04-24-2024  8:49 am   •   PDX and SEA Weather
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NORTHWEST NEWS

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

Don’t Shoot Portland, University of Oregon Team Up for Black Narratives, Memory

The yearly Memory Work for Black Lives Plenary shows the power of preservation.

Grants Pass Anti-Camping Laws Head to Supreme Court

Grants Pass in southern Oregon has become the unlikely face of the nation’s homelessness crisis as its case over anti-camping laws goes to the U.S. Supreme Court scheduled for April 22. The case has broad implications for cities, including whether they can fine or jail people for camping in public. Since 2020, court orders have barred Grants Pass from enforcing its anti-camping laws. Now, the city is asking the justices to review lower court rulings it says has prevented it from addressing the city's homelessness crisis. Rights groups say people shouldn’t be punished for lacking housing.

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 ...

A conservative quest to limit diversity programs gains momentum in states

A conservative quest to limit diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives is gaining momentum in state capitals and college governing boards, with officials in about one-third of the states now taking some sort of action against it. Tennessee became the latest when the Republican...

Biden administration is announcing plans for up to 12 lease sales for offshore wind energy

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The Biden administration is preparing to announce plans for a new five-year schedule to lease federal offshore tracts for wind energy production, with up to a dozen lease sales anticipated beginning this year and continuing through 2028. The plan was to be...

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

ENTERTAINMENT

What to stream this weekend: Conan O’Brien travels, 'Migration' soars and Taylor Swift reigns

Zack Snyder’s “Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver” landing on Netflix and Taylor Swift’s “The Tortured Poets Department” album are some of the new television, movies, music and games headed to a device near you. Also among the streaming offerings worth your time as...

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....

U.S. & WORLD NEWS

Blinken begins key China visit as tensions rise over new US foreign aid bill

SHANGHAI (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has begun a critical trip to China armed with a...

The Latest | Germany will resume working with UN relief agency for Palestinians after a review

Germany said Wednesday that it plans to follow several other countries in resuming cooperation with the U.N....

Pro-Palestinian student protests target colleges' financial ties with Israel

Students at a growing number of U.S. colleges are gathering in protest encampments with a unified demand of their...

More deaths in the English Channel underscore risks for migrants despite UK efforts to stem the tide

LONDON (AP) — Five more people died in the English Channel on Tuesday, underscoring the risks of crossing one of...

Moscow court rejects Evan Gershkovich's appeal, keeping him in jail until at least June 30

MOSCOW (AP) — Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich will remain jailed on espionage charges until at...

UK puts its defense industry on 'war footing' and gives Ukraine 0 million in new military aid

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — The U.K. prime minister said Tuesday the country is putting its defense industry on a...

The Perfect Guy movie
By Kam Williams | The Skanner News

BIG BUDGET FILMS

90 Minutes in Heaven (PG for an intense car accident and graphic images) Adaptation of Baptist minister Don Piper's best-selling memoir recounting his real-life ordeal in which he died and went to heaven briefly before being revived by the prayers of a Good Samaritan (Michael Harding) at the scene of a car accident. Co-starring Kate Bosworth, Dwight Yoakam and Elizabeth Hunter.

The Perfect Guy (PG-13 for violence, menacing, sexuality and brief profanity) Psychological thriller about a lobbyist (Sanaa Lathan) torn between her ex (Morris Chestnut) and a charming new suitor (Michael Ealy) in the wake of a terrifying revelation. With Charles S. Dutton, Tess Harper and Rutina Wesley.

 

The Visit (PG-13 for mature themes, disturbing material, terror, violence, nudity and brief profanity) M. Night Shyamalan directed this horror comedy, set in Pennsylvania, about a young brother (Ed Oxenbould) and sister (Olivia DeJonge) forced to survive by their wits after discovering something sinister while spending a week on their grandparents' (Deanna Dunagan and Peter McRobbie) farm. Support cast includes Kathryn Hahn, Celia Keenan-Bolger and Patch Darragh.

 

INDEPENDENT & FOREIGN FILMS

Breathe (Unrated) Homoerotic romp, set in Herault, France, about a straitlaced 17 year-old (Josephine Japy) who finds herself attracted to a free-spirited, newcomer (Lou de Laage) with a dark secret. Support cast includes Isabelle Carre, Claire Keim and Roxane Duran. (In French with subtitles)

A Brilliant Young Mind (Unrated) Coming-of-age dramedy about a nerdy math prodigy (Asa Butterfield) who develops enough confidence with the help of a mentor (Rafe Spall) to compete in the International Mathematics Olympiad. With Sally Hawkins, Eddie Marsan and Jo Yang.

Coming Home (PG-13 for mature themes) Romance drama, set in China during the Cultural Revolution, about the frustrations of a former political prisoner (Daoming Chen) who returns home to his wife (Li Gong) from prison only to discover that she's suffering from amnesia and can no longer recognize him. With Tao Guo, Ni Yan and Chun Li. (In Mandarin with subtitles)

Meet the Patels (PG for mature themes, suggestive images and smoking) Dysfunctional family documentary chronicling the pilgrimage from the U.S. to the subcontinent undertaken by 29 year-old bachelor Ravi Patel to find a Ms. Right from the same Indian caste with the help of his traditional parents. (In English and Gurjarati with subtitles)

Paul Taylor: Creative Domain (Unrated) Prestige biopic offering an intimate peek into the life and 50-year career of one of the world's most highly-regarded choreographers.

Sleeping with Other People (R for profanity, drug use, sexual references and graphic sexuality) Romantic comedy about the love which blossoms between a womanizer (Jason Sudeikis) and a serial cheater (Alison Brie) despite an agreement to have a platonic relationship. With Amanda Peet, Jordan Carlos and Adam Brody.

Time Out of Mind (Unrated) Unlikely-buddies drama, set in a Manhattan, about a mental patient (Richard Gere) inspired to reconcile with his long-estranged daughter (Jena Malone) by a homeless jazz musician (Ben Vereen) he befriends at Bellevue hospital. Featuring Kyra Sedgwick, Steve Buscemi and Colman Domingo.

Welcome to Leith (Unrated) Neo-Nazi documentary chronicling a notorious white supremacist's attempt in 2012 to take over the government of a tiny town in North Dakota.

Wolf Totem (PG-13 for disturbing images, animal cruelty and brief sensuality) Culture clash drama, set in the Mongolian desert in the late Sixties, about a student (Shaofeng Feng) sent to modernize the shepherds who instead ends up appreciating their nomadic way of life. With Shawn Dou, Yin Zhusheng and Ba Sen Zha Bu. (In Mandarin and Mongolian with subtitles)

 

The Skanner Foundation's 38th Annual MLK Breakfast