04-24-2024  9:49 pm   •   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

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. ...

Sister of Mississippi man who died after police pulled him from car rejects lawsuit settlement

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A woman who sued Mississippi's capital city over the death of her brother has decided to reject a settlement after officials publicly disclosed how much the city would pay his survivors, her attorney said Wednesday. George Robinson, 62, died in January 2019,...

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

Ukraine uses long-range missiles secretly provided by US to hit Russian-held areas, officials say

WASHINGTON (AP) — Ukraine for the first time has begun using long-range ballistic missiles provided secretly by...

Australia and New Zealand honor their war dead with dawn services on Anzac Day

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Hundreds of thousands of people gathered across Australia and New Zealand for dawn...

Relatives of those who died waiting for livers at now halted Houston transplant program seek answers

DALLAS (AP) — Several relatives of patients who died while waiting for a new liver said Wednesday they want to...

Australian police arrest 7 alleged teen extremists linked to stabbing of a bishop in a Sydney church

SYDNEY (AP) — Australian police arrested seven teenagers accused of following a violent extremist ideology in...

European leaders laud tougher migration policies but more people die on treacherous sea crossings

RABAT, Morocco (AP) — Children dead in the English Channel. Morgues full of migrants reaching capacity in...

Ethnic Karen guerrillas in Myanmar leave a town that army lost 2 weeks ago as rival group holds sway

BANGKOK (AP) — Guerrilla fighters from the main ethnic Karen fighting force battling Myanmar’s military...

By The Skanner News | The Skanner News

KISSIMMEE, Fla. (AP) -- Former career home run king Hank Aaron says Mark McGwire should have a clear conscience after his recent admission he used performance-enhancing drugs as a player.

Aaron said other players still harboring similar secrets also should come clean.
"I think baseball is cleaning up its act a little bit, I really do," Aaron said Monday during a visit to Atlanta Braves camp. "I've said this and I'll say it again, over and over again, this is the most forgiving country in the world. If you come through and tell the truth, then you're going to be forgiven.
"The kid with the Yankees, (Andy) Pettitte, came out and it was a week of news and after that it was over. We all make mistakes. If they ever did enhancing drugs, whatever they did, they should come clean and be able to sleep at night."
Aaron said McGwire's admission and apology this year was overdue but still welcome.
"I would have loved to have seen him do it a long time ago, but since he did it, I think that he himself will tell you right now he's able to sleep at night and he's able to look at his teammates," Aaron said. "He's done everything that he can do."
McGwire, who hit a then-single-season record 70 homers in 1998, admitted this year he used steroids and human growth hormone as a player. He is beginning his first season as the Cardinals' hitting coach.
"It's nice to have him back," Aaron said.
The 76-year-old Aaron's enduring popularity was clear as he attracted a crowd of autograph-seekers.
"It makes you feel good," he said. "I've tried to carry myself that way. I don't try to push myself on nobody. I just try to do what I'm supposed to do."
Aaron hit a record 755 home runs for the Braves and Brewers. His record was broken by Barry Bonds, who also eclipsed McGwire's mark with 73 homers in 2001. Bonds has pleaded not guilty to charges of lying when he told a federal grand jury in 2003 that he never knowingly used steroids.
Aaron did not mention Bonds.
Aaron was asked if he appreciates some fans still referring to him as the home run king.
"Regardless of what happened, I'm not going to hit another home run," he said. "Not in this world. I may do it somewhere else.
"I don't think I can hit anybody deep. I think my deep is over with. The only thing I can hit is a golf ball _ all over the place."
Aaron often visits the Braves' spring training camp, but he made a rare visit to the team's clubhouse on Monday.
"It's the first time I've walked through a clubhouse at this time of the year for about 20 years," he said. "It just brings back memories."
He said the smells, some unpleasant, took him back to his days as a player when the first days of batting practice left blisters on his hands.
"I remember going through the clubhouse, my hands were bleeding and tired and everything was sore," he said.
Aaron had praise for Braves manager Bobby Cox, who will retire after the season.
"It's going to be sad when he leaves," he said. "I don't know that anybody ever said a bad thing about Bobby."
Aaron said he hoped to meet top prospect Jason Heyward, who is only 20 but has a chance to win a starting job in right field -- Aaron's old position with the Milwaukee and Atlanta Braves.
Heyward is black and from McDonough, Ga., near Atlanta. Aaron, scanning the players on the field, noted he didn't see other black players.
"I think we're on the right track but it dampens my spirit when I come up to spring training and I look around here and you don't see any black kids," he said. "It hurts you, because Jackie Robinson a long time ago paid his dues and ... now we don't have any.
"And this is a scene you see all over the major leagues. This is not only here with the Braves. You can go to every ballclub and see the same thing, you don't see too many African-American kids playing baseball, and that's not very good. Something needs to be done about it."


The Skanner Foundation's 38th Annual MLK Breakfast