in support of Portland Street Response. ...
Joint Center Responds to the U.S. House Office of Diversity and Inclusion Disbandment
This decision jeopardizes the establishment of policies to support diverse communities and threatens the pursuit of inclusivity for...
Bonamici, Kaine Praise Billion Dollar Increase for Child Care, Early Childhood Learning
Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) and Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) —members of the House Committee on Education and Workforce and the...
Portland Rose Festival 2024 Court Member from Benson Polytechnic High School Announced
The Rose Festival Princess from Benson Polytechnic High School, Laedyn Romero, was selected March 22. ...
What's keeping egg prices high for Easter? It's not just inflation
Egg prices are at near-historic highs in many parts of the world as the spring holidays approach, reflecting a market scrambled by disease, high demand and growing costs for farmers. It’s the second year in a row consumers have faced sticker shock ahead of Easter and Passover, both...
Lou Whittaker, among the most famous American mountaineers, has died at age 95
SEATTLE (AP) — Lou Whittaker, a legendary American mountaineer who helped lead ascents of Mount Everest, K2 and Denali, and who taught generations of climbers during his more than 250 trips up Mount Rainier, the tallest peak in Washington state, has died at age 95. RMI Expeditions,...
Georgia ends game on 12-0 run to beat Missouri 64-59 in first round of SEC tourney
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Blue Cain had 19 points, Justin Hill scored 17 off the bench and 11th-seeded Georgia finished the game on a 12-0 run to beat No. 14 seed Missouri 64-59 on Wednesday night in the first round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament. Cain hit 6 of 12 shots,...
Georgia faces Missouri in SEC Tournament
Missouri Tigers (8-23, 0-18 SEC) vs. Georgia Bulldogs (16-15, 6-12 SEC) Nashville, Tennessee; Wednesday, 9:30 p.m. EDT FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK LINE: Bulldogs -3; over/under is 147 BOTTOM LINE: Georgia plays in the SEC Tournament against Missouri. ...
COMMENTARY: Is a Cultural Shift on the Horizon?
As with all traditions in all cultures, it is up to the elders to pass down the rituals, food, language, and customs that identify a group. So, if your auntie, uncle, mom, and so on didn’t teach you how to play Spades, well, that’s a recipe lost. But...
A Full Court Press to Get the Lead Out
With a “goal of identifying and remediating lead hazards in at least 2,800 Lancaster County homes,” LG Health is setting an example for the private sector. And the Biden-Harris administration’s focus on environmental justice and access to clean and safe...
OP-ED: Congress Is Right: Federal Reserve’s Reg II Will Hurt Minority Communities in America
The Fed is taking every effort to promote income equality and workplace diversity and inclusion, but Regulation II would undercut its great work in this respect and cause potential harm to millions of minority families. Now that a congressional coalition has...
OP-ED: A Silent Killer No More
Data from Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City shows that more than 13 percent of African American men between the ages 45 and 79 will develop prostate cancer in their lifetimes. And Black men have a 70 percent higher rate of developing...
US changes how it categorizes people by race and ethnicity. It's the first revision in 27 years
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — For the first time in 27 years, the U.S. government is changing how it categorizes people by race and ethnicity, an effort that federal officials believe will more accurately count residents who identify as Hispanic and of Middle Eastern and North African heritage. ...
Key findings from AP's investigation into police force that isn't supposed to be lethal
Every day, police in the U.S. rely on common use-of-force tactics that, unlike guns, are meant to stop people without killing them. But when misused, these tactics can still end in death. Over a decade, more than 1,000 people died after police subdued them through physical holds, stun...
Why did more than 1,000 people die after police subdued them with force that isn't meant to kill?
Carl Grant, a Vietnam veteran with dementia, wandered out of a hospital room to charge a cellphone he imagined he had. When he wouldn’t sit still, the police officer escorting Grant body-slammed him, ricocheting the patient’s head off the floor. Taylor Ware, a former Marine and...
Celebrity birthdays for the week of March 31-April 6
Celebrity birthdays for the week of March 31-April 6: March 31: Actor William Daniels (“St. Elsewhere,” ″Boy Meets World”) is 97. Actor Richard Chamberlain is 90. Actor Shirley Jones is 90. Musician Herb Alpert is 89. Actor Christopher Walken is 81. Comedian Gabe Kaplan...
How to make an Easter ham last all week
The beauty of making a baked ham for Easter (or any holiday or large gathering) is that there's bound to be leftovers. Leftover ham, which will last for up to five days in the fridge, can be a springboard for other meals during the week. Of course you’ll want a sandwich or two, but...
Book Review: 'Glorious Exploits' turns classical history into an endearing comedy about tragedy
Best friends Lampo and Gelon are potters by trade, but their souls are filled with poetry. It’s 412 B.C. and the city of Syracuse doesn’t know what hit it when these two hatch up the best worst idea: They’ll put on a play using the Athenian prisoners of war who are starving to death down in...
VP Harris says US agencies must show their AI tools aren't harming people's safety or rights
U.S. federal agencies must show that their artificial intelligence tools aren't harming the public, or stop using...
Pope, looking strong, washes feet of 12 women at Rome prison from his wheelchair
ROME (AP) — Pope Francis washed and kissed the feet of 12 women inmates at a Rome prison during a Holy Thursday...
US journalist marks a year in a Russian prison as courts keep extending his time behind bars
For Evan Gershkovich, the dozen appearances in Moscow's courts over the past year have fallen into a pattern. ...
Venezuelans are increasingly stuck in Mexico, explaining drop in illegal crossings to US
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Venezuelan migrants often have a quick answer when asked to name the most difficult stretch...
King Charles stresses importance of kindness as he skips pre-Easter service amid cancer treatment
LONDON (AP) — King Charles III on Thursday stressed the importance of friendship and acts of caring in a...
Four people die in Spain in separate incidents after falling into sea along coast amid high winds
MADRID (AP) — Four people have died in three separate incidents on Spain's Atlantic and Mediterranean coastlines...
United Way CEO Keith Thomajan, photo courtesy United Way of the Columbia Willamette
A year into his new job at United Way of the Columbia Willamette, CEO Keith Thomajan was at a crossroads. Listening to his staff and board, Thomajan had heard their hunger for real change. At the same time, reports on family poverty in Multnomah County showed the problems were persistent.
"Nearly half of the kids in our region are growing up in desperately low-income families," Thomajan says.
"On a daily basis they are making choices between food and rent. That was staggering to me."
United Way staff knew they had been funding some excellent work, but they wanted to do more. They wanted to break the cycle of poverty that sees children who are born poor stay poor."
"Despite our long history of doing good, we saw that our kids and families in poverty were falling farther and farther behind," Thomajan says. "And when we looked at the data by race, we saw profound and savage inequalities for communities of color."
United Way of the Columbia Willamette estimates that from 2000-2012 child poverty rose by 65 percent across its service area: Clark, Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington counties. That means about 100,000 children in our region live in poverty.
Founded 125 years ago, United Way is made up of dozens of local groups which each set their own funding priorities. Taken together, these local groups form the largest nonprofit in the world, pulling in donations of more than $5 billion a year.
Locally United Way of the Columbia Willamette brought in $21.6 million last year. Donors earmarked just over $12 million for their favorite charities. The rest will go to the nonprofit’s three key programs:
Thomajan, just named Nonprofit CEO of the Year by the Portland Business Journal, says breaking the cycle of poverty demanded a new approach.
To get there, United Way’s leadership group rewrote their funding policies. Instead of doling out grants check by check to worthy programs, they would make a bigger long-term commitment to a smaller group of organizations. And instead of funding each nonprofit to work alone, United Way would ask them to work together.
The new community transformation strategy, Successful Families 2020, is at the heart of the new plan. It will fund six nonprofits for five years: Self Enhancement Inc., Albina Head Start; Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization; Latino Network; Metropolitan Family Service; and the Native American Youth and Family Center. Self Enhancement Inc., is the lead organization.
The six will share $750,000 a year for the next five years, a total of $3.75 million. The money is unrestricted, but it comes with a mission. All six organizations must work together to shift the needle on poverty.
Across the region, 100,000 –that’s one in five – children are living in poverty. Successful Families 2020 will work with around 5,000 of those children, helping them graduate from school. Up to 200 of those students should be able to attend college, improving the group's expected lifetime earnings by $150 million.
"These are all organizations that are getting outsize outcomes," Thomajan says. "Our belief is that if we can start to amplify success for these families we will begin to see systemic change."
Child Poverty by Race in Multnomah County
White Alone: 18 percent
African American: 52 percent
American Indian/Alaska Native: 49 percent
Asian: 15 percent
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 43 percent
2+ Races: 19 percent
Hispanic/Latino: 38 percent